Animal Detective

Shen Xin closed the case file and handed it to Zhao Tianxing, gesturing for him to take a look.

Then he stood up to examine the physical evidence.

For instance, the pair of underwear.

Lin Zenghui had been found naked.

And this pair of underwear had actually been found at the bottom of the dolphin pool.

Hou Shishi’s description was that Lin Zenghui had been holding her in the water, playing with the dolphins and surfing with them.

Then, while they were underwater, the current "accidentally" washed his underwear off.

After that, he pressed his body against hers and started molesting her.

In other words, he had taken them off himself.

Shen Xin glanced at it, then put it down.

The underwear found at the bottom of the pool did clear up one question.

Namely, why Lin Zenghui hadn’t immediately chased after Hou Shishi when she resisted and fled the scene.

Perhaps he was furious that things hadn’t gone his way and didn’t bother to chase her.

It was also possible that he was retrieving his underwear.

He couldn’t just run out naked, after all.

And Shen Xin believed that Lin Zenghui’s time of death should be right around when a panicked Hou Shishi was caught on surveillance leaving the Dolphin Hall.

Around 11:47 PM.

Either he had already been drowned by Hou Shishi before that moment,

or the real killer appeared and drowned Lin Zenghui sometime after.

Otherwise, Lin Zenghui would have certainly chased her or left the Dolphin Hall.

After carefully examining all the physical evidence, Shen Xin had a good grasp of the situation.

Judging from the investigation records and the case discussion notes, the Lishan Branch had leaned toward it being an accident, right up to the very end.

And they had sufficient reason for reaching this conclusion.

First, there were so-called surveillance blind spots and possible infiltration routes, but no signs of anyone climbing over the surrounding walls were found.

No clear footprints were discovered outside the walls or on the nearby hills.

They even suspected that someone had hidden inside the Dolphin Hall in advance.

But Lin Zenghui’s decision to meet Hou Shishi was last-minute. After questioning all the staff at the Dolphin Hall, it was confirmed that no one knew about it.

That would make it a random event.

Furthermore, the night-shift staff and security guards at the Oceanarium all had solid alibis.

Most importantly, a detailed search of the scene revealed no trace of a second person.

There were no traces of anyone else on the body, such as under the fingernails.

If he had been forcibly drowned, Lin Zenghui would have certainly struggled violently and might have scratched the killer.

In short, all the signs indicated that no one other than Hou Shishi was at the scene.

In that case, there were only two possibilities.

One was that Hou Shishi was lying.

They developed various scenarios in an attempt to prove that Hou Shishi was a suspect.

For example, they suspected that while struggling, Hou Shishi might have hit Lin Zenghui’s nose with the back of her head, using excessive force, causing him to pass out and then drown.

But the medical examiner analyzed this and felt it was impossible.

Moreover, the autopsy proved that Lin Zenghui had drowned while fully conscious.

They also conducted a polygraph test.

The polygraph results indicated that Hou Shishi was not lying.

As for the issue of the strength disparity between a man and a woman, they had noted it and discussed it immediately after the case occurred, concluding that it would have been very difficult for Hou Shishi to have the means to commit the crime.

Coupled with a lack of motive, all the evidence pointed to Hou Shishi’s innocence.

Unfortunately...

Before the investigation could be thoroughly completed, Hou Shishi was accidentally killed by Ye Xinyi.

This left them with no one to corroborate the story.

So, assuming they ruled out the possibility of Hou Shishi lying, the only remaining option was accidental drowning.

But numerous factors also proved that it was unlikely for Lin Zenghui to have drowned accidentally.

The dolphin pool’s temperature was comfortable, maintained at around 22 degrees Celsius year-round. At that temperature, it wasn’t cold enough to cause leg cramps.

Everyone could attest that Lin Zenghui was an excellent swimmer.

So how could he have accidentally drowned?

In other words, the investigation had reached a point where all possibilities were blocked.

Shen Xin recalled what Qian Hao had said before. His exact words were: "There were some unexpected incidents that made certain details impossible to confirm, but overall, the case is still clear."

Looking at the case file, the Lishan team’s investigation process was sound.

They investigated everything they could.

The only conclusion they could ultimately reach was accidental drowning.

But what kind of accident it was, no one knew.

However, precisely because Ye Xinyi had killed Hou Shishi and the situation had escalated to this point, they didn’t dare to rashly conclude it was an accident.

After a full investigation, to end up calling it an accident would look like a half-assed attempt to fool the family.

They didn’t dare to finalize the conclusion, but they also couldn’t investigate any further.

Over time, it became a cold case.

Shen Xin sat back down, sizing up Ding Yuwei and Zhao Tianxing.

Ding Yuwei had read the case file and had now also examined the physical evidence in detail.

Zhao Tianxing, on the other hand, was engrossed in the case file, his brow furrowed deeply.

When he finished, Shen Xin asked, "Brother Xing, what are your thoughts?"

Zhao Tianxing froze for a moment, then pointed to himself and asked, "Are my thoughts important?"

Back at the branch, he was just a nuclear-powered workhorse, running errands and doing whatever he was told.

He rarely had the opportunity to voice his own opinions.

Shen Xin said, "Of course they are. You’re smart and have a ton of case experience. Your thoughts are definitely important."

"Get lost."

Zhao Tianxing cursed good-naturedly, then scratched his head and said tentatively, "I’m not sure. It should be an accident, but it’s also possible Hou Shishi was lying."

"Those polygraph machines aren’t always accurate. Maybe she didn’t do it on purpose—it could have been self-defense that went too far."

Across from him, Ding Yuwei immediately countered, "Impossible. First of all, polygraph tests are actually very accurate. And I don’t believe an ordinary girl would have the ability to fool one."