Animal Detective-Chapter 42: A New Lead

It was already almost five in the afternoon by the time he returned to the police station.

Song Liang was just about to head out when he saw Shen Xin getting out of a car, leading a dog.

He froze for a moment before walking over to ask what was going on. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

’Good grief. It hasn’t even been that long. First a cat, now a dog. He’s making the station look like an animal shelter.’

Shen Xin had discussed it with Chen Chao and they decided it was best to bring Lele back to the station for now.

The dog had been raised by Wu Jiawang, after all, making it an important clue.

"This is the dog Wu Jiawang raised?" Song Liang stared at Lele in disbelief.

He had heard Yao Wensheng mention it before.

But he never expected that just a few days later, Shen Xin would have actually found the dog.

It was incredible!

Because of Baiwan, he was now quite interested in dogs, so he reached out and petted Lele.

Lele was afraid of stray dogs but very friendly toward people.

It was likely this temperament that had allowed the dog to survive in the wild for seven years.

Cats and dogs that aren’t friendly to humans rarely get fed and can’t survive for long as strays.

"So what’s next?" Song Liang asked.

’The dog’s been found, so how do we use it to crack the case?’

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then recounted what had happened and shared his own theory. He concluded, "Anyway, Captain Chen’s instructions are to treat it as a single lead. First, we find the connection between the Gao Family and Wu Jiawang. Once we’ve found that, we can consider other things."

After listening, Song Liang looked as if he’d seen a ghost. It took him a long moment to say, "Xiaoshen, that brain of yours... is really something else!"

’How does he come up with this stuff? To think he could cook up a theory like that.’

’If it were me, I wouldn’t have thought of it in a million years.’

"But you know," Song Liang said, mulling it over, "there’s a real possibility there. Normally, for a fatal car accident, you just pay compensation and you’re done. But what if the person was drunk driving? And a public official, afraid of going to jail and losing their job? Then they might think of hiding the body."

"They’re out in the middle of nowhere, and they’re afraid someone will discover it if they just bury it. Then, just like you said, a light bulb goes off. They think of burying the body in their own ancestral grave. Heh, as long as that grave isn’t disturbed, no one would find it for decades."

"Still, it’s a creepy thought. Burying a body with your own ancestors... wouldn’t that give you the creeps?"

He shuddered.

’That’s true,’ Shen Xin thought. ’It is their own ancestral grave, after all.’

’Those poor ancestors have really been through enough, worrying themselves sick over their descendants.’

As he spoke, Song Liang added a word of caution. "You were right not to dig up the grave. Xiaoshen, it’s good that you’re full of ideas, but you need to know where to draw the line. You can’t just act recklessly. No matter what you’re thinking, you must report it."

’The only way to keep a secret is to not do it in the first place. Once you cross certain lines, there’s no turning back.’

’Shen Xin was such a promising young officer; Song Liang didn’t want to see his career ruined.’

Shen Xin nodded quickly. "Song Suo, when have I ever kept anything from you? You can rest assured, I won’t do anything rash."

"That’s true."

Song Liang nodded. Shen Xin’s ideas might be wild and unconventional, but he always reported to them before taking any real action. That was a major reason Song Liang was so fond of him.

He wasn’t like those self-righteous mavericks from TV dramas who have no respect for the chain of command.

He thought for another moment, then said, "Xiaoshen, this theory is yours. If the investigation is officially reopened and Captain Chen’s team asks for your help, just give me a heads-up and go. If you really help the sub-bureau crack this case, it’ll reflect well on our station, right?"

’A seven-year-old cold case...’

Shen Xin nodded, then glanced down at Lele’s leash in his hand and shot Song Liang an inquisitive look.

Song Liang understood immediately and declared with a magnanimous wave of his hand, "We’ll keep him. We’re already looking after one dog, what’s a second? Besides, Master Li loves dogs."

Master Li from the canteen doted on Baiwan, always remembering to save any tasty leftovers for him.

Shen Xin quickly thanked him and led Lele off to the canteen to find some food.

’This is what it’s like when you’re not a detective and it’s not your case. You find a lead, but you can’t follow up on it.’

’But you can’t stop thinking about it, and it’s sheer torture, like an itch you can’t scratch.’

