Chapter 15: The Case of the Headless Woman (3)

But Xiao Man was only a little over four years old. If this case was connected to her, how could she possibly bear such a cruel reality?

None of the detectives in their team could bring themselves to say such words to Xiao Man.

Lin Nan thought this over and finally spoke up, “Captain Zhou, what do you think?”

Zhou Lin was usually rational, but at that moment, the cigarette butt burned his finger, the skin scorched, yet he didn’t even notice the pain.

Lin Nan thought he had lost connection and called out again, “Captain Zhou…”

Suddenly, Zhou Lin snapped back to reality, not realizing when Xiao Man had already appeared at the door.

Xiao Man ran in happily, “Daddy, breakfast is ready!”

Hearing the little girl’s voice, Lin Nan felt she couldn’t bear to say it, so how could Zhou Lin?

“I’m sorry, Captain Zhou…”

“I’ll head back to the station shortly.”

Zhou Lin hung up the phone, grabbed his coat, and took Xiao Man’s hand as they went downstairs. She had just been playing with Blade, and her little hands were warm.

The old man and old lady had already finished breakfast. Nearing the New Year, the old man was busy preparing for work at the company, and the old lady was instructing the housekeeper to prepare for the holidays.

Father and daughter shared shrimp dumplings for breakfast. As Zhou Lin was about to leave, Xiao Man carried his briefcase and said, “Daddy, I want to go to the police station with you…”

“Daddy will be very busy today and won’t have time to take care of you,” Zhou Lin replied, hoping to solve the case before the Spring Festival.

“I can take care of myself,” the little girl’s eyes lit up. “Also, I want to do a DNA test with the headless female corpse, to see if it matches.”

Zhou Lin was deeply shaken. The words he couldn’t say were clearly understood by the little girl.

“Of course, it would be best if it’s not Mom! But if it really is Mom…” Xiao Man choked up as she spoke. She would be heartbroken, yet she could not avoid facing such a question.

Zhou Lin could not utter a single word. He lifted her into the back seat of the jeep. Blade also came running over.

The dog barked twice: “I want to go too!”

Zhou Lin glanced at him, “What are you going to do?”

Blade: “Keep company for Man.”

Zhou Lin didn’t understand. He looked at Xiao Man, who wiped away her tears and smiled, “Daddy, Blade says he’ll stay with me.”

He opened the car door, “Get in!”

Blade leapt up and sat beside Xiao Man.

Zhou Lin drove to the police station. Before he got out of the car, he saw Tang Zheng leaving accompanied by a lawyer.

Tang Zheng had been detained for ten days on suspicion of child abuse and was now released.

The lawyer also brought some bad news: the Kelly Biomedical Research Center was under investigation, and the case involved a homicide.

“Mr. Tang, rest assured, whether it’s the legal representative or the organization of Kelly Biomedical, the police won’t be able to link this to you,” the lawyer said.

Tang Zheng nodded, not wanting to be caught again.

It was the first time in his life he had been arrested—and it was because of that little monster, Tang Xiao Man!

She was truly a little curse, staining his life forever.

Just as Tang Zheng was about to get into his Mercedes, he saw Zhou Lin getting out of his car.

Though he hated Zhou Lin in his heart, he put on a smile. A sly businessman always hides a dagger beneath his smile.

“Captain Zhou, hello! I reflected on my mistakes during those ten days in detention. Thanks to you, Captain Zhou. Let me treat you to a meal sometime!”

“Saving the meal is fine. Just behave from now on, obey the law, and don’t cross the line!” Zhou Lin said sternly, his words sharp, his gaze like a knife aiming to dissect the man before him.

“Of course,” Tang Zheng immediately nodded.

The lawyer greeted Zhou Lin as well, “Captain Zhou, good morning!”

Zhou Lin gave a slight nod in response.

As Tang Zheng was about to speak, the jeep’s window slid down, and Blade’s large head popped out, barking fiercely at him!

This villain had abused Man, and Blade hated him fiercely.

Xiao Man also saw Tang Zheng from inside the car but had no intention to acknowledge him.

She was shielded by Blade’s tall body, so Tang Zheng couldn’t see her from outside.

Blade’s furious barking startled Tang Zheng. Though he didn’t understand what the dog was saying, he could see from the retired police dog’s eyes that it wanted to tear him apart.

The lawyer immediately opened the door of the Mercedes, “Mr. Tang, get in!”

Tang Zheng sat in the back seat, pale-faced, looking at Zhou Lin, “Captain Zhou, do you allow your police dog to bark at innocent citizens?”

Zhou Lin reached out and patted Blade’s head, as if praising him, “My Blade likes to bite criminals.”

Tang Zheng was speechless. Zhou Lin’s taunt was hard to swallow.

The lawyer started the car, “Mr. Tang, the case files show that it was this retired police dog named ‘Blade’ who found Xiao Man in the cemetery. Should I…”

He made a snapping gesture with one hand while holding the steering wheel with the other.

Tang Zheng nodded. Without this dog, Tang Xiao Man would have been dead long ago, and he wouldn’t have been arrested for ten days.

After the Mercedes drove away, Xiao Man got out of the car and hugged Blade’s head. “Blade, don’t mind him!”

She knew Blade was protecting her, but some people were not worth paying attention to.

Blade barked: “He’s a bad father, worse than a pig or a dog!”

Xiao Man stood beside Zhou Lin. “I only have this one daddy!”

Zhou Lin held Xiao Man’s hand with one hand and the leash with the other as they entered the police station.

Early in the morning, several teams were busy, and the phones never stopped ringing.

People passing by all greeted Zhou Lin, “Captain Zhou, good morning!”

“Morning!” Zhou Lin nodded in acknowledgment.

Lin Nan was surprised to see Xiao Man there. Could it be that Zhou Lin had really told her?

“Xiao Man came on her own. Take her to get the sample,” Zhou Lin said, releasing her hand.

Lin Nan instantly felt deep respect for the little girl. After all, many children at that age understood nothing.

“Aunt Lin, let’s go!” Xiao Man had always known what she had to do.

“All right!” Lin Nan took her small hand.

After taking the sample, worried that the blood draw might hurt her, Lin Nan bought her some snacks.

Lin Nan was busy with work and took her to the conference room, advising, “You can play here for now. Come find me if you need anything.”

“All right, Aunt Lin, go ahead and work! Blade is here to keep me company!” Xiao Man had spotted Blade as soon as she entered.

Xiao Man opened her drawing book. Earlier, as she passed Lin Nan’s desk, she saw the photo on it—the headless female corpse.

She took out a pencil and began to draw.

The image showed the headless woman wearing a camel-colored coat and a gray wool skirt.

In her memory, her mother seemed to have clothes like that.

Although Xiao Man had come voluntarily, she was still afraid of the outcome…

She hadn’t slept well last night. As her thoughts ran wild, drowsiness slowly overtook her, and she fell asleep on the sofa.

When Zhou Lin finished his business outside and came back with the forensic report, he pushed open the conference room door and saw Xiao Man and Blade sleeping together.

Blade wrapped his furry body protectively around Xiao Man. Alert, he opened his eyes briefly, saw Zhou Lin, and then closed them again.

Zhou Lin crouched down, “Xiao Man, wake up, the report is out…”