A trail of tiny cat paw prints suddenly appeared on the corpse's skin. I dusted on some fine powder again and discovered another set of cat paw prints on the victim's right arm.
The discovery stunned everyone present. Luo Weiwei frowned, puzzled: "I'm pretty sure the victim didn't have a cat at home. Where could these paw prints have come from?"
"This might be the key to the whole case," I said, feeling a faint thread of intuition pulling at me.
"No way—a bunch of cat paw prints mean what exactly? It can't be that a cat committed the crime. Maybe it was just a neighbor's cat that wandered in by mistake," Luo Weiwei guessed.
I pointed at the paw prints. "Look closely. These prints are very clean."
"Cats are usually clean, right? I have one at home and it's always licking its paws," Luo said.
Then Huang Xiaotao suddenly understood. "I get it! The victim was covered in blood all over, but these paw prints show no blood at all."
I smiled slightly. "Finally, someone who gets it."
Luo Weiwei wasn't convinced. "Maybe the prints were left there earlier?"
...
I explained, "These prints were stepped on the body. That means the victim was already lying down when they were made—so they must have been left after death. My gut tells me these prints are deeply connected to the case."
Luo Weiwei still looked doubtful. I called out to the officers, "What are you standing around for? Come over and take photos!"
They nodded and hurried off to get their cameras.
After the autopsy, I took out some yellow paper, divided it into three piles, and burned them in a bronze basin. I recited a short prayer for each of the three victims, then swore, "I, Song Yang, in the name of my ancestor—the great judicial officer Song Ci—vow to seek justice for you. May you rest and be reborn soon!"
As soon as I finished speaking, the flames flickered wildly as if stirred by some unseen force responding to my oath. Luo Weiwei stared in shock.
Soon, the officers returned with their cameras and began photographing the paw prints for evidence. I called everyone together.
When we were all gathered, I told Huang Xiaotao, "Detective Huang, looks like I'm taking the lead here!"
Huang Xiaotao blinked, then smiled. "Go ahead and give the orders. I'm not the boss this time—we're all here to assist you."
I had the paw print photos printed for everyone and sent the team out to canvass the area—checking if any nearby households kept cats or if wild cats had been seen—to compare the prints.
Honestly, I wasn't too optimistic about this lead. But since we had so many officers, why not use them? Investigations are like combing hair—you have to sift through carefully to find the real clues.
After assigning the tasks, I asked one officer, "Where's Bai Yidao?"
"Brother Bai went home."
"That guy's gutsy! Tell him to come back immediately, or he's out of this task force," I snapped angrily.
The officer said he'd call Bai Yidao right away. I told everyone to disperse.
Huang Xiaotao laughed, "You've got quite the official demeanor, Song Yang."
"Never seen a pig run before? Haven't eaten pork?" I replied.
"What? Are you calling me a pig?" Huang Xiaotao teased, raising a pink fist threateningly.
"No no, I take it back!" I waved my hands.
I covered the body with a white sheet and told Luo Weiwei, "Take us to the evidence room, please."
"Sure, follow me." Luo nodded.
Leaving the cold morgue felt like stepping from the Arctic into the tropics. Huang Xiaotao pulled off her coat, sighing, "Wow, it was freezing in there. Being a forensic pathologist is really tough."
"Yeah, working year-round in those conditions causes many pathologists to suffer arthritis and rheumatism," Luo explained.
I thought to myself, that was actually better than in ancient times. Without refrigeration, bodies were kept in cold cellars or dark rooms but still decomposed quickly. In hot weather, forensic doctors had to wear full protective clothing, sweating profusely while working in stinking rooms full of flies. Many ancient forensic examiners caught lung and skin diseases from exposure to corpse gases—it was hellish.
We arrived at the evidence room, where Luo Weiwei greeted the elderly custodian, and we entered. Huang Xiaotao looked puzzled, "Is the management here a bit lax? Such an important place and anyone can just walk in? No ID checks?"
Luo Weiwei replied, "We're all insiders. No one here would steal evidence."
"That's not guaranteed," Huang Xiaotao said. "Better to report this to the chief. Losing evidence causes huge problems."
Luo Weiwei shrugged. "Got it."
The evidence room was spacious, lined with rows of iron shelves. The air was dry and well-ventilated. Luo found several evidence bags related to our case—sealed in transparent plastic with labels.
We examined them: the victims' personal items—phones, wallets, clothes—and some broken bowls and chopsticks.
I noticed some item numbers missing. Luo said, "Those are the murder weapons, sent to the forensic lab for analysis. If you want, I can take you there later."
"No need for now." I checked the victim's phone. The victim was a supplier, and in the three days since death, the missed calls and messages were overwhelming. I told Huang Xiaotao, "Let's take this phone. We'll have someone sift through it for any useful clues."
She pocketed it.
I asked Luo, "What about evidence from the case three months ago?"
"It's here," Luo nodded.
We inspected that shelf. The police only store evidence for 30 days, but since that whole family died and no one came to claim their belongings, the evidence stayed here. The Wuqiu police really don't mind the trouble—they even brought nearly everything from the victim's home, including a cute lucky cat statue. Evidence?
I checked the numbers—no missing items. I said to Luo, "Let's go back to the scene."
"Which case?" Luo asked.
"This one."
"The police have sealed off the scene. If you want to see it…" Luo suddenly blushed, probably recalling her earlier bet with me. "I'll drive you there for free."
Huang Xiaotao checked her watch. "It's 10 a.m. After this, lunch is on me at Binmanlou—roast duck!"
"You always keep your promises!" I said.
"Of course. I'm a woman of my word." Huang laughed, then noticed Wang Dali standing silently. "Hey Dali, how come you're so quiet when you hear 'roast duck'? Strange."
Wang Dali spoke in a muffled voice, "Yangzi, I think I caught a cold."
"You probably got frozen in the morgue. You should rest for a while," I said.
"Yeah, I'll find a hotel to nap. I'm sitting this one out…" Wang nodded.
Huang Xiaotao asked Luo, "Since we traveled so far, isn't there a place for us to rest?"
Luo said, "Let me check with the team leader."
We left the evidence room. After filling out a form for the item we took and with Luo carrying the keychain, she called the team leader.
Soon, Team Leader Liao arrived apologizing, "Sorry for the poor hospitality. The bureau director arranged nearby hotels for you. I'll take you there now."
Huang Xiaotao waved off the offer, "No thanks. We need to check the scene. You just take Wang Dali."
I told Huang to fetch the car while I accompanied Wang Dali and Liao. On the way, I bought cold medicine for him. Liao found a nice hotel and asked how many rooms we needed.
Since Wang Dali was sick and might run a fever, Huang Xiaotao and Wang Yuanchao couldn't share a room. I said three.
After checking in, I took Wang Dali upstairs, prepared hot water, and told him to rest.
He sighed, "Sorry for holding you back and needing your care."
"Don't be so formal. Hey, is your nose blocked?"
He nodded.
I gave him a Suhexiang pill to dissolve in his mouth. As soon as he did, he sat up suddenly, eyes wide, "Wow, Yangzi, what's this? It's so refreshing! My nose cleared instantly!"
I explained the medicine's background. Wang Dali kept praising it, "This pill's amazing! After graduation, we should start a business selling this. It'll make a fortune."
I thought, hey, that's not a bad idea!