Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 74 The Lonely Old Man

Hu Lijun smiled and did not argue.

But the girl who came with him got angry and slammed her hand on the table: "My grandma isn't senile! And why do you always bring up the elderly? Are you sure the people in your nursing home are innocent?"

"Who are you!"

The middle-aged woman named Shen Tao's expression changed, and her raised eyebrows instantly shot up: "What business is it of yours? Are you a police officer or a judge? Huh! What right do you have to slander the people in our nursing home?"

"Wang Jinci is my maternal grandmother!"

The young woman, unfazed, puffed out her chest and glared at Shen Tao, saying, "Your nursing home stole my grandmother's money and you think you're in the right? What, just because money wasn't reported to you doesn't mean it's not my grandmother's money? Or are you a bank or the government? My grandmother's money was stolen from your nursing home, so you're responsible! It's ridiculous! My grandmother gives you two thousand yuan a month, and you can't even fulfill the most basic care and management responsibilities?"

Shen Tao's expression darkened. She snorted coldly, ignoring the girl, and turned to Hu Lijun: "Officer Hu, she's slandering me like this. Can I sue her? She dares to accuse us of being thieves without any evidence. What gives her the right?"

“Hehe… This is Yao Jinna, the victim’s family member, Wang Jinci’s… granddaughter, right?” Hu Lijun turned around and winked at Yao Jinna.

Yao Jinna nodded vigorously: "That's right! The five thousand yuan that was stolen from Grandma was money I gave her! That was all my hard-earned wages from my first day of work. Why should you just steal it away and then casually say you didn't know anything about it!"

The little girl got angrier and angrier as she spoke, her chest heaving, which left Lin Ge, who was standing next to her, somewhat stunned.

Even though she was furious, Shen Tao remained calm and waved her hand dismissively: "Anyway, I didn't take it! And I asked the caregiver who takes care of Aunt Wang, and she didn't know about it either. I guess either Aunt Wang made a mistake and didn't bring it, or she gave it to her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Hehe... a granddaughter is never as important as a precious grandson. I remember Aunt Wang's grandson is quite sensible and speaks very politely."

This veiled and sarcastic remark instantly made Yao Jinna a hot topic.

Without saying a word, she was about to attack, but Hu Lijun quickly stepped forward to stop her.

The little girl was quite strong, and Hu Lijun almost lost his balance. He quickly grabbed her hand and shouted, "Hey! Xiao Yao, don't get agitated! Look, I'm right here. Besides, you've already called the police, so the truth will come out no matter what!"

"I just can't stand the way she talks!"

Yao Jinna's eyes were red, and she felt incredibly wronged.

Hu Lijun smiled at her, gesturing for her to rest aside first, then turned to talk to Shen Tao.

Unfortunately, Hu Lijun didn't get anything useful from Shen Tao. The woman's clueless attitude left him feeling helpless.

However, such incidents were commonplace in his more than ten years as a police officer. He had encountered countless people of all kinds—those who were greedy for small gains, unreasonable, and argumentative. Hu Lijun was actually aware of this particular case involving someone trying to take advantage of another.

Seeing that Shen Tao was still acting like a rogue, Hu Lijun waved his hand: "Dean Shen, I won't say much more. I'll just tell you one thing: five thousand yuan is enough to warrant criminal charges. No matter who stole it, they are suspected of theft, and after the case is solved, they will undoubtedly be dealt with under criminal law, and there will be a criminal record. And a criminal record, according to popular belief, affects three generations. But I want to tell you, its actual consequences are more serious than you imagine. So now I won't waste any more time. I'll go check Grandma Wang's room. While I'm at it, you can talk to your colleagues and tell them how serious the matter is. It's not too late to try to get their forgiveness."

After saying that, Hu Lijun waved to a nursing aunt who was watching the commotion at the door next door, "Come here, take me to see Grandma Wang. By the way, no one is allowed to leave! If anyone runs away now, they will be treated as a suspect or an accomplice."

The caregiver shuddered and turned to walk inside.

Hu Lijun bent down, picked up Lin Ge, and strode after him, with Yao Jinna also quickly getting up and following behind.

