Bolly, Professor Lao's beloved "youngest son", always wore different children's vests every day, not to mention how pretentious it was.
Jian Jing remembered that yesterday morning, it had changed into a red and blue patchwork little outfit, and deliberately ran in front of the knight to show off. She was so angry that she immediately changed her own dog's vest into a suit vest.
And now, the gray fabric on the ground was the little outfit that Bolly had just put on.
She picked it up and shook it, and a silver ankle ring fell off.
This was also Bolly's, the surface was engraved with the name of the observation station, and the back was a phone number. At the same time, it contained a GPS positioning chip for the convenience of Professor Lao to find it.
Looking around, there was no trace of the monkey.
"It was taken away," Chen said.
Jian Jing carefully collected the evidence: "This is interesting. The perpetrator took Bolly away in advance. It seems that he knew it might ruin his plan. But he did not directly kill the monkey, why?"
Chen closed his mouth tightly, but his eyes revealed some confusion.
Jian Jing said, "Knight, look again and see if you can find that monkey."
The knight obediently lowered his head and sniffed around everywhere.
It seemed to have discovered something, but it was also very confused. After turning two circles, it returned with drooping ears unsuccessfully.
"It's okay, you did very well," Jian Jing took out some dried meat to feed it.
The knight immediately cheered up and lay down to gnaw on the dried meat.
"Chen, how long does it take for someone familiar with the road conditions to get from the hotel to this observation point?"
"50 minutes."
"Take me to see where you split up."
The place where the four split up was not far from Point 3, about 20 minutes. Someone walking fast could probably make it in 15 minutes.
"How many gunshots did you hear?"
Chen was very certain: "One."
"Professor Lao's gun was missing one bullet, but there were three bullet wounds on his body." She pondered, "But you only heard one gunshot."
Chen: "The other side had a silencer."
"That seems to be the only possibility for now," Jian Jing muttered to herself. "This was premeditated. But the guns at Point 3 and the ones left at the observatory both had 10 bullets, not one less."
To be honest, if Chen hadn't insisted there were no intruders, and the police had corroborated that as well, by all appearances this was the doing of malicious trespassers.
After painstakingly examining the scene, Jian Jing and the others returned along the path they took last night.
"Going up and down this path doesn't feel right," Jian Jing couldn't help but say after stubbing her toes for the nth time.
Chen said, "The GPS only has locations, no elevation, so we can only walk like this."
"..." She couldn't help but ask, "Then how long would it take to go directly back to the hotel?"
"30 minutes. For you, 45 minutes," Chen gave a definite reply.
Jian Jing held her waist, exhaled sullenly, "Fine."
She had chosen to retrace their route herself, now she'd have to see it through even if she had to crawl.
After spending two hours, they finally saw the tents of the hotel.
Kang President came over with pancakes and coconut juice to offer condolences: "How are things?"
Kang Mu Cheng said: "The monkey is gone."
"You didn't find the murderer?"
Jian Jing blinked: "To quote an old saying, the murderer is among us."
Kang President was worldly and unperturbed. He shrugged, "It seems there are things we don't know about." Then holding the coconut juice, he went about his business.
Jian Jing took off her sneakers and rubbed her toes while complaining, "The road was too hard to walk. I have to go soak my feet."
She jumped off the porch. While there was still daylight, she ran to the pond to soothe her toes.
The knight leapt down closely following her.
"Don't want pancakes anymore?" Kang Mu Cheng asked her.
She said, "Bring them down to me."
Kang Mu Cheng was dragged into the water.
It had to be said, the creek water was cool and refreshing. Soaking her feet that had been walking all day in the transparent water felt extremely comfortable. She happily wolfed down the pancakes, not forgetting to feed the dog half a piece.
Kang Mu Cheng gazed at her face and suddenly asked, "Do you really think the murderer is here among us?"
"Intuition," she replied indistinctly while chewing the sweet pancake. "If they were smugglers or poachers, and ran into Professor Lao at Point 3, their first reaction would definitely be to run away rather than kill, right? Their goal was to keep a low profile. A death would only attract police to search the mountain instead."
After swallowing the food, she continued, "Moreover, the observation station has been open for so long. They were familiar with the terrain. How could they not know there were people here?"
"Why would the murderer kill the professor?" he asked.
"I don't know," Jian Jing sucked on some coconut juice and dug out the coconut meat at the bottom with a straw. "There are a lot of things that don't make sense right now. I don't have a direction. I have to investigate more carefully."
Kang Mu Cheng sighed.
She was curious: "How come you're asking about this?" He'd never had any interest in cases before. Could it be because Kang President was involved, so the good son had to show more concern?
"I'm very worried," he said.
"Worried about what?"
"Like you said, if the murderer is one of the people here, he must hope that everyone believes the gunshot came from some unknown criminal. But you said no." Kang Mu Cheng gazed at the lush forest in the distance and said, "Aren't you afraid that someone who could kill one person could also kill a second?"
Jian Jing: "Are you afraid the murderer will sneak into my room in the middle of the night and shoot me in the head?"
Kang Mu Cheng retorted, "Is that not possible?"
"It's possible," she admitted, her gaze falling on the knight. "You reminded me, I have to prepare the knight's dinner myself, lest the perpetrator gets desperate and takes it out on my dog."
The knight shuddered and looked at its owner with dark round eyes.
Jian Jing couldn't help but chuckle as she pulled it into her arms, "Don't be scared, don't be scared. I'm here."
