Chapter 242: Joey’s Statement

Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Joey’s Statement

As soon as Hayden Shaw finished speaking, Heath Hale, standing beside Zoe Sawyer, spoke up to get her attention.

Zoe Sawyer might not have been interested in other matters, but an interrogation involving Joey? That was something she had to hear.

"Let’s go, let’s go! I have to hear this!" Zoe Sawyer said, heading out enthusiastically.

Evan Keller had his men lock Keith Garrison and Shane Lynch in separate holding cells, then headed toward the interrogation room.

By the time he arrived, a crowd had already gathered outside the interrogation room.

It included not only the officers who had come over for training with Joey, but also the director of his precinct.

Every one of them wore a grim expression, waiting for answers from the man inside.

The interrogating officer inside, aware of Joey’s background, tapped the table with his pen. "You used to be an officer, so you should know how our interrogations work."

"Confess everything honestly, and this will be easier for everyone. And don’t even think about your bosses coming to save you. They’ve all been rounded up."

Joey kept his head bowed, lost in thought.

Just as the officer across from him grew impatient and was about to press him again, he heard Joey’s low, hoarse voice. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell me everything you know. How you communicated, how many people they have working for them—give me all the details," the officer said, his gaze fixed on Joey, his tone firm and unequivocal.

Joey was silent for a long moment. Then, just before the officer’s patience wore thin, he finally began to tell his story.

Joey hadn’t graduated from a police academy. He was just an ordinary college student, but he spent money like water and had taken out loans from every app he could find.

Just when he was about to default, a skinny man approached him and offered to give him the money to pay off his debts.

There was a catch, though: he had to take the recruitment exam to become an auxiliary police officer.

If he got in, the loan would not only be partially forgiven, but he could also borrow more, interest-free. He could pay it back when he had the money, and if he didn’t, it was no big deal.

Joey refused at first, but as the repayment deadline loomed and the pressure mounted, he finally gave in to the skinny man’s terms.

Accustomed to a lavish lifestyle, Joey’s spending became even more reckless once he had a stable source of income, and he quickly amassed a massive amount of new debt.

After becoming an auxiliary officer, Joey thought that would be the end of it. Unexpectedly, the skinny man contacted him again, saying he could arrange some "incidents" for Joey to resolve, allowing him to earn merit and get promoted to a full-time officer.

Joey didn’t want to agree, but under the skinny man’s threats, he went along with the plan.

Sure enough, in less than half a year, he successfully became a full-time officer. After his promotion, the skinny man contacted him less frequently, telling him not to get in touch unless it was for something important.

So he remained a sleeper agent, going out on patrols and missions just like any other colleague.

That is, until he received his first assignment from them not long ago.

And after that came tipping them off, and then his own arrest.

What Joey hadn’t expected was that his cover as a mole would be blown so soon after his promotion.

They had only kept him around to see who the mastermind behind him was.

As for their other hideouts, he knew nothing beyond the one he had visited.

Joey’s director shook his head and said to Evan Keller and the others beside him, "After we caught that group, I immediately sent a team over to see if they’d left anything behind."

"But we were a step too late. The hideout was burned to the ground. We couldn’t find anything."

The fire was so intense it nearly spread to the neighboring properties.

They went there looking for evidence but ended up having to put out a fire instead.

Since it was a weekday and most residents are commuters, no one noticed the fire when it first started.

By the time someone finally noticed and called the fire department, the blaze had already grown intense.

"It was probably an automated system set up from the beginning. If they couldn’t get back in time to disable it, the fire would destroy everything," Evan Keller speculated, rubbing his chin.

It’s not a complicated method, and it’s highly effective at destroying all traces of evidence.

’If it were me,’ he thought, ’I’d probably do the same thing.’

Joey knew there were people watching from outside. He suddenly whipped his head around, his voice rising with agitation. "They’re a huge organization, and they have countless methods! It won’t be easy to take them down. Just stop! There’s no need to sacrifice so many people!"

Outside, Zoe Sawyer and the others exchanged glances when they heard this.

Then, they just shrugged nonchalantly.

They had experienced firsthand how ruthless this group’s methods were, so they were well aware of the danger.

Besides, if a few simple words were enough to make them give up, wouldn’t all their past sacrifices and efforts have been for nothing?

Never mind the others; Zoe Sawyer herself couldn’t accept that outcome.

’We have to see this through to the very end!’

The officer inside asked a few more questions. After confirming that Joey wasn’t hiding anything else, he finally came out.

"He doesn’t know much, so he couldn’t provide a lot of useful information. My guess is he was just cannon fodder," the officer said, handing the interrogation report to Evan Keller and sharing his assessment.

He didn’t have answers to most questions, only knew of a single location, and they were always the ones who initiated contact.

From every angle, Joey was classic cannon fodder, used to test the waters.

From the very beginning, his handlers never expected much from him.

If he managed to send back useful information, great. If not, it didn’t matter; using him to gauge the police department’s response wasn’t a total waste.

It’s just that Joey himself was already in too deep to realize something was off.

Evan Keller briefly skimmed the report. After confirming it contained nothing he didn’t already know, he handed it back to the interrogating officer.

Director Miller nodded to Evan Keller and his team. "Since this matter is resolved, I’ll be taking my people and heading back."

Since he had already cleared it with Elder Crowe, Director Miller left with his officers right after he finished speaking.

Just then, Evan Keller’s phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was his director.

After listening to his director, Evan Keller hung up. He looked at the group still lingering nearby and raised his voice. "Good work today, everyone. Go home and get some rest."

"Zoe Sawyer, you and Heath Hale, come with me to the director’s office."

"Sean Hughes and Hayden Shaw, I need you to liaise with the three victims’ families. Once everything checks out, let them take their loved ones home."

With the tasks quickly assigned, everyone dispersed.

Zoe Sawyer, Heath Hale, and Evan Keller headed for the director’s office.

When Zoe Sawyer and the others entered, the director glanced at the nearby sofa, gesturing for them to sit.

Then, he slid a file across the desk to Zoe Sawyer.

On the cover were two large, red words.

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