I Solve Perfect Crimes by Questioning Animals

I'm a half-baked forensic examiner whose only redeeming quality is the ability to understand animals. The crime scene is inside a lavish villa. The lady of the house lies dead on the floor with a blunt-force injury to the back of her head so deep that her bone is visible. The safe has been pried open, and a million dollars in cash has vanished without a trace. Clear shoe prints mark the backyard wall, evidence that someone has climbed over it. "This one's clear as day. This is a textbook robbery-homicide. The suspect is likely a young male, around six feet tall, has a prior theft record, and knows how to cover his tracks. Check the surveillance footage in the area and look into places where he might've moved the stolen cash." The director of the forensic science center, Egbert Woodward, has been in the profession for three decades and is a widely respected authority. The officers at the scene nod in unison and begin taking notes. I'm the only one who stares at the 30 flies circling the ceiling for a full 3 minutes before taking a step forward and piping up, "Dr. Woodward, this isn't a robbery-homicide. It's a crime of passion. The murderer is the victim's husband!" Chapter 1 As soon as the words left my mouth, the entire living room fell into a deathly silence. One of the flies buzzed around twice before landing on the chandelier, grumbling to itself. "That's right. The master of the house did it. The murder weapon's the dumbbell he uses for workouts. After killing the victim, he dumped it in the garbage shed behind the house. "He merely ransacked the safe for show. You humans always label us flies and mosquitoes as pests, but we'd never do something this brutal to our own kind. "Lions and tigers have nothing on you. Humans are the most terrifying creatures in this world!" Naturally, Egbert Woodward, the director of the Forensic Science Center, couldn't hear the fly's musings. He whipped his head around, his temper instantly flaring. "Watch your mouth! You're just an intern. What gives you the right to run your mouth here? You seriously don't know your place, do you? Zip it! One more word, and you can pack your bags and get the hell out of here!" He was the cornerstone of the Forensic Science Center, a man whose judgment was regarded as infallible. The forensic examiners and crime scene investigators around him immediately chimed in. "Cut it out, Charlotte. How could Dr. Woodward's judgment possibly be wrong? This is definitely a robbery gone wrong!" "Young'uns will do anything to make a name for themselves these days, even if it means throwing away their principles. Is this really necessary?" "Do you have any idea how much trouble you'll cause by suspecting the victim's family without any evidence?" Not a single soul believed me. I tightened my grip on the forceps in my hand. There was no way I could reveal my secret that I could hear flies' inner thoughts. If I actually came clean, they would only have me committed to a mental asylum. I had no choice but to rely on professional reasoning. "We're all professional investigators here. Historically speaking, in any spousal homicide case, the partner is always the prime suspect. Therefore, my suspicion is entirely justified." "Your suspicion is justified?" Dr. Woodward scoffed, his voice dripping with utter contempt. "You're just a green young lady who's read a couple of textbooks, and now you think you can teach me how to do my job? Anyone in the world could kill their wife, but Mr. Cox is the last person who would ever do such a thing!" Several police officers who were standing nearby chimed in as well. "Mr. Cox is widely recognized as a model husband. Everyone knows he and his wife had a blissful marriage. Every time they appeared in public, they were always hand in hand. "Mr. Cox doesn't even have a single female employee around him. The man's a longtime philanthropist who gives back to the community. How could someone like him possibly kill his wife? "Besides, he's so devastated that he had to be rushed to the hospital. Your accusation is not only hurtful, but it's also completely unfounded!" Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the villa's entrance. William Cox stumbled in, dressed in a hospital gown. The puncture mark from his IV drip was still visible on his wrist, and his face was ghastly pale. He threw himself beside the corpse of his wife, Helen Watson, pounding his chest and wailing, "Honey, you died such a horrible death! I'll definitely track down the killer and make them pay for what they did to you! Now that you're gone… I don't want to live either!" The people around him immediately stepped forward to comfort him. "Mr. Cox, I'm so sorry for your loss, but you have to stay strong and take care of yourself." "Don't worry. We won't rest until we bring the killer to justice!" At that moment, Helen's golden retriever slipped past the police cordon. It nuzzled against my leg and barked twice. I heard its thoughts loud and clear. "This drama king is putting on another performance again! Their love story's pure fiction. That old geezer's a gold digger who married into the family and wanted the family estate all to himself. "He's Prince Charming in public, but he's been keeping a mistress on the side for ages. Last night, Helen discovered the text messages he sent to his mistress, and she wanted a divorce. She wanted him to leave with nothing to his name, so he killed her. "Before she kicked the bucket, she managed to scratch him up pretty good." The golden retriever sighed. "What's the point of getting married anyway? Only a single pringle like me won't get hurt…" My heart missed a beat. I took a step forward and placed my hand on William's shoulder. "Please dry your tears, Mr. Cox. We're going to need you to cooperate with us so we can collect a DNA sample from you." Chapter 2 William's wailing ground to a sudden halt. He looked up at me in sheer astonishment. "What… What's the meaning of this?" "I have reason to believe you are involved in this case." My tone was calm, my gaze unwavering. In a heartbeat, his expression changed drastically. He sprang to his