"Whine," the knight whimpered twice, resting its head on her arm, warm.
The sun had set.
The rainforest shed its verdant daytime appearance and took on a sinister nighttime mystery.
Mrs. Lao had no heart to cook, so dinner was just sandwiches and cold milk.
Jian Jing ate a few casual bites, fed some raw meat to the dog, and sent it back to guard her room while she went to find Fei Na. She said she had something to ask her.
Fei Na was very apologetic. "I said I'd take you to catch crocodiles, but I..." Her eyes brimmed red and she choked up, "I still can't believe he just left me like this... Good heavens... I really..."
Jian Jing patiently comforted her for a long time before slowly bringing up her intention.
"Could you chat with me about Cha Li Doctor?"
"Doctor Cha?" Fei Na didn't know why she was asking this. But right now, she was very willing to confide in someone about something, rather than closing her eyes and immediately envisioning her father's bloodied body. "I don't know much about him."
"Anything is fine. For example, how did you get to know each other?"
Fei Na answered, "He's Xiang Cao's friend. As you know, my dad has always worked here. When he gets busy, he won't leave the observation station for months. But Xiang Cao doesn't always stay here. She has her own work and has to go back to school and teach classes when she's not on vacation."
Jian Jing knew Mrs. Lao was a university professor. Her schedule was probably similar to China's, only able to go home during summer and winter breaks.
"I heard he used to work at a university too, but quit. Xiang Cao invited him to come stay with us for a while. It just so happened another guest got bitten by a snake then. He helped treat the wound, so Xiang Cao asked him if he was willing to come work part-time since we needed a doctor here."
"Why don't you just directly hire a doctor to be here full time? It's dangerous out in the wilderness, isn't it?"
"Too expensive. Maintaining the observation station takes a lot of funding," Fei Na explained. "To be honest, I thought it was a good idea, but my dad didn't like Cha Li."
Jian Jing was surprised. "Why?"
Fei Na said, "Male jealousy."
"Huh?"
"Because Xiang Cao was always praising how smart, modest and diligent Cha Li was." Fei Na shrugged. "You have to admit Doctor Cha is a charming man."
Jian Jing thought: He is charming, just a bit old.
"So your dad was jealous?" she asked.
"Xiang Cao spent more time with Cha Li than with my dad. They used to be colleagues. Who knows, maybe they chatted over coffee every day." Fei Na said, "But she would only be with us during vacations."
Jian Jing heard the calmness in her tone and couldn't help but be curious, "You don't seem angry at all."
"A few years ago, when Xiang Cao didn't have her university job yet, she stayed with us the whole time. Back then, she kept telling me my dad didn't care enough about her. He spent more time looking at rhinos and crocodiles every day than being with her."
Fei Na smiled: "Isn't it the same complaint? So I strongly support her fighting for a job at the university. Staying here is really too boring for her."
Pausing for a moment, she pretended to be lighthearted, "My boyfriend and I broke up like this too."
Jian Jing asked: "So how is their relationship now?"
"I think it's better than before. In the past, there were always a lot of complaints and many quarrels. But now, Xiang Cao won't get angry at her father for not accompanying her because of his work. Apart from Dr. Zha, they don't fight."
Fei Na was very empathetic.
Jian Jing liked her a bit more, but she still had to ask what she needed to: "To what extent was the conflict between your father and Dr. Zha?"
"It's like a competition between little boys," Fei Na said distressingly. "For example, if Xiang Cao prepares coffee for Dr. Zha, my dad must ask her to make a pizza for him - men are so childish, right?"
"Too right," Jian Jing laughed. "Well then, what does Dr. Zha think of your dad?"
Fei Na spread her hands: "Dr. Zha is a pure workaholic. I mean, he may not even know why my dad dislikes him. However, he also dislikes my dad."
"And why is that?"
"Xiang Cao got a rare overseas opportunity, but she gave it up," Fei Na said. "Dr. Zha was very angry, thinking that my dad hindered her development. So although he agreed to Xiang Cao's invitation, they rarely speak to each other."
Jian Jing nodded, understanding the troubles of middle-aged people.
"Tell me about Li Journalist."
"The journalist? He's just an ordinary person, very curious about everything here. In the past few days, he kept asking me to take him around to see everything, took a lot of photos, and asked a lot of questions - maybe he's an excellent journalist?"
There is always some subtle perception between girls. Perhaps it's the words, perhaps it's the expression, but in any case, it's not difficult to see the other's true psychology if you pay close attention.
Jian Jing went straight to the point: "You don't seem to like him?"
"He's too enthusiastic, just like my friends in America," Fei Na said distressingly. "But I'm already used to the tranquility of the forest. He makes me feel uncomfortable."
Jian Jing understood: "Do you like Chen?"
Fei Na almost jumped up: "What?" Shocked out her mother tongue.
Jian Jing: "No?"
"Uh..." After all, she was an American girl. Fei Na was shy for a moment, then laughed and admitted it.
Taking the opportunity, she asked: "What kind of person is Chen?"
Fei Na said: "He works very hard. When he first arrived, he could only say 'hello' and 'bye', but now he can communicate with us in daily life. Very reliable - he grew up in the countryside, so he is as familiar with the forest as his own backyard. I feel safe with him."
"How long has he been a forest ranger?"
"Five years. Two years earlier than me," she said. "I heard my dad say, at first there were three rangers, but the other two couldn't stand the hardship and resigned one after the other. Only he persisted. Jian, do you know? He loves this forest as much as I do."
