Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Chapter 733: The House on Old Street

Sun Biao looked at Er Ma in front of him, almost amused by him.Three million?

Found?

Come on, tell me!

Where did you find it? I’ll give it a try too!

If you can find 3 million, why be a cop?

Do you know how much three million weighs?

Of course, Er Ma could tell that Sun Biao didn’t believe what he was saying.

Of course, not only did Sun Biao not believe it, but even if someone else said it, Er Ma wouldn’t believe it.

He’s heard of finding 300 yuan.

But three million...

Isn’t that a fairy tale?

But he really did find three million.

Not a bit of it is fake.

"Captain Sun, I really did find three million. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you there right now. It’s really over by Old Street!"

Er Ma felt he had to tell the truth.

Otherwise, if he ended up in jail over those three million...

He probably wouldn’t get out for the rest of his life.

If it were back when he was broke and muddled, going to jail wouldn’t have been too bad, he’d be fed at least.

But now things were different.

Having experienced what it’s like to have money, Er Ma had stepped into a normal life.

He had already bought a house, got a car, had some savings, and had just gotten married.

Now he went out during the day and had a wife waiting for him at night.

At forty-something, Er Ma had never felt that life could be this beautiful.

Like a drowning man grasping the final straw.

Er Ma never wanted to go back to the way things were.

Moreover, this money wasn’t stolen, it was truly found.

He even waited in the same place for two minutes for the owner to come back.

But the owner never showed.

He thought maybe some rich person had thrown it away like waste paper.

So he grabbed the money and ran.

As for how heavy three million is, no one knows better than Er Ma.

Lu Chuan’s office.

Sun Biao was reporting the interrogation situation.

"Er Ma really has turned over a new leaf recently. He rented a storefront at the entrance of their community and opened a small supermarket."

"People around can testify, saying he goes out early and comes back late, just sticking to that supermarket."

"We checked his communication records; recently Er Ma has cut off all contact with his former cronies."

"The so-called washing your hands of it, doesn’t seem fake."

"But... those three million..."

Sun Biao also had a headache since Er Ma staunchly claimed that the three million was found.

"He said it was by South Suburb Old Street and even said he could take us to the site."

Found?

When Lu Chuan heard this reason, he almost thought Sun Biao was joking.

Where could you find three million?

Tell me, and I’ll go find it too!

"You know Er Ma quite well, what do you think about what he said?"

Sun Biao understood Lu Chuan’s meaning: "I’ve arrested him a few times before. We’re sort of acquaintances."

"People in their line aren’t stupid, they only steal, don’t rob, and mostly don’t deal in big heists."

"From my past interrogation experience... I think Er Ma isn’t lying."

"But... found three million?"

Sun Biao still found it a bit far-fetched.

Past experience told him Er Ma was telling the truth. Whether from his expression or tone, it all seemed genuine.

But reason told him, Er Ma is messing with you.

"How about... let’s go to the site first and then talk when we get back."

Lu Chuan rubbed his chin, still having some doubts in his mind.

No matter if what Er Ma said was true or false, those three million indeed existed.

Apart from the portion he spent during this time, the rest of the cash was at his parents’ house, in his safe under his bed.

A thief using a safe themselves...

Does he not know if that thing can prevent theft?

After Er Ma was caught, he quickly confessed to these matters.

Apart from the money for the house, car, wedding, and to open the supermarket, there was less than a million cash left.

Lu Chuan had already dispatched Wang Zhaokai to retrieve the cash from Er Ma’s parents’ house.

The call just came that the cash was retrieved and is now on the way back.

Sun Biao arranged vehicles, took Er Ma, and followed Lu Chuan to South Suburb Old Street.

The so-called South Suburb Old Street was actually just an urban village.

It’s just that the place is low-lying, old, and the infrastructure is extremely poor.

Over the years, fewer and fewer people have lived here.

Especially young people, they’ve all moved out, leaving only some elderly who have always lived on Old Street.

Since Old Street has no sewers, everyone uses public toilets which aren’t hygienic, and the houses are dark and damp, so renting is impossible.

"Just around the corner there."

Sun Biao personally brought Er Ma to identify where he found the money.

This time, Er Ma wasn’t in handcuffs.

One reason was that Sun Biao wasn’t afraid of Er Ma running away.

The other was that Er Ma wasn’t a suspect right now.

The 3 million cash still wasn’t clear where it came from.

If it really was found by Er Ma, it didn’t have much to do with him.

At most, he just found more than usual.

But no law specifies that if you find money, you have to hand it to the police.

Lu Chuan and the team were focused on finding out about the 3 million cash because it existed, and no one had reported it missing.

This was concerning.

Where did this money come from, and to whom it belonged, had to be made clear.

"During New Year’s, my family... my family ran out of money, so I thought I’d come to Old Street for a little take..."

Turning the corner was an old house facing the street.

Er Ma discovered the cash inside this house.

"You came to Old Street to steal money?"

Sun Biao almost kicked this guy.

The people living on Old Street are those who can’t move, older people, or the disabled.

Most of them now live on government welfare.

And Er Ma came to steal from these people?

"No, no, no, I had no other choice, and Old Street doesn’t have surveillance cameras, so it’s not easy to get caught."

"And I wasn’t taking much, just a couple hundred, trying to get by the New Year."

"I had already staked it out, and when I saw on the news that a group from the Red Cross came over and gave a few hundred to Old Zhang and the others."

"I was targeting them."

"That night on New Year’s, I was staked out waiting here."

Er Ma pointed to where he found the cash: "Right by that corner, I found a package."

"What kind of package?"

"Just a black travel bag. When I opened it, it was full of money!"

"Then I waited here for two minutes, but the owner didn’t show up, so I took it..."

Two minutes...

And you’re comfortable saying that.

"Where is the travel bag now?"

"At my mom’s old house, under my bed. After taking the money out, I shoved the bag under the bed."

After asking, Lu Chuan carefully checked the room where the cash was found.

The house wasn’t big, facing the street, just over forty square meters, the window was gone, and the inside was exposed.