Chapter 588 - 489: Route

Chapter 588: Chapter 489: Route

The beginning is always the hardest part.

But for any criminal case, the period immediately following the crime is often the most critical.

Especially for a crime of passion.

The suspect’s mind is in chaos after the murder. They need time to calm down.

Once calm, the suspect starts thinking about what they did wrong, what evidence they might have left behind, and how to cover their tracks.

They’ll also figure out how to hide and how to handle police questioning.

Or even just run for it.

All of these actions make the case harder to solve.

So, defining the nature of the case from the start is very important.

Was it a home invasion robbery, a random killing, a revenge killing, or a crime of passion?

Each possibility requires a different investigative focus.

This is where an experienced leader is needed to make the call, to consolidate the limited manpower and resources, and to focus them like a fist striking a single point.

That was exactly what Zhang Hancheng was doing now.

He set the direction, while Liu Baoqing and his team were responsible for the specific investigation.

Then, the group went downstairs to the second crime scene: the security room.

The elevator descended.

Zhang Hancheng, who was at the front, suddenly turned his head. "Shen Xin, you brought the K-9s, right? The first scene is a total wreck. Think they can still track anything?"

Everyone turned their heads in unison to look at Shen Xin.

They had brought Odin and Frigga with them.

In fact, this was part of the reason Zhang Hancheng had wanted Shen Xin on the case.

The K-9s had played a crucial role in the reservoir double homicide case.

Now, only a few hours had passed since the crime.

Shen Xin thought for a moment. "Zhang Zhi, with the first scene burned to a crisp, I’d say it’s a long shot. But the second scene... I think we might be able to give that a try."

Zhang Hancheng nodded. The answer was what he’d expected.

They exited the elevator and headed for the security room.

Zhao Tianxing, who was following behind, nudged Shen Xin and said in a low voice, "Lao Yang said he’s coming over."

When Yang Zeran got to work and found everyone gone, he learned about the case in the New District.

Shen Xin glanced at Zhang Hancheng up ahead and nodded.

’Let him come. He’s not working a case right now, and he can help.’

’Most importantly, he could offer some ideas.’

’Yang Zeran was a top student, after all. He was capable.’

"Right, tell him to bring Celestial Skill," Shen Xin added.

’It wasn’t that he doubted the abilities of Odin and his mate.’

’They were scent hounds, after all.’

’It had been a while since he’d seen them, so their affection for him had probably waned a bit.’

’But that didn’t really matter. The effect of his talent was still there; it didn’t fade just because their affection level dropped.’

’The reason he wanted Celestial Skill to come was because she had now entered the third stage, which meant he could understand her intentions better.’

As they spoke, the group arrived at the security room.

It was located in Area B, next to the west gate, in a small room behind the ground-floor shops.

A small path led through a greenbelt to a little door. You pushed it open, and you were there.

It was now cordoned off with police tape.

Zhang Hancheng stopped and surveyed the surroundings.

At the entrance of the small path, there was a lamppost, and on the lamppost was a camera, pointing at the road coming from Building 4 on the left.

The main gate exit on the left also had a camera pointing this way.

But since the perpetrator had intentionally stolen the DVR, there was no point in speculating about their approach.

This place was small, so the on-site investigation was already finished.

No useful physical evidence had been collected, either outside or inside. No footprints, either.

No unusual fingerprints were lifted from the doorknob or from the equipment and cabinet near the DVR.

Someone who thought to steal the DVR would certainly have been careful not to leave fingerprints.

The only trace left was that the suspect had entered this room and might have left a scent.

Odin and Frigga were led over.

At Shen Xin’s direction, Odin repeatedly sniffed the cabinet handle and the equipment inside.

"Is his scent here?" Shen Xin asked, pointing to a young security guard behind him. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

He was the one guarding the security room last night, all alone.

During his shift, two other night-shift guards had come in one after another; they were also called over.

Odin turned his head and sniffed at him.

The guard’s body went stiff, not daring to move an inch.

Odin let out two barks.

’No.’

The young security guard hurriedly asked what that meant.

Shen Xin told him to be quiet and pointed to the next person, asking Odin if he could smell their scent.

’It would be normal if there wasn’t.’

’They probably wouldn’t open the cabinet unless the equipment was malfunctioning.’

Odin and Frigga took turns, sniffing and eliminating each guard one by one.

Frigga even misinterpreted Shen Xin’s command, mistaking a lingering scent in the air for someone having approached the cabinet.

"Then besides them, are there any other scents?" Shen Xin asked, pointing at the three guards.

"I’m talking about the freshest scent."

’First, rule out the scents of everyone else present. Then, it has to be fresh.’

’The scent that’s left will most likely be the suspect’s.’

Odin went up to the cabinet again, sniffed hard, hesitated, and barked once.

One bark for yes, two for no.

Shen Xin’s eyes lit up, and he looked towards Frigga.

His mate’s ability was just as sharp. She sniffed for a moment and also gave a single bark.

"Zhang Zhi, there’s a scent," Shen Xin said immediately.

Zhang Hancheng’s and Liu Baoqing’s eyes lit up.

Liu Baoqing, in particular, was thrilled.

’Last time, during the reservoir case, Shen Xin had pinpointed the suspect’s scent by eliminating everyone else’s. It always felt like he was using a cheat code.’

Shen Xin immediately took Odin’s leash and signaled him to start tracking.

