Animal Detective

Chapter 145: Car Wash

Shen Xin led the way, holding Dou Dou’s leash, while Sun Zhao and the others followed.

Just as she had during the mountain search, Dou Dou moved with purpose, never pausing.

When they reached Chunhua Road, she even knew to stop and avoid cars.

Li Jiahui took it all in, secretly marveling at the dog.

Once across the road, she immediately turned north.

This meant she was walking against the flow of traffic on Chunhua Road.

This actually proved that Dou Dou was really tracking the tricycle used to transport the garbage can.

But walking against traffic came with an obvious problem: cars.

A dog leading the way, followed by several people—with Yao Wengang even in his police uniform—was a combination that immediately drew the attention of passersby.

Many people quickly pulled out their phones to record.

Shen Xin couldn’t interfere with Dou Dou’s tracking. Sun Zhao understood this, so he ran ahead to warn oncoming cars, giving them time to steer clear.

Chunhua Road ran north-south. To its east was Spring Tide Home Phase III. To its west were two other housing districts—the West District of Phase III to the north and the East District of Phase II to the south—separated by the east-west Chunhua Second Road.

Chunhua Second Road was itself bisected by the intersecting, north-south Chunhua Third Road.

The entire intersection formed an inverted T-junction.

At the end of Chunhua Third Road was East Yang Road, directly across from the Xinzhou Industrial Park.

They had made an arrest in the Xinzhou Industrial Park during that electric scooter case.

Chunhua Second and Third Roads formed the core of the Spring Tide Home area. Both sides were lined with shops that served the resettlement community’s nearly 30,000 residents, making it a very bustling place.

Dou Dou tracked nonstop for about four or five hundred meters before, as expected, turning onto Chunhua Second Road.

The traffic picked up here, and Shen Xin’s group stood out.

Sun Zhao noticed this as well. He signaled for Yao Wengang, who was in uniform, to fall back, then asked Shen Xin if they could walk slowly along the side of the road.

With the situation still unclear, if this turned out to be a murder case, such a conspicuous procession could easily tip off their suspect.

An idea struck Shen Xin, and he simply unclipped the leash.

"Dou Dou, stick to the side and slow down," he instructed.

’If Dou Dou searches by herself, she won’t be as noticeable.’

’Too bad I didn’t put her vest on. That would have made things easier.’

Li Jiahui jumped in surprise. "Shen Xin, is that safe?" she asked urgently.

Without a handler controlling her by leash, a police dog focused on tracking a scent could easily be hit by a passing car.

The police dog base had a strict rule: unless under special circumstances, a handler was never to be separated from their dog or let them off-leash.

"Don’t worry. She used to be a stray, so she knows how to dodge cars."

Shen Xin wasn’t too worried.

’It’s not like she’s a cat. Any stray that doesn’t know how to avoid traffic would be long dead.’

Just as he said that, Dou Dou, who was running ahead, paused to let a car pass.

Li Jiahui looked on in disbelief. "Shen Xin," she said thoughtfully, "is that why you choose strays? Because they have better survival instincts and aren’t afraid of complex, public environments?"

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then mumbled his assent.

’Sure, let’s go with that.’

’There’s no way I’m admitting it was a coincidence and a way to save money.’

Dou Dou was very smart. As she tracked, she would occasionally stop and look back to make sure Shen Xin’s group was still behind her.

A single dog on its own, nobody would pay her any mind.

Shen Xin’s group followed at a discreet distance. They watched Dou Dou cross the north-south Chunhua Third Road and continue for another two hundred meters or so.

The road ahead ended at Spring Middle Road.

Beyond that was Chunxin Road. Shen Xin knew this area well from his community patrols.

Just then, Dou Dou stopped beside a large garbage can next to a flowerbed on the north side of the street.

Shen Xin’s eyes lit up as he looked toward Sun Zhao.

’This must be where Liang Wei picked up the garbage can with the lunch box.’

Sun Zhao got the message and immediately scanned the nearby shops.

These cans were for the local businesses.

Dou Dou circled the garbage can a few times, then, with her target locked, she ran toward the storefronts and stopped in front of a car wash.

