Animal Detective

Chapter 271 - 237: Playing Dirty and Bringing Backup

The car pulled up to a somewhat rundown-looking house.

This was Yu Dalin’s home. It was on the edge of the village, right beside the main road they had taken, and not far from Chen Fang’s rescue shelter.

As the crow flies, the distance was probably only two or three hundred meters.

Yu Dalin got out of the car.

Lying by the door was the same black dog he had been threatening to beat to death earlier.

When the black dog saw him, it scampered over eagerly, its tail wagging immediately.

Yu Dalin gave its head a quick rub, then took out his keys, unlocked the door, and motioned for Shen Xin and Li Jiahui to come inside.

The living room wasn’t large and was cluttered with junk piled up haphazardly.

The house itself was a very traditional-style home. It looked dilapidated from the outside, and inside, the paint was peeling from the walls.

Yu Dalin enthusiastically fished out two bottles of mineral water from a corner, handed them over, and gestured for his guests to sit.

Then he took out his phone to show them the so-called evidence.

It was a video on his phone.

Judging by the camera angle, Yu Dalin must have been hiding in some bushes.

It was also filmed at night, and combined with a low-quality phone camera, the footage wasn’t very clear.

An Iveco van was parked in front of Chen Fang’s rescue shelter.

The video showed Chen Fang and two men.

One was older; Li Jiahui said it was Chen Fang’s husband, a man named Yang Yaotao, whom she had seen before.

There were also two younger men.

The four of them worked in pairs, loading cages onto the van.

They were the flat, iron cages typically used for chickens and ducks, but these were filled with cats and dogs.

The cages were so flat that it wasn’t too bad for the cats, but the larger dogs had to lie completely flat on their stomachs or sides just to fit.

They were also packed so tightly that it looked like the animals had no room to move at all.

The cages were stacked one on top of another, and the chaotic cries of cats and dogs could be heard faintly in the video.

Yu Dalin pointed at his phone. "Officers, you see that? She’s selling cats and dogs. You can run license plates, can’t you? Run this van’s plate. I’ve seen it several times."

"Sometimes it’s making deliveries here, other times it’s picking them up. It’s always different. The ones they take away... aren’t they all just being sold?"

Li Jiahui’s brow furrowed deeply.

Shen Xin silently noted the license plate number and asked Yu Dalin if he had any other evidence.

’From the look of things,’ Shen Xin thought, ’Chen Fang’s shelter might not be the selfless operation she described—bankrupting herself and dedicating her life solely to rescuing stray animals.’

’But based on this video, it seems she might just be selling the strays she rescues.’

’You could condemn her for it on moral grounds, but the act itself isn’t illegal.’

’Even what Yu Dalin called animal abuse... that isn’t illegal either.’

’Of course, if you abuse an animal in public, film it for entertainment, and cause a major public disturbance, you could be charged with provoking trouble.’

"Also, sir, do you have any other evidence? For instance, that the cats and dogs being delivered were stolen."

’If there are dog thieves, that’s theft—a property crime. We can get involved with that.’

Yu Dalin said, "She has security cameras outside her yard, so I don’t dare get close enough to film. But I’ve heard the dogs from outside, and they sound like they’re in agony. She’s definitely abusing them."

"Besides, you’re the ones who should be investigating for evidence! If you look into it, you’ll find it."

His voice grew agitated as he spoke.

Shen Xin quickly gestured for him to sit and calm down, then tried a different approach, asking him why he was so invested in this matter.

"And earlier, why did you bring your dog over and demand money from her?"

’Do the two of them have some kind of grudge against each other?’

Yu Dalin snorted. "I can’t stand her. What a piece of work. Instead of earning an honest living, she’s always up to some crooked scheme. But to the outside world, she puts on such a respectable act. She’s a phony."

"So, whenever she has visitors, I go over there and threaten her. I know she won’t give me any money, and I wouldn’t take it even if she did."

"I just want people to see that she’s a huge fraud! All talk of justice and morality, but rotten to the core. Shameless."

The old man’s words were venomous.

Shen Xin understood now. ’No wonder he showed up the moment I arrived, yelling about beating his dog to death.’

Shen Xin pressed him, "Sir, you said she makes a lot of money off these strays. Besides selling them, do you know of any other methods she uses? Like tricking people into giving her donations?"

’If Chen Fang organizes ’rescue missions’ where people pool money to buy dogs, and then she siphons off some of the donations for herself, that would be fraud and a violation of charity laws.’

Yu Dalin said quickly, "Oh, she definitely does that! People come to her place all the time, driving nice cars. You can tell they have money. It’s just like you said—they’re probably giving her donations."

"She just has to act all pitiful to trick people into giving her money. How wicked is that?"

He continued his tirade of curses but couldn’t produce a shred of evidence.

Of course, Shen Xin wasn’t going to take his word for it.

’Criminal cases are never built on testimony alone. People are unpredictable; they can spin wild tales, and it’s impossible to know what’s true and what’s false.’

’Everything comes down to evidence.’

Take the video Yu Dalin had filmed, for example.

From his perspective, Chen Fang was selling stray cats and dogs.

’But what if it was just a transport? Maybe Chen Fang found new homes for a batch of strays and called a van to move them.’

’As for using chicken crates, maybe she couldn’t find enough proper carriers on short notice and had no choice but to make the animals a little uncomfortable for the journey.’

’In the video, Chen Fang wasn’t yelling about prices or collecting any money.’

’What you see isn’t always the full story.’

’In the end, it all came down to the evidence.’

After a few more questions, Shen Xin had a clearer picture of the situation.

’Yu Dalin might have had some prior conflict with Chen Fang, or maybe he just couldn’t stand the sight of her. Whatever the reason, he had latched onto her now, fueling his own suspicions and speculations.’