Chapter 104: She and I Will Never Be Separated

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: She and I Will Never Be Separated

The homeless man’s voice was hoarse, like a long-dormant machine grinding to life. His eyes were fixed on the wallet, brimming with such intense craving that he disregarded his predicament and lunged for it.

The homeless man hadn’t said a word from the moment he came down from the tree to when he was arrested and locked in a cell. But now, a wallet had finally made him speak.

Heath Hale took a step back, raising a hand to dodge the man’s grasp. "This isn’t yours," he said calmly. "It belongs to a young woman.

How did you get it? Did you steal it? Snatch it? Or did you just find it?"

The homeless man glared at Heath Hale, a guttural "Heh... heh..." rumbling in his throat.

"I took it off her! It’s mine! You’re the thief! Give it back to me!" The homeless man’s eyes blazed with a furious, wild rage, like a cornered beast about to snap. It was a terrifying sight.

Heath Hale knew gentle persuasion wouldn’t work on someone like this. He needed a different approach.

’The man was clearly fixated on the wallet. Does he know about the photo inside?’

With that thought, Heath Hale pulled a small sticker photo from the wallet and held it in front of the man. "Do you know what this is? It’s from a photo booth.

The girl in the picture must be the wallet’s owner, and the guy with her is probably her boyfriend. They look so in love, don’t they? Like they’re about to get married.

When I return it, I’ll have to be sure to congratulate them."

As he spoke, Heath Hale watched the homeless man’s reactions closely.

Just as he’d expected, upon hearing the words "in love" and "get married," the homeless man’s expression turned explosively violent.

"Wrong! Wrong! She’s mine! She can only ever be mine!

She’s with me forever now. None of you can ever take her from me!" The man’s voice became hysterical. His naturally hoarse tone, now at a high-pitched shriek, made everyone else in the interrogation room flinch and cover their ears.

’It’s so shrill!’

But once they processed what the man had shrieked, a heavy feeling settled over them. They all had a terrible premonition.

The wallet’s owner was most likely dead.

"With you forever? What did you do to her?!" Heath Hale slammed his hand on the table in front of the man, his voice stern.

The man seemed unfazed, a grotesque smile spreading across his face. "You won’t find her. You’ll never find her. She’ll be with me... always and forever."

’We can’t waste any more time on this,’ Heath Hale thought. He turned and handed the wallet to Officer Stone. "There’s no time to lose. I need you to run the ID photo and find out who the owner is, now.

Then, start with the farmland as the center point. Fan out and check all the surrounding surveillance cameras to track this man’s movements as quickly as possible. Send the rest of your people to canvass the area. See if anyone has seen him."

The man’s hands are very distinctive. Between that and his clothes, anyone who’s seen him recently is unlikely to forget.

That should allow us to map out his movements.

Officer Stone and his men knew that this kind of investigation wasn’t their forte. Until reinforcements from the county arrived, following Heath Hale’s plan was their best bet.

Soon, all available officers at the station were split into three teams and set to work on Heath Hale’s orders.

Zoe Sawyer sat on a chair in the hall, watching the homeless man through the window.

’No, I can’t just sit here and do nothing.’

She ran a quick check of her gear.

’Tracker, camera, and a compact, sophisticated tranquilizer gun... plus Barry Quinn and Monkey... that should be enough to find someone!’

"Heath, give me a photo. Let me try something!" Zoe Sawyer held out her hand to Heath Hale, asking for one of the girl’s pictures.

Right now, the most important thing was to determine if the two people in the photo were still alive.

The best-case scenario was that the girl was just being held captive. If they could pinpoint her location, they could bring her back.

But if she was already dead, they still had to bring her body back.

Heath Hale glanced at Officer Stone and asked if he could borrow an unused office.

Officer Stone didn’t ask why. He knew it was better not to pry when it came to people on a classified mission.

A moment later, Officer Stone led Zoe Sawyer and her team into a vacant office.

"We were going to turn this into a lounge for the night shift," Officer Stone explained briefly. "But it became too much of a hassle, so we never finished it." He then excused himself, leaving the room to Zoe Sawyer and her team.

He didn’t remain idle, either. Returning to his own office, he contacted his chief, who was in a meeting in the city, and briefed him on the day’s events.

"Police from Varden? Alright, I understand. I’ll look into it. For now, just cooperate with their operation." After giving Officer Stone his instructions, the chief hung up and went to ask his own superior about the situation.

’The two jurisdictions are so far apart. Why would they be out here on a classified mission?’

With clear instructions from his chief, Officer Stone stopped hesitating and began reviewing the surveillance footage as Heath Hale had directed.

Meanwhile, Zoe Sawyer confirmed the room had no surveillance cameras. She posted Sean Hughes outside as a lookout while the others stood behind her, ready for anything.

Committing the face from the ID photo to memory, Zoe Sawyer placed her right hand on the doorknob, closed her eyes, and focused.

The moment the connection clicked into place, she opened the door.

They were met with near-total darkness.

A complex stench filled the air—a mixture of rot, cooked meat, blood, and damp earth that made Zoe Sawyer gag.

Barry Quinn pulled Zoe Sawyer behind him and switched on a high-powered flashlight.

The harsh beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the scene before them with perfect clarity.

When she saw what was in front of them, Zoe Sawyer slapped a hand over her mouth.

The space before them was small, no more than a meter wide by visual estimate, with a low ceiling. It looked like a cellar.

In the far corner stood a small wooden door. On the opposite side of the room, several severed arms were strewn about. They bore teeth marks, cuts, and scorch marks. A few scattered articles of clothing lay on the ground.

The earth near the small wooden door was a different color from the dirt in the rest of the cellar—it was much darker, as if it had been soaked through with blood.

"Look at the arms," Monkey said, his face grim. "They belong to at least three different people." His words sent a fresh wave of shock through the group.

Just then, a heavy shuffling sound came from behind the wooden door.

Everyone tensed, their gazes fixed on the door.

Evan Keller and Barry Quinn silently raised their tranquilizer guns, ready to take down whoever came through the door the moment they showed their head.

A moment later, the wooden door creaked open from the inside.

A person poked their head out.

As the flashlight beam hit them, they squeezed their eyes shut and threw a hand up to shield their face.

A pained groan escaped their lips.

Once she got a clearer look, Zoe Sawyer cried out, "Look at his hands!"