Chapter 456: The Shooting Incident

On the morning of July 26, Chen Shi arrived at the police station. It had been a few days since the handgun mailing case, but the last silenced gun was still missing. The task force had temporarily disbanded, and the accumulated workload was overwhelming. The police, who had been working tirelessly, were envious of Chen Shi, who could wash his hands of the case as soon as it ended.

Chen Shi walked into Lin Qiupu’s office and asked, “Did you find out what I asked you to investigate?”

Lin Qiupu, who was on the phone, gestured for him to wait. He quickly ended the call and clasped his hands together, saying, “You’ve got quite the attitude now. Do you know how busy I’ve been these past few days?”

“Cut the crap. Did you check or not?”

“I did. Zhou Tiannan’s personal assets haven’t increased. Ji Xingyao is out of town, and the interrogation is being conducted by the local police there. I saw the fax from them this morning. She claims she didn’t know the ‘hired’ person’s background or appearance; the transaction took place in a dark alley.”

Chen Shi felt a wave of disappointment. He had expected this result. If Zhou Tiannan wasn’t cautious, he would have been exposed long ago.

It seemed that capturing him and his associates would be a long-term task.

As Chen Shi turned to leave, Lin Qiupu asked, “Where are you going?”

“Home to rest. These past few days have worn me out, physically and mentally.”

“Help me out a bit. While we were tracking the missing gun, a few murder cases occurred in the city. You’d definitely be interested.”

“No way. It’s too hot. Let me rest!”

As Chen Shi was about to leave, Lin Qiupu received another call. He suddenly stood up and shouted, “Hey, stop! There’s been a shooting!”

Chen Shi turned back in surprise. The last gun had appeared!?

Lin Qiupu, short on personnel, had Chen Shi, Lin Dongxue, Xu Xiaodong, and Peng Siyue head to the scene. The crime took place in an upscale residential area. That morning, an elderly man exercising saw a light on in one house. When he looked inside, he saw a man lying in a pool of blood. Panicking, he ran to the local police station, which then called it in.

When the criminal police arrived, the officers guarding the scene breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, they could hand over the case. Chen Shi asked, “Who’s the victim?”

“We checked his ID with the police database. His name is Song Yuwen, a 30-year-old local dentist. He seems to come from a well-off family…” The officer glanced around the house. “Young, living in such a big place, he must be doing well.”

Chen Shi pondered, “Can a dentist make enemies?”

The victim lay on the floor with three bloodstains on his body, his head facing the door. Peng Siyue examined the wounds with tweezers. The wounds were round and charred at the edges. “He was shot.”

“Three shots. If it were a regular gun, the noise would have alerted the neighbors. It must have had a silencer, probably that missing gun.”

“We’ll know for sure after examining the bullets.”

“Xiaodong, Dongxue, go interview the neighbors and gather information.”

The officers followed the instructions, leaving Chen Shi and Peng Siyue alone in the house. Chen Shi checked the victim’s pupils. “Time of death, about six hours ago?”

“Not quite.” Peng Siyue looked at the air conditioner remote. “The AC was set on a timer. It must have been on when he died, keeping the room at 20 degrees. Move the time of death back two to three hours.”

“So, around 11 PM.”

“We’ll need to check liver and rectal temperatures to confirm.”

“The owner setting the AC on a timer suggests he was preparing for bed. Given he’s in pajamas, the timing seems about right.” Chen Shi texted the estimated time of death to Lin Dongxue, asking her to check with the property management.

Chen Shi stood up and inspected the surroundings. Two cups on the table had cold tea. The victim, in pajamas and slippers, was shot by someone familiar, someone he’d let in late at night.

Could it have been a woman? He mused.

He turned on the TV with the remote. The last recorded viewing was around 11 PM. The victim was likely alive then. Someone came over, and he turned off the TV, which fit the timeline.

Opening the fridge, he found it mostly empty except for a delicate box containing a bouquet of pink roses.

“Look at this! Could the killer be a woman?” Chen Shi speculated.

Peng Siyue shook his head. “You’re jumping to conclusions. The flowers might not be related. They were probably being kept fresh for a few days.”

Chen Shi chuckled. “Just a thought. Any significant dates for flower-giving recently?”

They checked the calendar on his phone. In two days, it would be Qixi, the Chinese Valentine’s Day. Chen Shi considered getting a gift for Lin Dongxue.

Chen Shi gathered all the potentially valuable evidence from the house. In the kitchen, he found a bullet hole in the tile floor, the size matching a Makarov pistol. But the kitchen was spotless, far from the living room. The bullet hole puzzled him.

In the bathroom, he lifted the toilet lid to find a phone, shattered by a bullet. The killer must have placed the phone there, shot it, then thrown it into the toilet.

Chen Shi retrieved the phone, though it seemed beyond repair. To be thorough, he collected some toilet water to check if the killer had used it.

Peng Siyue found a set of high-heeled footprints, size 37, indicating the killer was likely a woman. Only the victim’s fingerprints were found on surfaces. Given the killer had a gun, leaving no prints was plausible.

After exchanging their findings, Chen Shi said, “The victim was reasonably attractive, a well-paid bachelor. It’s not unusual for a female acquaintance to visit him late. How did the killer get in?”

Peng Siyue immediately understood. “The doorbell!”

They collected fingerprints from the doorbell, finding a small fragment.

The killer used a silenced gun, obscuring much information. Chen Shi thought about the previous case. Zhou Tiannan’s targets were often deeply resentful.

He must have been sure the recipient would kill, hence the gun.

The motive had to be profound, not impulsive.

Xu Xiaodong and Lin Dongxue returned. Xu Xiaodong reported, “Neighbors said his parents run a dental clinic. This house was bought by his father when he started working. He also has a white BMW in the parking lot. Seems well-off.”

“What about his relationships?”

“Neighbors described him as gentle, unlikely to have enemies. He wasn’t dating, lived a routine life. That’s all they knew.”

Chen Shi turned to Lin Dongxue. “What about you?”

“Bad news. Last night’s surveillance footage was deleted.”

Chen Shi frowned, the mystery deepening.