Chapter 76: A Desperate Move

After a good night’s sleep, Lin Dongxue felt much better. She texted Lin Qiupu: “I won’t be at the morning meeting. I’m going to the hospital with ‘someone’ to check on some leads.”

Lin Qiupu, being gracious, replied, “Is he Voldemort? Can’t even mention his name? Do you think your brother is that petty? Be careful on the road.”

Lin Dongxue took a taxi to the hospital, where she found Chen Shi chatting with an elderly lady in the lobby. She greeted him, and Chen Shi said goodbye to the lady and walked over.

“How do you manage to talk to anyone?” Lin Dongxue asked. “What are we checking here?”

“Three months ago, the Wu family had an incident. Wu Hao severely injured his brother. Back then, these two cunning people devised this plan, so where did the life-sustaining equipment come from?”

“Here!”

“Right. From Peng Sijue’s autopsy records, the victim was severely injured. They may seem calm now, but they must have panicked back then. If they didn’t treat the victim promptly, he wouldn’t have survived. Pan Xiuying might have used her position to take some medical tools and drugs from here.”

“Wow, I didn’t think of that!” Lin Dongxue clapped her hands in excitement.

“Let’s check the pharmacy.”

They found the hospital’s inventory manager and asked if any medical tools had been lost in the past three months. The manager said no.

“I check the inventory every night before I leave. Nothing is missing.”

Chen Shi, showing the persistence of a human recording machine, repeated the question three times. The manager gave the same answer three times. Chen Shi smiled, “You’re not telling the truth, are you? Don’t worry, we’re not here to hold you accountable. We’re just investigating a case. We won’t tell the hospital… But if you don’t cooperate, we might have to involve the hospital for a thorough check.”

The manager looked embarrassed. Chen Shi pulled out a pack of Yuxi cigarettes and handed it to him, “Sir, please help us out. It’s a murder case.”

“A murder case in our hospital?”

“No, it involves some related personnel. Don’t worry, you and the hospital won’t be held responsible.”

The manager finally relaxed and said, “Alright, I’ll tell you. Around September 17th, some items went missing, but I didn’t report it.”

“Why not? Afraid of losing money? How do you remember the date so clearly?”

“It was my granddaughter’s birthday that day. I left early that evening. If they found out, I’d get a pay cut… But I figured it was an inside job. I kept an eye on it afterward, and nothing else went missing. It seems the thief acted on impulse.”

“What was taken?”

The manager listed, “Barbiturate salts, dexamethasone, several bags of saline solution, a whole pack of nasal feeding tubes, some gauze, cotton swabs, medical alcohol, syringes, IV tubes… I keep everything categorized. An outsider couldn’t have taken them so precisely.”

Lin Dongxue stopped jotting down notes, her pupils dilating. She felt a sense of approaching the truth. These items were all used for bedridden patients.

“Thank you!” Chen Shi said. “One more thing, if we need you to testify later, can you come to court?”

“Uh, will the hospital find out?”

Lin Dongxue replied, “Answering a court summons and testifying is a citizen’s duty. We can’t guarantee the hospital won’t find out, but we won’t tell them. We hope you’ll cooperate; it’s very important.”

The manager licked his lips, “I shouldn’t have left early that night… Fine, I’ll testify.”

“Thank you!”

Leaving the storeroom, Lin Dongxue said excitedly, “It looks like we have a lead. If we find the surveillance footage proving Pan Xiuying took these items…”

“It’s no use. Three months have passed; the footage has long been overwritten.”

“But at least we can confirm they did it. What’s next?”

“Wait.”

Under Lin Qiupu’s orders, the task force adjusted their strategy, harassing Wu Hao and Pan Xiuying daily for seven days. The hot-tempered Wu Hao, during one police interrogation, inadvertently blurted out, “If you can find evidence I killed anyone, I’ll take your last name!”

This slip of the tongue wasn’t evidence but pierced Wu Hao’s heart like a needle, making him increasingly anxious.

Meanwhile, Lin Qiupu assigned two teams to monitor Wu Hao’s every move.

Life seemed to continue peacefully, but few knew that the two criminals were suffering, constantly watched by unseen eyes, waiting for them to slip.

One day, Lin Qiupu received a frantic call from an officer, “Captain Lin, bad news. The guy bolted.”

Lin Qiupu was shocked, “How could you lose him? Four of you couldn’t watch one person?”

“It wasn’t that… He went downstairs to get his car. We thought he was going out, but he reversed and rammed us, then drove off. He hit several cars on the way… He’s gone mad!”

Lin Qiupu, stunned, said, “Try to catch him. I’ll send more people.”

He rushed into the office, telling all detectives to drop their work and get armed for an emergency. Officers filed out, but Lin Dongxue made a call at that moment.

“Who are you calling?” Lin Qiupu asked.

“I’m asking Chen Shi where he might go.”

Lin Qiupu laughed in frustration, “He’s not a god; he can’t predict the future.”

On the other end, Chen Shi overheard and said, “Put me on speaker.”

Lin Dongxue complied. Chen Shi said, “Captain Lin, you haven’t had anyone watching Pan Xiuying, have you?”

“No,” Lin Qiupu replied impatiently.

“Wu Hao is likely heading to her.”

“I don’t believe it!”

“Pan Xiuying is his sister-in-law but actually his lover. To escape guilt, he’s been enduring this situation. Now, driven to desperation, who do you think he’ll go to first?”

Lin Qiupu was convinced, “Dongxue, Xiaodong, Xiao Li, come with me!”

They sped to Ximen Sheng’s company. Since they stopped investigating Ximen Sheng, the company resumed operations, and Pan Xiuying, who no longer worked, was with Ximen Sheng daily.

Lin Qiupu sent Xu Xiaodong upstairs to inquire. He soon returned, saying, “The staff said their boss is at his villa in Yian Community.”

As he finished, Lin Qiupu received a call from headquarters, “Captain, we just got a report from Yian Community on Tengfei South Road. A man frantically reported someone broke into his house with a knife, trying to kill him and his wife.”

“I’ll handle it!”

Hanging up, Lin Qiupu looked complexly at Lin Dongxue, “That guy… He really can predict things!”