Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 75 Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law
Shen Tao and Yao Jinna started arguing again.

Ultimately, Yao Jinna had no evidence, so Shen Tao was very confident and her various subtle taunts made the girl's face turn red with anger.

Grandma Wang, who was standing nearby, was awakened by the two arguing. She waved to her granddaughter in a trembling voice, "Nana, don't be angry. It's just a small thing, it'll be over soon. I still have some money in my pension, I'll transfer it to you in a couple of days."

"Grandma!"

Yao Jinna stomped her foot angrily: "This isn't about the money! The fact that you lost your money means there are bad people around you! Besides, what would I do with your money? I have a job now, and I'm not the little girl who used to fawn over you anymore! Officer Hu, say something!"

Hu Lijun chuckled: "Xiao Yao, be patient and don't get angry. I'm handling this matter right now, aren't I? I just got here, so please give me some time, okay?"

Yao Jinna fell silent.

Hu Lijun then looked at Lin Ge.

He knew that such cases were always troublesome, and that a quick theft that took only a few seconds was unlikely to leave a trace.

Of course, most of these types of crimes are accidental acts of greed and impulsiveness. The police only need to interrogate the criminals with the authority of the law to break down their psychological defenses.

However, the current case is a bit more complicated, because just from the conversation between Shen Tao and Yao Jinna, it can be guessed that there are more suspects than Hu Lijun had previously thought.

The elderly woman, Wang Jinci, appears to have a strained relationship with her mother-in-law. Her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson seem to be exploiting her. Aside from the residents of the nursing home, these three are also suspects to be considered.

As a result, Hu Lijun was finding it difficult to solve the case quickly by himself.

Of course, there is a solution. In fact, as long as you keep a close eye on the spending records of all suspects, they will show their true colors in a few days.

Unexpected windfalls are always tempting to be spent quickly. Even if someone is smart enough not to use the cash, their daily spending will still unconsciously become more extravagant—that's human nature.

By closely monitoring the economic curves of a few individuals over the next few weeks and being patient, problems can definitely be uncovered. Targeted questioning at that point will easily yield a breakthrough. This is the simplest, yet most time-consuming, screening method used by the police.

Of course, Hu Lijun didn't want to go through that trouble at the moment, so he chose another way.

He waved to Lingo.

"Mimi, time to get to work!"

"Don't do it!"

Lin Ge shook his head vigorously and resolutely remained pressed against the window without moving.

To be honest, Lin Ge was quite willing to help the old man catch the thief, but only on the condition that he didn't have to suffer any hardship. He had seemed indifferent in the lobby just now, but now... the environment in this room was too terrible for a cat.

The pervasive smell of urine, along with the strong odor of mold and the sour smell of long-fermented sweat, created a stench that Lin Ge found extremely unpleasant.

Lin Ge was disgusted by the environment and hygiene of this nursing home. The lobby was bright and clean, but every room was appalling. The sheets and blankets looked clean, but Lin Ge had the feeling that they hadn't been washed with detergent or properly dried in the sun. What Lin Ge found most unacceptable was that the rooms in this nursing home didn't have private bathrooms or balconies! Given these inadequate conditions, the elderly residents' bodies and clothes had an unpleasant odor that made him want to stay away.

Even if Lin Ge could tolerate and understand the old man's uncontrollable urination and defecation and the difficulty of cleaning up, it didn't mean he was willing to put his nose close to smell it.

So even though Hu Lijun urged him repeatedly, Lin Ge still hesitated.

He could never understand what kind of feelings those younger generations had when they sent their elderly parents to nursing homes. Even if they were too busy with work to take care of them, couldn't they at least choose a reliable nursing home?
What kind of people are they to just leave things lying around like trash in this place?
Lin Ge complained inwardly, but everyone in the room focused their attention on him, urged on by Hu Lijun.

One or two of them, their eyes were particularly annoying.

Left with no other choice, Lin Ge could only jump down and pretend to sniff the old man's pillow.

"vomit……"

The various awful smells made me so uncomfortable that I just wanted to sneeze.

"Little kitty, come here..." Wang Jinci didn't notice Lin Ge's discomfort. She just reached out her hand affectionately, wanting to pat his head.

The old man's frail yet kind appearance, and the nostalgic look in his eyes, softened Lin Ge's heart. He gave the old man a polite nudge with his head against his hand, then quickly sniffed the pillow and the corner of the bed before jumping back to the windowsill without hesitation.

Shen Tao, along with two other caregivers, Yao Jinna, and two elderly people who had gathered at the door to watch the commotion, all stared at the cat sneezing on the windowsill.

