Early the next morning, Lin Yao was awakened by a call from his assistant.
When he opened his eyes, it was already past nine o'clock. The little dumpling, Miaomiao, had gone out for morning exercise and hadn't come back yet.
"Speak quickly if you have something to say, and fart quickly if you have one," Lin Yao said impatiently.
"Boss, the police station called again. They insisted that you must take the young miss there to give a statement," the assistant on the other end of the phone said nervously. He could feel how gritted his boss's teeth were even through the phone.
Why should he, a delicate assistant, bear this anger! He thought resentfully.
"Got it. I'll go later," Lin Yao said irritably and hung up the phone.
Cooperating with public servants was an obligation. Since the police insisted that they go to give a statement, they might as well go.
At around ten o'clock, Miaomiao finally came back from her morning exercise. Lin Yao first took his daughter to fill her stomach, and then went straight to the police station.
After they arrived, the police station staff first asked Miaomiao some basic questions, such as how the human traffickers abducted her, where it happened, and what they said.
After asking these basic questions, the conversation suddenly took an unexpected turn.
"I remember you said the smell on these human traffickers was familiar. What kind of smell was it?"
"Ah, it was a sweet smell. It made me feel a bit dizzy when I smelled it, but it was quite nice," Miaomiao replied.
"The criminal suspects you met before, that is, the human traffickers, had the exact same smell on them?"
"Yes!"
"Do you still remember that smell? If you meet someone with this smell again, can you recognize them?"
"Sure!"
Miaomiao was a kind - hearted girl. No matter who asked her for help, the little dumpling would always agree.
The police officer opposite gave a relaxed smile. He picked Miaomiao up from the stool and led her towards the building at the back.
Lin Yao followed closely behind. The more he walked, the more he felt something was wrong. It wasn't until they entered the building that he realized where they were.
"What are you bringing my daughter to the morgue for?" Lin Yao quickly snatched the little dumpling back and held her tightly in his arms. He stared warily at the public servant in front of him.
"After you went back yesterday, we continued to investigate and collect evidence at the scene. We found several people in a yard not far away. By the time we got there, those people had already lost their vital signs," the officer explained.
"When we brought the bodies and the suspects back to the police station, the three suspects also suddenly died at three o'clock in the morning. Their deaths were different, but the forensic autopsy results all showed that they died of poisoning. So we want little Miaomiao to confirm if there is any connection between these people."
The darker Lin Yao's face got as he listened. No one had told him about this before they came.
"My daughter is only four years old. You want a four - year - old child to face so many corpses. If she has any psychological trauma, will you be responsible? I don't agree."
"Please, Mr. Lin. Those three people yesterday had already revealed some information about the trafficking of women and children. But they suddenly died together halfway through the interrogation. There may still be many children and women in their hands. You should know how it feels since your child was lost yesterday. If we can find some useful clues, we may be able to save more people and many families!"
The police officer who was leading the way was getting a bit anxious. He tried to persuade Lin Yao, the guardian, to agree by reasoning and appealing to his emotions.
"No. I was willing to bring my daughter here to give a statement today only because of my second elder brother's sake. Don't push your luck. If you have anything to say, go and talk to my lawyer."
Lin Yao turned around angrily and was about to leave when Uncle Lin Er rushed in. Seeing Miaomiao and his younger brother, he was a bit confused. He stared blankly and asked, "Why are you here? Didn't Miaomiao just have an accident yesterday? Why aren't you at home having a good rest?"
"Hehe, you should ask your good subordinate about that," Lin Yao said with a forced smile. The cold air seemed to be pouring out of him.
Stared at by his younger brother with such a look, Uncle Lin Er broke out in a cold sweat.
Although their younger brother was the youngest in the family, the three elder brothers were a bit afraid of him.
When Lin Yao was a child, due to the negligence of his family, he was kidnapped as an act of revenge, leaving an indelible psychological shadow.
After that incident, Lin Yao's personality changed greatly. He became violent, cold, and even a bit ungrateful to his relatives.
Although he had slightly converged over the years, they knew that Lin Yao had only matured and understood some principles, but his inner self remained unchanged.
So, whether out of guilt or for other reasons, the family had always spoiled Lin Yao and was also a bit afraid of him.
They were afraid that a single wrong word or deed would touch the tense string in Lin Yao's heart, and he would become like he used to be.
"What's going on?" Uncle Lin Er asked his subordinate beside him.
"This little girl may be able to tell if there is a connection between the criminal suspects yesterday. She may even be able to confirm the specific cause of their death. So I wanted to ask them to come today to help confirm it," the police officer replied.
This police officer was a hot - blooded young man, full of justice but without thinking about the girl's age.
Uncle Lin Er couldn't help frowning after hearing this. "You want a four - year - old little girl to help tell the criminal suspects and the cause of death? Are you and the forensic doctors just sitting around doing nothing? Besides, what ability does my niece have to help us solve the case? She's just a child who doesn't understand anything!"
"Her... her nose may be especially sensitive by nature. Last night when we were rescuing the abducted children, this little girl said that she was sure these three people were in the same group as the previous human traffickers because of the smell. So I paid a bit of attention..."
The young police officer became less and less confident as he spoke. He realized how absurd it was to expect a four - year - old child to help solve a case.
"Her nose is sensitive? Do you still want my niece to use her nose to tell the criminal suspects? Is the funding not enough, or are the chemical materials insufficient? Test it! Test it in every possible way! Using her nose to tell, you really have a good imagination!"
Uncle Lin Er was also a bit angry. Not only was it absurd to ask a child to help solve a case, but using the nose to tell was also so unprofessional. When did handling a case become so lax?
"The forensic doctor has tested it, but the poison volatilized too quickly. Now there's nothing left to test..."
Uncle Lin Er was about to scold but swallowed his words. He never expected such a result. Could it really not be tested?
"Uncle Er, Daddy, what's wrong with you? Why are you arguing?" Miaomiao's keen intuition told her that the atmosphere was tense, but her little brain just couldn't understand why.