The fire had been set at 1:37 AM, and the DVR was stolen sometime after that. It had only been about ten hours, so the trail was still trackable.

Noses to the ground, Odin and Frigga sniffed intensely. After a moment of circling, they left the security room and headed down the small path.

At the mouth of the path, they lingered for a while.

Odin went left, but Frigga went right.

The two dogs went in different directions.

Shen Xin immediately understood: one was the direction the suspect came from, and the other was the direction they left.

Shen Xin had Frigga stop and led Odin forward.

Odin led him toward the greenbelt in the central area across the way, stopping at a flowerbed.

Shen Xin looked left and right, then turned his head to look back.

From this position, one could clearly see the small path to the security room.

Shen Xin said, "Zhang Zhi, I think this must be where the suspect waited, watched the security room, and waited for the guard to come out."

Zhang Hancheng turned his head to look and nodded slightly.

Liu Baoqing immediately waved to the forensics team in the distance, telling them to come search here.

’If the suspect got bored while waiting, had a smoke, and tossed the butt into this flowerbed, that would be the perfect piece of evidence.’

Odin sniffed around the spot, then continued on, crossing the central greenbelt and heading towards Building 3 diagonally opposite.

That made it even clearer. This was the path the suspect took after setting the fire.

Odin continued to circle, and Shen Xin heard a jumble of thoughts from him: ’Where?’ ’This way...’

’It must be because of the fire,’ Shen Xin reasoned. ’A lot of residents were evacuated and gathered in this central greenbelt to watch.’

’All their scents are mixed up, making it harder for Odin to track.’

But slowly, Odin still crossed the greenbelt and reached Building 3.

Here, the trail broke again. He sniffed everywhere.

Shen Xin simply took him into Building 3 and had him continue tracking.

’The trail went cold outside, probably because a fire truck parked here. They must have set up a ladder, and the water spray washed the scent away.’

In the lobby, Odin sniffed for a good while before picking up the scent again. He stopped at Elevator 2 and barked a few times.

Then the route became clear. After setting the fire, the suspect hadn’t even taken the fire escape stairs. He had taken the elevator straight down, gone to the flowerbed to watch the security room, and waited for an opportunity to act.

Returning to the start, Shen Xin took Odin and Frigga to follow the other trail.

’To the right. This must be the direction the suspect fled.’

Coming out of the small path, the west gate is on the right, where one could exit directly.

But the suspect didn’t leave that way.

He still cut diagonally through the central greenbelt, heading straight for the pedestrian partition gate between Area A and Area B.

Shen Xin said, "Zhang Zhi, a DVR isn’t small. He probably had to carry it in his arms or in a bag."

"The suspect crossed the central area when the residents were already evacuated. Someone might have noticed him."

Without needing a reminder from Zhang Hancheng, Liu Baoqing, who was following, immediately took out his phone and sent a message, telling everyone to specifically ask about this during their interviews.

As expected, the suspect left through the partition gate.

It’s a pity there was no surveillance, otherwise, they could have identified him in minutes.

Outside this gate, to the right, was a row of low, two-story commercial buildings. In the middle was a street, and across the street was Building 1.

This row of low commercial buildings served as a dividing strip between Area A and Area B.

After going through the gate, Odin and his companion didn’t track quickly. They sniffed all over, circled for a bit, and went straight to the right.

After slowly advancing for about fifty meters, they unexpectedly turned back.

The street in the middle was quite wide. There were skywalks between the second floors, staircases leading up, and flowerbeds in the middle that divided the path.

This meant that after leaving the gate, the suspect first turned right, walked less than halfway down this pedestrian street, and then turned back from the opposite side.

He returned to the partition gate, continued forward to the southeast corner, and turned right.

This area was basically an exit, a small plaza.

"Why would he take such a detour?" Liu Baoqing, who was following, asked in confusion.

Zhang Hancheng was silent, his expression equally puzzled.

After coming through the partition gate, if he wanted to leave, he could have just turned left toward the small plaza. There was no need to walk to the right only to turn back around.

Shen Xin also noticed this, and he was just as confused.

’After committing murder, the longer you stay at the scene, the greater the risk.’

’After stealing the DVR, he could have left directly. There was no need for a detour.’

Putting the thought aside for now, he led Odin onward.

Passing through the corner, they arrived at the small plaza, and Odin led Shen Xin to the right.

This side was basically the ground-floor shops of Building 1 facing the road.

Not far ahead, Odin and his partner finally stopped at the open-air parking lot opposite the ground-floor shops.

They sniffed everywhere, but the trail never picked up again.

Shen Xin immediately understood: the person had probably gotten into a car and left.

Or used another form of transportation, like an electric scooter.

The open-air parking lot and the pedestrian walkway of Ze’an Road were separated only by a flowerbed. The walkway was filled with parked electric scooters; it was entirely possible the suspect hopped on one and left directly.

Zhang Hancheng stopped and looked around.

Liu Baoqing was also looking around. He pushed a subordinate next to him and pointed at the ground-floor shops opposite them, telling him to go check for surveillance cameras.

The public surveillance cameras here, along with the one at the entrance to the west open-air parking lot, all belonged to property management. Now they were all effectively gone.

They could only see if the ground-floor shops had installed their own cameras that also happened to be aimed this way.

But Shen Xin figured it was a long shot.

’The public areas already had cameras with full coverage,’ Shen Xin thought. ’If the shops were going to install their own, they’d put them inside, not outside. The chances are slim.’