Chapter 805: Deception

“The murderer planned to steal Lieguo Xiao’s painting!” Chen Shi suddenly said to Lin Dongxue.

Lin Dongxue realized, “Yes, I didn’t think of that possibility. But now that Mr. Shen has been killed, can they still pull it off?”

Chen Shi glanced at Taiyang Pawnshop, where He Jingjing was eyeing them suspiciously. “Let’s not discuss this here,” Chen Shi said.

Back in the car, Chen Shi continued, “Although we don’t know the murderer’s entire plan, we can approach this differently. What does the murderer need to execute their plan?”

“Personnel, tools, skills, and contingency plans,” Lin Dongxue replied.

“Those are necessary for executing the plan, but there’s one crucial thing—intelligence. Last night, we saw for ourselves how Lieguo Xiao hid those valuable paintings in an inconspicuous place with specialized protection. If we hadn’t had the search warrant to visit, we wouldn’t have known about this intelligence. There was a motorcyclist tracking us at the time; I initially thought it was Lieguo Xiao’s surveillance, but now I realize it was the murderer! Analyzing it this way, the murderer was willing to sacrifice ‘Mountain Dwelling XX Painting’ to frame Liu Feng. They wanted to shift the blame to Lieguo Xiao, prompting the police to search him, and then they would track the police. This way, the location of the paintings would be exposed.”

“Was this part of the murderer’s original plan or a contingency?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“I think it was a contingency plan. There are too many variables here, such as Lieguo Xiao refusing to cooperate with the search, or the police not conducting one, or the tracking failing. Initially, the murderer wanted to involve Mr. Shen, who was being extorted by Lieguo Xiao at the time. They wanted Mr. Shen to do something that would reveal the location of the paintings. But Mr. Shen obviously didn’t want to take the risk and be blamed. To prevent the plan from leaking, they killed him.”

“So, the murderer is now fully prepared. They could act at any moment. I need to inform my brother,” Lin Dongxue said.

“Wait!” Chen Shi said. “What if we let this happen? We’re not obligated to protect Lieguo Xiao’s paintings. Using his paintings as bait to lure out the murderer might be better… I’ll contact a friend to monitor that neighborhood.”

“Not that friend again?” Lin Dongxue sighed.

Chen Shi took out his phone. “Following the formal procedures is too slow. It’s safer to plant an informant first. Once it’s done, you can report back.”

Chen Shi contacted KK, who hadn’t heard from him in a while. “Damn, just remembered to call me. What, need my help again?”

“Alright, stop sulking like an abandoned wife and go tail someone for me.”

After some flirtatious banter, KK agreed and hurried to the neighborhood.

Lin Dongxue suggested, “Wouldn’t it be more effective to monitor Taiyang Pawnshop?”

Chen Shi shook his head with a smile. “All of this is speculation on our part. The murderer might be someone beyond our radar. Let’s play it safe. In any case, the murderer will definitely go there.”

“Now let’s go find my brother,” Lin Dongxue said.

After a quick lunch, they briefed Lin Qiupu on the situation at the station. Lin Qiupu was surprised to hear their conclusions. “You figured all this out just through discussion and deduction? You don’t have any evidence…”

“But, Chief!” Lin Dongxue interrupted.

Lin Qiupu gestured for Lin Dongxue to wait. “If I were stubborn, I wouldn’t act based on your deductions alone. But I know you’re usually accurate in guessing the criminals’ intentions, and this deduction fits within the existing clues… At this critical juncture, it might not be profitable to intervene directly. Instead, let’s play along and set up our own plans.”

“Haha, that’s exactly what we think. I’ve already sent a friend to monitor the location of the paintings.”

“Can one person handle it? I’ll send a few more officers,” Lin Qiupu said, picking up the internal phone. “Xiaodong, come here for a moment.”

Lin Qiupu instructed Xu Xiaodong and his partner to monitor the location, watching every person entering and exiting the building 24/7, especially those with suspicious clothing or carrying boxes or bags, ready to make arrests if necessary.

Then they waited and watched. A day passed, and under the surveillance of three pairs of eyes, nothing happened.

The next day, Lin Qiupu, still uneasy, prepared to send more people. Old Zhang advised, “If we insert too many spies, the thief won’t dare to come.”

So Lin Qiupu added only two more teams, allowing Xu Xiaodong’s team to rotate and rest.

In the evening, Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue were having fried rice noodles when they suddenly received a text from KK. “Boss Chen, a suspicious person just rushed downstairs in a panic.”

“Got a photo?” Chen Shi asked.

“Wait a moment.”

A video clip arrived, showing a man in a suit running downstairs, carrying a briefcase, looking around, and then leaving.

Lin Dongxue glanced at the group chat of the task force. “Strange, why did only KK report? None of our six informants saw anything.”

The video wasn’t very clear. Unable to see the man’s face, Chen Shi said, “There’s only one explanation. The police don’t consider him suspicious… I get it now. He’s the one looking after Lieguo Xiao’s paintings! This is bad, it’s already happening!”

Lin Dongxue hadn’t fully grasped the situation.

Chen Shi quickly finished his noodles and drank the rest of his cola. “If you were the one looking after Lieguo Xiao’s paintings and saw them disappear overnight, what would you do?”

“Run away!?”

“Yes, quickly tell Xiaodong to chase after that person. Let’s go to the scene!”

They jumped into the car. On the way, Lin Dongxue’s phone buzzed incessantly, spreading the news throughout the second team.

Arriving at the scene, Chen Shi gathered all the informants who were monitoring. They went to the room; although the security door was locked, Chen Shi easily picked the lock in half a minute.

Entering the room, the air conditioning was still on strong. When they reached the room where the paintings were kept, they found it empty, with a message on the wall: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

“This can’t be!” a police officer exclaimed. “We were watching closely; no one came down with bags or boxes. We even checked any large garbage bags thrown out.”

Chen Shi noticed the living room window was open, overlooking a busy street. Another officer pointed out, “There are bars on this window, impassable for people.”

“But not for paintings,” Lin Dongxue said. “After the thief came in, he could have thrown the paintings down to an accomplice below.”

“Impossible! There are pedestrians and surveillance cameras everywhere. If they were passing things out one by one, someone would have reported it already.”

Chen Shi inspected the room thoroughly. “It wasn’t taken out through the window. Their method was more sophisticated, perfectly evading our surveillance. Perhaps we’ve already tipped our hand!”

Suddenly, urgent footsteps echoed from the staircase…