Chapter 197: The Man Under the Bed

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: The Man Under the Bed

The chief’s voice was filled with confusion and doubt.

"This was clearly a bad match. Why would you still want to get married and be tied to him?"

"No, no, no, not him. It’s an old classmate of mine. We’d always had feelings for each other but never said anything because of our studies.

This time, he was single, I was single, and we still liked each other, so it was only natural that we got together. Our families get along well, too, so we just went ahead and set a wedding date." A sweet, happy expression appeared on the woman’s face as she spoke about her new boyfriend.

However, her previous experience of fleeing her wedding had a huge impact on her. After they made their relationship official, she hired someone to do a full background check on her boyfriend.

She only felt truly at ease after confirming he had no kids, no girlfriend, no boyfriend, and no messy romantic history.

The chief waved over a junior officer and told him to check out the beauty salon she’d mentioned to see if her story checked out.

Just as they finished questioning her, the son of Mrs. Ford’s first husband arrived with his family.

He looked a little surprised to see the mother and daughter, but they all exchanged friendly nods.

"You two know each other?" Evan Keller asked the man.

"Yeah, we’re both in the same pitiful boat. We chat a bit when we run into each other." The man nodded. His work uniform was covered in dust, and he patted it down awkwardly before continuing, "I know why you called me over. I was moving cargo at a factory in the next town all day yesterday. The people at the factory and the surveillance cameras can all vouch for me.

My wife was working in the factory’s kitchen with our kid. We don’t have the time or the money to hire someone to kill that family. We have a mountain of our own debt to pay off."

Evan Keller recalled the case file. It said this family had drained their life savings to pay for the father’s medical treatments. It made sense that the husband and wife were now working to pay off their debts.

The chief quickly arranged for another junior officer to go and verify his alibi.

The killer hadn’t been caught yet, so they couldn’t let any of these people leave.

They could only have them wait to the side for now.

Before long, Sean Hughes came out, following behind Lynn Grant.

"How is it?" Zoe Sawyer and Evan Keller hurried over, eager to hear the results.

Lynn Grant took the hand sanitizer Evan Keller offered her and said while cleaning her hands, "All three were strangled first, then their throats were cut to bleed them out. The only fortunate thing, I suppose, is that none of the three victims seemed to have suffered for long.

Judging by the livor mortis, the time of death was between midnight and 2 a.m. But we’ll need to get back and perform a more detailed examination to determine a more precise time."

"Good work. Are you heading back with them?" Evan Keller asked Lynn Grant in a low voice, his eyes fixed on her.

Lynn Grant nodded. "Of course. You guys catch the killer as soon as you can, and we’ll all have dinner together tonight."

"Okay," Evan Keller agreed with a nod.

They didn’t plan on wasting any time. In a little while, they would have Zoe Sawyer help them identify the killer’s appearance.

Zoe Sawyer shifted uncomfortably, then took a couple of steps closer to Heath Hale.

"What’s wrong?" Heath Hale asked with concern.

"I feel like someone’s watching me. It’s not the curious stares from the crowd... it’s something else." Zoe Sawyer rubbed her arm.

It was a gaze filled with scrutiny and amusement.

For a moment, a chill ran down Zoe Sawyer’s spine. She felt like something had locked onto her.

But the gaze vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving Zoe Sawyer unable to pinpoint its location.

Hearing this, Heath Hale took a step to her side, completely shielding Zoe Sawyer from view.

Barry Quinn and Monkey, who had been standing behind Zoe Sawyer, also moved to her left and right, shielding both her and Beau from the surrounding onlookers.

Meanwhile, in a three-story, self-built house across the street from the Ford Family’s home, the window of one room was open, but the curtains were drawn tight.

The sounds and commotion from the Ford residence carried over continuously.

A man lay tense under a wooden-plank bed, clutching a blood-stained fruit knife.

He listened to the sounds from outside, his eyes fixed on the wooden planks above him.

When the snoring from above stopped, his hand rose as he contemplated whether to make a move.

’If I do it,’ he thought, ’what angle and how much force would it take to pierce through the gaps between the bed planks, through that thin mattress, and deep into the body of the teenager lying on the bed?’

’No, I should wait. See if he’s noticed me.’

’Besides, if I take care of the one above me, wouldn’t that go against the decision I already made?’

The man quickly made up his mind. As long as the person above didn’t notice him, he wouldn’t make a move. He’d just find another chance to slip away quietly.

’After all, there are still a lot of people waiting for me!’

At that thought, the man slowly lowered his hand, not making a single sound.

At that same moment, the teenager lying in his warm bed was frozen stiff. His keen sense of smell had caught a faint whiff of blood, but he knew he wasn’t injured!

’That means... there’s someone else in this room!’

The grogginess of just waking up vanished in an instant. He wanted nothing more than to leap out of bed and flee the dangerous room.

’But I can’t. That would be like screaming, ’I’ve found you, come and kill me!’’

The teenager mentally reviewed the layout of his room and had a sudden realization: besides under the bed, there was nowhere else to hide.

’So, the bad guy is hiding under my bed right now!’

The teenager’s heart skipped a beat, and his body grew even more rigid.

’Oh, right!’

’I’ll just pretend I woke up and need to use the bathroom!’

’Then I can call the police. That way, I won’t tip him off!’

The teenager’s eyes lit up. Recalling his just-woken-up state, he grabbed his phone, leaped out of bed, and started muttering, "Bathroom... bathroom..."

By the time the man under the bed reacted, the teenager had already bolted out of the room.

Immediately after, the sounds of a door slamming and a toilet flushing echoed through the poorly soundproofed house.

The man, who had been about to crawl out and take care of him, froze again. ’Looks like he really didn’t notice me. He just had to go to the bathroom.’

The teenager sat on the toilet, his trembling fingers tapping out a text message to the police.

He even specified in the text not to call, as it would be too easy to overhear.

After confirming the message was sent, the teenager opened a short-video app and cranked up the volume to cover the sound of him opening the door.

Then, he fled faster than he ever had in his life. As soon as he was outside, he saw the group of uniformed police officers across the street, and his eyes lit up.

’Thank goodness! It’s the police!’

’I can get them to catch him right now!’

The teenager seized his chance, dashed across the street, and grabbed Evan Keller’s arm. "Officer, help me!

There’s someone hiding under my bed, and I can smell blood!"