Chapter 93: Really Like a Cop
While waiting, Chen Shi called Lin Qiupu. Lin answered immediately, “Stop investigating! Captain Peng and his team are on their way. The body hasn’t even been autopsied yet, so what are you investigating? Stop causing trouble!”
“Can’t I be interested in this? By the way, can you find a body of water in the area? The deceased was 160 cm tall, so the water had to be at least 1.4 meters deep to drown him.”
“Now you’re giving me orders? Forget it!”
“Fine, fine, I’ll find out myself.”
“Stop investigating—”
Before Lin could finish, Chen Shi hung up. Tao Yueyue made a face, “He’s angry.”
“Who cares?”
Just then, the door opened, and a woman in leather pants and jacket, smoking a cigarette, walked in. Tao Yueyue whispered, “Uncle Chen, I think it’s her.”
Hearing this, the woman flinched and bolted. Chen Shi shouted, “Why are you running? We’re not here for a raid.”
The woman chuckled nervously and returned, “I got nervous when I heard you were police.”
“Are you the manager here?”
A nearby waiter said, “She’s Sister Li.”
“Sister Li, are you the manager?”
“Sister Li is just Sister Li,” the waiter clarified.
“You can consider me the manager,” Sister Li said.
Chen Shi said, “Seems like you’re in charge, so I won’t beat around the bush. Did someone dump a male corpse outside your place last night?”
“Officer, you know the situation well. Yes, we found a man lying outside at eight last night. We thought he was drunk, but he was dead.”
“You admitted that easily. Not only did you not report it, but you also moved the body? Do you know how much trouble that caused us?”
“I knew you’d come for me eventually, so I was prepared.”
“Tampering with a corpse is a serious crime.”
“I didn’t tamper with him. What’s there to tamper with on a dead guy?”
“Not reporting it is also a crime.”
“I accept that. Fine me if you must. I just didn’t want a dead body found at my place. If police cars show up here, how can I do business? I suspect the place across the street did it. We’re competitors, and that old hag over there often poaches our girls—I mean, our hostesses. We run a legitimate business here.”
“Enough, the more you explain, the worse it gets. Let’s focus on the matter at hand. What was the situation when you found the body? Do you have surveillance? Did you see any suspicious people or vehicles?”
“No surveillance, and I didn’t notice anything suspicious. Just a wet man lying there.”
“He was naked?”
“Well… he wasn’t dressed.”
Chen Shi sneered, “That’s a lie. What was he wearing?”
Sister Li looked embarrassed, scratching her cheek, “Suit pants, one sock, and a shirt.”
“Where are the clothes?”
“Little Song took them off when moving him. His hands got dirty, so he used the clothes to wipe them and threw them in the slop bucket. He took the pants, too.”
“Why take a dead man’s pants?”
“He said they were designer, worth 2,000 yuan. He wanted to buy them, so he took them.”
“Get him here! Why did you decide to dump the body there?”
“Because… well…” Sister Li hesitated. “I once ordered food from that restaurant and found a dead cockroach in it. They refused to refund me and claimed I planted it. I was furious. Do you think I’d do something so low? I’ve held a grudge ever since. So, officer, is their restaurant shut down?”
“Yes, as you wished.”
Sister Li seemed pleased, “Can I leave now?”
“Wait.”
Tao Yueyue tugged on Chen Shi’s sleeve and whispered, “You really seem like a cop.”
Chen Shi winked and whispered back, “I am one.”
Tao Yueyue made a funny face at him.
Soon, Little Song was brought in. He wore trendy clothes and had many tattoos, but his worn collar and cuffs showed he was struggling financially.
Sister Li whispered to him that the police were here about last night. Little Song smiled ingratiatingly and offered his hand, which Chen Shi ignored.
“What do you do here?”
“I’m in a band.”
“Are these props yours?”
“Yes… rented.”
“Why did you dump the body?”
“Sister Li said some jerk left the dead guy to ruin the club. If it closed, I’d be out of a job, too. So, I agreed to help. It wasn’t like we killed him.”
“Do you know moving the body hinders our investigation and indirectly helps the killer?”
“Every man for himself,” Little Song smiled, revealing yellowed teeth.
“Hand over anything you took from the deceased. Those are evidence.”
“Sure, sure!”
Little Song fetched a bag containing the pants, a keychain, and a wallet. Chen Shi checked the wallet; the money was soaked, but there was a bank card.
He examined the pants, noting the frayed cuffs. Tao Yueyue said, “That’s from a hamster.”
“Do hamsters have teeth that big?”
Chen Shi collected the items, got contact info from Sister Li and Little Song, and took the box that had held the body. As they left, Sister Li asked, “You’re not going to investigate us, right?”
Chen Shi glanced inside the club, where scantily clad women roamed. He smiled, “We’re not investigating that.”
Back at the car, Chen Shi stowed the pants, box, and wallet. Lin Qiupu called, “I found it. There’s a park nearby with an artificial lake.”
“Weren’t you not helping?”
“Hmph, I want to see if you can solve this alone.”
“And if I do?”
Lin Qiupu deflected, “Any progress?”
Chen Shi summarized the situation. Lin Qiupu said, “They moved the body and took his clothes? Bold move. I’ll make sure to deal with that club.”
“Where’s Captain Peng?”
“Stuck in traffic. This traffic… You call him ‘Old Peng’? You two close?”
“Don’t mind that… Are there residential areas near the park?”
“Yeah, several. Five neighborhoods. Good luck checking them all!” Lin Qiupu laughed.