Chapter 524: Huge Sum of Money

Half an hour later, the Husky was sitting by Chen Shi’s car, drinking the water he had given it. Chen Shi called the station and found out that the phone number belonged to Lin Hui, an accountant at a design company. It was a foreign company with a branch in Long’an where Lin Hui worked.

The police and traffic officers arrived soon after and searched the area for Lin Hui but found nothing. As the primary witness, Chen Shi was repeatedly questioned by each new batch of officers, which was getting tiresome.

Chen Shi emphasized that he hadn’t seen any suspicious vehicles or people, and there were no other cars between him and the Mercedes, nor had he heard any strange sounds.

The more he explained, the more suspicious the police seemed of him. While it’s a cop’s job to be suspicious, being the subject of their suspicion wasn’t pleasant.

This delay meant he had no idea when he’d get home. He called Tao Yueyue to let her know. Tao Yueyue asked, “Was that lady kidnapped by aliens?”

“Thankfully not, or the police would think I’m crazy… I’ll be back later, you go to sleep.”

“Be careful.”

After hanging up, Captain Zhang mentioned checking the gas station’s surveillance footage. The Husky kept following Chen Shi, so he brought it along.

The gas station had four surveillance cameras, capturing Chen Shi refueling from various angles. He thought this might serve as evidence in his favor.

However, the cameras hadn’t captured the Mercedes. Only one camera pointed towards the entrance had caught a glimpse of the car speeding by, eight minutes before Chen Shi started refueling. After that, there was nothing notable.

It was nearing 10 PM, and Chen Shi was frustrated. He told Captain Zhang, “I’m heading home.”

“Could you come back to the station later to file a report?”

“How about this: I’ll talk to Captain Lin, and we’ll file the report at the main station. Send the car to the main station too; there’s always someone on duty there. I’ll give them a heads-up.”

“Thanks for your help.”

Chen Shi glanced at the Husky beside him. He couldn’t trust the dog to the police, so he decided to take it home himself.

He got home at 11 PM. The Husky was excited to be indoors, sniffing everywhere and licking up the leftover cat food. Maomao, the cat, puffed up in fear and climbed the curtains, hissing.

Tao Yueyue asked, “Uncle Chen, why did you bring a dog home?”

“Her owner mysteriously disappeared, so we have to keep her here for now.”

“What about Maomao?”

“They’ll have to get along. You never know, maybe the dog will get scared of Maomao!” Chen Shi said, patting the dog’s head. The dog looked up at him with a dopey expression, panting.

“Let’s put her in the kitchen,” Chen Shi suggested.

In the kitchen, Tao Yueyue lured the dog with a piece of ham while Chen Shi pried open the dog’s mouth to check for blood. There were traces of blood, likely from licking its owner. He swabbed a sample and stored it in the fridge.

Tao Yueyue gave the dog the ham and watched it curiously. “Are we going to keep her?”

“Just a minute ago, you didn’t want her, and now you’re interested?” Chen Shi cleaned the dog’s belly wound with iodine.

“I didn’t say I wanted to keep her! I asked if you wanted to.”

“Hmm… No, it’s too much trouble. I don’t have time to walk a dog.”

“Do you think she might have bitten her owner?”

Chen Shi looked at the dog. “I doubt it. She seems too dumb to hurt anyone.”

“When you solve cases, you suspect anyone with the capability to commit the crime. Why not suspect the dog? Maybe something happened, and she bit her owner, who then ran off.”

Chen Shi thought about it and realized Tao Yueyue had a point. “But there was a lot of money in the car. If the owner had time to lock the dog inside, why leave the money?”

“Maybe it was an emergency.”

“Let’s think about this tomorrow. The case isn’t officially open yet… What about the dog?”

“Put her in the bathroom with a bed.”

That night, the Husky spent the night in the bathroom. She scratched at the door for hours before giving up. By morning, she had emptied the trash can. When she saw Chen Shi, she excitedly jumped up, but he pushed her away, finding her a bit gross. The morning was chaotic.

Not wanting to leave the dog at home, Chen Shi brought her to the station. Lin Qiupu frowned. “Why did you bring a dog here? We’re trying to work!”

“This dog is a witness… no, a suspect. Do you want to interrogate her or hold her?”

“Are you getting back at me? We were genuinely busy last night…”

“Any news on the missing person?”

“The district station called this morning. They haven’t found her. The car is in our garage, and the money is in the safe,” Lin Qiupu said, looking troubled. “We can’t officially open a case until 24 hours have passed.”

“Do you have any other plans today? If not, we should start investigating. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Chen Shi left the dog and went to have breakfast. Lin Qiupu yelled after him, “Hey, don’t leave the dog here!”

Lin Qiupu then gathered the team for a brief meeting. Hearing Chen Shi’s account, everyone was surprised and had many questions. Old Zhang was the first to speak, “Chen, are you sure…”

Chen Shi interrupted, “I’ve told you everything at least ten times. I’ve mentioned every detail. I can’t possibly be making this up. It’s just that strange.”

Everyone glanced at the dog drinking water. Lin Dongxue said, “I think we need to figure out where that money came from first. The missing person is an accountant. Could the money be related to her company?”

Lin Qiupu agreed, “Let’s start with the company. Also, interview her family and anyone who saw her last…”

Chen Shi pointed at himself, “That would be me!”

“I mean before you. Find out where she went, who she met, and what she did.”

The team dispersed. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue went to Lin Hui’s company. They learned that Lin Hui had taken three days of sick leave starting September 8. The company claimed no large sums of money were missing. If there had been, the internal surveillance would have caught it.

Chen Shi, still skeptical, reviewed footage from September 8. That night, Lin Hui worked late, leaving around 9 PM without any suspicious behavior.

Her desk drawer wasn’t locked. It contained personal items, and her sick leave was for a gynecological check-up…