Chapter 207 Looking for a Dog

Sister Hua’s most likely destination is near Luoxia Mountain and Tieshan Reservoir in the east of the city.

The East City Villa District is a new residential area planned and developed in Xing City in recent years. It covers a vast area and has hundreds of single-family and townhouses, small Western-style buildings and multi-story residences. In addition to the replacement houses for the relocated households, the population is nearly 100,000.

It is very difficult to pick out Sister Hua from a population of 100,000.

Gong Weiguo said, "Let's check the villa area first. Sister Hua is so rich, she must live in a high-end villa."

Sun Xianbing glanced at him and said, "Who knows? Sister Hua is a low-key and cautious person. She covers her head and face when she goes out. Maybe she lives in the simplest house under construction to hide her tracks."

Feng Xiaoyu said: "Living in a villa area and being high-profile and conspicuous is indeed inconsistent with Sister Hua's personality."

Gong Weiguo thought for a moment and continued to suggest: "Height below 1.6 meters, adult female, and car-owning, these characteristics can be used to screen the population."

Sun Xianbing shook his head repeatedly: "It's difficult! Southerners are generally of average height, and it's hard to screen out adult women under 1.6 meters tall."

Gong Weiguo pondered for a moment and said, "You're right. Then... the sound is low? Oh, no, the police station can't go door to door to listen to the sound."

If we want to conduct a census of the population living in the villa area in the east of the city, it will not be enough to rely on just a few people from the Special Operations Department, and we must mobilize the power of grassroots police officers. But once a cooperation order is issued, either a portrait or features that are different from those of ordinary people are required, otherwise it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Gong Weiguo was somewhat frustrated: "There are still too few clues."

Feng Xiaoyu smiled bitterly: "If there were more clues, we would have sent Sister Hua to prison long ago. It is because there are few clues that she is at large."

Xia Mufan took out a few photos and placed them on the table.

Those are photos from the scene of the cat corpse case.

"The rope used to tie the woven bag is a gardening strapping tape. The outer skin is made of white PVC material, which is polyvinyl chloride, a plastic product, and the inner core is iron wire. It has high toughness and strength and is often used for gardening strapping."

"There are a few scratches of green paint on the bottom of the woven bag. After investigation, it was found that the car wash had not applied green paint in recent days. This mark of paint was already there when Cai Yutie got the bag. The green paint was left at the first scene."

"The autopsy results showed that there were bird remains in the cat's stomach. By comparing the hair and bones, the bird was not a common sparrow or gray magpie, but a blue-eared kingfisher, a national second-class protected animal. Kingfishers often live on branches or rocks near the water. Their food is mainly small fish, but they also eat crustaceans, frogs and aquatic plants."

At this point, Xia Mushi looked at everyone and said, "From these three points of view, the other party's daily activity area has a beautiful environment and is close to the water. He or his family is interested in gardening, and the house has been newly painted green."

Hearing Xia Mufan's words, Gong Weiguo slapped his thigh and said, "Sister Hua took the initiative to jump out this time and exposed herself. She really helped us!"

Yu Jing was a little excited: "Then what are we waiting for! Let's drive to the properties around Tieshan Reservoir and take a look around. Maybe we'll run into it if we're lucky enough."

Sun Xianbing grinned: "Yes, Director Xia has always been lucky. Let's go."

Natsuki smiled.

What good luck is it? It's just being able to hear the whispers of animals.

However, after locking down the approximate area, you can take the coal ash, ice cream and fortune and wander around the villa area, and you might really get something.

Catching cats and burning corpses, it doesn't make sense that such a big noise wouldn't be noticed by the surrounding animals.

Just do it.

Xia Mufan returned home.

Ice Cream was circling in the yard. When he smelled her scent from afar, he immediately ran over, wagging his tail like a rattle.

[Xia Xia, you're back, do you have a mission? 】

Meihui was originally catching butterflies with Ruyi in the yard. When he saw Xia Muchan coming back, he immediately dropped the Cauliflower Butterfly in his hand and jumped into her arms.

[Any mission?] take me! 】

Even the usually lazy starling, Fa Cai, flew out of the cage and circled around Xia Muchan's head.

Take me with you. Take me with you. 】

Xia Mufan held the coal ash with one hand, touched the head of the ice cream with the other hand, and raised his chin towards Fa Cai: "Fa Cai, come down, I have something to tell you."

Seeing Xia Mufan’s serious expression, the three little animals became quiet.

Meihui leaned obediently in Xia Mufan's arms, Xuegao squatted at her feet, and Myna Facai perched on her shoulder.

[Xia Xia, is there something wrong?] 】

[What do you want to say?] Is it something important? 】

[Do you want to take us out to investigate the case?] 】

Xia Mufan looked down at the coal ash nestled in his arms and said, "I recently received a case where someone killed a tabby cat, burned it into a mummy, and then put it in a woven bag and dumped it in the zoo..."

