"It is very likely left by the suspect. Take everything from the ground back and see if we can extract new fingerprints or the suspect's DNA from them."
When Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang arrived, Luo Fei's first glance caught the bones beside the fire pit, sparking his suspicion. He wanted to pick up the bones for a closer look but refrained from acting to avoid disrupting the crime scene.
Just as he was about to alert his colleagues in the detective team, he saw Yang Mei putting on gloves, squatting down, picking up a bone, and examining it closely with a frown before standing up and turning to Zhao Donglai. "Captain Zhao, these are dog bones."
"Dog bones?" Zhao Donglai's eyebrows knitted into a frown, giving rise to a suspicion in his mind.
"We've never seen the victim's dog before; could this be the victim's dog?" Zhou Weimin asked in shock.
"It's not impossible." Zhao Donglai nodded in agreement and then addressed everyone, "Let's carefully search the surrounding area. If these dog bones are indeed the victim's dog, the suspect must have killed and disposed of the dog nearby."
Upon hearing Zhao Donglai's words, everyone began to search the area again.
Luo Fei saw Yang Mei and a few of the detective team collecting cigarette butts and glanced at the gloomy and damp weather, feeling somewhat frustrated.
If it hadn't rained last night, Luo Fei was somewhat confident in tracking the suspect by scent from the cigarette butts, but unfortunately, the heavens didn't cooperate. It hadn't rained here in Ningjiang for a long time, yet it chose to rain last night.
Just last night, Luo Fei was in his bedroom reading a book while listening to the sound of rain outside the window, feeling joy for the suddenly timely rain. Now, however, he felt the rain couldn't have come at a worse time.
Because of this rain, the scent left behind in the air by the suspect had been completely washed away, making it impossible for Luo Fei to detect it.
Still holding a sliver of hope, Luo Fei walked over.
"Yang Mei, can I have a sniff?"
Approaching Yang Mei, Luo Fei asked. Being the only familiar face in the detective team, he had no choice but to approach Yang Mei.
Yang Mei glanced at Luo Fei, knowing his keen sense of smell and understanding his intention. She handed the plastic bag filled with cigarette butts to Luo Fei. "It rained last night; maybe tracing the suspect by scent is unlikely."
Luo Fei knew, but he had to try anyway.
Bringing the plastic bag containing cigarette butts close to his nose, Luo Fei took a deep breath.
Besides the strong smell of smoke, Luo Fei detected three different scents. This indicated they came from three individuals, suggesting there were at least three suspects.
"How was it?" Yang Mei asked Luo Fei, without much expectation.
"Three different scents; presumably, they belong to three people." Luo Fei said, handing the bag back to Yang Mei.
Yang Mei thought for a moment, "That means there are at least three suspects? Maybe even more."
"Most likely." Luo Fei nodded in response but with his brow deeply furrowed, unable to detect those three scents in the air.
"The air doesn't seem to have any scent left by the suspects, right?" Noticing Luo Fei's expression, Yang Mei asked.
"Yes," Luo Fei nodded, having anticipated this result, he wasn't overly disappointed.
Once Luo Fei confirmed there was no scent left by the suspects in the air, he rejoined the search team, expanding the search area gradually. Soon, two members of the detective team discovered a dog's pelt, internal organs, and head in a bush. With Tang Dayou affirming, these indeed belonged to Tang Youquan's dog.
Afterwards, neither the detective team nor the police station made any further useful discoveries.
At seven in the evening, it was completely dark outside, making it impossible to continue searching, forcing them to temporarily call off the search.
Luo Fei and the others returned to the police station by eight in the evening, all exhausted and sleepy.
The station's cafeteria had reserved some meals, but only a few ate there; most opted to eat at home.
Luo Fei chose to eat at home as well; having sampled the station's food a few times, he found it merely passable, not particularly tasty, and avoided dining there unless necessary.
Wu Yan had called Luo Fei at six, planning initially not to leave him a meal because he expected to be home late, but Wu Yan insisted on saving him some sweet and sour ribs she had cooked.
Upon Luo Fei's return home.
"Xiaoxiao, your brother is home. Serve him the dishes," Wu Yan, adjusting her bracelet, urged Luo Xiaoxiao who was watching TV.
Luo Xiaoxiao, lying on the sofa watching television, hopped up upon hearing Wu Yan's words, "Brother, I'll serve your meal. Mom made sweet and sour ribs tonight; it's really tasty."
"Hm," Luo Fei nodded with a smile.
Compared to Luo Hao's laziness, Luo Xiaoxiao was clearly more diligent and sensible, which resulted in Wu Yan favoring Luo Xiaoxiao for chores more often. Naturally, Luo Fei wouldn't indulge Luo Hao's laziness; he'd make him do things whenever he had the chance.
"Xiaofei, how did the search go today? Did you catch the killer?" Wu Yan asked gossipy, while still handling her bracelet, as Luo Fei was eating.
Luo Fei shared a few trivial details with Wu Yan. Luo Xiaoxiao and Luo Hao listened with keen interest beside him.
After finishing the meal, Luo Fei didn't wait for Wu Yan to say anything before telling Luo Hao to clean up the dishes and table. Wu Yan had already given up on ordering Luo Hao around due to his laziness, only Luo Fei could do it, or she could when Luo Fei was around.
Meanwhile, at the detective team, once everyone had finished their meal, team captain Zhao Donglai summoned the team for a meeting in the conference room.
Once everyone gathered, Zhao Donglai first requested a summary of the crime scene investigation findings.
Then came the case analysis.
The detective team members each shared their opinions, with most agreeing it was a random murder, mainly due to the fire pit and empty bottle of liquor found near the crime scene.
Speculations arose that the suspects were a few young individuals, who, after drinking, acted recklessly killing the victim under the influence of alcohol.
However, some detectives suspected that the fire pit, empty beer bottles, and cigarette butts were deliberately staged by the suspects, intended to mislead the police and disguise their true intentions.
They believed the victim had suffered cruel treatment before dying, hinting at an act of naked vengeance, suggesting the killers had significant grievance against the victim.