I motioned for them to keep quiet as I quietly slipped downstairs.
We hid by the stairwell and saw a tall, skinny man sneak into the house. He wore a baseball cap pulled low, glancing around furtively — definitely no good.
"Don't move! Police!" Huang Xiaotao shouted.
The man looked up, startled out of his wits, and immediately turned to run. We dashed after him. Wang Yuanchao was lightning fast — like a cheetah — and quickly caught up, tackling him to the ground. He pulled out handcuffs and snapped them on with practiced ease.
Residents along the street came out, drawn by the commotion.
The man hung his head, looking pitiful. "Officer, I just saw the door open and went in to take a look. I didn't do anything, really…"
Huang Xiaotao crossed her arms, voice sharp and serious. "Take a look? Don't you know this is a crime scene? Are you connected to this case?"
The man went pale, waving his hands frantically. "Officer, officer, I was actually just hoping to find something to steal."
Huang Xiaotao laughed coldly. "So you're a thief who's afraid of a little scare."
...
...
The man's face was now a mix of green and white. Several neighbors recognized him.
"That's him! Last month he stole a shirt I left outside to dry."
"My missing flower vase? Definitely his doing!"
"And my son's bicycle! Left it outside for a second, then it was gone."
Voices rose accusingly. The thief shrank back, casting desperate looks at us. Huang Xiaotao flashed her badge. "Everyone calm down. We're the police. We'll take this thief in for questioning and recover any stolen property."
The crowd quieted down. I teased Huang Xiaotao, "You sure like making promises you might not keep."
She winked at me. "Doesn't matter. This isn't our jurisdiction. If the local police can't get it back, that's their problem."
I sighed. "We're really all from the same root…"
Huang Xiaotao dragged the thief up and asked his name and what he did for a living.
His name was Zhang Liu'er — not a professional thief, just a lazy layabout. Seeing no property management in this area, he came around every now and then, hoping for easy pickings. Sometimes he'd swipe pickled vegetables from windowsills, flowerpots, even a whole pot of chicken stew left out on a coal stove. Anything cheap was fair game.
Huang Xiaotao sneered. "I've never seen such a worthless thief. He's a disgrace to all burglars everywhere."
Zhang Liu'er chuckled awkwardly, but after Huang Xiaotao kicked him, he immediately sobered up.
I asked, "Since you're always prowling here, you must know about the recent murder, right? Didn't you see the cops investigating? Why did you still break into that house?"
"I didn't mean anything bad — I just wanted to look around," Zhang Liu'er said, flashing a sly smile.
"Were you after something inside?" I glared.
He quickly denied it. "No, no, it's a house where someone died. What's there to want?"
Fine, if you won't say...
I activated my "Insightful Eyes." Zhang Liu'er broke out in a cold sweat. I fixed him with a hard stare and repeated, "Are you after something in that house?"
Startled, he squeezed his eyes shut, frantically waving his hands. "Brother, brother, don't kill me! I confess, okay? Is confessing not enough?"
His cowardice made me laugh. "Who said I'm going to kill you?"
"Your eyes... they're scary — like they can kill. Like that cat…"
That word snapped me to attention. Grabbing his shoulder, I asked anxiously, "What cat?"
I might've grabbed him too hard — he winced and trembled. "Brother, please—put away those red eyes of yours first."
I withdrew the "Insightful Eyes" and told him to confess everything.
Zhang Liu'er said he'd been short on cash lately. Small-time stealing wasn't cutting it, so he planned a big heist — breaking and entering.
He targeted the victim's family. Since both the husband and wife were out during the day, only an elderly woman was home — she had leg problems and poor eyesight. Zhang Liu'er posed as a gas meter inspector to slip in and check if anything valuable was inside.
While the old lady was alone, he scouted the place and found a golden cat statue stored on the first-floor warehouse. The craftsmanship was exquisite, lifelike, and the two eyes seemed to be precious gems. It looked worth a fortune.
He got greedy, wanting to steal the cat. But then the cat's eyes suddenly moved!
Zhang Liu'er panicked and accidentally made some noise. The old lady outside asked what was going on. He fumbled an excuse and left quickly.
After watching the house for a while, he noticed the old lady would often visit neighbors to play mahjong, leaving the house empty. He was planning to return at a good time to strike.
But before he could, the whole family was brutally murdered. The police quickly sealed off the scene, so he gave up.
Today, seeing the door open again, his thieving instincts flared. He went inside to take a look — but got caught.
After he finished, I thought back. I hadn't seen any cat statue in the house. Had someone taken it away?
Huang Xiaotao asked, "What should we do with this thief?"
I said, "Some officers nearby are investigating. Just find anyone and bring him in for a statement."
"Hey, hey, brother, I've confessed everything already. You cops have a big case on your hands. I won't disturb your work. Please be merciful and let me go like a fart in the wind?"
I laughed and said, "No worries. We'll hand you over to the local police. Won't waste our precious time."
Zhang Liu'er sulked, "I confessed, I swear I didn't take anything!"
Huang Xiaotao snapped, "You better behave and tell them about all the stuff you stole!"
Soon, a passing officer took Zhang Liu'er to the local station to file a case. We returned to the crime scene. Luo Weiwei was back, holding a bag of flour.
"Where did you go?" she asked.
"Out catching a thief," I answered.
"Catching a thief?" Luo Weiwei sneered. "You guys really have too much free time. Here's what you asked for."
I thanked her, took the flour, and went into the first-floor warehouse to check. The golden cat wasn't there.
I opened the bag and sprinkled a thin layer of flour around the windows, windowsills, and near the doors.
Huang Xiaotao suddenly asked, "Hey, last time at the school with that ghost, you used this trick too. Do you think this place is haunted?"