Chapter 580: Timid Justice

Chen Shi drove quickly, prompting Lin Dongxue to caution him, “Slow down! Slow down!”

They had learned from Tao Yueyue that she had found an eyewitness. Chen Shi was excited beyond words. When he arrived at the agreed location, he called Tao Yueyue to ask where they were. She replied, “We’re at a red-signed anime store.”

Turning his head, Chen Shi saw Tao Yueyue waving from behind the window.

As soon as Chen Shi entered, Cao Rui, the eyewitness, hid behind a shelf, nervously glancing toward the street. Tao Yueyue whispered, “He’s scared of retaliation.”

Chen Shi spoke from behind the shelf, “Do you want to talk in the car?”

“…”

“In movies, informants always talk in cars. It’s safe.”

“But there are also informants who get hit by cars as soon as they get out, or bad guys plant bombs in the car and blow everyone up.”

Chen Shi thought, how timid is this boy? “We’ll move the car to the corner, and Yueyue will take you there. Okay?”

“…Alright.”

Soon, Cao Rui and Tao Yueyue got into the car. Cao Rui, holding a small Batman figurine, nervously said, “Hello!” His gaze shifted from Chen Shi to Lin Dongxue, and his cheeks turned slightly red.

“Was it you who made the anonymous call?”

“Yes, it was me.”

“Do you know that if a witness’s identity can’t be verified, their testimony can’t be used in court?”

“Of course, I know that. I thought giving you some clues would help you solve the case quickly. But then you guys brought Mr. Liu in today. Are you kidding me?”

Chen Shi was taken aback and exchanged a look with Lin Dongxue. Both of them laughed, realizing the boy had misunderstood.

Lin Dongxue patiently explained, “We didn’t arrest Mr. Liu this afternoon. We just brought him in for some questions. He’s already back home.”

“Then, am I going to be taken in for questioning too?”

“No need. Just tell us here,” Chen Shi said, taking out his phone. “Can I record this?”

“Sure.”

“What’s your name?”

“Cao Rui.”

After giving his basic information, Chen Shi asked, “It was the day before the holiday. Why were you still at school?”

“Do I have to tell the truth?”

“Definitely.”

“You’re not going to tell the teachers, are you?”

“Protecting witnesses is the police’s duty.”

“That day, Mr. Xu from our class confiscated my cardholder with my Zelda cards. I wasn’t playing in class, but he saw the cardholder peeking out of my bag and took it. Don’t you think he’s a jerk?”

“No comment.”

“Mr. Xu ‘stole’ my cards and mocked me in class. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I spent so much effort collecting those cards, especially the rare ones. So, after school, I borrowed some junk cards from a classmate, planning to swap them back. Mr. Xu doesn’t know cards, he shouldn’t notice. But I heard Mr. Yan and Mr. Lin arguing in the office, so I waited outside…”

“Where did you wait?”

“At the back door of the classroom next to the stairs.”

“Go on.”

“They argued and argued. Mr. Lin said he misjudged Mr. Yan and that he was a bad person. Mr. Yan said something about looking out for himself. I thought Mr. Yan was having an affair. It was interesting at first, then there was a sudden bang, and everything went silent. I heard Mr. Yan crying, muffling his sobs. I felt something was wrong and got really scared. I was afraid Mr. Yan would come out and kill me. So I ran. I went down the other staircase but didn’t dare cross the playground. I was afraid Mr. Yan would see me from upstairs. So I hid under the stairs, trembling. I don’t know how long I waited. I saw Mr. Yan carrying a sack across the playground. From my angle, I could see a corner of the parking lot. He put the sack in the trunk, and then a light shone on his car, maybe from headlights. Mr. Yan was stunned. I was too, thinking he was going to kill me to keep me quiet. He stared at the light, then walked over, like he was talking to someone…”

“Do you know who it was?”

“Mr. Zhou Tiannan.”

“Did you see his face?”

Cao Rui shook his head. “They talked, then Mr. Yan drove away first. Then Mr. Zhou’s car left the parking lot. I paid attention these past few days and found out that car was his.”

“Do you have a photo?”

Cao Rui took out his phone and showed a picture. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue were shocked. It was a blurry image of Mr. Yan carrying the sack across the playground. Despite Cao Rui’s shaky hands and the darkness, the phone’s resolution was much better than surveillance cameras. A little technical processing would clear it up.

Cao Rui said, “I was so scared taking that photo, afraid Mr. Yan would suddenly turn around or that I had forgotten to turn off the flash!”

Chen Shi said, “Kid, you’ve helped us a lot. The whole case is just missing a key testimony. Your testimony is more crucial than the photo. Thank you for being brave enough to come forward.”

Cao Rui blushed. “I could have spoken up earlier. But what if I have to testify in court? What if Mr. Yan retaliates? I don’t want to, I don’t want to testify!”

“Coward!” Tao Yueyue teased.

“I’m not a coward! I’m just… just…” Cao Rui looked embarrassed, clearly caring about Tao Yueyue’s opinion as a peer of the opposite sex.

Chen Shi ended the recording and sent it to Lin Qiupu. “I’ll take you home,” he said.

“Thank you, sir.”

After dropping Cao Rui off, he cautiously looked around before getting out of the car. Just before leaving, he handed his Batman figurine to Tao Yueyue, blushing. “I have a bigger one at home. This is for you.”

Cao Rui ran off into the neighborhood. Lin Dongxue chuckled, “Yueyue, he seems to like you!”

“Huh? What’s there to like about me?” Tao Yueyue pouted, examining the figurine.

Chen Shi checked his messages. Lin Qiupu had replied with three exclamation marks. “Fantastic! Get that kid to come in for a statement.”

Chen Shi called back, “Captain Lin, the kid doesn’t want to come to the bureau. He’s scared of retaliation.”

“Explain it to him. The police can protect him. A recording isn’t enough; we need a formal statement.”

“Alright, I’ll try to negotiate.”

Chen Shi hung up. “Yueyue, where does he live?”

Tao Yueyue found Cao Rui’s address from his ID photo, and the three of them got out of the car.

Cao Rui didn’t expect them to come back. He was at home with his grandmother, who was making green bean soup. She greeted them, “Are you Rui’s classmates? Come in and have some soup.”

“They’re not thirsty,” Cao Rui said, lowering his voice. “Why are you back? What if I get retaliated against?”

Tao Yueyue scoffed, “Coward, who’s going to retaliate against you?”