Chapter 192: A Stolen Luxury Watch
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It was in the commercial zone of Binhai, surrounded by skyscrapers and high-end offices. The companies in those buildings are some quite successful local companies or branch offices from national enterprises.
The case happened not long ago… that was not accurate. It should be said that the first official report was set up in the police station not long ago. No one except for the offender knew when the first case was.
One day, the police received a case reporting a stolen watch. Honestly, it was quite normal that petty thieves stole something here and there. The policemen kept a record most of the time, but they wouldn’t really spend time searching for the loss because most of the stuff could not be found. If they caught a big group of thieves, then they might be able to get back some stuff. Only when the lost item was extremely valuable would the police take the case seriously.
The value of the lost item wasn’t extremely high. It was an imported luxury watch. Local policemen went to file a case. Captain Sheng knew nothing about it.
The location of the case was Yuanhua Building – an office building at the edge of the commercial zone. The policemen went and took statements.
The person who reported the case was a 37-year old man called Liu Miao. He was a mid-level manager in a local company. His annual income was about 200,000 Yuan. He filed a case with the police that an imported diamond accent TAG Heuer female watch was missing in the company and he suspected one of his co-workers stole it.
His friend bought this brand-new watch from overseas for him. The watch cost about 30,000 Yuan, which was shown on the receipt. Because his friend bought it from overseas, his friend had to wear it to enter customs. This way, they could avoid paying the duties. The police found out afterwards that a luxurious item like that should be taxed at 60%. Therefore, that watch was in fact sold in China for more than 50,000 Yuan.
His friend brought the watch to the company and told him he would mail the box over in a few days. He was a trustworthy friend. Also, before Liu Miao bought this watch, he did extensive research on how to identify a counterfeit watch so he was comfortable about receiving the watch without a receipt and box. After receiving the watch, Liu Miao was thrilled. He was going to hide it and surprise his wife when the box arrived.
After his friend left, a few co-workers heard that he bought an expensive watch and all came over to congratulate him and have a look. The girls were jealous of his wife for having such a generous and caring husband. Because there wasn’t a box, he left it on his desk for his co-workers to look at.
His co-workers were clever. They looked at it and then put it down immediately. No one dared to try it on. Liu Miao was watching the whole time. He trusted his co-workers and wasn’t worried about losing the watch. All he worried about was someone dropping the watch, so he was prepared to save it if that happened.
After looking at the watch, his co-workers all promised they wouldn’t tell his wife about it. Then they all went back to work.
Up until then, the watch was still laying on his desk, safe and sound.
As the mid-level manager of the company, Liu Miao didn’t have an office of his own, but he did have a separate large desk. It was on the edge of the public area close to the wall. His team sometimes came over to report to him or had him review something. He was a busy man.
Some co-workers from other departments heard about the luxurious watch and came over to look at it. Liu Miao felt it was too troublesome to keep pulling the watch out from the drawer, so he kept it on the desk. In fact, he was also trying to show off the watch.
Liu Miao’s department was quite stable; thus, the turnover rate was low. There hadn’t been any new employees lately nor did he hear about anyone trying to change departments. He had worked in the company for years. Sometimes, people were frightened that they lost their phone or wallet. Soon they would find that they were careless and found the item quickly. There had never been anything officially stolen in the office. People who worked there had a great job and they didn’t have to risk their reputation for a few thousand Yuan.
When it was almost noon, an acquaintance sent Liu Miao a message saying that he wanted to buy a similar watch so he wanted to come look at it. If he liked it, he also would like Liu Miao’s friend help him get a piece from overseas and he was willing to pay him some commission.
Liu Miao understood. In fact, before he got the watch, he was worried that it would be taxed at customs. Now that his friend really showed himself to be reliable, Liu was extremely happy about the purchase. It was normal that other people wanted to do the same because of the savings. Liu Miao was a great friend of that guy, so he only needed to take him out as a thank-you. Other people wanting the same service would have to pay his friend commission.
He replied, "Okay. You may come over."
The co-worker replied, "Coming."
Liu Miao needed to use the bathroom. He hesitated for half a second whether he should put the watch in his drawer. He then thought it was unnecessary because the bathroom was very close to his desk and it should only take him a few minutes to get back. Thinking that his co-worker was on his way down, it was too much trouble putting the watch back. He trusted his co-workers wouldn’t do anything to it. Also, his desk was separated. If someone wanted to come over and steal the watch, someone would see it.
He rushed to the bathroom, leaving the watch out.
From the surveillance camera, the total time from him leaving the desk to returning was only three or four minutes. However, something happened during that time.
When Liu Miao returned, his acquaintance was waiting by his desk.
The acquaintance’s name was Shaoyu. He joined the company at almost the same time as Liu Miao. Both shared the same hobbies – watching soccer and drinking beer. They spent a lot of time together at bars during the last World Cup. Shaoyu wasn’t married yet so he enjoyed more freedom than Liu Miao.
Seeing him return, Shaoyu said immediately, "Everyone is talking about your fancy watch. Let me take a look…"
Liu Miao laughed and pointed at the desk, "It is on the desk…"
The watch was missing.