It took Lingo quite a while to feel a little better. He took a deep breath of fresh air, but his tail started wagging involuntarily.

Just now, at Old Lady Wang's bedside, he smelled at least seven different people's scents.

There were Shen Tao's, the two caregivers next to her, Yao Jinna's, and the old man's own. In addition, there were two other very faintly visible woolen coats hanging on the wall in the corner of the bed.

This peach-colored coat doesn't suit the old woman's status; perhaps it was left to her by her daughter-in-law?

In other words, Lin Ge suspected that the scent he was smelling belonged to Wang Jinci's daughter-in-law. The other, fresher scent was similar to that of Zhang Yining and the other kids…

Perhaps he is Wang Jinci's grandson?
Lin Ge guessed and deduced in his mind that the people who had touched the place where the money was hidden were the nursing home director, the two caregivers, Yao Jinna, the old woman herself, her daughter-in-law and grandson, and so on.

At least from what Lin Ge can smell now, during the time that the sheets and blankets haven't been washed or changed, only these few people have touched the headboard.

Lin Ge didn't know how many suspects Hu Lijun had in mind; he simply glanced at the people in the room. Shen Tao and the two caregivers turned their heads away nervously, but surprisingly, the elderly Wang Jinci also lowered her head.

The old man clenched his thin hands tightly, glanced at Lin Ge, then at Hu Lijun, and finally sighed to his granddaughter.

"Nana, that money is mine..."

"Grandma, don't make up stories!"

Yao Jinna unexpectedly interrupted Grandma Wang, her expression serious and her face decisive: "I know what you want to say, but I don't believe you would give all five thousand yuan to Wang Zijian! Because you know, giving him too much money is not a good thing."

"I……"

Old Mrs. Wang was speechless, and her face turned very pale.

She seemed to have no idea that her granddaughter knew from the beginning that she had secretly given her hard-earned money to her grandson.

This isn't a huge deal, but it's not insignificant either. The granddaughter is already in her twenties and can earn her own money, a completely different situation from her grandson who's still in high school. It's normal for a grandmother to give her grandson pocket money, but this pocket money is the result of the granddaughter's hard work…

It was indeed a bit unpleasant to hear those words spoken directly.

The old woman looked embarrassed, but Yao Jinna was already prepared. She looked at Grandma Wang seriously and said, "Grandma, I really don't think this is a big deal. Wang Zijian is your grandson, and it's only right that you dote on him. But you gave him five thousand yuan? To be honest, given Wang Zijian's personality, he would never dare to take ten bills from you. If he did, his father would beat him to death! So I bet there's definitely more than four thousand yuan stolen! Where did the money go? I don't care who stole it, I'm going to find out clearly today! It's ridiculous! She stays at home all day and doesn't work. She uses the excuse of accompanying Wang Zijian to study to play mahjong every day. How come she doesn't even have time to take care of the old lady?"

With that, Yao Jinna stomped her foot angrily: "Anyway, I'm going to get to the bottom of this today! If she's unwilling to take care of you, then you can move out and live with me! We can't stay in this awful place any longer!"

Hu Lijun suddenly laughed.

As expected, the girl knew exactly what was going on; she didn't tell the truth at the police station.

Judging from her tone, not only were people from the nursing home involved, but she also insisted that Old Lady Wang's daughter-in-law was involved.
He looked at Ling Ge, who tilted his head and thought for a moment before nodding.

Hu Lijun understood the situation and stepped forward to interject, "Grandma Wang, could you please give me your family's contact information? You see, Xiao Yao has already filed a case at the police station, and now they've dragged your family into this. I can't just ignore it and not help you get rid of it."

The previously expressionless old woman, Wang, suddenly jumped in surprise and quickly tried to get up: "No! There was no phone call. He works out of town, this has nothing to do with them. I didn't say I was going to report it to the police, nothing happened!"

Seeing that the elderly man was about to fall, Hu Lijun quickly helped him up and helped him lie down again.

Signaling Yao Jinna not to come closer, Hu Lijun covered the old woman with a blanket, then smiled and nodded, saying, "Hehe...Grandma, don't be nervous. Even if you want to withdraw the report, the necessary procedures still need to be followed. Don't worry, you're a party involved. As long as you don't agree, I'll just ask a few questions and go back as if nothing happened. Little Yao, don't say anything more nonsense! It's the old woman's family matter, why are you interfering? That five thousand yuan was naturally a voluntary gift to the old woman, and it's her freedom to use it however she wants, right?"

(End of this chapter)