"What detail are you talking about?"
"Two days ago, Ms. Xu and her husband withdrew the money together. Yesterday, her husband was the last one to leave the house. And only the two of them knew about the money…" Tian Li trailed off meaningfully.
Captain Zheng Kaixuan took a sip of tea. "You're suspecting her husband?"
"I don't have any evidence. It's just a personal guess," Tian Li replied.
Zheng Kaixuan set down his cup. "What do the rest of you think?"
"That money belongs to both husband and wife. If the husband took it, we technically have no grounds to intervene," Han Bin said with a shrug.
"Well, that'd be total nonsense," Li Hui muttered.
Zhao Ming suggested, "Why don't we ask Ms. Xu if her husband might have had any reason to take the money?"
Zheng Kaixuan rubbed his chin, thinking. "Lu Wen, what've you found so far?"
"For fingerprints, only two people: Ms. Xu and another set that's likely her husband's — on the door and the wardrobe in the bedroom," Lu Wen reported.
"That's... interesting," Zheng Kaixuan murmured.
"Maybe the thief wore gloves," Han Bin speculated.
Zhao Ming chuckled, "Or maybe the thief didn't need gloves."
Zheng Kaixuan pointed toward the bedroom. "Tian Li, bring Ms. Xu out here."
"Yes, sir."
Moments later, Xu Yan stepped out of the bedroom, visibly anxious.
"Captain Zheng, any leads? Have you caught the thief?"
"Don't worry, Ms. Xu. We're working on it," Zheng Kaixuan reassured her.
"I am worried. My dad's surgery is the day after tomorrow. If we can't come up with the money, he might not make it. Do you really understand how that feels?" she cried.
"I understand."
"No, you don't. No one does," Xu Yan said, choking back sobs.
Tian Li calmly said, "Please try to stay composed. Getting emotional won't help us solve this faster — it'll just slow us down."
"I know… I'm sorry."
After a while, she calmed down. "Captain Zheng, what do you want to ask?"
Zheng Kaixuan nodded toward Tian Li to continue.
"I just have a few questions," Tian Li said.
"Go ahead."
"You mentioned in your statement that only you and your husband knew about the money?"
"Yes."
"Is it possible your husband moved the money elsewhere and forgot to tell you?"
Xu Yan shook her head. "No. I asked him. He said he didn't touch it."
"You said most of the money was borrowed?"
"That's right."
"What was your husband's attitude about borrowing money?"
"What are you implying?" Xu Yan looked surprised.
"I just want to solve the case quickly — help you recover the surgery money," Tian Li said plainly.
Xu Yan rubbed her forehead out of habit. "Honestly… my husband wasn't happy about it. He didn't want to borrow money for the surgery."
"Why not? Helping your parents is natural," Tian Li asked.
"He's kind of old-fashioned. Thinks taking care of parents is the son's responsibility. He wanted my brother to pay. But my brother just bought a house and is drowning in mortgage payments. He simply can't afford it," Xu Yan sighed.
"Then is it possible… that your husband took the money because of that?" Tian Li voiced her suspicion.
Xu Yan closed her eyes and was silent for a long while. Then she asked, "If it was my husband who took it… is that illegal? Would you arrest him?"
"If that's the case, it's a domestic dispute. Police don't typically intervene in matters between family members," Zheng Kaixuan explained.
Xu Yan looked conflicted. "To be honest, I'm not sure either… but please, help me find out the truth."
"How's your relationship with your husband?" Zheng Kaixuan asked.
"Pretty okay. We don't argue much."
"Then ask him to come back as soon as possible so we can take his statement," Zheng said.
Xu Yan nodded and went back into the bedroom to call her husband.
"Captain Zheng, what should we do next?" someone asked.
Zheng Kaixuan thought for a moment.
"Han Bin, Zhao Ming — check the surveillance footage. Look for any suspicious people."
"Which time frame should we focus on?" Zhao Ming asked.
"I just asked Ms. Xu — her husband left home around 9 a.m. yesterday," Tian Li added.
Zheng looked at his watch. "Then check footage from 9 a.m. yesterday to 9 a.m. today."
"Yes, sir."
"Li Hui, Tian Li — go talk to the neighbors. See if anyone saw anything."
"Understood."
…
Han Bin and Zhao Ming took the elevator down to the ground floor.
"Bin-ge, do you think it was her husband?" Zhao Ming asked.
"No idea."
"There are only two cameras — one in the elevator and one at the entrance. Should be easy, right?" Zhao Ming mumbled.
"You're underestimating it. The timeframe spans 24 hours. Hundreds of people came and went — the workload is not going to be small," Han Bin said as he pulled out a box of cigarettes and handed one to Zhao Ming.
"Bin-ge, smoke mine instead," Zhao Ming offered, pulling out a box of Zhonghua (premium brand).
"Oh, fancy," Han Bin sniffed the cigarette.
Zhao Ming lit it for him.
Han Bin took a puff, inhaled, then exhaled through his nose. "Smooth. Good smoke."
They originally planned to go to the property management office — only to find out there wasn't one. This complex was still managed by the old village committee, which collected fees and oversaw the area.
The village committee office was on the first floor of Building 11. After explaining their purpose, the staff was cooperative and led them to the surveillance room.
Han Bin reviewed the elevator footage while Zhao Ming handled the entrance footage.
Building 5, Unit 2 had two elevators and four apartments per floor. With 32 floors, that meant 128 households.
Assuming three people per household, that's over 300 residents — just in Han Bin's scope of work.
The main entrance covered even more.
The whole complex had ten buildings, two units per building, totaling over 2,000 households — with a population of 7,000 to 8,000 people.
At first, Zhao Ming thought only having two cameras to check meant the job would be easy. But once he started, the reality hit — the workload was overwhelming.
"Bin-ge, there are just too many people. Someone goes in, someone comes out, nonstop. My eyes are going blurry," Zhao Ming complained.
"Try categorizing — it'll make filtering easier," Han Bin suggested.
"How?"
"Well, a thief would need tools. And carrying 200,000 yuan in cash — they'd probably have some kind of bag or container," Han Bin reasoned.
"Yeah, I thought of that too. Anyone leaving without a bag can probably be ruled out."
"Not completely ruled out — just less suspicious," Han Bin clarified. "Also, pay close attention to the time of day. Theft is more likely to happen at night, especially in the early morning hours."
"You're right, Bin-ge. We should focus on likely suspects," Zhao Ming nodded.
At that moment, Han Bin seemed to remember something.
"I think… we've overlooked another possible direction."
(End of Chapter)