The rain outside the window went "pitter-patter," hitting the windowpanes, sounding especially clear in the silent study.
Yan Chen's face was gloomy as he spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, "Have Old Chu from the Political Department... no, have Old Chu come over to inspect the traces. See if any fingerprints or other clues were left."
"Call Old Huang and ask him to bring you some Cataclysmic treasures to check for traces of Catastrophe Power."
"Yes," the person on the other end of the phone quickly responded to Yan Chen's words.
After hanging up the phone, Yan Chen took a deep breath and extinguished his cigarette fiercely on the desk! Then his tiger-like eyes calmly stared at Qiu Tu, as if pondering something.
Qiu Tu tried to appear as normal as possible, so his eyes conveyed innocence while looking at Yan Chen.
Yan Chen stared at Qiu Tu silently for a while, then he finally said somberly, "You heard the last two phone calls."
Qiu Tu gave a "hmm" in response.
Yan Chen, "Any thoughts?"
Upon hearing Yan Chen's question, Qiu Tu tried his best to forget all of his plans for the day, putting himself in the shoes of an investigator who knew nothing of the matter.
He pondered in silence for a moment, then ventured, "Could it be that a mole has surfaced within the Investigation Bureau?"
Yan Chen stared coldly at Qiu Tu, not saying a word. Because... what Qiu Tu said was a platitude: without a mole, could the evidence have flown away by itself?
Seeing this, Qiu Tu carefully spoke, "I feel the mole is likely someone by your side."
Yan Chen, expressionless, went "Oh?" and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Qiu Tu replied with a sheepish smile, "Because... only someone close to you would know your safe's password and be aware of your habit of placing evidence in the safe, right?"
Yan Chen, clearly not really interested in Qiu Tu's analysis but rather looking for any telltale signs or slip-ups in his words, gave an "hmm" and asked, "So, do you have a suspect in mind?"
Qiu Tu coughed and provided Yan Chen with an unexpected choice, "Secretary Bai?"
Perhaps this choice was too surprising for Yan Chen, so he looked slightly moved and took two seconds to think before asking, "Why him?"
Qiu Tu tentatively said, "It's just a guess."
"After all, Secretary Bai is one of your most trusted individuals. He would definitely have a thorough understanding of your habits and probably also knows your safe's password."
"Moreover, when the investigation team came to deliver the evidence, he was the one who brought them in. So he knows that after the evidence entered your office, it never left."
"Plus, he was aware of my reason for seeking you out, so he could guess what evidence the investigation team delivered."
"All these factors make him satisfy all the prerequisites for this case."
Yan Chen seemingly truly considered if Secretary Bai was the thief. After a moment, he asked, "And the motive?"
Given Qiu Tu's relationship with Secretary Bai, of course, he wouldn't actually smear Secretary Bai to cover for himself. He was merely using Secretary Bai to lead into the next part of the conversation...
So, after hesitating a bit, he said, "I'm guessing... could Secretary Bai have a conflict with the Qin Family?"
"Or perhaps, he feels that since the Qin Family has sided with you, his position by your side is at risk?"
"Or maybe... he's had some conflicts with you recently? Simply wanting revenge?"
"Or perhaps, he... secretly reached some sort of agreement with the military or City Hall? Is this a Letter of Challenge?"
Qiu Tu's successive hypotheses regarding motives made Yan Chen frown deeply. Because... as he listened to each motive Qiu Tu proposed, the suspect Yan Chen thought of was not Secretary Bai, but... Jia Shu.
After all, although Secretary Bai was his right-hand man, his role largely involved administrative work, such as filing all the information and tasks, or dealing with various matters within the Bureau.
Such tasks, while still influential, were actually very intricate, meticulous, and difficult to wield power outwardly. Thus, few of his peers wished to replace Secretary Bai or compete with him.
In contrast, Jia Shu was different.
Also his right-hand man, Jia Shu was not only closer to him, but he also commanded the Political Department, the most powerful department in the Investigation Bureau.
Furthermore, many of his private matters were instructed to be handled by Jia Shu, which allowed Jia Shu to often exercise his power in Xinjie City in his stead — this was also a major reason why Xinjie City feared the Political Department.
So should the Qin Family get too close to Yan Chen, it would inevitably affect Jia Shu's status in his heart. Many tasks would no longer require Jia Shu's assistance, further weakening Jia Shu's power in the whole of Xinjie City.
Considering that Jia Shu knew the safe's password and was aware that he had the habit of placing evidence into that safe...
Suddenly, Jia Shu became a much more suspicious figure in Yan Chen's mind.
More importantly, because of the Yin Caimei case, Jia Shu had been at odds with Yan Chen recently, and he had shown an unusual level of interest in the case. Not even Yan Chen knew what role Jia Shu played in it, which undeniably increased his suspicion.
With these thoughts, Yan Chen's brows were deeply furrowed, and for a moment, he was too preoccupied to suspect Qiu Tu...
As the Chief of the Investigation Bureau, Yan Chen's word was law within the Bureau. He didn't need to go through the layers of approval or wait for his superior to collect the Cataclysmic treasures, unlike Qiu Tu.
Therefore, just 10 minutes later, the phone rang again.
By this time, the study had already been quiet for 10 minutes.