“Okay,” I told Hamster. “Your undercover mission is over. You can go back to the police station and get your informant bonus now.”

“Thank you, Song-ge!” Hamster replied with a smile. “But I can’t just disappear all of a sudden—that would rouse their suspicion! I’ll stay with them for a few more days in case I can get you more clues.”

“Okay, but be careful!” I cautioned him.

Judging by his looks, the red-faced Hamster had been having a great time being a member of the Black Panthers gang. He wasn’t collecting any criminal evidence after all, and there was no pressure or deadline.

After the meeting with Hamster, I called Dali and told him I had to perform an autopsy tonight and asked him to bring my tools over. I then went to the police station to tell Xiaotao about what Hamster told me. We stayed there for a while until 6 pm when Dali arrived. The three of us had dinner at the police station together. Once we finished our meal, Xiaotao told us to get in the car.

“What?” asked Dali in amazement. “What about the autopsy?”

“The...