Animal Detective

Chapter 321 - 262: An Expert

Tiger Stripes was a sharp one.

He noticed Shen Xin’s respectful attitude toward Zhang Hancheng and immediately ran over, wagging his tail at him.

"This dog is smart."

Zhang Hancheng was suddenly intrigued. He ordered Tiger Stripes to lie down, and the dog immediately complied.

Shen Xin asked Zhang Hancheng if there was anything else, and after confirming there wasn’t, he left immediately with Ding Yuwei.

They had just driven away from the precinct when, while waiting at a red light, Shen Xin turned to size up Ding Yuwei.

"So, Xiaoding, you’re full of surprises."

’She even called him ’uncle’.’

Ding Yuwei quickly explained, "My dad knew Zhang Zhi back in the day. I met him a few times when I was a kid, picking my dad up from the city bureau. It’s not what you think."

Seeing Shen Xin’s "I get it" expression, she gave him an exasperated punch on the arm.

She changed the subject, curiously asking Shen Xin for the details of the case and how another person had ended up dead.

"I don’t know."

Shen Xin shook his head and recounted the situation at the crime scene, along with his own theories. Finally, he asked Ding Yuwei for her thoughts.

Ding Yuwei thought for a moment. "Your theory makes a lot of sense. After all, the only connection between Huang Weili and Xu Rulin is fishing."

Shen Xin nodded.

That was the most crucial point.

The killer couldn’t have just murdered two completely unrelated people for no reason.

"Whatever. Let’s go see this Brother Wei first and take it from there."

’Brother Wei? Or Viagra?’

Shen Xin grinned.

Over half an hour later, the two arrived at Nanjiang City Prison.

After checking in, they were soon met by the warden, Wu Shengyang.

’Another high-ranking official.’

’A division-level chief, just one rank below Zhao Hongjie.’

And he was wearing a proper white uniform shirt with one pip and one star.

He had a brief meeting with Shen Xin, then called for Xie Guohu, the chief of Prison Block Two, to take them to see the man.

Nanjiang had three prisons.

Besides the ones in Ji Port and Donglin, this prison in the city had fifteen blocks.

Blocks One, Two, and Three housed serious offenders serving life sentences.

Xie Guohu briefly explained He Wei’s situation.

In 2004, he was convicted on multiple charges including organized crime and sentenced to life imprisonment. He had been in prison for fourteen years now.

He’d had his sentence reduced once, down to twenty years.

In other words, even without another reduction, He Wei would be out in six years.

He was already fifty-eight years old.

"He’s got a huge ego, a bad temper, and isn’t easy to talk to. But he’s getting old, so just talk to him nicely. If you need anything, just call me."

Xie Guohu pushed open the door to the interrogation room and went to arrange for the inmate to be brought in.

Soon, an old man with a buzz cut and salt-and-pepper hair walked in.

At fifty-eight, he could be called an old man.

He was of average height, with broad shoulders that made him look stocky.

He was starting to stoop a little, but his gait was still steady and powerful. He had an air about him.

He kept his chin up the whole time, not even lifting his hands as his handcuffs were removed.

After sitting down, he leaned to one side, effortlessly assuming the posture of a big boss. Then he eyed the two of them sideways. "You two are the ones looking for me? Who are you?"

"Uncle Wei, my name is Shen Xin. This is my colleague, Xiaoding."

Shen Xin immediately stood up.

’By rights, I shouldn’t be so courteous. He’s a criminal and I’m a cop.’

’But you have to be tactical.’

’Besides, I need something from him. Zhang Hancheng sent me over precisely because the old-timers couldn’t bring themselves to play nice with a criminal they once put away.’

’I’m young. To solve the case, I can swallow my pride.’

Shen Xin took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket—a freshly bought pack of HETIANXIA.

Then he gave a nod to the officer in the room, asking him to light it for He Wei.

Normally, inmates aren’t allowed to smoke during interrogations, but the rules could be bent.

"What did you call me?"

He Wei was a bit surprised. He glanced at the brand of cigarettes before nodding for it to be lit. He took a deep drag and pointed at Shen Xin. "You’re alright, kid. You know how to handle things."

"You’re too kind, Uncle Wei."

Shen Xin sat back down. "But to be honest, I’ve heard about your great reputation for a long time."

