Animal Detective

Chapter 233 - 225: Letter of Accusation

"Director Lv, what’s the situation?"

Shen Xin asked immediately after Liu Jie left.

Lv Youwei leaned back in his chair. ’I’d like to know, too,’ he thought.

He pondered for a moment, then looked at Shen Xin with some amusement. "What was that thing you do, kid? That ’De’ something?"

Shen Xin quickly replied, "Druid?"

"Right, Druid!" Lv Youwei nodded. He’d remembered the word. "You’re quite something, kid. Your reputation as a Druid has spread so far that people are seeking you out specifically to help with their cases."

"You’ve managed to make yourself into a bit of an expert."

Usually, only criminal investigation experts receive this kind of treatment.

And here Shen Xin was, still just a first-class constable.

Shen Xin was speechless. "Director Lv, please don’t tease me. Expert? I know exactly what I’m capable of."

Lv Youwei nodded and smiled. "That’s the right attitude. If a Deputy Detachment Leader asks for your help and your head gets too big, that won’t do. You need to be humble and learn from them."

Someone who makes it to Deputy Detachment Leader can’t be all talk, can they?

Shen Xin read between the lines. "Director Lv, so you mean we should help?"

"I never said that."

Lv Youwei shook his head decisively. "I have to report this to Director Zhao. After all, there’s no precedent for this. Just wait for news."

As he spoke, he muttered that putting Shen Xin on cold cases had really been the right move.

Now, even a cold case from Pingyu had landed on their doorstep.

Shen Xin’s eyes darted around as he seized the opportunity. "Director Lv, look, I’ve solved quite a few cold cases now. Even Captain Sun said I did a great job and gave me the title of Cold Case Task Force Leader."

"But a title is useless on its own. Couldn’t we be a little more practical?"

"Heh!"

Lv Youwei was surprised. "Kids these days... Are you asking me for a promotion?"

Shen Xin watched Lv Youwei’s expression. Seeing he wasn’t truly angry, he quickly shook his head and denied it.

"No." Lv Youwei shook his head flatly. "If you want a promotion, go discuss it with Chen Chao. If he’s willing to give you his position, I don’t mind."

This move to pass the buck was truly a tactic learned from the best of leaders.

Shen Xin waved his hands and shook his head frantically. "Director Lv, how could you say that? Captain Chen personally recruited me into the Criminal Investigation Detachment. I couldn’t possibly fight him for his position. No, I mean, I’m not qualified."

"Sir, I meant something more practical. For example, you could get us an office, put up a plaque, and maybe even get us a squad car."

"Sometimes when we go out on a case, I have to use my own car. Filing for reimbursement is such a hassle."

These days, police cars at the precinct level were more plentiful—a sub-bureau might have several dozen.

But with so many officers, the cars were still in high demand.

Economic Crimes, Narcotics, Public Security—if any of them organized a major operation, they’d need every squad car in the sub-bureau.

And while Sun Zhao had casually named him a team leader, what was the difference between that and a title plucked from thin air?

He needed a plaque on the door. That would make him a *real* team leader.

Most importantly, if he became a team leader, he would be managing team members like Ding Yuwei.

Wouldn’t that count as management experience?

For a police officer to get promoted, professional skills alone weren’t enough sometimes. Management experience was also crucial.

Shen Xin was just preparing for the future.

"A plaque, you say?"

Lv Youwei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He waved his hand, signaling for Shen Xin to get lost, but then added, "We’ll discuss it in a meeting later."

He knew the principle: if you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass.

"Thank you, Director Lv."

Shen Xin thanked him profusely and carefully closed the office door.

"This kid."

After Shen Xin left, Lv Youwei shook his head, still not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Young people really were different.

After a moment of thought, Lv Youwei called Zhao Hongjie.

Meanwhile, Shen Xin returned to his office.

He walked in to find Zhao Tianxing and the others gathered around Chen Chao.

"What are you guys looking at?" Shen Xin leaned in and saw they were on a video call on a tablet.

The other end of the call seemed to be a bank vault.

’The loose ends from the Bai Jifei case?’ he wondered.

Shen Xin nudged Ding Yuwei with his elbow and asked her what was going on.

Ding Yuwei explained in a low voice that the procedures on Songpu’s end were complete. Now, at the bank, under the joint supervision of the Songling and Zhongming police, a notary, and Jiang Qi’s family, they were breaking into Jiang Qi’s safe deposit box.

On screen, a locksmith was busy drilling out the lock core.

"Done."

The locksmith shouted.

Shen Xin immediately craned his neck to get a better look.

Jiang Qi had gone to great lengths before her death to leave a riddle for Bai Jifei, with the answer pointing to a safe deposit box at Shenghai Bank.

The very place where she used to work.

’She probably didn’t leave any money,’ Shen Xin thought.

The two had been married for years and were madly in love. Jiang Qi wouldn’t have hidden a sum of money from Bai Jifei only to give it to him after she died.

On camera, the Songling police representative, Ding Junbao, stepped forward and, in front of everyone, opened the rather small, rectangular safe deposit box.

Inside was only a single envelope.

Wearing gloves, he searched inside but found nothing else.

"Another letter?" Zhao Tianxing muttered.

Ding Junbao showed it to the camera, then asked Jiang Qi’s father for permission to open it.

Jiang Qi’s father, who had lost his daughter in his old age, just nodded.

Ding Junbao held the envelope up to the light before opening it.

A letter and a USB drive.

Without a second thought, Ding Junbao opened the letter. But after a single glance, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly folded it shut.

"Officer Ding, what does the letter say?" The bank’s representative, a middle-aged man in a crisp, gray, subtly patterned suit and narrow-rimmed glasses, asked with a smile.