Chapter 26: Embezzlement

The older woman asked in surprise, “A case? What case?”

Lin Dongxue was furious inside. That unreliable Xu Xiaodong, not only did he fail to gather any useful information, but he also spilled the beans about the case.

Lin Dongxue quickly tried to cover it up, “I’m very sorry, but we can’t disclose that information.”

The older woman insisted, “That’s not acceptable. Kong Wende is my employee. I have every right to know what’s going on with him. What happened to him?”

Lin Dongxue was about to respond when Xu Xiaodong, lacking any sense, blurted out, “He was murdered!”

“What!?” The older woman gasped, covering her mouth.

Lin Dongxue felt like strangling Xu Xiaodong right then and there. The older woman asked, “Who did it?”

“If we knew that, we wouldn’t be here,” Xu Xiaodong replied, chuckling at his own joke.

“So, you’re investigating this? You suspect someone from the company?” she asked.

“No, no, we’re just gathering information. By the way, please don’t spread this around. The police haven’t released any official information yet,” Xu Xiaodong added.

“Got it, got it!” she nodded.

Lin Dongxue gritted her teeth, knowing full well that the woman would immediately tell her colleagues and then say, “Don’t spread this around.” It was as if saying it or not made no difference.

Xu Xiaodong, trying to be clever, asked, “Do you know if Kong Wende had any personal enemies?”

“As far as I know, he didn’t. Kong Wende got along quite well with everyone. Even if there were a few colleagues he didn’t get along with, it wouldn’t be to the point of killing each other!” she replied.

Lin Dongxue shifted the conversation back, “You mentioned earlier that Kong Wende took out insurance for his entire family. What was that about?”

“Insurance? We work in insurance. It’s normal to buy insurance for ourselves. Sometimes, when we don’t meet our monthly targets, we buy a policy to make up the numbers. That’s all normal. I have insurance for my whole family, too,” she explained.

Lin Dongxue glanced at the shocked Xu Xiaodong, thinking, ‘See, your cleverness got us nowhere.’ She then asked, “We’d also like to know more about his high-interest loans.”

The older woman hesitated, “Well…”

“If you don’t know, it’s fine. We’ll ask someone else,” Xu Xiaodong said, already preparing to leave.

“He embezzled company funds!” the older woman suddenly blurted out.

Both of them sat back down, and Lin Dongxue asked in surprise, “What!? Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

“I just remembered,” the woman laughed, her acting so poor that even Lin Dongxue could tell. She knew that the woman was more willing to talk now that Kong Wende was dead and no longer a threat.

It seemed that Xu Xiaodong’s accidental disclosure had actually helped.

“Can you tell us more about it?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Here’s the situation. Kong Wende was in charge of training new recruits. Earlier this year, the company’s accountant found dozens of fake invoices and discovered that there were hundreds of new employees who didn’t exist. Someone had been embezzling a significant amount of training funds in their names, totaling around 400,000 yuan.”

“That much!?” Xu Xiaodong exclaimed.

“Yes, when this came to light, it pointed straight to Kong Wende. He thought he had covered his tracks well, but with the company’s strict protocols, it wasn’t hard to trace back to him. I confronted him privately, and he admitted to the embezzlement. Initially, it started small, but as he continued, he got bolder, eventually embezzling 400,000 yuan. We’re old colleagues, and I didn’t want to take it to court, so I ordered him to cover the shortfall by any means necessary. He did repay the money, and I didn’t bring it up again,” she explained.

“When did this happen?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“Early April of this year,” she replied.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Leaving the insurance company, Lin Dongxue tried to piece together the clues. “It seems like Kong Wende embezzled the funds first, then used that money for his father-in-law’s medical expenses. When it came to light, he had no choice but to take out high-interest loans,” she analyzed.

Xu Xiaodong said, “So, it all points back to the high-interest loans as the main suspect.”

“Do you really think loan sharks would kill him?”

“You have no idea what kind of people loan sharks are. They’re often former gang members, thugs. You wouldn’t believe how ruthless they can be!” Xu Xiaodong asserted confidently.

Lin Dongxue thought to herself, ‘If not for Chen Shi’s earlier insights, I might have believed that too. But I trust Chen Shi’s instincts more. Loan sharks are not the culprits.’

“It’s getting late. Let me drive you home,” Xu Xiaodong offered with a grin.

“No need, I’ll take a cab. See you at the office tomorrow.” Lin Dongxue walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi.

That evening, she texted Chen Shi to update him on the progress. He didn’t reply, probably asleep already. She couldn’t help but grumble, ‘How can he be so relaxed at a time like this?’

The next morning, she arrived at the office and headed to the technical team. In the empty office, Team Leader Peng Shijue was analyzing some data on his screen. Judging by the several empty cans of Red Bull on his desk, he hadn’t slept all night.

“You’re just in time!” Peng Shijue said. “The DNA test results are on the desk. Have a look.”

Lin Dongxue picked up the report and saw that the blood sample from the little boy matched the blood on the knife handle with a 99% probability. She almost gasped out loud. Chen Shi had been right—the little boy and the suspect were related.

“Why so happy?” Peng Shijue suddenly threw cold water on her excitement. “Check the third page.”

Lin Dongxue suspiciously turned to the third page. After reading it, she exclaimed, “The blood!”

Peng Shijue turned in his chair, holding a bag of mint candies. “That blood is from the male victim, not the suspect.”

“That doesn’t make sense. The knife handle was broken, clearly from cutting the suspect’s finger. How could it be the male victim’s blood?” she wondered.

“That’s for you to figure out. I just provide the results.”

“Alright, thanks.”

“Wait, who was that man with you yesterday?” Peng Shijue asked.

“A driver.”

Peng Shijue mused, “The way he spoke… it reminded me of someone.”

“Who?” Lin Dongxue asked.

“I wasn’t talking to you. You can go now. Don’t bother me while I’m working.”

“Hmph, who does he think he is?” Lin Dongxue grumbled as she left the technical team. However, she thought it over and realized Peng Shijue had helped. She decided to show her appreciation.

When the team hadn’t arrived yet, Lin Dongxue went out and bought an Eternal Soy Milk Combo, bringing it to the technical team with a cheerful smile. “Team Leader Peng, thank you for your help. I bought you some breakfast. Enjoy it while it’s hot!”

“I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t eat outside food. Take it away.” Peng Shijue didn’t even turn from his computer.

If she didn’t know that this was just his personality, Lin Dongxue would have thrown the breakfast at him. Instead, she said politely, “I’ll just leave it here.”

“Hey, take it away!”

Peng Shijue turned around, but Lin Dongxue was already gone. Sighing, he shut the door, opened the breakfast, and took a bite of the century egg and lean pork congee. Complaining to himself, “This tastes awful!”

He quickly finished it anyway.