She didn’t enter but instead sat at the entrance, looking back at Shen Xin.

’She found it.’

The car wash was open. A Mercedes was parked in one of the bays, but there were no employees working on it.

Dou Dou, all by herself, hadn’t drawn any attention.

Shen Xin waved her over, and Dou Dou obediently trotted back to him.

"Good Dou Dou."

Without a second thought, Shen Xin pulled out a beef jerky strip and gave it to her.

"Incredible."

Li Jiahui immediately gave him a thumbs-up.

’Tracking a two-kilometer trail after more than ten hours, from a garbage can full of so many mixed scents... her sense of smell and tracking ability are even better than the official tracking dogs at the base.’

Sun Zhao stopped, observing the car wash from a distance.

Ultimate Speed Auto Detailing Center.

It took up three storefronts.

It was a typical, run-of-the-mill car wash, the kind you see everywhere that also does tire repairs, window tinting, and other minor services.

"Captain Sun, something’s strange," Shen Xin said quietly.

"Assuming Dou Dou’s track was correct and the lunch box came from this car wash, the question is, why was there a human ear in a perfectly normal meal?"

’Whose was it?’

’Or, who cut it off?’

’If an employee from the shop threw it out, that makes even less sense.’

’Or maybe someone came for a car wash and used the opportunity to dispose of evidence?’

’But disposing of evidence in a lunch box is... unusual, to say the least.’

’Especially just a single ear.’

Sun Zhao nodded. He couldn’t make sense of it either.

Zhou Zhongyi quietly asked if they should just go right in.

Sun Zhao thought for a moment, then shook his head. He made a call, telling Old Xing to bring the car over.

Old Xing was driving an unmarked car.

"Xiaoshen, you’re coming in with me in a minute. We’re getting a car wash," Sun Zhao added.

When things were this strange, something was definitely wrong. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that the ear’s owner was still alive—perhaps a kidnapping victim.

Rushing in would only alert the suspects.

A few moments later, Old Xing pulled up in the car.

Shen Xin and Sun Zhao got in and drove into the car wash.

No one came out to meet them.

Shen Xin got out, walked inside, and called out. A young man emerged from a back room, yawning.

He was tall and thin with pin-straight, chemically treated hair. He looked completely drained, his eyes barely open. "Here for a car wash?" he asked.

Shen Xin nodded. "How much for a wash?"

"30."

"Make sure you do a good job."

Shen Xin tossed him the keys. He had already removed the handcuffs, pepper spray, and blank summons forms from the car, so there was nothing to worry about.

The young man walked past Shen Xin, heading over to drive the car into the washing bay.

As the man passed him, Shen Xin’s brow furrowed slightly.

Sun Zhao, however, acted nonchalant, casually strolling around to survey the car wash’s layout.

It spanned three storefronts, totaling over two hundred square meters.

The two rightmost storefronts had been combined into a single work area for washing cars.

The space was quite deep. The central area held a counter and a glass-walled office.

The far right section was also partitioned off, likely serving as a break room or for tool storage.

The shop had high ceilings. Shen Xin guessed they might have installed a false ceiling to create a loft for storage.

The leftmost storefront served as a display area for detailing products and a waiting room for customers.

The young man appeared to be the only person in the entire shop.

Still looking half-asleep, he washed the car mechanically, paying no mind to Shen Xin and Sun Zhao.

They took a quick look around.

The door to the partitioned room on the right was closed, its contents hidden from view.

There were security cameras inside, so they couldn’t just try to open the door.

The two men went back outside to wait.

"Captain Sun, there’s something wrong with this kid. I think he might be high," Shen Xin said quietly.

"When he walked past me earlier, I caught a faint metallic smell on him."

"Back at the precinct, we organized a lot of drug busts. Users, like smokers, always carry a lingering smell that never really goes away."

"And different drugs have different smells."

"I can tell them apart."

"That faint metallic odor... it’s probably methamphetamine."

Sun Zhao gave a slight nod.

His own eyes were even sharper; he had sensed something was off about the young man the moment he saw him.

"We’ll leave after the car is washed."

’If drugs are involved, they’ll definitely have to loop in Jiang Wengang.’