feet, pointing a finger at me and bellowing, "You're talking out of your ass! Is this what you police do when you can't crack a case? You pin the blame on the victim's family? I'm going to lodge a complaint against you! I'll sue you for defamation!" Dr. Woodward was livid as well. He took a step forward, planting himself between me and William. "Get the hell out of here right now, Charlotte Clive! I'll write a report stating that you made baseless accusations, disrespected the dead, lacked discipline, and are unfit to be a forensic examiner! In fact, you can forget about becoming a permanent employee for the rest of your life!" The whispers around me reached a fever pitch. Several people urged me to apologize, while others criticized me for being immature and insensible. I took a deep breath and stood my ground. As a forensic examiner, my duty was to speak for the dead. I couldn't let the real killer get away scot-free. The golden retriever had said that the couple got into a heated argument before the murder. Helen even scratched William several times. According to Locard's Exchange Principle, every contact left a trace. Helen had long fingernails. During the fight, she must have scraped off William's epithelial tissue! I crouched down and carefully used my forceps to pick up Helen's right middle finger. Beneath her fingernails, hidden among the bloodstains, was a minute fleck of epithelial tissue. "Look here, everyone!" Holding up my forceps, I raised my voice. "There's fresh epithelial tissue under the victim's fingernail. It's highly likely that it was left behind by the killer. Running a DNA comparison will only take two hours. "Mr. Cox, if you're innocent, a simple swab will exonerate you. What exactly are you afraid of?" William instantly blanched. His lips quivered as he backed away. "No way! I refuse to be subjected to this humiliation!" Having worked cases for years, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Department, Conan Truman, saw right through William's guilty conscience. "Mr. Cox, all citizens are obligated to cooperate with the investigation. Please don't give us a hard time." Realizing he couldn't avoid it, William spun around and attempted to flee. The golden retriever beside us lunged forward, clamping its teeth firmly onto his pant leg. "Let go, you stupid dog!" William yelped. I could hear the golden retriever's voice in my head. "You're worse than a dog. Dogs are loyal, whereas you're nothing but an ungrateful wretch! I'll avenge Helen! If it weren't for this amazing forensic examiner, you'd be walking free right now!" The police officers swarmed forward, tackling William to the ground. Even as he wriggled under their weight, he kept howling, "We just had an argument! I only pushed her; I didn't kill her!" Dr. Woodward's expression hardened. "There's no murder weapon and no stolen goods. Even if you found his skin tissue, you can't convict him. He could have left it behind from daily contact. This doesn't prove anything." Recalling the fly's words, I turned on my heel and headed to the backyard. "He might've dumped the murder weapon in the garbage shed. Follow me." Everyone followed me over, though they were still skeptical. Sure enough, buried at the very bottom of the dumpster, we found a bloodstained dumbbell. William was still trying to talk his way out of it. "The killer used my dumbbell to commit the crime! It has nothing to do with me!" I let out a derisive chuckle. "We'll know who did it once we check how many sets of fingerprints are on it." William was at a loss for words, breaking out into a cold sweat. On the way back to the living room, when we passed through the garden, I noticed a patch of soil that looked exceptionally fresh. I lowered my head and asked the earthworm poking through the dirt, "What's going on with this pit?" The earthworm grumbled, "The man dug it in the middle of the night. He buried a ton of cash inside and even dropped his glasses." I straightened up and pointed at the freshly overturned soil. "Excavate this area." A few minutes later, the missing cash was found neatly stacked inside the pit. Right beside it was a custom-made pair of glasses engraved with William's name. It was glaringly obvious now—there had never been a robbery in the first place. Realizing his game was up, William jabbed his finger in my face and roared, "You monster, you ruined everything!" He then threw his head back and cackled. "So what if I killed her?! Every single day, she emasculated me, calling me a freeloader! She wanted me to leave with nothing to my name. She had it coming. I did nothing wrong!" Chapter 3 William was formally detained at the scene. The evidence against him was ironclad. The spousal homicide case was officially declared solved within a single hour. I honestly thought that after making such a great contribution, I would be able to smoothly transition into a permanent position. To my horror, the moment I arrived at the Forensic Science Center on Monday morning, I was greeted by a disciplinary notice. It was pinned right in the most prominent spot on the bulletin board. "Intern Charlotte Clive is hereby reprimanded for serious violations of investigative procedure during the Cox Villa homicide case. "By prematurely drawing conclusions about the nature of the case and offering professional opinions without authorization, she severely disrupted the investigation process. Even though the case was ultimately solved, her conduct was highly unprofessional and reckless. "She's hereby issued a formal disciplinary warning, removed from frontline forensic examination duties, and temporarily reassigned to the logistics department to perform sanitation and cleaning duties. Lastly, she's required to submit a comprehensive written statement of her misconduct." Clutching the disciplinary notice, I stormed into Dr. Woodward's office and slammed it down on his desk. "What exactly did I do wrong, Dr. Woodward? The case has been solved, and the real culprit's behind bars. Why am I being punished?" Leaning back in his chair, Dr. Woodward looked at me coldly. "Why? Because you have zero respect for your superiors and tried to play the