Animal Detective

Chapter 43 Automobiles
Upon returning to the station, Shen Xin greeted Wang Shuwei, who was on duty, and then drove off.

Wang Shuwei even chased after Shen Xin to remind him to obey Chen Chao's arrangements and to observe and learn more.

Shen Xin noted it down, and more than half an hour later, he arrived at the location sent by Chen Chao.

In Xinbei District.

The location is quite far from Xianghong Village, about ten kilometers away.

This area is not far from Jigang City, which is under the jurisdiction of Nanjiang City, and is truly in the countryside.

But as I said before, there's no real countryside in the city.

The town of Xinqiao is quite well-developed, with a large number of factories whose main business is environmental protection equipment.

The address Chen Chao gave was on Hongxi Road in the town, and it belonged to a car repair shop called Yongjia.

When they arrived, Chen Chao had not yet arrived.

He sent Shen Xin a message saying that something came up and he might be a little late.

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

It's not a very big one, just three storefronts.

The storefront looks a bit old.

When I arrived, it was just past 2 p.m. The shop was open, and there seemed to be three workers, each busy with their own tasks.

It looks like a very ordinary car 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 people arrived, both dressed in casual clothes.

The remaining person was young, with an average appearance and some acne scars on his cheeks, but he had long legs, a well-proportioned and upright figure, and short, needle-like hair, making him look very energetic.

He stepped forward and shook hands with Shen Xin, saying in a hearty accent, "Brother, I've heard about you before. I heard you found a clue in the search for the cat and dog. No doubt about it, awesome."

He has large hands, and his handshake is very strong.

But when he speaks, his demeanor and tone give off a slightly frivolous feeling.

"Zhao Tianxing." He gave his name again, grinning to reveal a set of yellowed teeth.

Shen Xin felt slightly awkward. His tone, talking about looking for cats and dogs, made him feel like some kind of oddball.

However, Shen Xin didn't take it to heart, sensing that Zhao Tianxing meant no harm.

"boarding."

Chen Chao gave a shout and got into Shen Xin's car.

After getting on the bus, Zhao Tianxing promptly started offering cigarettes.

Shen Xin shook his head to indicate that he would not.

Zhao Tianxing lit one for himself and said, "It's good. I didn't know how to smoke when I first joined the company, and then I was corrupted by these old smokers."

Chen Chao glared at him and said, "Let's get down to business."

He took out his phone and began to describe the clues he had discovered.

First, there are three people whose tombstones are erected on the tomb.

They are Gao Taiping, Gao Taian, and Gao Taixi.

Judging from their names, they should be from the same generation, and in fact, they are. Upon investigation, they are all Gao Yucheng's children.

“The Gao family is from Jinyang Village, and they are quite a large family, but after screening, we focused our attention on Gao Tai’an’s branch.”

Gao Taiping is the eldest brother. His son went to do business in Jiaozhou Province in the south a few years ago, and the whole family moved there in 01.

Ten years ago, when Wu Jiawang disappeared, his entire family was not in Nanjiang at all.

Then there's the third son, Gao Taixi's daughter, who married into Xinyun City in northern Ningjiang Province and settled there. She maintained contact with Nanjiang, but only during holidays.

The only branch that remained in Nanjiang was the branch led by the second son, Gao Tai'an.

“Gao Tai’an has three children, all sons. They’ve had many children, scattered all over the place.” “Then, during the screening, we noticed someone.”

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

"Gao Jinrui, Gao Tai'an's grandson, was born in 79 and was 31 years old in 10."

"You speculated that Wu Jiawang was killed in an accident, so we focused our screening on the car, and then we found something unusual."

"In 08, Gao Jinrui registered a Teana under his name, and then it happened by chance."

Chen Chao turned his head and looked at the repair shop across the street.

“Wu Jiawang went missing on March 12, 2010, Arbor Day. On that day, his school gave him a half-day off. After lunch, he said goodbye to Wu Zhicun and went out to play. He didn’t return until late at night, so Wu Zhicun asked his neighbors for help in finding him and eventually called the police.”

"Then, just five days later, on the 17th, the Teana registered under Gao Jinrui's name was transferred to a person named Zhang Xuwei. And this Zhang Xuwei is the owner of Yongjia Repair Shop."

"Isn't it a bit of a coincidence?"

He smiled and asked in return.

Shen Xin nodded.

To be honest, it's a bit unusual.

Gao Jinrui bought the car in 08, so it's only been 2 years since 10. It's practically a brand new car, almost new.

Selling now would be the biggest loss.

"Is he short of money for his business?" Shen Xin asked.

If you urgently need money, then selling your car is perfectly normal.

“No.” Chen Chao shook his head and said, “This guy was the head of the Supervision Section of the Education Bureau of Tingyang District at the time. He was a 31-year-old section chief. He was young and promising, had a stable job, and wouldn’t be short of money.”

"And just half a month after he sold that Teana, he bought a CRV. Don't you find that strange?"

I had been driving the car for two years and wasn't short of money, but I inexplicably sold it and then immediately bought a new car.

Shen Xin thought for a moment and said, "That's not necessarily true. Maybe they have money, but they're used to driving sedans and want to switch to an SUV."

Chen Chao nodded. It was possible, but it was also possible that Gao Jinrui had to sell the Teana for some special reason.

He was about to speak when Zhao Tianxing interrupted him.

"Captain Chen, we're here to investigate leads, why does this feel like a case analysis meeting? Let's go in and ask around first," Zhao Tianxing said, getting restless.

Chen Chao thought it made sense, so he called out and got out of the car to go over.

"I'm the boss."

A head popped out from under the lift.

His face is flat, his cheekbones are sunken, and he has a lot of crow's feet, making him look like he's in his forties or fifties.

"Zhang Xuwei?" Chen Chao stepped forward and showed his identification.

Upon seeing the police officer's ID and hearing his name called out, the man's expression changed, and he hurriedly stepped forward.

"It's me, I'm Zhang Xuwei." He nodded nervously, then tried to shake hands but found his hands were covered in grease, so he pulled back. He then told the two employees to stop looking before forcing a smile and asking what was wrong.

Chen Chao led him outside the store and got straight to the point, asking him if he had bought a Teana 10 years ago.

According to information from the vehicle management office, this Teana car has not been scrapped and is still being driven.

"Yes." Zhang Xuwei was a little confused, his eyes darting around, probably wondering why the police would ask about a seven-year-old car.

He added that the car was sitting at home, and the mileage had increased, so he was driving it less now.

Chen Chao directly asked him who he bought the car from and what the circumstances were.

Mentioning this, Zhang Xuwei's expression subtly changed, but he pretended to be relaxed and said, "I just bought it from a friend. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Without specialized training, ordinary people actually react very strongly with their facial expressions when they are nervous or lying.

Even if we disregard veteran detectives like Chen Chao, Shen Xin could tell them apart at a glance.

Zhang Xuwei lied.

Chen Chao laughed: "I really didn't realize you were friends with the section chief of the Education Bureau."

(End of this chapter)