Animal Detective

Chapter 510: Chapter 416: Thread End

Shen Xin had only been to Qiong Province as a tourist when he was a child, so he certainly didn’t have the kind of connections Liu Jie did.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t call in some favors.

Zhang Hancheng had said that if he needed anything, he should just ask him.

If he couldn’t handle it, there was still Zhao Hongjie.

If Zhao Hongjie couldn’t handle it, there was the Provincial Department, and there was Wang Peidong.

’At his level, how could his network be small?’

This matter really required pulling some strings. If they just sent an official request for assistance, the other party might not investigate that thoroughly.

Shen Xin considered the next steps of the investigation.

They had to keep digging into the motive.

And just like that, they had dug up He Liyuan.

It proved their line of inquiry was correct.

Back then, the special task force hadn’t conducted a wide-ranging investigation into Guo Meijing.

Secondly, the canvassing in the three surrounding cities couldn’t stop.

Shen Xin speculated that Guo Jinhua might have bought the rat poison locally in Qiong Province, but it was just speculation. They couldn’t halt the interviews and investigation on their end because of a single theory.

’They’d gone to so much trouble to call in favors; they couldn’t let it go to waste.’

After returning from Donglin, Zhang Hancheng took Shen Xin to see Zhao Hongjie to give a report.

With the case investigated to this point, it was necessary to update their superior.

The main reason was that Zhang Hancheng didn’t have those kinds of connections.

In the office, Zhao Hongjie flipped through the investigation records and He Liyuan’s statement, his expression growing more solemn the more he read.

He certainly remembered this case. It had ultimately gone unsolved, becoming a cold case, and he had even criticized Zhang Hancheng for it.

But he never would have imagined the investigation would turn out like this.

A victim with severe lasting sequelae had actually become the suspect.

And the theory Shen Xin and the others had put forward was backed by sufficient reasoning.

To put it simply, it came down to exclusion.

They really couldn’t find any other suspects, nor any other feasible method for the poisoning.

But if Guo Jinhua was the killer, then every problem had an explanation.

As for why he would poison himself while poisoning others, Zhao Hongjie had encountered cases like this before—the thief crying "catch the thief"—so it wasn’t surprising.

"Kid, not bad."

Zhao Hongjie put down the statement and praised Shen Xin.

"Better than you."

Zhao Hongjie then shot a glare at Zhang Hancheng.

He had only just learned that Zhang Hancheng had had the same idea back then but hadn’t dared to draw a conclusion, only secretly having Chen Chao investigate it.

So now, with Shen Xin daring to reach this conclusion, wasn’t he stronger than Zhang Hancheng when it came to guts and drive?

Zhang Hancheng nodded with a wry smile. "Yes, the kid’s good."

It wasn’t just his courage to make this judgment; he was also resourceful in investigating the motive, thinking of patients from the same hospital ward and managing to find such a witness.

"Qiong Province, is it?"

Zhao Hongjie also felt it was necessary to investigate Guo Jinhua’s detailed itinerary in Qiong Province, as Shen Xin wanted.

As for calling in favors... He thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead as he remembered something.

"Shen Xin, for this, you should look for Director Lin. I remember him saying he has an old army buddy right in the Qiong Province Public Security Department. I’m not sure about his specific position, though."

"But aren’t you on good terms with Director Lin? Get him to put in a good word. It’ll make things easy."

Zhao Hongjie approved of Shen Xin’s plan to call in favors and use connections.

They could send a formal request for assistance, but it was nowhere near as effective as having a superior put in a call.

Especially since this contact happened to be in the Public Security Department.

Putting in a word with Yaxian County would be a piece of cake.

Shen Xin nodded quickly.

He was indeed on good terms with Lin Weinian.

Zhao Hongjie handed back the statement, inevitably adding a few more words of praise.

"I put you in charge of the Cold Case Unit, and you’ve really done a great job."

How long had it been? He had already solved one cold case, and now this poisoning case in his hands was about to be cracked.

Moreover, Zhao Hongjie had seen not only his investigative skills but also his leadership and management abilities.

The division of labor was clear, and the arrangements were orderly and methodical.

Most importantly, Shen Xin also had the ability to integrate resources.

In other words, he knew how to call in favors.

In Zhao Hongjie’s view, this was, in fact, a skill in itself.

Police work wasn’t about fighting alone. Knowing when to ask for help and having the ability to mobilize available resources was not something that was easy to do.

"Keep up the good work."

