The Murderer Who doesn't Exist

I shook my head, "No! I just wanted to confirm some things."

I went upstairs again and sprinkled some flour in every corner. After I was done, I went back downstairs and told Luo Weiwei to lock the door because we were about to leave.

Huang Xiaotao asked, "Where are we going now?"

"The police haven't come back yet. I'm hungry so let's go eat first. Didn't you say you would treat me to Peking duck?" I said.

Luo Weiwei got excited. This girl seemed to be a foodie as well. "I know a shortcut. I'll take you there. The Peking duck at Bin Man Lou is very famous. You must not have tried one duck three ways..."

I interrupted her, "You're not coming. Go back to the police station and help me do some tests, focusing on testing the victim's nasal cavity residues and intestines to see if there are any stimulant drugs present."

Luo Weiwei's face immediately turned pale after having cold water poured on her excitement. "Didn't you say no autopsy?"

"Don't worry. I've done all the tests I needed. You can dissect as you wish." I waved my hand.

"Oh, got it."

After Luo Weiwei left, Huang Xiaotao laughed and said, "Song Yang, you're so shameless, treating the girl so harshly!"

"She lost a bet with me. I already said she would be our free driver, and now she wants me to pay for her meal too?" I scoffed.

"I can tell you're not the gentle warm guy who's nice to everyone, but I like that. Haha!" Saying that, Huang Xiaotao slapped my back heavily a few times.

Being praised by her like this, my face flushed. I quickly changed the subject, "I guess the tests won't show anything. But the process of elimination is necessary."

"So it's like the last case again?" Huang Xiaotao asked.

"No, we've made some progress this time, just a bit slowly. Let's wait and see." I replied.

The three of us went to Bin Man Lou. The Peking duck here was expensive, costing over 400 yuan for just one duck. Adding some side dishes and service fees, the meal came out to 600-700 yuan. But Huang Xiaotao paid very generously. I asked her, "You spend money so freely usually, and your car is even better than your captain's. Is your police salary enough?"

Huang Xiaotao poured a glass of Coke, "Ha, my salary is just pocket money."

"Could your family be very rich?"

She winked, "That's confidential for now. Just rest assured the money didn't come from stealing or robbery, so keep eating!"

After a satisfying meal, I got some takeout for Wang Dali, who must be very lonely alone at the hotel.

In the afternoon, we went back to the police station. The investigating officers gradually returned and I called them to the conference room on the 2nd floor. Bai Yidao was also there, still looking at me spitefully. This guy clearly hadn't been beaten into submission by Wang Chongchao yet!

I asked them to summarize their findings. Most of the police didn't find anything. A few officers took photos of some cat prints and compared them, clearly not the cat we were looking for.

Actually, based on Zhang Liu'er's account, I suspected this cat didn't really exist.

I asked the forensics team, "What about the test results?"

One officer replied, "Just a few kinds."

He explained to me that there were over 100 types of stimulant drugs. They had to test them one by one. So far they had only tested amphetamine, ketamine, 2C-B, and methamphetamine, and all came back negative. It would probably take 3-4 days to get full results.

I nodded and simply assigned tasks for the next steps.

Currently there were a few things that needed to be done: First, go through the information on the victim's phone; Second, check who the victim, as a merchant, had business dealings with; Third, investigate the empty house across from the murder scene to see if it had been rented out recently; Fourth, bring in the victim's daughter because I had some questions for her.

When I got to this point, an officer raised his hand and asked, "Consultant Song, the victim's relatives have kept this from his daughter. She's only twelve this year and goes to boarding school outside. Isn't it inappropriate to break the news of her parents' deaths to her?"

I sighed, "It will have to be told sooner or later. Can it be hidden from her forever?"

The officer said again, "If you need to investigate, the victim's relatives will work too."

I asked him, "How many uncles do you have?"

The officer was confused, "Four."

"Then let me ask you, when is your fourth uncle's birthday?"

The officer was at a loss for words. I explained, "Relatives are often more estranged than friends. The ones who know a person best are still their direct kin. Just bring the girl in!"

After assigning the tasks, I told them to break up for now and we'd meet again tomorrow morning to summarize any new intel.

When everyone else left, two people remained - Luo Weiwei and Bai Yidao. Bai Yidao lounged cockily with his hands behind his head. "Detective Song, what will we two do?"

I took out a piece of paper I had drawn on during lunch. It had patterns of three masks. I threw it to him, "Go find a carpenter to make these three masks for me. Also, there are some Chinese herbs written on the back of the paper. Help me gather those."

Bai Yidao stood up in defiance, "You're only having me run errands?"

I asked back, "Other than running errands, what else can you do? Let me tell you about your background..."

"Why were you checking on my dad?" Bai Yidao angrily yelled.

I laughed. This kid thought everyone cared about his police chief father. I said, "I was checking your resume. You've been a cop for three years and participated in over a dozen investigations, but have only solved two cases. One was a theft, the other a murder case, and the murderer turned himself in."

Cops like Bai Yidao who got in through connections typically had low case closure rates. I intended to poke at his sore spot!

Bai Yidao glared at me, pointing his finger, "You..."

I said, "Get the stuff I need ready and deliver it here tonight. If you refuse to follow orders, you can leave the task force."

"Then I'm leaving!" Bai Yidao stood up to go. Luo Weiwei softly called his name.

I stopped him, "Think it through. This is a major case in the province that even the provincial public security bureau is watching. And since I've come on as consultant, my case closure rate has been 100%. This is a rare chance for you to distinguish yourself!"

Bai Yidao had no choice but to swallow his anger and took the paper before walking out and giving me a fierce glare.

Luo Weiwei was smarter and asked, "Will I still be your driver this afternoon?"

"No need. You're a medical examiner, being a driver is beneath your skills. Just focus on your job." I waved my hand.

Luo Weiwei was instantly delighted, "Give me your orders!"

"Help me get a couple of white mice." I said.

"Wha...what?" Luo Weiwei's cheek twitched, "Hey, please respect my profession!"

"Fine. Then do full autopsies on the three corpses, evaluate the extent of mechanical injuries, check for injury complications and occult lesions. Also do brain, bone marrow and joint examinations to see changes in the spinal gray and white matter. I'll also need a sample slide from each major organ, plus blood serum and platelet separation samples. Write up a 5000 word autopsy report to submit tomorrow."

I said this all in one breath. Luo Weiwei's eyes widened, probably not expecting me to know forensic medicine so well. After a long pause she stammered, "Then...how big do the white mice need to be?"

"Two to three months old will do." I replied.

After Luo Weiwei left, Huang Xiaotao finally couldn't hold it in anymore. She collapsed on the table laughing and pounding it, "Song Yang, you're so awesome! Did you see the expression on her face just now, like she was eating shit? Hahahaha...I can't take it, my stomach hurts from laughing!"