Prev | TOC | Next
———
~ Please support this site by disabling your ad-blocker ❤️ ~
______
CHAPTER 14
PART 2
Tan Yong was initially worried that after Xia Qi's death, her coffee shop would cease operations. However, arriving at the entrance of 'Summer Cat Café,' he saw the café was running as usual and walked in with Li Bin. They were dressed casually, and the café staff didn't know they were police officers, asking what they wanted to drink. Tan Yong didn't reveal their identities directly and asked, "Is your boss here?"
The girl at the counter said, "Are you looking for Sister Xia Qi? She hasn't been here these past few days."
Tan Yong then remembered that the police hadn't publicly announced Xia Qi's death, implying these employees might not be aware that she had passed away. However, someone in Yuehai Bay might have leaked the information. In the age of online information, news could spread globally within minutes, let alone local incidents.
Tan Yong intended to test if the staff knew about Xia Qi's situation, asking, "Why hasn't she come to the shop?"
The girl replied, "I don't know. But I heard... she seems to have gotten into trouble. We can't reach her now."
"What kind of trouble?" Tan Yong asked.
The girl remained tight-lipped. Understanding the situation, Tan Yong didn't press further. He took out his phone, saying to the girl, "I have something to ask you."
"What is it?"
Tan Yong showed Fan Ke's photo on his phone to the girl, asking, "Have you seen this man?"
After examining the person in the photo for a moment, the girl said, "Isn't this our new employee at the shop? He just started working here this month."
Tan Yong and Li Bin exchanged a glance. Tan Yong continued, "What's his name, and is he here now?"
The girl said, "His name is A Chao. He was here for work yesterday, but he hasn't come today."
It was nearly noon. Tan Yong asked, "Why? What time should employees come to work?"
"We open at ten, so they should be here by nine. A Chao usually comes late, and with the boss not showing up these days, he probably has more reason to be lazy," the girl said, rolling her eyes.
"Where does he live? Do you know?"
"I don't know."
"Is it just you who doesn't know, or do all the staff not know?"
"I don't know about myself, but for the other employee, I'm not sure. With A Chao not here and Sister Xia Qi also unaware of the situation, there's only me and him left in the shop. Ask him; he's over there," the girl gestured towards a male employee feeding the cats inside.
Tan Yong and Li Bin approached and got negative responses. They walked out of the café, standing by the roadside, having a quiet conversation.
"This A Chao, he's Fan Ke, pretending to be an employee in Xia Qi's shop. I had no idea before," Tan Yong said.
"We never thought in this direction before. Even if you came here for coffee, you probably couldn't have imagined that the one serving you could be Gong Yamei's son," Li Bin remarked.
"The other staff might not accurately know Xia Qi's situation now, but Fan Ke surely knows she's dead."
Read only on royaltywrites.com.ng/
"Definitely. Maybe he's even the one behind it. So, he showed up yesterday to play a part, and today, since Xia Qi's not here, why bother coming to work—there's no one to put on a show for."
"But he hasn't left Lishi yet because he needs to coordinate with the 'other collaborator' to get the inheritance."
"Right. Now, what do we do? Should we stay nearby and see if he shows up for work? But what if he doesn't show up all day? Or should we check nearby hotels or inns? There might be dozens, even hundreds of places to stay around here. It's a long shot to search them all."
Tan Yong thought for a moment, "Here's the plan: I'll stay here. You immediately contact Captain Jiang and ask him to bring a few colleagues, check the surrounding inns separately."
"Alright."
Li Bin called Jiang Ming and then left. Tan Yong stood alone under a large tree on Huanhai Road, keeping watch on the opposite coffee shop. By one o'clock, Fan Ke had not shown up. Tan Yong bought fried potatoes and cold noodles from a nearby stall, using them as lunch while continuing to keep watch.
He pondered whether to have the café girl call "A Chao" and urge him to come to work, but he feared this might alert Fan Ke and make him avoid showing up. So, it was better to wait and see here. After all, Jiang Ming and Li Bin were searching nearby hotels and inns. Between the two methods, they would catch him somehow.
At 2:20, a tall young man with hair covering his eyebrows, wearing a mask, appeared in Tan Yong's view. He was nearly six feet tall, and even with the mask, one could see from his facial contours and eyes that he was a handsome man, exactly like Fan Ke! Most importantly, he walked into 'Summer Cat Café.'
Tan Yong's heart skipped a beat. He knew this person was Fan Ke. It seemed their decision not to startle him earlier was correct; Fan Ke had no idea that the police were onto him. If he completely stopped coming to work after Xia Qi's death, it would have been too obvious. Hence, he still had to show up at the shop, just not at the scheduled time.
There were two options now. One was to directly approach Fan Ke, show the police badge, and ask for his cooperation. The other was to inform Jiang Ming and Li Bin to join and then take action. Obviously, the second option was more prudent. Tan Yong was alone; directly demanding Fan Ke's cooperation at the police station, and if Fan Ke resisted or fled, he wasn't confident he could apprehend him.
So, Tan Yong messaged Li Bin and Jiang Ming separately, asking them to come with people immediately. He then quietly entered the coffee shop, keeping an eye on the target.
Inside the shop, Fan Ke changed into the staff uniform. The other two employees scolded him for arriving late. He replied, "The boss hasn't come yet, right?" The two had nothing to say to that. When the female counter attendant was about to say "A Chao is here" again, Tan Yong interrupted, "One coffee, Americano."
Catching the glance from the female attendant, Tan Yong subtly shook his head, signaling her not to speak. It wasn't clear if she understood, but she remained silent, just nodding before going to prepare the coffee.
Tan Yong took a seat. Apart from him, there was only one other customer in the shop. Soon, the coffee was served by none other than Fan Ke.
