Animal Detective

"And that morning, when Hua Zi’s body was floating on the water, what were you thinking then?"

Shen Xin stared directly at Li Fusen, watching his gaze shift from frenzy to astonishment, and finally becoming blank and utterly lost.

Shen Xin turned and left the interrogation room.

Just as Ding Yuwei closed the door, Li Fusen’s frantic screams erupted from inside.

"No! I said no! Come back! I said it, no!"

The shrill cries echoed through the late-night corridor.

Shen Xin entered the adjacent observation room, glanced through the glass at the still-screaming Li Fusen, and said, "Zhang Zhi, I’m sorry. I couldn’t get him to talk."

From the beginning, Shen Xin’s plan had been to put himself in harm’s way to see what Li Fusen would do.

He hadn’t expected Li Fusen to try and murder him outright.

But this was also an opportunity to convict him directly.

Shen Xin had then hoped to use this attempted murder charge to break him and make him confess to murdering Lin Zenghui.

That’s why at the start of the interrogation, Shen Xin deliberately tried to make Li Fusen feel the situation was dire, that he was facing a possible death sentence.

The reasoning was that if Li Fusen thought he was going to die anyway, what was there left to be afraid of saying?

But it didn’t work.

In the end, Li Fusen still insisted he knew nothing.

In that case, they could only convict him of attempted murder.

Attempted crimes fall into several categories.

And since Shen Xin was a police officer, it would definitely be classified as a heinous act.

Even with an added charge of assaulting a police officer, it was still just an attempt.

So it would never be enough for the death penalty.

Based on Shen Xin’s experience, the sentence would probably be around fifteen years.

But the Lin Zenghui case was different.

That was an actual completed crime, with premeditation, which would warrant the death penalty.

One gets the death penalty, the other doesn’t. The outcomes were completely different.

Zhang Hancheng patted Shen Xin on the shoulder and said, "It’s alright. You handled the interrogation well. If it were me, I’m not sure I could have done better."

The goal of this type of interrogation is to provoke the suspect’s emotions, make them lose control, and hopefully, incriminate themselves.

Shen Xin had done a great job in that regard.

"Especially those last words as you were leaving. I think you really broke through his defenses."

Zhang Hancheng turned his head to look at Li Fusen, who was still struggling and screaming.

Zhao Tianxing nodded in deep agreement. "That line, ’When you looked into Hua Zi’s eyes, what did you feel?’ That was the finishing blow."

It was clear Li Fusen truly did have feelings for Hua Zi.

Otherwise, why would he visit the Natural History Museum every week?

A line like that must have been devastating to him.

Even Yang Zeran gave Shen Xin a thumbs-up.

He had studied the old cases Shen Xin had solved.

Yang Zeran had truly believed that Shen Xin solved those cases simply by relying on his innate talent for connecting with animals.

It was like he was using a cheat code.

But now, Yang Zeran realized that Shen Xin didn’t just have a gift; he was also highly competent.

He was alert, had great foresight, came up with his own ideas, and was even highly experienced in interrogation.

Shen Xin shook his head, watching Li Fusen through the glass.

’The first interrogation is always the most effective, the best chance to break through a suspect’s psychological defenses.

’Li Fusen’s defenses are already broken, but he’s still stubbornly refusing to confess. In any future interrogation, he’ll be mentally prepared. It’ll be nearly impossible to get him to admit anything then.

’That means Lin Zenghui’s drowning will have to be closed as an unsolved case.

’Now that Hua Zi is dead, our original plan to reenact the crime is pointless.

’The original plan was just to prove that the dolphin drowned Lin Zenghui.

’But now we have to prove that Li Fusen trained Hua Zi to kill Lin Zenghui.

’A completely different situation.

’With Hua Zi dead, there’s no way to prove it.

’As long as Li Fusen stubbornly refuses to confess, it’s a case with no witnesses.

’That means Li Fusen will escape punishment.

’It’s one thing not to know, but knowing the truth and having to let him get away with it... it’s unbearable.’

Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Zhang Hancheng said, "If you have any ideas, let’s hear them."

The others exchanged glances. Gao Kun was the first to speak, crossing his arms. "In similar cases I’ve handled before, it’s rare for a suspect to keep their composure once they’ve lost emotional control."

In that moment, their emotions erupt, they can’t control it, and they just vent, letting out everything they’ve hidden.

"Xiaoshen did a great job, but I could feel that even at the peak of his emotional breakdown, Li Fusen held back. Something is stopping him from confessing."

Zhang Hancheng nodded in agreement. He’d felt it too.

’His defenses were clearly broken and his emotions were out of control, yet he managed to hold back. It’s strange.’

At that moment, Yang Zeran said, "Zhang Zhi, I think it might be shame."

As everyone turned to look at him, Yang Zeran, for some reason, was reminded of the time his own public persona had collapsed.

Yang Zeran continued, "I think we should analyze Li Fusen’s psychology."

"Assuming all our theories are correct, then his motive for premeditating the murder of Lin Zenghui was, in fact, shame."

"He was afraid of his secret being discovered. The same thing happened today; once he suspected Shen Xin might know his secret, he immediately decided to murder him, all within the span of a single day."

"So in his mind, these things are absolute taboos. If there’s any chance of them being exposed, he’ll go to any length to cover them up."

Shen Xin nodded thoughtfully.

’That’s right. Before Li Fusen suggested cleaning the pool, I had no idea he intended to kill me.’

Yang Zeran went on, "It’s a common belief in criminal psychology that a suspect’s every action is related to their psyche and their upbringing."

"Li Fusen grew up in a single-parent household. His mother is in his hometown of Peng An, but I checked his phone—the last time he called her was half a year ago. He didn’t even call during the New Year."

"What’s more, the Oceanarium is open during the New Year, and he always volunteered for the shift. He never went back to his hometown."

"Deliberately staying away from his family during a time of reunion feels like he’s intentionally punishing his mother."

"So there must be something we don’t know about his family of origin that caused him to deliberately distance himself from them."

"And it must have led to a warped view of romantic relationships. He’s already thirty-four, but his colleagues say he’s never been in a relationship."

"His income is decent, and you couldn’t say he’s ugly. It’s not like he’d be unable to find a girlfriend."

"He has several dating apps on his phone, so I think he actually longs for a relationship."

"But there’s likely some psychological issue that prevents him from being in a normal relationship."

"That’s why he developed feelings for Hua Zi. It’s like Shen Xin said: in Hua Zi’s eyes, there was only him, which made him feel that this was the purest form of affection."

"But he was also well aware that it was a deviant form of affection, which is why he’s so resistant to anyone finding out."

"When Lin Zenghui found out by accident, he chose to murder him. And afterward, he deliberately distanced himself from Hua Zi, which led to Hua Zi’s suicide as well."

"Zhang Zhi, I think it’s crucial that we do a deep dive into Li Fusen’s background. See if we can find a new breakthrough."

Shen Xin nodded silently, then gave Yang Zeran a thumbs-up.

’As expected of a top student from the Public Security University. That analysis was both deep and easy to follow; the guy really has substance.’