Animal Detective

Chapter 15 Grinding

There is only one pet shop in the entire Xianghong Village.

Perhaps because business is slow, the boss is a bit unresponsive.

At this point, the police ID card plays a crucial role.

"Not impressed."

The boss frowned and thought for a full minute, but still shook his head.

The tenant wore a mask whenever he went out, which did conceal his identity, but it also became a very obvious characteristic.

So if the boss says he's never seen it, he probably really hasn't.

Shen Xin went to several nearby courier stations. Some people remembered the tenant, but they didn't pay attention to what he had bought.

The clues seem to have led to another dead end.

Shen Xin also tried to find the stray cat.

But Xianghong Village is so big, and stray cats usually only come out at night, so the chances of finding this cat during the day are too small.

The only stray cat they saw was a tabby cat rummaging through a trash can. It was startled by Shen Xin, and after exchanging a quick glance with him, it jumped over the courtyard wall and disappeared in an instant.

The time came to around two o'clock in the afternoon.

Li Dongsheng called and asked Shen Xin to come to the office early for a meeting.

Shen Xin had no choice but to give up and take a taxi back to the police station.

On the way back, Shen Xin thought about it carefully again and realized that although he had found a clue, it was of no value.

To reiterate, finding this cow-patterned cat will lead to finding the suspect, right?

He bought a cat bowl specifically to feed the cat, but it was just a stray cat. He moved away, so he had nothing to do with that cat anymore.

The fruit stand owner also said that he saw the cat again later.

Back at the station, Zhang Jian and others had already arrived one after another.

It was still the office of the Criminal Investigation Team on the second floor.

Compared to yesterday, there were fewer people at the meeting; including Zhang Jian, there were only 7.

Li Dongsheng is not here.

Upon seeing Shen Xin, Zhang Jian waved to him, gesturing for him to sit down, and continued, "Chief Song also said that this case is on its last legs, so we absolutely cannot let it turn out half-baked; we must investigate it thoroughly."

Everyone nodded.

It's disheartening to see the case handled this way.

Shen Xin didn't see Chen Chao, and after hearing Zhang Jian's words, he roughly guessed what Song Liang was thinking.

The case will definitely continue to be investigated.

However, police resources cannot be fully devoted to this case.

Police stations are so busy; they practically want to split each person in half to make the most of their time.

Zhang Jian continued, "When I got back, I thought about a few possible directions."

He got up and went to the whiteboard, speaking and writing at the same time.

"First, assuming the phone and earphones were bought by the suspect for Wu Zhicun, then we need to check the sales records through the phone's serial number to find out where it was bought, and if it was online, whose account was used, and who signed for the package. All of this must be thoroughly investigated."

Shen Xin's eyes lit up.

He's a veteran, after all; his experience is truly extensive.

Shen Xin, in any case, had not thought of this.

In comparison, the clues I discovered were completely worthless.

Zhang Jian continued, "Of course, the best way is to persuade Wu Zhicun to confess the situation."

"Old Zhang, that old man is as stubborn as a mule. Soft approaches won't work, but if you try to force him, aren't you afraid he'll try to extort you?" a middle-aged policeman joked.

Zhang Jian glared at him and said bluntly, "Fine, Lao Wu, you two were a family three hundred years ago. I'll leave the task of working on the old man to you. You go there every day, even if you sleep with him at night, I won't care. Your mission will be over when he says so."

"No!" the police officer surnamed Wu cried out, begging for mercy, which drew laughter from the crowd. He quickly waved his hand to signal everyone to stop laughing, and then said, "Zhang Jian, I really can't. My mother just had bypass surgery and needs someone to take care of her. My son will be a senior in high school in the fall, which is a crucial time for him. I really can't spare the time at home."

Zhang Jian frowned slightly, but he knew that these were all true.

So he turned his gaze to the others.

"No, Captain Zhang, my wife doesn't get off work until 8 p.m., and I have to pick up the kids from school. Xianghong Village is so far away, I won't make it in time."

"Old Lin, summer vacation is just around the corner. You have plenty of time, but I really don't have any."

The group started talking all at once, each trying to come up with an excuse.

Zhang Jian's expression was unfriendly. He was about to persuade everyone to show some spirit when his gaze shifted and landed on Shen Xin in the corner.

As if by unspoken agreement, everyone present turned to look at Shen Xin.

Shen Xin was still pondering the relationship between Wu Zhicun and the suspect, and why he was helping the suspect cover up the truth. Sensing something, he looked up and found everyone staring at him.

"How about... I go?"

Being young, single, and a complete novice is like a beast of burden.

"Good job, Xiao Shen." The police officer surnamed Wu immediately gave him a thumbs up, took out a bottle of drink from under the table and handed it to Shen Xin, gesturing for him to drink it.

Shen Xin awkwardly accepted the invitation, and suddenly understood why he had been notified to come to the meeting.

I reckon Zhang Jian had planned from the beginning to send me to wear down Wu Zhicun.

"Shen Xin, then... thank you for your hard work." Zhang Jian seemed a little embarrassed.

Since things had come to this point, what could Shen Xin do but nod and say it was nothing?

Everyone was happy, and the meeting continued.

Zhang Jian said, "The last step is to conduct door-to-door visits and investigations. Yesterday's efforts were not enough. I need to conduct a thorough investigation of every household and every person in the entire Xianghong Village. Also, we need to check the surveillance cameras. Any cameras that were not covered before June 2nd must be checked."

For these tough cases with few leads, the only option is the most basic method: investigation and interviews.

"Then we need to contact those electric vehicle manufacturers, give them the hacking tools we seized, and see if they can upgrade their electric vehicle software to plug the vulnerability."

"Also, Captain Chen said that he will issue a notice for assistance to the surrounding counties and cities. This suspect may not have only sold the technology to Fan Jie, so similar cases may occur in the surrounding counties and cities, and we may be able to find clues then."

"Team Leader Chen will be in charge of these matters; our main task is to do a good job of the investigation."

"Alright, that's all for now. Meeting adjourned. We'll be leaving in a bit."

Zhang Jian waved to Shen Xin again and led her into the corridor.

"Shen Xin, I'm sorry, I know this is a tough job, but there's no other way. They all have families to support, so it's quite difficult," Zhang Jian apologized first.

Since he had already said that, Shen Xin could only perk up and say, "It's alright, Captain Zhang. I'm young, I have plenty of time."

Upon arriving at the local police station, Shen Xin had no intention of slacking off or having any personal time.

"Well done." Zhang Jian patted Shen Xin on the shoulder and then said, "I remember you can drive. Do you have a car? Xianghong Village is quite far from here. It would be more convenient for you to go back and forth if you had a car. The station will reimburse you for the gas expenses."

"Or you can drive my car."

Zhang Jian felt a little guilty that Shen Xin had saved him.

"No need, Captain Zhang, I'll just go home and drive one," Shen Xin quickly refused.

Zhang Jian's beat-up Lavida is so old, Li Dongsheng even complained to Shen Xin about it, saying that he almost had to break the gear lever to shift into gear.

Anyway, if it weren't for the fact that his apartment was close to the police station, Shen Xin would have been planning to drive anyway.

The family has an extra car.

“Okay.” Zhang Jian nodded, then thought for a moment and said, “Just talk to that old man, go along with him a bit, and keep at it until he loses his temper. Maybe then he’ll talk.”

Zhang Jian really didn't have much hope for Wu Zhicun.

But there's no other way; I have to try.

Shen Xin thought of Wu Zhicun's reckless attitude and gave a wry smile.

I'm in for a rough time these next few days.

(End of this chapter)