Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 399 Elm Head
Inside the main hall of the food stall.

Li Meng pulled up a chair and sat down, pondering for a moment before saying, "If the crime scene really is upstairs, it'll be easy for us to investigate. The bones were flushed down the drain, so we just need to check the water usage of every household in the building over the past few days."

"To flush down this person's weight, it'll take a lot of water. Wen Zhao, go check with the property management now. Xiao Yi, take the bones back to the team for testing, expedite it."

"Okay." "Yes."

The two young men agreed at the same time, turned around, and jogged away from the food stall.

Chen Shu and the others sat quietly to the side, waiting for Li Meng to methodically arrange the investigation work.

As the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team, who was promoted from headquarters, Li Meng, with her rich experience, was already extremely skilled in handling and investigating various criminal cases.

His ability to take on a leadership role at such a young age is inseparable from the numerous major cases he solved during his time as an investigator.

Although Li Meng has largely withdrawn from frontline work and no longer directly involved in handling cases since his promotion to brigade cadre, his expertise and experience in criminal cases and his long-standing experience in approving brigade cases still remain.

Therefore, after Chen Shu raised his doubts, he immediately arranged corresponding investigative measures.

Half an hour later, Wen Zhao, who had gone to investigate the building's property management, returned to the restaurant lobby.

He pointed to the ceiling and said, "Li Da, there's been a lot of water usage in apartment 502 upstairs these past few days. Especially at night, there's been a peak in water usage. Hmm, the water usage the day before yesterday was two tons."

"This must be it!" Knowing that everyone present was a criminal police officer, Jiang Hai, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn't help but speak up.

Why are ordinary people here, talking nonsense?
Chen Shu is really too careless; how can he handle a case like this!
Li Meng, who had gathered with Chen Shu and others at the steakhouse during the day, knew that this person was the younger brother of the street director. She couldn't get angry at the moment, but she still glared at Jiang Hai seriously.

Jiang Hai shrank back, his body involuntarily leaning towards Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan, who works in technical investigation, is not afraid of these criminal police officers. In the past, they would shamelessly offer him cigarettes and ask for his technical assistance at the unit.

Chen Chuan wasn't going to tolerate this: "Li Meng, why are you glaring at the child? With your skills, you've not only disgraced yourself with this missing persons case, but it's also turned out to be a murder case. Who are you trying to impress with this attitude?"

Just a moment ago she was offering Jiang Hai a cigarette, but now she's acting like a child.

"You!" Li Meng was furious, but he really couldn't do anything about his old classmate who was more slick and cheeky than anyone else.

"Ahem." Chen Shu coughed a few times, knowing he couldn't embarrass the subordinate in front of him, and said conciliatoryly, "Jiang Hai, go to your sister's first."

"Okay, Brother Shu." Jiang Hai was still somewhat perceptive and obediently went to the sister who was huddled behind the front desk.

Li Meng then realized that there was someone hiding behind the front desk, who sounded like the young and beautiful street director from the steakhouse that afternoon.

He involuntarily sat up straight, his expression suddenly turning serious, and he gave a stern order: "Alright, next, I will lead the team to 502 to arrest the criminal suspect."

"Yes!"

The responses were clear, loud, and resounding, and their momentum was not weak.

The detectives cooperated quite well, and the group followed Li Meng out of the food stall. Chen Chuan turned to Chen Shu, who was sitting motionless, and asked, "Aren't we going over? This is a major breakthrough in the murder case."

Chen Shu smiled slightly and pointed outside: "I thought Li Meng's previous arrangements were quite well-organized, with each step linked to the next. How come she suddenly acted like a fool and rushed upstairs without any regard for the consequences?"

Chen Chuan sensed something was amiss and joked, "Never mind him, tell me the ins and outs here. You investigators are really quick-witted."

"Actually, they're all just minor details, nothing much to talk about." Chen Shu smiled, ignoring Chen Chuan's words, with an expression that showed he didn't care about any merits or achievements.

This expression made Chen Chuan very unhappy, extremely unhappy.

Knowing Chen Shu's personality well, Chen Chuan's eyes darted around, and he deliberately dragged out his words, "Ma Bowen from the previous team stripped naked and jumped into the well to dig bones for you; he was filthy, no one could complain about it. If he gets any credit for that..."

Chen Shu glanced at the other person, took out his police mobile phone from his shirt pocket, shook it in his hand, and said calmly, "Li Meng is getting a little anxious. Now that we have this thing, we can check things anytime, anywhere. Whether we arrest someone or not, it won't make a difference if we take a little more time."

As they were talking, the information of the resident of apartment 502 upstairs popped up in the police terminal.

Chen Shu, who had been calm at first, was now engrossed in watching. Chen Chuan, sitting opposite him, knew there was something to see and quickly moved closer to take a closer look.

"Holy crap! Isn't this the owner of the steakhouse we ate at for lunch?!" Chen Chuan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly pointed at the police terminal screen and exclaimed.

Normally, all residents of the building connected to the well where the human bones were found would be suspects, and the food stall owner on the first floor, who was first spotted in the bank's surveillance video, would naturally be the prime suspect.

The excessive water usage and unusually high water usage times of the residents in apartment 502 upstairs coincided with the timing of Sister Hua's disappearance, raising many suspicions.

According to the information Chen Shu obtained from the police terminal, the tenant renting room 502 was none other than the steakhouse owner, a stylish middle-aged man with transparent-framed glasses.

Chen Chuan's shouts caught the attention of Yan Chenxi and Jiang Hai, who were sitting at the front desk. Seeing that there were no outsiders in the lobby, the two curiously moved over from inside.

Jiang Hai didn't remember the steakhouse owner's face, but he did remember the steakhouse's address.

He hesitated and said, "The steakhouse seems to be located just two doors down, on the first floor of this building."

Without further hesitation, Chen Chuan grabbed Chen Shu's shoulder and said urgently, "Shu, if we go to the steakhouse now, it's probably still open. We might be able to catch them!"

Chen Shu hesitated for a moment and said, "There are only two of us, it's too dangerous. Let's wait for Li Meng and the others to come back, or I can call Ma Bowen and the others to bring some people over."

Chen Chuan slammed his hand on the table, ignoring the surprised expressions of Yan Chenxi and Jiang Hai, and roared, "Chen Shu, you blockhead! You're driving me crazy! I'm telling you right now, if you don't come to the steakhouse with me, I'll immediately..."
"I'll do it right now!" Chen Chuan was a little stuck, but finally blurted it out, "I'll die right now!"

Yan Chenxi couldn't help but burst out laughing. Jiang Hai looked at the policeman, who was saying he was about to "die," as if he were a fool.

Chen Chuan looked embarrassed.

"Squeak."

The iron gate of the food stall opened, and Ma Bowen, who had changed into dry clothes but still faintly smelled of sewage, walked in and asked in confusion, "Captain Chen, what's wrong?"

(End of this chapter)