With an expression that said, ’I’ve got high hopes for you, kid,’ Zhao Hongjie sent the two of them off to get back to work.

Just as they were about to leave, Zhao Hongjie called out to Shen Xin again, asking how the police bird project was going.

"I’m still waiting to see your performance."

"Don’t worry, Director Zhao. I’m training them every day."

If it weren’t for Teddy, Shen Xin would have planned to go to Qiong Province himself.

Zhao Hongjie nodded. A few crows were always flying around the city bureau’s courtyard. He wasn’t blind; he could see them.

After leaving, Shen Xin called Lin Weinian.

Shen Xin had his work number.

There was no answer, but Shen Xin didn’t dare to spam him with calls.

The man was a major director in the provincial capital, after all.

Over an hour later, Lin Weinian called back.

He couldn’t resist teasing Shen Xin, asking if he had changed his mind and was ready to come develop his career in the provincial capital.

If that were the case, he would immediately pull some strings for him.

After hearing the situation, Lin Weinian agreed without hesitation.

To him, this was no big deal at all.

And his old army buddy happened to be the captain of the Public Order Corps in the Qiong Province Public Security Department.

He held real authority, so putting in a word with the lower-level departments was a piece of cake.

Lin Weinian’s suggestion was for Shen Xin’s side to send someone over, and his contact would provide full cooperation.

For this role, Yang Zeran was the most suitable choice.

The next morning, Yang Zeran boarded a plane to Qiong Province.

Shen Xin remained in Nanjiang to continue overseeing the investigation there.

He originally thought that even with the connections, it would take some time to investigate things clearly.

After all, so much time had passed.

Unexpectedly, a discovery was made on just the second day after Yang Zeran’s arrival.

They were on a video call.

On the call, Yang Zeran was incredibly excited. "Shen Xin, I never thought it would go this smoothly."

"It’s like... it’s like a ball of yarn. We found the loose end, and suddenly everything is unraveling perfectly."

He started rambling.

Shen Xin brandished a fist at him. "Get to the point."

Only then did Yang Zeran say, "I was thinking on the way here that I’d first check the courier companies after landing, but their records aren’t kept for that long."

"The officers in Yaxian County helped me check every courier station in the city, but no one remembered Guo Jinhua mailing anything."

"Then I thought, maybe Guo Jinhua thought he could get away with it and tried to sneak it onto the plane. There was a chance."

"So I went to the airline and checked their records. And guess what I found."

Beside him, even Zhao Tianxing couldn’t take it anymore and told him to just spit it out.

Yang Zeran said, "Shen Xin, you guessed right. The guy really did buy rat poison locally in Qiong Province."

"And I guessed right, too. He really did try to sneak it onto the plane. A security officer even remembers him."

"When he was going through the security check, the rat poison he was carrying was discovered. At the time, he claimed he didn’t know the rules and then wanted to have it checked as luggage."

"The problem was, he couldn’t check it as luggage either. So he asked if there was any other way, saying it was expensive and used some kind of new technology that was very effective."

"The female security officer told him it was absolutely not allowed, but offered to mail it to him later if he left his contact information."

"After thinking it over, Guo Jinhua agreed, and the airport confiscated the bottle of rat poison."

Shen Xin interrupted Yang Zeran. "A bottle?"

’Wasn’t it in a bag?’

Yang Zeran nodded eagerly. "Right, a bottle. It’s a liquid. I suspect it’s the concentrated stock solution of bromadiolone. I don’t know where he bought it yet; I still have to check."

"But afterward, Guo Jinhua never contacted the security staff again, and they didn’t think much of it. Anyway, they just kept that bottle of rat poison sealed in storage."

"It wasn’t until March 2015, after the New Year, that Guo Jinhua suddenly contacted the security staff, found that same female officer, and asked her to help mail the bottle of rat poison to him."

"The female security officer thought it was strange, saying half a year had already passed, so why was he only remembering it now."

"But she didn’t overthink it and just mailed it to him as requested."

"Shen Xin, we’ve figured out the source of the rat poison. Now, as long as we can prove that the bottle Guo Jinhua received is the same type that killed Fu Lanting, the chain of evidence will be complete."

"And I think there’s a good chance. Guo Jinhua said it used some new technology and was quite expensive. Maybe this rat poison has some special additive, a proprietary formula."

After Fu Lanting’s autopsy, a large amount of physical evidence was sealed and preserved, waiting for future examination with updated technology.

So, they had the means.

And once they got a match, it would be just as Yang Zeran said: the chain of evidence would be complete, and the proof would be ironclad.

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