Chapter 280: Something Wrong with Mr. Lynch

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Something Wrong with Mr. Lynch

Officer Lee sounded astonished. Out of personal interest and for his job, he often followed tech news.

The year before last, Mr. Lynch’s company had developed a new technology. At the press conference, he’d boasted that if they gave him just three more years to perfect it, he would deliver something that would completely change their understanding of the world.

Ever since, Officer Lee had started closely following all of Mr. Lynch’s public appearances. And the statement he’d just made was something Mr. Lynch had admitted to himself.

"Seriously?" Sean Hughes looked incredulous as well. From what Zoe Sawyer had said, this Mr. Lynch was quite skilled at flower arranging, completely unlike the person Officer Lee described who disliked and knew nothing about them.

"Zoe, did you see anything else out of place?" Heath Hale asked, looking at Zoe Sawyer, whose expression was just as puzzled.

"Something strange... ’Let me think.’" Zoe Sawyer leaned against the wall, her mind replaying the scene she’d witnessed in the glass greenhouse.

The flowers all around were lush and blooming, arranged with tasteful asymmetry. It was clear their owner cared for them meticulously.

The only thing that seemed out of place in the entire greenhouse was the massive concrete Florinwell in the corner.

In stark contrast to the tiled floor, the pristine, weed-free pots, and the neatly organized tools, the area around the Florinwell was just bare earth, surrounded by piles of quicklime powder.

She estimated there were at least several dozen bags.

’What else was off?’

Nothing else stood out, so Zoe Sawyer tried to focus her memory on the inside of the Florinwell.

When the man in the baseball cap sank to the bottom, she had vaguely seen what was at the bottom of the Florinwell.

She thought she had seen several fingers.

Zoe Sawyer thought about it carefully, then nodded with certainty.

She hadn’t been mistaken. They were fingers. Although somewhat decomposed, they still had a good amount of flesh clinging to them.

"There were severed human fingers in the Florinwell. I’m not sure if there was anything else," Zoe Sawyer said, briefly describing the conditions inside the pit and the surrounding piles of quicklime. "As for the quicklime powder, I’d estimate there were at least several dozen bags."

"You’d never need dozens of bags for normal composting—not unless there was something in the Florinwell that absolutely could not be discovered," Sean Hughes said, his voice tight. As he stated his theory, he also made sure to explain the purpose of the quicklime. "When applied to a corpse, quicklime deodorizes, sterilizes, accelerates decomposition, and prevents maggots. It’s practically an ideal choice for destroying a body."

Everyone present, aside from Zoe Sawyer and Beau, had handled numerous cases, and quite a few had involved the use of quicklime to destroy evidence and dispose of a body.

However, the method took too long and was too easily discovered, so few people would choose it to dispose of a corpse.

Heath Hale thought for a moment, then looked over at Officer Lee. "How long has it been since this Mr. Lynch has made a public appearance?"

"About a month or so. The official story is that long-term, high-intensity work caused some health problems, so Mrs. Lynch is forcing him to rest and recuperate at home.

In the meantime, all company decisions have been handed over to the vice president. The technology he was perfecting has also reached its final stages, so he’s no longer needed to oversee it around the clock." Officer Lee recited Mr. Lynch’s recent situation without a moment’s hesitation.

But after he finished speaking, everyone realized something was amiss.

It was all too much of a coincidence!

"I’ve found something. This Mr. Lynch has a younger brother. There’s only a two-year age difference between them, but they look very similar," Vivian Dunn said from the other side of the room, quickly pulling up Mr. Lynch’s file.

Compared to his older brother’s talent in the field, the younger brother seemed utterly unremarkable. A scan of his file revealed nothing of note.

"Liam, find out where Mr. Lynch’s brother is now. Evan, you report this to the chief and get in contact with the police department over there. We need to head over as soon as possible.

Everyone else, get ready. We could be leaving at any moment." Heath Hale quickly laid out the plan.

This case was connected to the mysterious "Big Sis," so Heath Hale didn’t dare waste any time. Although the door’s premonition was for an event happening tomorrow, it would still take a considerable amount of time to travel there.

"Yes, sir!"

The team responded in unison and quickly went their separate ways.

Zoe Sawyer didn’t remain idle. While the others made their preparations, she sat at her desk and recorded every detail of the vision she’d seen from beginning to end.

She reviewed it to fill in any gaps, checking to see if there was anything she had missed.

By the time Evan Keller and Officer Lee were finished, an hour had passed.

"The chief has already contacted the police department in that jurisdiction. We can go over anytime," Evan Keller said, nodding to the group in the office to indicate that everything was settled and they were cleared to leave.

Just then, Officer Lee handed photocopies of a file to Zoe Sawyer and the others. "I found something on my end, too. Six months ago, Mr. Lynch brought his younger brother over from their hometown, and the two of them have been living together ever since.

And I found one more thing. A week after the brother arrived, Mr. Lynch’s wife left for a trip around the world and hasn’t returned to the country since.

For the Lunar New Year this year, she flew directly to the city where their daughter is studying abroad to spend the holiday with her."

As he said this, a puzzled expression appeared on Officer Lee’s face.

From previous interviews, it was clear that Mr. and Mrs. Lynch had a good relationship. They always spent major holidays together, so it was highly unusual for them to celebrate in separate locations.

"We now have reasonable grounds to suspect that this Mr. Lynch is an imposter." Heath Hale gripped the file in his hand, then looked at the team, who were already prepared. "We’re leaving immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, Zoe Sawyer and the team were on a high-speed train, arriving at their destination a few hours later.

"It’s been a long trip for you all. Please, get in the car."

As the team exited the high-speed rail station, someone waiting outside came up to greet them.

As the car began to move, Evan Keller noticed they weren’t heading toward the police station. His tone was questioning, "Aren’t we going to the station?"

"Here’s the situation. When our chief got the call, he sent someone to survey the area around Mr. Lynch’s house. They discovered a car that’s been parked there for a while without moving.

There’s a paparazzo in the car keeping a close watch on the Lynch family’s front entrance. The chief was worried something unexpected might happen if this dragged on, so he instructed me to take you directly to the Lynch residence’s back door.

Don’t worry, we have colleagues watching the area. They’ll call and give us a heads-up if any unexpected situations arise," the officer driving the car explained.

Hearing this explanation, Zoe Sawyer and the rest of the team set aside their suspicions.

Soon, the car arrived at the back door of the Lynch residence.

Just as he had said in the car, besides two police cars flanking the entrance, there was no one else to be seen near the back door.

Evan Keller got out of the car and knocked on the back door of the Lynch residence.

The door was opened quickly by a middle-aged man—the target of their trip.

"Hello, Mr. Lynch. We’re the police."