As a result, Shen Xin had no enthusiasm for work the next day.

"Yes."

"Alright."

In some residential community, Shen Xin maintained a practiced smile as he listened to a woman in her fifties rant about the tenant upstairs. She claimed the tenant would come home in the dead of night and immediately start partying, making a huge racket—CLANGING and BANGING—that kept her from sleeping and was giving her a nervous breakdown.

"Officer, I’m being serious here. Are you even listening to me? I feel like you’re just brushing me off." The woman’s gaze shifted and locked onto Shen Xin.

Shen Xin snapped out of his daze and said hurriedly, "Ma’am, I heard every word. Tell you what, I’ll go upstairs right now and have a talk with the tenant."

He went upstairs. The tenant was a young woman, and she flew into a rage the moment she heard the lady downstairs had called the police on her.

"She’s complaining about me? I’ve had it with her!"

"I get off work late, and my job requires me to wear high heels. Now, the very first thing I do when I get home is take off my shoes, terrified I’ll make even the slightest noise."

"I’m not exaggerating, I even try to hold in my farts, just in case the noise is too loud and wakes her up."

"And she still has the nerve to complain about me? All this because one time my trash bag tore and dripped a little liquid in front of her door! Officer, if she keeps this up, don’t blame me for what happens next. I’ll... I’ll have to play hardball."

"She’s just being a bully!"

The young woman stood with her hands on her hips, shaking with rage.

"Calm down."

Shen Xin was taken aback and quickly tried to pacify her, urging her to discuss things calmly and promising he would go back downstairs to help ’educate’ the older woman.

He went downstairs again and spent a good while placating the woman, assuring her that the girl upstairs had promised to be more careful in the future. Only then did her anger subside.

He followed Li Dongsheng back downstairs.

Li Dongsheng hadn’t said a word the entire time, simply watching and observing from the side.

Shen Xin was a full-fledged officer now, which meant he would soon be leading auxiliary officers on calls himself. This was essentially his final evaluation.

As they got into the car downstairs, Shen Xin couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

’There was really so little the police could do in situations like this.’

’It was a classic he-said, she-said. All you could do was try to placate both parties. To put it bluntly, it was just playing mediator.’

"What’s wrong? Find it all a bit pointless?" Li Dongsheng asked with a grin, seeming to read Shen Xin’s mind.

Shen Xin nodded.

Not counting this one, they had already handled three calls today.

One was two shop owners fighting.

Another was a young woman who refused to pay her taxi fare. The driver eventually gave up and said she could go, but she wasn’t done. She insisted he’d been staring at her private parts in the rearview mirror, which made the driver so furious he threatened to gouge his own eyes out to prove his innocence.

The last one was a customer who, while being picky with the fruit, accidentally crushed a few grapes. The shop owner got upset, insisted the customer buy the damaged bunch, and called the police when they started arguing.

In the end, Shen Xin had to pay for the grapes himself just to resolve the situation.

These calls were all so trivial and petty; it was impossible to feel any enthusiasm for them.

"Oh, come on now," Li Dongsheng said with a laugh. "I remember when you first started, you weren’t like this. No matter what the call was, you were wound up like a clockwork toy, full of energy."

"Your threshold for excitement is just higher now. You think the only thing with any kick to it is being a detective and solving major cases. But let me tell you, even if you do become a detective, it’ll be the same story. It’s not as glamorous as you think."

"And the pressure on detectives is every bit as intense as what we deal with."

Shen Xin said in surprise, "Master, even you know a word like ’threshold’ now?"

’That’s a pretty modern word.’

"Who’re you calling old?" Li Dongsheng shot him a look, half-annoyed and half-amused. "I use a smartphone too, you know. I like to keep up with the times."

Shen Xin quickly agreed. He was just about to explain that it wasn’t about his ’threshold’ being higher, but that he was just anxious because of the new lead in the Wu Jiawang case.

But then, speak of the devil, he got a sudden call from Chen Chao.

"Xiaoshen, we might have a lead. Since you’ve been involved with this case, I figured I’d see if you’re interested in coming over to help with the investigation."

Shen Xin’s eyes lit up.

’Of course I’m interested!’