When Coal Ash heard this, his fur stood up and he jumped to the ground, arched his body, with his tail standing up in a line. His eyes widened and he stared at Xia Mufan and meowed.

Who did it? 】

[I'm going to bite him to death!] 】

When Coal Ash heard that a cat was tortured to death, he screamed in anger. Xu Shumei came out and asked, "What's wrong with Coal Ash? Why are you screaming so miserably?"

Seeing Xu Shumei coming out, Ruyi slowly walked to her feet, raised her head and called to her. Xu Shumei bent down and picked it up, coaxing it, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Ruyi is good."

Over the years, Xu Shumei has developed feelings for these small animals, especially the honest and quiet Ruyi. Xu Shumei feels sorry for it because it has suddenly left its owner and is not used to the unfamiliar environment, so she is usually extra patient with it.

When Xia Mufan saw his mother, his serious expression softened immediately: "Mom, I'm going to take them to carry out the mission. You stay at home and don't go out these few days."

Xu Shumei sensed a tense atmosphere, looked up at her daughter, and asked gently, "What happened?"

Xia Mufan explained simply: "In the past few years, we have arrested many human traffickers, but there is a middleman named Sister Hua who is hiding very deeply. The day before yesterday, she killed a cat and called to provoke the police. During this period, we have to do our best to track down this person. I am afraid that she will do something desperate, so..."

Xu Shumei immediately thought of the phone call she received over the weekend. As a family member of a police officer for many years, she certainly knew the hardships and dangers faced by police officers: "Okay, I will stay in the family area for the time being and will not go out." Although she could not help her daughter, at least she could avoid causing more trouble and making her daughter worry.

Xu Shumei's voice was calm and gentle, like a flowing stream, soothing Xia Muchan's inner anxiety.

Coal Ash quickly ran out of the yard and ordered Fa Cai: "Come on, let's go together." 】

Xue Gao fetched the dog leash from the doghouse, Xia Mufan tied it on for the dog, held it in his hand, and said to Xu Shumei, "Mom, I'm going now."

Xu Shumei held the big white cat and said with a smile, "Okay, go early and come back early."

Xia Mufan walked with Xue Gao to the jeep parked nearby, Mei Hui jumped into the car, and Fa Cai also flew in through the window and squatted obediently on the backrest of the passenger seat.

Xia Mufan waved to his mother who was standing in the yard, and Yu Jing started the car and drove towards the east of the city.

Xu Shumei watched the car disappear from her sight, and only raised her hand to wipe the tears from her eyes after making sure her daughter could no longer see her.

The first time I saw Xia Mufan bringing coal ash, ice cream, and mynah bird, it must have been a big and difficult thing.

Although there were some brutal criminals encountered before, Xia Mufan never told Xu Shumei not to go out, which shows that this Sister Hua must be a cunning and cruel person.

Xu Shumei prayed silently in her heart: God, please bless my daughter to be safe and sound!

With Xu Shumei's blessing, the Special Operations Department came to the villa area in the east of the city. According to Xia Mufan's previous plan, Yu Jing parked the car near Tieshan Reservoir.

Since blue-eared kingfishers live near water and feed on small fish, the cat killed by Sister Hua must also often be active in the reservoir.

As soon as the car stopped, Xia Mufan said to Meihui and Facai, "You two work together to search near the reservoir to see if there were any wild cats that were caught and killed by humans and then doused with gasoline and burned the day before yesterday or the day before yesterday."

When Coal Ash heard that his fellow creatures were being slaughtered, he became furious. It grinned, revealing its sharp teeth, and a low growl came from its throat.

[Okay, I’ll go ask!] 】

[We must catch that!] 】

Xia Mufan squatted down and rubbed Meihui's little head lovingly: "Protect yourself and don't get caught."

She raised her head and looked at Fa Cai: "You keep an eye on the side. If you see anyone trying to grab the coal ash, come over and warn them."

Fa Cai flapped his wings and croaked twice, the sound was loud and rough.

【good! Soot, it's my turn to protect you today, come on! 】

In the past, Coal Ash protected Fa Cai, fearing that this lazy little starling would be taken away by other wild cats, weasels or snakes. I didn't expect that I would become Meihui's guard today. My confidence suddenly increased and I couldn't wait to pat my chest and make a guarantee to Xia Muchan.

The coal ash rushed into the bushes beside the reservoir like a flash of lightning.

Fa Cai took off in a flutter, following closely behind, occasionally resting on the treetops.

Xia Mufan held the dog leash tightly with both hands and paid attention to the movements over there on Meihui's side.

Yu Jing sat in the car, ready to take everyone to the next destination at any time; Gong Weiguo and Sun Xianbing stood beside the car, with one hand in his pocket with a gun in it.

