Animal Detective

Chapter 513: Chapter 419: Dissociative Amnesia

This was a Tingyang District case, so the Tingyang Branch had to be the one to make the final arrest.

The last time they were here, the team wasn’t all present.

Today was different. Shen Xin had come over first thing in the morning, and everyone was there.

"It’s only the 19th today, right?" Old Zhou, Zhou Zhongyi, glanced at the date on his phone. "How long has it been since you transferred to the city bureau, kid? A month? Two murder cases... tsk tsk, that’s incredible."

Beside him, Qian Haifeng and the others nodded in deep agreement.

Murder cases were rare these days; you wouldn’t even run into a few in a whole year.

But here was Shen Xin, cracking two murder cases in just one month at the city bureau.

At this rate, he wasn’t leaving any work for the other criminal investigators.

Sun Jingyi added with great earnestness, "And you have to understand, the cases Xiaoshen cracked weren’t just any old murders. They were cold cases. Is the difficulty even on the same level as a typical murder case today?"

You could just imagine the difficulty of a case that had become a cold case.

Especially a murder.

The "all murder cases must be solved" principle was paramount. If the conditions weren’t truly impossible and the case wasn’t exceptionally difficult, it would never have been shelved as a cold case.

Solving a case of this caliber would earn you an internal commendation.

But Shen Xin had solved two in a month. It was frankly terrifying.

Chen Chao, who had just made some tea, snorted. "Not two cases. Three. Don’t forget, this kid also ran over to Songpu and helped the economic crimes unit with a case."

Chen Chao didn’t know the specifics, only that it was a high-level case.

Because he’d heard that the follow-up matters still hadn’t been sorted out, and the official procedures hadn’t even begun.

The more complicated it was, the more it proved how extraordinary the case was.

Even Sun Zhao joined in on the fun, clapping Shen Xin on the shoulder with a grin. "And don’t you all forget, this kid found time to take a trip to Suihar and helped them catch a cross-border poacher."

He couldn’t help but add, "Seriously, Shen Xin, I’m starting to regret letting you go. If you had stayed here at the branch, I would’ve definitely filed a report to make you a vice-captain."

Pan Shunrong teased, "Lao Sun, don’t hold the guy back. A vice-captain? Only you would treat that like some grand prize."

"Hey!" Chen Chao’s eyes widened. "Old Pan, what’s wrong with being a vice-captain? If Lao Sun gets promoted, I’d go from ’vice’ to full captain right away."

Sun Zhao wasn’t offended and joked right back, "I’d love to make room for you, but the key is Director Lv isn’t retiring."

Shen Xin glanced back guiltily.

Usually, when people said things like that, the person in question was already standing right behind them.

After the round of banter, everyone got back to work.

Shen Xin and his team were here mainly to assist Sun Zhao’s people with the arrest.

It was going to be difficult.

The main issue was Guo Jinhua’s hemiplegia and limited mobility. He also had two elderly parents at home. For three years, they, believing their son was the victim, had anxiously awaited the day the police would find the culprit and make them pay.

Every time they looked at their son, their hatred for the perpetrator must have grown.

But now, the case had been reopened, and after a full investigation, their son had turned out to be the killer. It was entirely possible the two sixty-something-year-old parents could get so worked up they’d pass out on the spot.

That’s why Sun Zhao’s team had made a contingency plan and requested an ambulance, just in case something went wrong at the scene during the arrest.

It wasn’t just for Mr. and Mrs. Guo Kaitai, but for Guo Jinhua as well.

The man was seriously ill; it would be a huge problem if he collapsed.

Sun Zhao gathered everyone to discuss the plan. Midway through, Director Lv also came over to give a few instructions, which only made Sun Zhao more nervous.

Finally, Chen Chao stopped him and said, "It’s a blow you have to take sooner or later. There’s no escaping it. Let’s go."

Sun Zhao nodded.

With that, the group set off.

Zhao Tianxing was driving. From the back seat, Yang Zeran suddenly said, "Shen Xin, maybe you shouldn’t get out of the car later. Don’t forget, you ate their noodles and even told them there was progress in the case."