"Sir, your Americano. Please enjoy it slowly."
"Thank you," Tan Yong replied.
As Fan Ke placed the coffee on the table, Tan Yong took a close look at him. This young man had fair skin, broad shoulders, slender eyes, picturesque features, long bangs covering most of his forehead, and smooth, silky hair. While Tan Yong observed him, Fan Ke glanced back once, then politely took back the tray and walked away.
Though Tan Yong was a big man, he could somewhat understand the allure of such a stunningly handsome guy to women. Forget about Xia Qi, it wouldn't be difficult for such a handsome man to charm any woman. Manipulating and using them to achieve his aims would be quite feasible.
Contemplating this, he sipped his coffee slowly. For someone unaccustomed to coffee, the bitterness of black Americano could be overwhelming. Tan Yong couldn't comprehend why anyone would spend money on such a bitter brew resembling Chinese medicine.
Jiang Ming and Li Bin had replied about seven or eight minutes ago, saying they were "coming right away." Tan Yong estimated they would arrive soon. He didn't want to keep staring at Fan Ke to avoid raising suspicions, so he occasionally glanced at the door to ensure Fan Ke wouldn't leave.
Read only on royaltywrites.com.ng/
As expected, a few minutes later, Jiang Ming, Li Bin, and two other colleagues arrived at the café. Their entrance into the shop had a different vibe compared to regular customers. The female attendant hesitated for a moment, instinctively feeling that these men weren't there for coffee.
Jiang Ming and the others headed straight for Tan Yong. Jiang Ming whispered, "Where is he?"
"He's in the shop," Tan Yong replied.
Jiang Ming scanned the area but only saw two staff members—a man who didn't match the description. He asked, "Where is he?"
Tan Yong stood up, searching the shop but didn't spot Fan Ke. Yet, he was certain Fan Ke hadn't exited through the main door—there was no rear exit. He whispered to Jiang Ming, "He's definitely in the shop, hasn't left."
The detectives split up to search. They found that one of the restrooms on the second floor was locked. The shop had only two unisex restrooms, and if someone entered and locked the door, they'd be the only one inside. With another customer sitting and drinking coffee, the only person inside the locked restroom had to be Fan Ke.
Tan Yong signaled Jiang Ming, indicating that Fan Ke was inside. Jiang Ming nodded, silently conveying to everyone to wait for Fan Ke to come out.
"Unexpectedly, it's been only fifteen minutes. Even if one's in the restroom, that's way too long." Tan Yong felt something was off. His eyes darted around as he asked the male clerk, "Is there a window in the restroom?"
The clerk replied, "Yes, there's a quite large window."
Tan Yong and Jiang Ming exchanged a glance, both realizing something was wrong. Jiang Ming stepped forward and knocked on the door, "Is anyone in there?"
No response. Jiang Ming sensed trouble, turning to a burly male detective, "Break the door down or crash into it, quickly!"
The sturdy detective, resembling a bull, stepped back and forcefully slammed his shoulder into the restroom door. With a loud bang, the door flew open. They looked inside, finding it empty with the window wide openFan Ke had vanished.
"Damn it, he escaped! Quick, chase after him!" Jiang Ming shouted, and several detectives rushed out of the coffee shop. The two clerks seemed visibly startled, still not grasping the situation.
After the five rushed out, Jiang Ming directed, "Four of you, go in the four directions—north, south, east, and west! I'll call the detective team and the police station for backup. Also, notify the police at airports, train stations, bus stations, and highway exits to block him. Fan Ke must not leave the city!"
"Yes!" Tan Yong and the others replied in unison, quickly dispersing in four directions.
Read only on royaltywrites.com.ng/
Damn it! We had him trapped in the store, yet this cunning guy managed to slip away! Tan Yong, filled with regret, cursed while running. Suddenly, he realized Fan Ke must have seen his photo from Xia Qi's place. He cursed himself for neglecting that fact.
But considering Fan Ke's escape, he was undoubtedly suspicious! He fled in a rush, fearing the police. His deductions were correct—this guy was the instigator! We can't let him escape, we must catch him!
Although he thought this, his feet couldn't keep up. After chasing for a few hundred meters, Tan Yong, gasping for air, felt dizzy. Approaching fifty, his stamina wasn't what it used to be. He thought of chasing in a police car, but guessed the tall suspect wouldn't foolishly sprint down the street. He must be hiding in alleys, buildings, or cars, requiring a search of every road and shop.
Conveniently, there was a rental shop for bicycles and electric bikes nearby. Showing his badge, Tan Yong temporarily borrowed an electric bike, scouring the streets, asking passersby and shopkeepers if they'd seen the person in the photo... Dozens of minutes passed, yielding no results.
If he escapes like this, I'll regret it for life! Tan Yong grew increasingly impatient, beads of sweat dripping down, soaking his clothes.
Just as he was almost overwhelmed by self-blame and regret, his phone rang. It was Jiang Ming calling. Tan Yong quickly answered and heard Jiang Ming say, "Lao Tan, we caught Fan Ke! After slipping from the coffee shop, he took a cab trying to leave the city. Luckily, I alerted the traffic police, and they intercepted him at the highway toll station. A few minutes later, and he'd be out of the city's jurisdiction, making it hard to catch him!"
Tan Yong let out a long sigh of relief, a weight lifted off his chest. He replied, "That's great!"
"I'm taking him to the detective unit now. You come back too."
"Okay, let's interrogate Fan Ke immediately!" Tan Yong said, reinvigorated.
Read only on royaltywrites.com.ng/
———–—————————————
TL CORNER
Don't forget to vote and leave a review for this series' translation on novel updates!
Show support by clicking the button below (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ ~
———–—————————————
We hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can vote for this novel translation and drop a review here!❤️
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments
What's on your mind...