Chapter 277: The Verdict

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: The Verdict

"Watch your attitude. We have body cams running on every call," Evan Keller said, rapping his knuckles on the table. His tone was stern. "Do you think you pulled off dumping the body perfectly? That no one saw you?

"The truth is, we have a witness who saw the entire thing, crystal clear."

Hearing this, Owen Fletcher shot bolt upright, his expression instantly freezing.

But then, a second thought struck him. ’If they really witnessed the whole thing from start to finish, these cops wouldn’t have waited this long to arrest me.’

’So, they’re bluffing!’

Once he realized this, the tension in Owen Fletcher’s expression eased considerably.

But when he looked up, Evan Keller and Heath Hale didn’t look flustered like their lie had been exposed. Instead, their faces held a calm certainty.

They said nothing, just watched Owen Fletcher in silence.

Owen Fletcher, who had just been feeling relieved, began to look hesitant under their unwavering gaze.

’Why... why aren’t they worried now that I’ve seen through their lie? Could it be someone actually saw me?’

’Impossible!’

’Absolutely impossible!’

For a long time, the interrogation room was silent. Owen Fletcher’s expression shifted from doubt to panic.

Seeing that the effect was taking hold, Evan Keller repeated the exact words Owen Fletcher had said while dumping the body. As if that wasn’t enough, he then described the clothes Owen Fletcher had been wearing that day.

Hearing those familiar words and the description of his outfit, Owen Fletcher’s face turned ashen.

’So someone really did see me.’

"Do you believe us now? Start talking. Why did you go after Daisy Lawson?" Evan Keller tapped the table with his pen, pulling Owen Fletcher’s attention back to him. His voice was cold.

Owen Fletcher hung his head and was silent for a long moment before finally speaking. "Because she didn’t know what was good for her!

"I went to her that day full of sincerity. I put on my best clothes, washed my hair, shaved my beard, and I brought all my savings with me. I wanted to prove to her that I could give her a happy life.

"But what did she say? That she couldn’t get over her dead husband, that she didn’t want any more children, and that she was going to spend the rest of her life with those two old fogies and that little bastard!"

As he said this, Owen Fletcher’s expression twisted into a vicious snarl.

He was average in both looks and ability. In his thirty-odd years, not a single woman had ever shown interest in him.

To find a wife, his only option was to work hard and save money. He finally saved enough, and someone was even willing to set him up, but he was still rejected!

Years of failure had twisted Owen Fletcher’s mind.

’I’ll give her one more chance. One last chance.’

With that thought, Owen Fletcher bought a train ticket in the same direction. Perhaps luck was on his side, as he managed to find Daisy Lawson on the third day.

He asked her again, proposed again, and got the same answer.

This time, to get rid of Owen Fletcher for good, Daisy Lawson even lashed out, saying she wouldn’t consider him even if he were the last man on Earth. She was trying to crush any hope he might have.

But those words were the last straw for Owen Fletcher.

Overcome with rage, he reached out. One hand clamped tightly over Daisy Lawson’s mouth and nose while the other choked her until she passed out.

To save money, Daisy Lawson had found a cheap rental with no surveillance cameras nearby.

Furthermore, her neighbors were all busy making ends meet and left for work before dawn. So when Owen Fletcher took her, it went smoothly; he didn’t run into anyone.

Afraid of being discovered, Owen Fletcher stuck to the back roads, avoiding all the surveillance cameras, and returned home via a mountain path.

He tied Daisy Lawson’s hands and feet, gagged her, and held her captive in his house for several days.

During this time, Owen Fletcher went out as usual, acting completely normal. In reality, he would return every night to abuse Daisy Lawson.

A few days passed like this. Then, in a fit of rage, Owen Fletcher lost control and didn’t know his own strength. He suffocated Daisy Lawson to death.

By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late to save her.

Owen Fletcher panicked. In the end, his only option was to hide the body in his house.

It would be fine for the first few days, but after a while, the decomposing body would start to smell, and the neighbors would definitely notice something was wrong.

Owen Fletcher thought for a whole day and finally decided to dump the body deep in the mountains, covering it with fallen leaves and dead branches.

Almost no one ever went there. By the time it was discovered months later, there would probably be nothing left but a skeleton!

He decided and acted. Owen Fletcher found a burlap sack, stuffed Daisy Lawson’s body inside, and, under the cover of night, hauled it up the mountain.

After returning home, Owen Fletcher didn’t want to stay there any longer. He carelessly shoved the burlap sack into his stove and lit it, then grabbed his pre-packed belongings and boarded a train heading south.

Because he left in such a hurry, Owen Fletcher didn’t notice that the burlap sack in the stove had only half-burned before the fire went out.

Luckily, the fire went out, preserving that crucial piece of evidence.

Although Owen Fletcher had fled to a new city, he kept a close watch on the news from his hometown.

The moment someone discovered the body, he was ready to run again.

But before he could make his getaway, the police tracked him down, arrested him, and extradited him back to his place of origin.

After recounting the entire story, Owen Fletcher lowered his head. He knew his life was over. Forget about getting a wife; he’d be lucky to keep his own life now.

Once they confirmed that nothing had been left out, Evan Keller and Heath Hale left the interrogation room.

Looking at Zoe Sawyer and her team, who had been waiting outside the whole time, Evan Keller offered them a small smile. "He’s confessed to everything. Now, it’s time for the trial."

A man from the group gratefully grabbed Evan Keller’s hand and shook it. "Captain Keller, thank you so much. Without you, who knows how long this case would have dragged on!"

Evan Keller squeezed his hand in return. "Don’t mention it. We were just doing our job."

The two exchanged a few more pleasantries, and then Zoe Sawyer and her team left to return to their own department.

"How long will it take for the verdict in this case to come down?" Zoe Sawyer asked, looking at Heath Hale beside her.

"About a week or so," Heath Hale replied, flipping through the documents in his hand. His tone was a little hesitant.

The timing would depend on how quickly the local police department worked.

Less than a week later, Zoe Sawyer, who was in the middle of training, received the final news.

Heath Hale placed the report in his hand in front of Zoe Sawyer. "The verdict for Daisy Lawson’s case is out. Do you want to see it?"

"Yes!"

Zoe Sawyer took the report from Heath Hale and scanned through it, her eyes flying over the lines as she took in the entire verdict.

The evidence was conclusive, and the criminal had confessed.

Considering the special circumstances of Daisy Lawson’s family, the court sentenced Owen Fletcher to death with a reprieve. All of his assets were ordered to be paid as compensation to the Blind Matron’s family.

Old Man Lawson tried to contest it, but amid the scorn and opposition of the neighbors, he slinked away in disgrace, not daring to make another sound.