"They were so happy. Now they’re going to find out you’re the one putting their son away. Just wait and see how they’ll curse you out."

Shen Xin shot him an irritated glare. "I ate their noodles, yes, but I paid for them. And I got diarrhea afterward."

"Besides, you can’t always balance duty and personal feelings. I ran into plenty of situations like this back at my old station. There’s nothing to be done. You just do what has to be done."

"Since he killed someone, he has to pay the price."

"Compared to bringing him in, I’m more worried about the interrogation later. Lao Yang, are you ready?"

Now that he was leading his own team, he couldn’t be the one charging forward for everything. So, Shen Xin planned to let Yang Zeran handle Guo Jinhua’s interrogation this time.

The evidence was more than sufficient; the interrogation was mainly to clarify the process and motive of the crime.

So the interrogation wouldn’t be too difficult.

It was a perfect opportunity for Yang Zeran, a top student accustomed to desk work, to get his hands dirty and gain some experience.

’If he wants to handle fieldwork in the future, he needs the practice.’

Yang Zeran made a pinching gesture with his fingers at Shen Xin.

Zhao Tianxing glanced at the rearview mirror and asked what it meant.

"In the bag."

Yang Zeran’s face was full of confidence.

Shen Xin pretended to shiver. ’Such confidence. He’s not messing around.’

Shen Xin didn’t ask if he had prepared an interrogation plan or what it was like, but after a moment’s thought, he still reminded him, "Don’t get careless. This guy won’t be easy."

Shen Xin remembered his last visit to the hospital to see Guo Jinhua.

’That look in his eyes, his reaction... it was like he’d brainwashed himself with his own lies, truly believing he was the victim.’

Under these circumstances, breaking through his psychological defenses would be no easy task.

Before long, the group arrived at Guo Jinhua’s home.

Several police cars immediately attracted a crowd.

Sun Zhao personally led the way and knocked on the door.

After a long moment, someone opened it.

Just like before, it was Guo Jinhua who opened the door, leaning on his quad cane walker. Seeing the police cars outside, he was visibly stunned.

Guo Kaitai and his wife were probably at the noodle shop, not at home.

"I... I remember you." Guo Jinhua still recognized Sun Zhao.

Seeing Guo Jinhua, Sun Zhao couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.

The pressure from above on that case back then had been immense. In those days, he’d been so worried he couldn’t eat or drink, even dreaming about how the suspect might have administered the poison.

And the result...

"Guo Jinhua, this is an arrest warrant."

Sun Zhao kept his words to a minimum and directly showed the warrant.

Shen Xin stood to the side, silently observing Guo Jinhua’s reaction.

The moment he saw the warrant, he was first shocked and astonished, then confused and bewildered.

He looked at Sun Zhao, then at the warrant, then at Shen Xin beside him, his eyes filled with puzzlement.

’No award-winning actor could fake a reaction like that.’

"Wh-why... I..."

He opened his mouth to protest, but in his panic, his words became even more slurred.

Sun Zhao ignored this, gave a signal, and Old Zhou and Old Qian immediately stepped forward to support Guo Jinhua by his arms.

The plan they’d discussed was to cut the Gordian knot—act swiftly and decisively.

With Guo Kaitai and Tao Yiping not home, it was perfect. It would save them from any further trouble.

They didn’t use handcuffs.

In Guo Jinhua’s physical condition, he couldn’t run away even if they let him.

They didn’t even put him in a police car, instead helping him directly into the ambulance.

He tried to struggle, urgently crying out "AH! AH!", but he couldn’t break free. The more anxious he got, the more he couldn’t form words.

Sun Zhao glanced at the neighboring onlookers.

The plan was already more than half successful. Now they just needed to notify Mr. and Mrs. Guo Kaitai.

He left that task to Chen Chao, while he himself immediately led the others back to the branch.

Everyone got back in the cars.

Shen Xin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Yang Zeran had teased him about not getting out of the car.

Outwardly, Shen Xin had said he didn’t care, but inwardly he had been worried.

