Chapter 155: The Dog

Just after the guitar appraiser left, the housekeeper arrived. Chen Shi washed a cup and poured her some tea, inviting her to sit down. “You’ve heard about the murder of the homeowner, right?”

“Yes, the police questioned me this morning.”

“Sorry, but I need to ask you again. How often do you come here and what do you usually do?”

“I come every day to help with cleaning and sometimes run errands.”

“Do you have a key?”

“Yes, but not for that room…” she pointed to the study, “The owner kept valuable items there and didn’t let me touch it. I usually stay for three hours. Most of the time, he’s either out or sleeping.”

“Have you ever given the key to anyone else?”

The housekeeper became agitated, swearing, “I would never do such a thing. I have professional ethics.”

“Don’t get upset. We have to consider all possibilities.”

The housekeeper said she understood but still seemed unhappy. Chen Shi continued, “Have you come here recently?”

“Recently? The owner told me not to come about half a month ago and paid me for that period.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t ask. Even if I had, he wouldn’t tell me. Maybe he was going on a trip. Rich people have busy lives.”

“Anything else unusual?”

The housekeeper thought for a moment. “Oh, right. The last time I came, the owner asked me to buy a bunch of frozen food.”

Chen Shi got up, took out some bags from the fridge, and asked, “These?”

“Yes, I still have the receipt here. You can take a look.”

Chen Shi took the receipt, pocketed it without looking, and asked, “Did the owner have any regular visitors?”

“Not that I noticed. I usually come in the morning, and he’s always asleep. We didn’t talk much.”

“This household had a dog, right?”

“A golden retriever, something like Wind Demon Kotarou? I can’t remember, so I called it Woof-Woof. Woof-Woof loved me. Maybe because it was lonely being home alone. It got very excited whenever I came. My duties included taking care of the dog. I walked it around the neighborhood daily… Hey, where’s Woof-Woof?”

“We took it away,” Chen Shi lied.

The housekeeper detailed her care routine for the dog. Chen Shi thanked her. Before she left, he said, “By the way, the frozen food in the fridge will go to waste. Why don’t you take it?”

“Can I?” The housekeeper was delighted.

Peng Siyue glared at Chen Shi, who ignored it and packed the frozen food into a large bag for the housekeeper to take.

After she left, Peng Siyue said, “You shouldn’t use public resources for personal favors!”

Chen Shi was indifferent. “Should we bag all the dumplings and sticky rice and keep them in the evidence room for three months? Return them to the family after they’re moldy?”

Peng Siyue was too angry to respond.

“Let’s go outside and look for the dog,” Chen Shi suggested. He asked Tao Yuanyuan to stay behind to let the forensic team in when they arrived.

Peng Siyue was both surprised and disdainful, “Leaving a young girl at a crime scene? That’s irresponsible!”

Chen Shi asked Tao Yuanyuan, “Are you afraid to stay alone?”

“No.”

Chen Shi smiled at Peng Siyue, “She’s fine with it. What’s your problem?”

Peng Siyue was speechless.

They went out. Given that the housekeeper walked the dog daily, many residents knew it. Some said they hadn’t seen the golden retriever in about two weeks.

Dogs have their social circles too, and owners know each other’s pets well.

The neighborhood was large, with multiple buildings. They found nothing until Chen Shi spotted a scavenger and showed his badge, “Hello, we need to ask you some questions. Have you seen a golden retriever?”

The scavenger frantically waved his hands, indicating he didn’t know and was about to leave. Chen Shi found his behavior suspicious. “Don’t worry, we won’t get you into trouble. There’s a reward for providing information.”

“What kind of reward?” The scavenger’s expression changed.

Chen Shi took out a hundred yuan bill. The scavenger reached for it, but Chen Shi pulled it back. “Tell me where the dog is first.”

The scavenger hesitated, “If I say it was eaten, will you arrest me?”

“Who ate it? You?”

“An old lady scavenger named Liu, living under the overpass outside the neighborhood. One night, I smelled something cooking. She said she found a dead dog in a dumpster.”

“Don’t you fear it might be poisoned?”

“What?!” The scavenger covered his mouth in fear, indicating he might have eaten some too.

Chen Shi reassured him, “Don’t worry, the dog was beaten to death. Can you take us to see Liu?”

“Money first.”

Chen Shi said, “We passed that overpass earlier. There’s no one living there. You’re lying, aren’t you?”

The scavenger awkwardly laughed, “I was afraid you’d cause trouble. I know the dog was valuable. I couldn’t afford to compensate if needed.”

“Be honest. We’re investigating a case, not looking to cause you trouble.”

The scavenger admitted, “I found the dead dog and cooked it. It looked big but didn’t have much meat. It only lasted two meals… But the dog meat was delicious! I barely added any seasoning.”

Chen Shi laughed, “I don’t care about that. What day was it?”

“February 2nd? No, February 3rd early morning… The neighborhood’s dumpsters are set out at 9 PM for the garbage trucks the next morning. Sometimes I rummage through them. That night, I saw someone dump a large burlap sack. When they left, I opened it and found the dead dog, still warm. I took it home, cleaned it, and cooked it.”

Peng Siyue excitedly asked, “Did you see the person’s face?”

“It was dark, couldn’t see clearly.”

“Was it a man or a woman?”

“Man? Or maybe a woman… It was too dark. I focused on the bag.”

“Where’s the burlap sack now?” Chen Shi asked.

“At my place. Want it?”

Chen Shi took out another hundred yuan, “This is your reward for providing information. This one buys the sack. Okay?”

“Okay, follow me.”

They followed the scavenger to his nearby home, a basement in an unfinished building. It was dark, making Peng Siyue nervous. He cautiously looked around before descending.

Chen Shi joked, “Nice place. Warm in winter, cool in summer. Better than my house.”

The scavenger laughed, “Please don’t mock me.”

After some searching, he found the burlap sack. Peng Siyue was skeptical, “You have so many sacks. Sure it’s the right one?”

Chen Shi felt the sack and saw an English logo. He smiled, “No mistake. You can’t buy these sacks around here.”