Animal Detective-Chapter 43: The Car

Back at the station, Shen Xin said a quick hello to Wang Shuwei, who was on duty, then got in his car to head out.

Wang Shuwei even chased after him, reminding Shen Xin to follow Chen Chao’s orders and to watch and learn as much as he could.

Shen Xin took note. A little over half an hour later, he arrived at the location Chen Chao had sent him.

It was in Xinbei District.

The location was quite far from Xianghong Village, nearly ten kilometers away.

This area wasn’t far from Ji Port City, which was administered by Nanjiang City. It was what you’d call the real countryside.

But then again, a city doesn’t really have a ’real’ countryside.

The township, named Xinqiao, was actually well-developed. It was home to a large number of factories that specialized in environmental equipment.

The address Chen Chao had given him was on Hongxi Road, a car repair shop called Yongjia Repair Factory.

When he arrived, Chen Chao wasn’t there yet.

He sent Shen Xin a message, saying something had come up and he might be a little late.

Shen Xin parked on the side of the road and looked at the repair shop.

It wasn’t very big—just three storefronts wide.

The sign above the entrance looked a little old.

He had arrived just after two in the afternoon. The shop was open, and it looked like there were three mechanics, each busy with their own tasks.

It looked like a perfectly ordinary repair shop.

About twenty minutes later, Shen Xin saw Chen Chao’s SUV.

He stopped behind Shen Xin’s car.

Shen Xin got out of the car to greet him.

Two men got out, both in plainclothes.

The other man was young and average-looking, with a few acne scars on his cheeks. But he had long legs, a tall and well-proportioned build, and a spiky buzz cut that made him look sharp and energetic.

He even took a step forward and proactively shook Shen Xin’s hand. In a hearty accent, he said, "Brother, I’ve heard all about you. They say you found a clue by looking for cats and dogs. No two ways about it, that’s badass."

His hands were large, and his handshake was firm.

But his expression and tone of voice when he spoke gave off a slightly flippant vibe.

"Zhao Tianxing," he added, introducing himself with a grin that revealed a set of yellowish teeth.

Shen Xin felt a little awkward. The way Zhao Tianxing talked about "looking for cats and dogs" made him feel like some kind of freak.

But Shen Xin didn’t take it to heart. He could tell Zhao Tianxing meant no harm. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Get in," Chen Chao called out, getting into Shen Xin’s car.

Once inside, Zhao Tianxing deftly started passing out cigarettes.

Shen Xin shook his head, declining.

Zhao Tianxing lit one for himself. "Good for you. I didn’t smoke when I first joined either, but then this pack of old chimney stacks corrupted me."

Chen Chao shot him a glare. "Let’s get down to business."

He took out his phone and began to lay out the clues they had found.

"First off, there were three people who erected the tombstone."

"Gao Taiping, Gao Taian, and Gao Taixi."

"Judging by their names, they should be from the same generation, and they are. Our investigation confirmed they’re all children of this Gao Yucheng."

"The Gao family is from Jinyang Village. It’s a big family, but after screening them, we focused our attention on Gao Taian’s branch."

"Gao Taiping is the eldest brother. His son went to do business in the southern Jiaozhou Province years ago, and the whole family moved there in 2001."

"When Wu Jiawang disappeared in 2010, his entire family wasn’t even in Nanjiang."

"Then there’s the third child, the daughter, Gao Taixi. She married a man in Xinyun City in northern Ningjiang Province and settled down there. She still keeps in touch with her family in Nanjiang, but they only see each other during holidays."

"The only branch that remained in Nanjiang was that of the second son, Gao Taian."

"Gao Taian had three children, all sons. They’ve also spread out, and their families are all over the place now."

"Then, during our screening, we noticed someone in particular."

Chen Chao showed Shen Xin a household registration file on his phone.

"Gao Jinrui. Gao Taian’s grandson. Born in ’79, which made him 31 in 2010."

"You theorized that Wu Jiawang was killed in an accidental hit-and-run, so we focused our screening on vehicles. And that’s when we found something unusual."

"In 2008, this Gao Jinrui registered a Nissan Teana under his name. And here’s where it gets coincidental."

Chen Chao turned his head to look at the repair shop across the street.

"Wu Jiawang disappeared on March 12, 2010, which was Arbor Day. His school let out for a half-day. After lunch, he told Wu Zhicun he was going out to play. He still hadn’t come back by late that night, which is when Wu Zhicun asked the neighbors for help searching and eventually called the police."

"And then, just five days later, on the 17th, the Nissan Teana registered to Gao Jinrui was transferred to a man named Zhang Xuwei. And that Zhang Xuwei is the owner of this very Yongjia Repair Factory."

"Isn’t that a bit of a coincidence?" he asked with a smile.

Shen Xin nodded.

No kidding, it was more than a little strange.

’The car Gao Jinrui bought in ’08 was only two years old in ’10. It was practically brand new.’

’Selling it at that point would have been the worst time financially.’

"Was he short on cash for his business?" Shen Xin asked.

If he needed money urgently, selling the car would make sense.

"No." Chen Chao shook his head. "The guy was the Section Chief of the Supervision Department for the Tingyang District Education Bureau. A Section Chief at 31... he was young, promising, and had a stable job. He wouldn’t have been short on cash."

"And just half a month after selling the Teana, he bought a new CR-V. Don’t you find that strange?"

He had a two-year-old car, wasn’t short on money, and sold it for no apparent reason, only to immediately buy a new one.

Shen Xin thought for a moment. "Not necessarily. Maybe he’s just rich and was tired of driving a sedan, so he wanted to switch to an SUV."

Chen Chao nodded. That was a possibility, but it was equally possible that Gao Jinrui had to sell the Teana for a very specific reason.

He was about to speak, but was interrupted by Zhao Tianxing.

"Captain Chen, we’re here to investigate a lead. How did this turn into a case analysis meeting? Let’s just go in and ask him already," Zhao Tianxing said, getting restless.

Chen Chao agreed. With a nod, he got out of the car and walked over.

"I’m the owner."

A head poked out from under a car lift.

His face was flat with sunken cheekbones and heavy crow’s feet. He looked to be in his forties or fifties.

"Zhang Xuwei?" Chen Chao stepped forward, flashing his badge.

Seeing the police badge and hearing them say his name, the man’s expression changed, and he scrambled out from under the car.

"That’s me. I’m Zhang Xuwei." He nodded, looking a little nervous. He started to offer his hand, but then noticed it was covered in grease and pulled it back. He waved at his two employees to stop staring, then forced a smile and asked what he could do for them.

Chen Chao led him outside the shop and got straight to the point, asking if he had bought a Nissan Teana back in 2010.

According to DMV records, the Teana hadn’t been scrapped and was still on the road.

"Yeah," Zhang Xuwei said, looking a bit dazed. His eyes drifted, and he was probably wondering why the police were asking about a seven-year-old car.

He added that the car was at home. The mileage was getting high, so he didn’t drive it much anymore.

Chen Chao asked him directly who he’d bought the car from and under what circumstances.

At the mention of this, Zhang Xuwei’s expression changed subtly. He tried to sound casual as he said, "I just bought it from a friend. Why, is there a problem?"

An ordinary person, unless specially trained, has very telling facial expressions when they’re nervous or lying.

Never mind a veteran detective like Chen Chao; even Shen Xin could tell at a glance.

Zhang Xuwei was lying.

Chen Chao smiled. "Well, I never would have guessed you were friends with a Section Chief from the Education Bureau."