Animal Detective

Chapter 283 - 241: Tian Kui Is Missing

By the time Chen Chao arrived, Shen Xin had already finished telling Ma Chunxin everything he knew.

"Old Ma?"

Seeing Ma Chunxin, Chen Chao’s eyes lit up. He walked up and gave Ma Chunxin a punch.

The punch barely moved him; Ma Chunxin was rock-steady.

Ma Chunxin grinned and said, "The last time we met was... well, the last time. It’s been too long. You brat, ever since you became deputy captain, you’ve been as busy as the bureau chief. It’s hard to even get a glimpse of you."

Chen Chao retorted, "Get outta here. Didn’t I ask you out for drinks before the New Year? You were the one who said you were busy."

Then he slung an arm around Ma Chunxin’s shoulders and introduced him to Shen Xin again.

Only then did Shen Xin learn that the two had worked together at the branch bureau and had been partners.

Later, because Ma Chunxin’s wife worked in the archives of the New District Branch, he, with Liu Baoqing’s encouragement, found a way to get transferred there.

So the two of them were very close.

"Xiaoshen, transferred to the branch last year. His ability is..." Chen Chao pointed at Shen Xin and proudly gave a thumbs-up.

He was the one who had single-handedly transferred Shen Xin from the local station to the branch bureau. He felt a sense of shared honor from all the commendations and achievements Shen Xin had earned.

Ma Chunxin, still grinning, said, "I’ve heard a thing or two."

Solving several cold cases, some of which were even featured in internal publications, had nearly prompted all the district branches to launch their own cold case task forces.

Then there was the branch’s short video account and last year’s major drug case.

So within the Nanjiang police system, Shen Xin had made a bit of a name for himself.

Since they knew each other, things would be much easier.

Shen Xin relayed the latest information. Since there was still time, Ma Chunxin decided to go meet the person who had filed the report.

The four of them drove to Phase Two of Tongquan Garden, following the address.

It was a resettlement community for displaced residents.

The informant’s name was Jia Huimin.

When they found her, she was playing mahjong in a card room. A middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties, she wore an ostentatious string of pearls around her neck. The sudden appearance of four police officers looking for her gave her a start.

Once outside, Ma Chunxin asked about the fraud she had reported last year.

Shen Xin saw it clearly: the moment the topic was raised, Jia Huimin’s expression changed, and her eyes started darting around.

Ma Chunxin said, "Don’t overthink it. We just want to understand the situation at the time."

This is what the police station’s report said.

According to Jia Huimin’s statement, she was at a pet shop getting her cat washed when she happened to learn about a WeChat rescue group. The group’s admin was Chen Fang.

Then, on November 3rd of last year, Chen Fang posted a message in the group saying a cat had been hit by a car.

It was receiving treatment at a hospital and needed surgery that could cost several thousand yuan, and she was hoping kind-hearted people would donate.

Jia Huimin saw the message.

She had received a big payout from a demolition project, owned several apartments, and wasn’t short on cash. Feeling sorry for the poor cat, she casually donated two thousand yuan.

But unfortunately, the cat didn’t make it.

As it happened, the pet hospital where the surgery was supposedly performed was near Tongquan Garden. Not long after, Jia Huimin went to that same hospital to get her own cat vaccinated.

She got to chatting with the receptionist about the incident and was surprised to learn the truth.

The cat had never actually had surgery. It had died before even entering the operating room.

Jia Huimin was furious. In a group where most people donated fifty or a hundred yuan, she had given the most—two thousand in one go. It turned out she was the biggest fool of them all.

Unable to let it go, she sent a message to Chen Fang, questioning her about it.

Chen Fang denied it.

Jia Huimin was livid, which was why she went to the police station to report Chen Fang for fraud.

"I’d completely forgotten about that. Did I really file a report?" Jia Huimin’s eyes shifted, and she started playing dumb.

Ma Chunxin wasn’t surprised. He continued to persuade her, "Ma’am, we’ve learned that this Chen Fang has some issues, so we’re investigating her. This has nothing to do with you."

"Think about it. She took advantage of your kindness, and there are surely many other kind-hearted people who have been tricked just like you. Shouldn’t you tell us what happened so we can get to the bottom of this sooner?"

Jia Huimin just shook her head. "Didn’t I withdraw the case later? I already told the police station it was all a misunderstanding, that I was mistaken. You should just drop it."

"Anyway, I need to go grocery shopping. Don’t come looking for me again. This has nothing to do with me."

She waved her hand dismissively and walked away quickly.

Zhao Tong instinctively moved to stop her but was held back by Ma Chunxin.

Zhao Tong said, "Master, she’s hiding something! She’s not telling the truth."

Ma Chunxin shot him a look. ’She’s hiding something? Even you can see that, you think I can’t?’

He looked at Chen Chao and joked with a smile, "You’re the deputy captain now, you outrank me. Why don’t you tell us what to do next?"

Chen Chao glared at him, telling him to decide for himself and said he was just there to assist with the investigation.

Ma Chunxin’s gaze shifted to Shen Xin and asked what he thought.

Shen Xin, naturally, had some ideas.

’Jia Huimin must have reached a private settlement with Chen Fang. For example, Chen Fang might have paid her off.’

’She took the money, and now that she sees the police investigating Chen Fang again, she’s afraid of getting involved, so she’s choosing to stay quiet.’

’There’s no need to threaten her with harboring a criminal right now.’

’Nine out of ten people would probably make the same decision.’

’But there are other angles.’

’For instance, the pet hospital. The cat was definitely taken there. Jia Huimin even said in her police report that Chen Fang had posted photos, shot videos, and even live-streamed, making it all look very tragic.’

