Animal Detective

Chapter 286 - 243: That Dog Is So Despicable (Part 2)

But Shen Xin was in no mood to play along. He pushed her away and asked about the two men.

"Chen Fang, think carefully before you speak."

Shen Xin’s expression was serious.

Qian Zhihai took a body camera out of his bag, walked over, and propped it on the car, turning it on to record.

Go on, talk. It’s all being recorded.

Chen Fang shivered, startled. "Officer Shen, what do you mean by that? I don’t know those two men."

"A guy from Yanling contacted me. He said he had a group of strays he couldn’t care for anymore and asked for my help. So, I told him to have them sent over. Those two were just the deliverymen."

"The main problem was that dog—the one you’ve seen before. It appeared out of nowhere and just kept barking at us. It wouldn’t leave even when we tried to chase it away."

"Those two men lost their tempers and pulled the gun out of the car. I was startled, too!"

She had absolved herself of all blame.

Shen Xin said gravely, "So who contacted you? When? Where are the chat logs? The phone?"

Chen Fang was instantly at a loss for words and started to make a scene.

"Officer Shen, we know each other! I even gave you guys a police dog. Why don’t you believe me?"

Just as she was speaking, two more police cars pulled up.

Getting out of the passenger seat of the lead car was none other than Liu Baoqing.

Three more officers got out, and including the two drivers, a total of six people had arrived.

Seeing this scene, Chen Fang grew even more frantic.

Just then, a middle-aged man holding a shovel walked around from behind the wall across the way.

He wore a grayish-black jacket, had his hair parted on the side, and a square-shaped face. This had to be Chen Fang’s husband, Yang Yaotao.

Liu Baoqing strode forward to ask about the situation.

He glanced at the cracked front windshield, his expression growing more serious.

When she heard this was the captain of the sub-bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, Chen Fang, surprisingly, didn’t panic. She hurried forward, tugged on Liu Baoqing’s sleeve, and argued that she had told the truth, but Shen Xin wouldn’t believe her.

"Captain, I really don’t know those two men! Who knew they’d suddenly pull out a gun? I was scared to death! My heart is still pounding."

Chen Fang sounded so aggrieved, you’d think she was the victim.

Behind her, Yang Yaotao also nodded eagerly in agreement.

He seemed rather meek, like an honest, simple man.

Liu Baoqing didn’t believe a single word of this nonsense.

When they’d had dinner together yesterday, he had seemed very amicable, slinging an arm around Chen Chao’s shoulders, but when it came to work, he was swift and decisive.

Liu Baoqing had someone produce a summons on the spot, which he signed himself. With a wave of his hand, he signaled for his men to take Chen Fang and Yang Yaotao back for questioning.

Never mind her obvious connection to the two men; even if they were completely uninvolved, as eyewitnesses and persons of interest, there was ample reason to bring them both in for questioning.

The moment the summons was issued, Chen Fang screamed, yelling that she wouldn’t go and that she had a shelter full of cats and dogs waiting for her.

When she saw that making a scene was useless, she threw herself on the ground and shrieked that the police were arresting innocent people.

Liu Baoqing paid her no mind. He waved his hand, and his officers forcibly hauled her into the car.

Yang Yaotao, however, didn’t resist and meekly got into the car.

After they drove off, Liu Baoqing joined Shen Xin to survey the scene.

He made a few gestures, concluding it was likely just as Shen Xin had surmised: they were aiming for Tian Kui, missed, and hit the front windshield instead.

Shen Xin nodded.

The only question was what had provoked the two men to go so far as to use an air rifle on a dog.

Just as he was thinking about the dogs, a head poked out from a patch of tall grass in the distance.

It was Tiger Stripes.

With a sheepish look, he kept his head low and cautiously approached Shen Xin, his tail wagging like a pendulum.

’I was wrong.’

Shen Xin could even hear his thoughts.

The dog was terrified of Shen Xin.

Then he barked twice toward the grass behind him, as if to say, ’Stop hiding!’

And then, Tian Kui emerged, head held high and chest puffed out.

But once he was in front of Shen Xin, he too lowered his head guiltily and shuffled off to the side.

Liu Baoqing sized up the two dogs with curiosity. When he looked at Tian Kui, the dog sat down, tilted its head, raised its chin slightly, and met his gaze with an imperious stare.

It was as if he were saying, ’What are you looking at?’

Liu Baoqing raised an eyebrow slightly, pointed at Tian Kui, and said, "Xiaoshen, this is one of the K-9s you’re planning to train, right? I like this one. How about you save him for us?"

He’d taken a real liking to him.

Shen Xin said, "Captain Liu, this one’s a real troublemaker, just like this rascal here."

Shen Xin gave Tiger Stripes a light kick.

’I’d bet anything it was this one who came up with the brilliant idea.’

’My ability is a two-way street. As their Affinity for me increases, the animals get smarter, too.’

’So, for this escape, Tiger Stripes must have been the one who egged on Tian Kui.’

"So really, he might not be a good fit for the C.I.D. I have two Bloodhounds whose specialty is tracking blood and scents. They would be much more suitable. I’ll set one aside for you."

Based on the needs of the Criminal Investigation Division, a Bloodhound was clearly a better fit.

Liu Baoqing nodded and said that would work.

But the more he looked at Tian Kui, the more he liked him.

That proud, haughty look in his eyes was just priceless.

He then went to take a look at the rescue shelter. Just inside the entrance were cats and dogs, presumably from the recent delivery, huddled and shivering in their cages.

One of the dogs had something wrapped around its neck, which was now a bloody, mangled mess. Every so often, it would stretch its neck out to take a long, gasping breath.

Li Jiahui saw it and frowned. "Someone probably tied a rope around its neck when it was a puppy and never took it off. As the dog grew, the rope just cut deeper and deeper into its neck."

In other words, the longer the dog lived, the faster it was dying.

Just then, Tian Kui, who had been trailing behind, suddenly rushed forward and began barking wildly at the dogs inside the enclosure.