Feng Xiaoyu opened the map and marked all the buildings next to the reservoir. Yu Jing chose a wasteland as the parking location. Not far away was a construction site surrounded by barriers and with construction machinery roaring inside.

Feng Xiaoyu walked over to Xia Mufan and pointed to the construction site where earthwork was being done. She said, "This is a beautiful lakeside villa under construction. It's another high-end property."

Xia Mushige nodded: "The baffle is blue."

Feng Xiaoyu knew what she was thinking and said, "Yeah, I see the construction site is still digging the foundation. The fences and baffles are all blue, without green paint. The first scene should not be here."

Xia Mufan looked around the surrounding environment.

The Tieshan Reservoir has a vast surface area, and the waves reflect silver light under the sun. There are gusts of breeze blowing, birds singing, and green mountains hidden in the distance. It is indeed a good place.

An asphalt road was built around the reservoir, connecting several high-end real estate projects.

Is Sister Hua hiding here?

It is April, the spring breeze is blowing, and warmth is gradually rising.

A crying voice came from a distance: "Lingling, Lingling, where are you?"

Xia Mufan looked at it intently.

A boy of eight or nine years old was running along the bank of the reservoir, holding a blue and red braided dog leash in his hand, taking one step forward and one step back, calling out the name "Lingling" over and over again. Next to him was a woman with disheveled hair, her face full of anxiety, but she was constantly comforting the boy.

Listen carefully, the woman is saying: "Don't worry, Liangliang, Lingling is naughty, she must have gone out to play by herself, she knows the way, let's go home and wait for her, okay?"

The boy had tears on his face and grass on his clothes. He ran forward while shaking his head: "No, Lingling never runs around. If it didn't come back for a day, it must have gotten lost and someone picked it up."

The boy's eyes lit up when he saw the jeep. He ran over and took out a photo and handed it to Xia Mufan: "Sister, have you seen my dog? Its name is Lingling, it's three years old, a white Pekingese. It disappeared when I was walking the dog yesterday. Have you seen it?"

Xia Mufan took the photo, which showed a cute snow-white Pekingese puppy with round black eyes and a black nose. The puppy was grinning at the camera, with its front paws put together as if bowing.

Xia Mushige returned the photo to the boy: "Sorry, I didn't see Lingling."

The boy is called Liangliang, and he is Lingling's little master. The woman next to him is his mother, named Zhong Yinghong. Both of them were wearing branded casual wear and lived in a luxurious house surrounded by mountains and water.

Zhong Yinghong was a little out of breath and said hello to everyone embarrassedly: "We are looking for the dog. Sorry to bother you."

Bright eyes fell on the ice cream beside Xia Mufan. Liangliang loves dogs very much. He couldn't walk when he saw such a beautiful Border Collie. If he hadn't been worried about the lost Lingling, he would have gone up to ask if he could touch the ice cream.

Xia Mufan stretched out his hand to him: "Give me your dog leash, I'll ask Xue Gao to help you find it."

Liangliang handed the dog leash to Xia Mufan, who then put the leash under Xuegao's nose: "Xuegao, smell it carefully and see if you can find the dog."

The dog leash was held tightly in Liangliang's hand, and was stained with the smell of his sweat. Ice Cream got close to the dog leash and sniffed it carefully, trying to find the scent of Pekingese among a bunch of messy smells.

Ice cream originally had an excellent sense of smell, and it became even better after being strengthened at the police dog training base. After sniffing for a minute, it raised its head and sniffed towards the wind. Soon it caught a whiff of Lingling's scent and started barking, "Woof! Woof woof!"

[There!] 】

[There it is!] 】

Xia Mufan tightened the dog leash and ran beside Xue Gao. As he ran, he looked at Liang Liang and said, "My dog ​​has found something. Hurry up and catch up."

Liangliang didn't expect that Xia Mufan would let her dog help her find the dog. She raised her hand to wipe the tears from her face, and followed Xia Mufan without saying a word.

Zhong Yinghong was wearing a pair of leather shoes today and she really couldn't walk. She bent down and supported her right hand on her knee, gasping for breath, waving her left hand, and shouted anxiously: "Liangliang, don't worry, wait for your mother!" After all, these people were strangers in front of her. If the child was abducted, where would she go to find people?

Just as Zhong Yinghong was about to bite her teeth and catch up, Feng Xiaoyu showed her police ID and said with a smile, "Don't worry, we are police officers."

Seeing the police officer's ID, Zhong Yinghong finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you."

Ice cream was barking, urging Xia Muchan to come over.

[Just ahead.] 】

【hurry up! 】

Xue Gao led Xia Mufan into the construction site, and a construction worker wearing a white safety helmet stopped them and asked, "What are you doing?"

Xia Mushige showed his police ID: "Looking for the dog."