hero. This time, you got lucky. But what about next time? "The field of forensics relies on a rigorous chain of evidence, not blind luck or your intuition! You've set a bad example for the entire center. Quite frankly, disciplinary action is already a lenient punishment." "I didn't rely on intuition! I made my judgment based on evidence and logic!" "Oh?" he scoffed. "You claimed the murder weapon was in the garbage shed and the stolen cash was in the garden. What led you to that conclusion? Up until this point, you still haven't been able to explain your thought process. If that wasn't a wild guess, then what was?" I was at a loss for words. There was no way I could tell him that I had heard it from a fly and an earthworm. "So, you're defying a direct order?" Dr. Woodward's expression darkened further when he noticed that I was still unwilling to admit my mistake. "In that case, you can handle the janitorial work here indefinitely. The toilets and hallways are all yours to clean. Come find me when you've finally come to your senses!" I gritted my teeth, turned around, and left. "I'm not at fault. I will never admit otherwise, and I won't write that reflection!" … For the following two weeks, I spent every single day wielding a mop, sweeping hallways, and scrubbing toilets. Not only was I unable to get involved in any cases, but I couldn't even get close to the door of the autopsy room. A few of my colleagues pitied me, while the others took pleasure in my misfortune. "Young people who are too arrogant are bound to get burned." "Does she really think she'll get away with going against Dr. Woodward?" … One day, while I was mopping the toilet floor, a commotion broke out in the hallway outside. Several forensic examiners hurried past, muttering among themselves. "It's too brutal. The victim was dismembered, and her body parts were scattered everywhere. And they still haven't found the head." "The higher-ups have given us seven days to crack the case. Dr. Woodward is breathing down everyone's necks, calling us all incompetent dead weight." My heart skipped a beat. A serial dismemberment case had occurred in the city. The victim was dismembered, with her body parts bagged in black plastic and ditched all over various locations on the outskirts of the city. The police only managed to recover her limbs and parts of her torso. The most crucial piece—her head—was still nowhere to be found, making it impossible to even find out who the victim was. Public opinion surrounding the case was intensifying, and fear was spreading throughout society. There was immense pressure on the Forensic Science Center. I tossed aside my mop, turned around, and walked toward the conference room. This was my chance. … The atmosphere in the conference room was suffocating. Dr. Woodward slammed the autopsy report onto the table, his face as black as thunder. "It's been three days, and you haven't even identified the victim! What the hell am I even paying you people for?" The forensic examiners below lowered their heads. No one dared to make a sound. The victim's body parts were scattered across different locations. There were no witnesses, no surveillance footage, and simply no way to begin the investigation. When I knocked on the door and walked in, all eyes instantly turned toward me. Dr. Woodward frowned when he glanced at me. "What are you doing here? Have you finished cleaning the toilets?" he demanded. "Dr. Woodward, I can help with the dismemberment case," I responded calmly yet resolutely, standing in the doorway. "You can help?" Dr. Woodward looked as though he had just heard the biggest joke in the world. He leaned back against his chair and sneered. "Why don't you just focus on cleaning your toilets? Criminal investigations aren't a place for your wild guesses. Now get out. Stop wasting our time!" "I'm not making wild guesses." I took two steps forward. "I'll stake my career on this. Give me seven days. I'll identify the victim and locate the rest of her remains. "If I pull it off, you'll apologize to me in public, clear my record, and stop targeting me. If I fail, I'll resign and never set foot in the forensic field again for the rest of my life." The conference room erupted into an uproar. Dr. Woodward stared at me for several seconds before slamming his fist on the table. "Fine, you've got a deal! But let me make one thing crystal clear—none of your colleagues are allowed to help you. You can access the evidence and case files, but I won't assign a single person to assist you. Let's see what you've really got!" "Deal!" … After leaving the conference room, I went straight to the first site the victim's body part was found. It was underneath an abandoned bridge. Several rats were surrounding a garbage bag, gnawing on whatever was left behind. Cockroaches crawled in and out of the cracks in the stones, and mosquitoes buzzed around in circles. I crouched down and asked quietly, "Have you seen the person who threw the bag? Where did they throw the remaining body parts?" A cockroach flicked its feelers. "I don't know. We only hang around this area." A mosquito buzzed near my ear. "I'm nearsighted. I couldn't see what the person looked like." Only the leader of the group, a large gray rat, remained perched on a stone. It glanced at me and drawled, "If you want answers, you're going to have to pay up. Bring us ten pounds of fatty meat. Not an ounce less, or you get squat!" I jeered. These creatures actually dared to bargain with me? I didn't waste my breath on it. I spun on my heel and caught a ride back to my hometown. I placed Flora, the large tabby cat my family raised, into a carrier. Flora was an expert at catching rats. Every rat within several miles was terrified of her. That afternoon, I headed back to the first site with the cat carrier. The moment I set it on the ground, Flora let out a loud mewl from behind the mesh. The rats that had been arrogant earlier that day instantly began trembling in fear. In the blink of an eye, all of them scurried out and collapsed onto the ground, begging for mercy. "Don't let your cat out. Don't use your ultimate move! We'll come clean. We'll tell you everything!"