’So if the injured cat never had surgery in the end, is it possible the pet hospital knew nothing about it?’

’We can investigate them.’

’And the donation platform.’

’It was last November, not even half a year ago. If we want to check, we can get the chat logs from the platform.’

But since Chen Chao hadn’t said anything, why should he show off?

And Ma Chunxin was a seasoned veteran. He had to have his own ideas about how to conduct an investigation.

Shen Xin immediately said, "Brother Ma, you’ve been a criminal investigator for ten or twenty years, far more experienced than me. You must have already thought it through. Just give us our orders. We’re here to assist with the investigation, to help you and follow your lead."

Chen Chao beamed.

Ma Chunxin also smiled, shook his head slightly, and slapped Zhao Tong on the back. "You brat, you should learn a thing or two from him."

Zhao Tong nodded awkwardly.

Ma Chunxin glanced at the time and said, "It’s almost quitting time anyway. Why don’t we find a place to eat? Old Chen, it’s been a while since we sat down together."

Chen Chao readily agreed.

Ma Chunxin knew the area well, so he drove ahead to lead the way.

Shen Xin and Chen Chao rode in the same car.

In the car, Chen Chao asked about the police dogs. Hearing that Shen Xin was making good progress, he nodded and said, "You should focus on training your dogs. This is an assignment from the city bureau, so don’t screw it up."

"As for this case, you don’t need to get too involved. I’ll have Old Qian come over tomorrow to keep an eye on things, so it doesn’t get in the way of your main task."

"We’ll just stick around as part of a joint investigation. Let them handle the case."

As he spoke, he patted Shen Xin’s shoulder.

He had said all he needed to say. He knew Shen Xin had high emotional intelligence, so he wasn’t too worried.

Shen Xin, of course, understood.

There was no issue with leaving the investigation to Ma Chunxin and his team.

Shen Xin wasn’t trying to fight for credit anyway; he had just stumbled upon it by chance.

Doing a good job on the assignment from the city bureau was more important than anything.

Besides, the case itself wasn’t very complicated.

It had simply gone unnoticed before. Now that it was discovered, with a mind to investigate, tracing the large financial transactions shouldn’t be difficult.

That’s why Ma Chunxin had immediately suggested dinner. He knew what he was doing with the case.

As it turned out, they were all old foxes.

A simple dinner had turned into a "Banquet at Hong Gate."

They arrived at the restaurant, ordered their food, and had barely sat down when Liu Baoqing showed up.

He was around the same age as Ma Chunxin but had fairer skin and looked younger. Still, he possessed the sharp competence of someone who had come up through field operations.

He even brought alcohol.

It was Saturday, so they reported it on the spot. After three rounds of drinks, Liu Baoqing revealed his true intentions.

He slung an arm around Chen Chao’s shoulders, saying he was being a bad friend. After all these years, how could he not share the good stuff?

He was talking about the police dogs.

The Tingyang Branch was training its own police dogs, and he was a bit envious.

Having a resident police dog would certainly be much more convenient than having to request help from the K-9 base.

When a case came up, they could bring the dog along on every call.

Chen Chao cursed inwardly.

’No wonder Liu Baoqing’s side agreed so readily to a joint investigation.’

’So this was what they were waiting for.’

He shot a glare at Ma Chunxin. No wonder they wanted him to come.

Chen Chao said he couldn’t make the decision on this. It was an assignment from the city bureau; they’d have to ask Shen Xin.

Shen Xin silently observed Chen Chao’s expression for any signals.

He didn’t see any.

After a moment of thought, Shen Xin said, "Captain Liu, no problem. It’s no extra trouble to add one more."

Liu Baoqing’s eyes lit up. He grinned, praising Shen Xin for being so straightforward, and wanted to clink glasses with him.

Of course, Shen Xin was drinking a soft drink.

He glanced at Chen Chao and saw him smiling cheerfully, which probably meant he approved of his answer.

’They’re a brother unit. When you have something they don’t, of course they’ll be envious.’

’It wasn’t much extra work anyway. With the funding approved by the city bureau, training one more or one less dog made little difference. He could just train theirs along with the others.’

’Besides, Shen Xin figured that the city bureau might have had this in mind when they approved such a large budget.’

’After all, the Nanjiang K-9 base was a joint project with the provincial department. It was rare for a branch like Tingyang to be assigned several resident police dogs in one go.’

「The next day」

Shen Xin reported to the base bright and early as usual.

The case was left in Qian Zhihai’s hands.

He would just help out again if something came up.

They had gotten 9 from Li Dian’s place, and 4 from Niu Haipeng.

Adding the five dogs in Tian Kui’s group, that brought the total to 18.

They had already gathered half of the 36 Celestial Spirits.

So the task for the day was still to visit rescue shelters. There was one more in Nanjiang, located in Ji Port.

That probably wouldn’t be enough, so they would have to make trips to Yanling and Pingyu as well.

The rescue shelters should be happy to have them, since it would lighten their burden.

In the morning, Shen Xin and Li Jiahui went to the shelter in Ji Port.

Their business model was similar to Li Dian’s.

Only after visiting did Shen Xin realize that these kinds of rescue shelters seemed to have really turned into a business.

From this shelter, Shen Xin took five dogs.

As they were driving back, Li Jiahui received a phone call, and her expression changed slightly.

"Shen Xin, Tian Kui and Tiger Stripes are missing."

She looked astonished.

Shen Xin froze. The first thought that popped into his head was that Tiger Stripes had definitely led Tian Kui off to get into some trouble.

Yesterday, after dropping Chen Chao off, he had gone straight home and hadn’t brought Tiger Stripes and Black Panther back to the branch.

And look, not even a full day had passed, and that rascal was already causing problems for him.