"Back in 2000, I was in elementary school. To be honest with you, I was a bit of a bad kid back then, always running around with the wrong crowd."

"Back then, I’d often hear the big shots I knew mention your name. They said you were *the* man in Nanjiang?"

Shen Xin gave him a thumbs-up.

"I used to think, for so many big brothers to call *you* big brother, you must be incredible, a real force to be reckoned with."

"So when I came to see you today, I was actually a little excited."

Ding Yuwei glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, surprised that Shen Xin could spout such nonsense with a straight face.

She had heard Shen Xin talk about his childhood before. His grades were average, but he was definitely a good kid. There was no way he was running around on the streets.

He Wei chuckled and waved his hand. "Alright, kid, you don’t have to bullshit me."

Obviously, he knew Shen Xin was making it all up to flatter him.

But he knew it was bullshit and enjoyed it nonetheless. "You’re not bad, kid," he said. "So, what do you want from me?"

Shen Xin said, "Uncle Wei, I came to you today because there’s something I need your help with."

"Let’s say... I wanted to find a professional killer. How would I go about it?"

Shen Xin looked up, a faint smile on his face as he watched He Wei.

The atmosphere in the interrogation room suddenly froze.

He Wei’s expression changed. He nearly choked on a puff of smoke, coughing before saying in astonishment, "Kid, are you fucking with me?"

Shen Xin quickly replied, "Of course not. I’m sincerely asking for your help, for you to point me in the right direction."

He Wei dropped his nonchalant expression, his face growing serious as he sized Shen Xin up again.

Shen Xin’s calm smile made him dismiss any thought of underestimating him.

"Officer Shen, what is it you really want to ask?"

’His form of address even changed.’

Shen Xin said, "Uncle Wei, don’t worry, this has nothing to do with you."

Shen Xin briefly explained the situation.

Without going into too much detail, of course.

"We suspect it might be a contract killing, and judging by the suspect’s methods, he seems like a professional."

"Uncle Wei, this is a big case. It’s been flagged by the higher-ups. They’ve formed a special task force and put a deadline on solving it."

"You’re an old hand in this world. You should know what that means."

Shen Xin was still smiling.

’Shen Xin had thought about this on the way over.’

’He had to give him enough face, but he couldn’t be too subservient.’

’Dealing with an old fox like him required a carrot-and-stick approach.’

’He had to make him understand that this was important.’

’A deadline to solve the case means you’d better weigh the consequences of withholding information.’

Shen Xin continued, "Uncle Wei, you ran things in Nanjiang for so many years. Is there anything that goes on in this city that you don’t know about?"

"If you help us out, and it really does lead to a breakthrough, it would be a good thing for you, too."

Shen Xin didn’t spell it out, but the implication was clear.

’Meritorious service for a sentence reduction.’

’But Shen Xin only hinted at it. If his superiors didn’t approve it later, he could just pretend he never said it.’

"You’re almost sixty. The sooner you get out, the sooner you can enjoy your golden years, right?"

He Wei snorted, but it was clear the idea had taken root.

He pointed to the cigarette pack, signaling for another.

Through the swirling smoke, he seemed to have made his calculations. He chuckled, "Kid, you’ve got guts."

"Go on. This person you’re talking about, what are his... characteristics? I mean, what’s his M.O.?"

This question actually stumped Shen Xin.

’Likes to bash people with rocks?’

’That probably doesn’t count.’

After a moment of thought, Shen Xin said, "He’s a pro."

Zhang Hancheng had mentioned before that the man was very seasoned in his methods.

He didn’t even use a knife, just picked up a random rock and struck. And it was a fatal blow.

Bashing someone with a rock might seem simple, but actually knocking someone out, or killing them, in one go isn’t easy at all.

Most importantly, he didn’t clean up the scene.

Just as Zhang Hancheng had said, the suspect was confident enough not to fear leaving behind evidence.

At Xu Rulin’s crime scene, he left a footprint.

But since he left it there and didn’t clean it up, he must have taken some kind of precaution.

For example, wearing oversized shoes so he wouldn’t worry about the police tracing them back to him.

Then there was his choice of escape route and his awareness of anti-K9 tracking methods. All things considered, he was without a doubt a repeat offender, a real expert.