He had been afraid that one of Guo Jinhua’s parents would be home, make a scene, and cause some kind of incident.

If something had really happened, it would have been ugly.

The trip back was smooth, and they quickly returned to the branch.

In the ambulance, Guo Jinhua had already been given a simple physical checkup, but it wasn’t enough. For this interrogation, someone from the branch’s infirmary had to be present to monitor him.

Shen Xin stepped into the observation room.

Through the one-way glass, he could see that Guo Jinhua had been brought into the interrogation room. A doctor from the infirmary was attaching ECG monitoring patches to his body.

He looked frantic, forcing out one word at a time, urgently asking why they had arrested him.

"Nervous?"

Shen Xin glanced at Yang Zeran, whose lips were moving as he softly chanted to himself.

Yang Zeran quickly retorted, "How could I be? It’s not like I’ve never handled a case before."

After speaking, he took a deep breath, shot a look at Zhao Tianxing, and led the way out of the observation room.

He would be the lead interrogator, with Zhao Tianxing taking notes.

Chen Chao, who had gone to inform Guo Kaitai, hadn’t returned yet.

Sun Zhao sat watching Guo Jinhua next door and said in a low voice, "Shen Xin, this guy’s reaction is off."

He had seen far too many criminal suspects.

Every person who entered an interrogation room reacted differently, and from his experience and judgment, Guo Jinhua didn’t seem like someone with a guilty conscience.

Beside him, Sun Jingyi also nodded in agreement, pointing to the next room. "That reaction... it doesn’t feel like an act."

This group of old veterans had sharp eyes; they were very accurate when it came to reading suspects.

They’d seen it all, after all.

If they were all saying this, it was proof enough that Guo Jinhua’s "act" was very convincing.

But all the evidence pointed to his guilt.

Shen Xin said, "Captain Sun, I’ve actually considered this. I tested him before and felt he didn’t seem like the killer."

"But he *is* the killer. So I think it’s a very special situation. Didn’t he suffer nerve damage? It left aftereffects on his brain."

"Add to that the fact that he’s been drowning in grief over his daughter’s death... I think he might have selectively forgotten the crime he committed and now sees himself only as a victim."

"I even looked up this condition. Yuwei, what’s it called again?"

Shen Xin turned to Ding Yuwei, whom he had asked to research it.

Ding Yuwei, who was standing, immediately replied, "It’s dissociative amnesia. To put it simply, it’s selective memory loss following emotional trauma."

Shen Xin nodded and continued, "To put it bluntly, the shock was too great. He probably couldn’t accept the fact that he murdered Fu Lanting. His brain couldn’t handle it, so it blocked out the related memories."

"Only by seeing himself as the victim, with some other suspect out there, could he feel better and accept the situation."

"If you don’t believe me, just watch. In a bit, he’ll definitely be proclaiming his innocence. He won’t easily admit to what he’s done."

Sun Zhao nodded slightly, his expression growing more grave and serious.

If that was really the case, it meant Guo Jinhua also had a mental illness.

When it came to sentencing, that might be taken into consideration.

Plus, his severe physical illness would also be a factor during sentencing.

Sure enough.

Because of Guo Jinhua’s speech impediment, the interrogation process was rather arduous.

Yang Zeran’s interrogation style was conventional, aiming to lead the suspect into a trap of self-incrimination.

For instance, he first asked where Guo Jinhua had gone in Qiong Province, then abruptly brought up the fact that rat poison had been found during a security check.

And when Yang Zeran held up the registration form, pointed to Guo Jinhua’s own signature, and asked him to explain it, Guo Jinhua’s expression was exaggerated. He looked completely stunned.

"That’s not right."

Guo Jinhua shook his head repeatedly. "Not right. It’s fake. I never signed that. This is a fake."

He denied it vehemently, and his shocked expression absolutely did not look like an act. It was as if he was hearing about this for the very first time.

"See, Captain Sun? This guy isn’t going to be easy," Shen Xin said, pointing to the room next door.

’Shen Xin felt that his brain had already blocked out this memory, so no amount of questioning would work. He just didn’t remember.’

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