After walking two turns, the three people and the cat arrived at the deepest part of the floor, a secluded but dark room with small windows and poor lighting.

The room was cramped, barely big enough for a bed and a low cabinet. An elderly woman lay on her back on the bed, propped up with pillows, slowly flipping through an old photo album. Hearing footsteps, she slightly raised her head, and then her cloudy eyes brightened.

"Grandma!"

With a smile on her face, Yao Jinna strode in, grabbed the old woman's hand, and then squatted down to press the old woman's withered fingers against her face: "Grandma, I've come to see you again! Grandma, are you in a good mood today? Have you eaten well?"

"Good! Everything is good. Seeing Nana makes me even happier." The old woman said slowly, letting Yao Jinna hold her hand and stroke her face. She gently tucked the photo album under the covers with her other hand, and then whispered to her granddaughter, "Why did you come today? Didn't you go to work, or were you resting?"

"Grandma, I've asked for leave."

Yao Jinna didn't hide anything, only pouting as she said, "We absolutely have to get to the bottom of this money issue today! It's not that a few thousand yuan is so precious, but if there's a problem with this nursing home, I'll take you to a better one! Grandma, please wait for me a little longer! Once my job is more stable and I've saved up some money, I'll bring you to live with me! Hehe... I'll cook you delicious meals every day, all of which you taught me to make."

The girl kept talking, leaving the old man no chance to interrupt. However, it was clear that the old man was very happy listening to Yao Jinna's words, and even the wrinkles on his face seemed to smooth out.

"You're always causing trouble. Let bygones be bygones. Besides, I'm doing just fine here, there's no need for me to cause you any more trouble."

"Grandma!"

The two people, one old and one young, were chatting happily.

Meanwhile, Hu Lijun watched quietly for a while before shifting his attention back to other parts of the room.

The room was shabby, with no place to put anything except a cabinet. Even the old man's washbasin and stool were stuffed under the bed, and towels were hung directly on the window, blocking most of the sunlight.

Logically, in such an environment, there are very few places an elderly person could hide money. It would likely be hidden inside clothing, under a pillow, or under blankets, making it very easy to discover.

If we disregard Shen Tao's statement, the employees of this nursing home would indeed be the prime suspects.

However, this nursing home has very few surveillance cameras. There are only three locations: the main entrance, the cafeteria entrance, and the emergency exit. Based on Hu Lijun's experience, it's highly likely that the cameras in the emergency exit and the cafeteria entrance are not powered on.

This makes it impossible to use surveillance to find people with unusual behavior or to see who has entered Grandma Wang's room.

Apart from the caregivers, the rest of the residents in the nursing home are all elderly people in their seventies and eighties. Expecting them to provide testimony and identify who secretly entered Wang's room to steal money is almost impossible and difficult to incorporate into the evidence.

In addition, just like Yao Jinna, family members of the elderly occasionally come to visit the nursing home. Who can guarantee that no one will steal anything?

According to Shen Tao, the nursing home houses 32 elderly people living alone. However, the entire staff, including herself as the director, caregivers, cafeteria staff, cleaning staff, etc., consists of only ten people! On average, one caregiver is responsible for five elderly people, so the care they provide is understandably haphazard. Of course, at a monthly fee of 2,000 yuan, it's impossible to find one-on-one care…

Hu Lijun's mind was racing with random thoughts. He then focused his gaze on the dressed cat that had jumped onto the windowsill as soon as he entered the room.

"Mimi, can you smell something?"

Hu Lijun's words immediately drew everyone's attention in the room.

cat?
闻？
Isn't this the kind of work police dogs do?
What's up with this weird cat? Its clothes are kind of funny too.

"Mimi...Mimi?"

After finishing her conversation with her granddaughter, Wang Jinci stared blankly at the cat perched on the windowsill, fiddling with its tail. The cat's tail was smooth like a mouse stick, with only the tuft of fur at the end resembling a small flower ball.

But... its face looks just like the cat I keep at home!
I wonder if Daqiang and Cuicui have taken good care of it since it was sent to the nursing home. Cuicui always says that keeping a cat at home is bad for the children, but that cat belongs to her and her husband…

"Hey!"

Wang Jinci sighed.

(End of this chapter)