Chapter 354: There Is No Mason Walker

Chapter 354: Chapter 354: There Is No Mason Walker

Hearing his colleague Bill’s question, Arthur Sullivan shot his head up to look at him, his voice and expression incredibly tense. "What are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about what happened in Workshop Two today, with Mason Walker," Bill said, staring at Arthur Sullivan’s face and enunciating every word. "Arthur, do you know something about it?"

Seeing Arthur Sullivan’s tense posture and, not far away, Fiona Hawthorne’s deathly pale face, Bill knew he had guessed correctly.

He let out a breath. Just as he was about to speak, he caught sight of Lacey poking her head out of her room, her face full of curiosity.

"Lacey, sweetie, can you go watch a little more TV, please? Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Bill have something to talk about," Fiona Hawthorne said gently, following Bill’s gaze to her daughter’s little head peeking out.

"Okay!"

Lacey nodded obediently and backed away, remembering to close the door behind her to give the adults some privacy.

After everything that had just happened, and recalling the decision he and his wife had made before Bill arrived, Arthur Sullivan sighed. "Yes, I know about it," he said. "Don’t tell me you came all the way here just to ask about this?"

"Then do you know Ben has been watching you?" Bill asked. He ignored Arthur’s suddenly rigid expression and continued, "This afternoon, when I went to the restroom, I overheard him on the phone with the factory manager."

"I couldn’t hear what the manager was saying, but based on Ben’s replies, he was definitely told to watch you."

"Everything was fine before, and now this, out of nowhere. Combined with what happened at the factory today... that’s why I wanted to come ask what you know about the Mason Walker situation."

Arthur Sullivan’s face went white. ’I had no idea!’

"But looking at your expression, Arthur, you probably know what’s going on."

"I’m not going to ask you why. I just came over today to give you a quiet heads-up, so you can be careful tomorrow," Bill said with a sigh, explaining his reason for the visit.

He could have said it over the phone, of course, but Bill was afraid he might leave something important out, so he made the trip in person.

Arthur Sullivan sat on the sofa, silent for a long while.

Just as Bill was about to speak again, Arthur Sullivan shot to his feet, his tone resolute. "Bill, come with me to the police station!"

"The police station?" Bill looked astonished. ’I just came here to warn Arthur about Ben and the manager for tomorrow, how did this suddenly turn into going to the police?’

"Yes, the police station. You’ll understand why when we get there." Arthur Sullivan pulled Bill up, but just as he opened the door, he came face-to-face with Lynn, who was about to ring the doorbell.

Seeing Arthur Sullivan about to head out, Lynn and her partner, Mills, exchanged a look.

Lynn then showed Arthur Sullivan her badge. "Hello, police. We have a few questions for you regarding the case at the factory today."

Arthur Sullivan took a deep breath and stepped aside. "Please, come in. As it happens, I have something to report to the police as well."

A trace of excitement flashed in Lynn’s and Mills’s eyes.

’Looks like the chief was right!’

’This Arthur Sullivan really does know something, he just couldn’t talk at the factory!’

The four of them sat down facing each other at the dining table. Fiona Hawthorne left them to it and went back to the bedroom to stay with Lacey.

"Mr. Sullivan, about the Mason Walker matter, I have a few questions to ask you."

Lynn had barely finished speaking when Arthur Sullivan blurted out, "Officer, I need to turn myself in! There’s no one named Mason Walker at the factory. He’s a fake person I created using a homeless man’s identity to pad the payroll."

Huh?

’He doesn’t exist?’

Bill, who had been on edge, whipped his head around to stare at Arthur Sullivan after hearing this.

’No wonder. No wonder Arthur was so on edge all day.’

’So that’s what this was all about!’

The questions Lynn and Mills had been about to ask caught in their throats, and a look of disbelief flashed in their eyes.

They had come here to ask about Mason Walker’s relationships, or to see if Arthur Sullivan knew something that he couldn’t say at the factory.

They never expected Arthur Sullivan to drop a bombshell like this on them.

At the same time, Lynn realized a serious problem. "You’re saying you made Mason Walker up? Then who is the man who died at the factory? And why would your factory manager and the workshop director both insist that he was Mason Walker?"

Arthur Sullivan shook his head, his voice also full of confusion. "I don’t know either. But Mason Walker is definitely someone I made up."

"My daughter has a congenital heart defect. A year ago, the doctors told us that because she’s so young, the sooner she has the surgery, the higher the chance of a full recovery."

"Our savings weren’t enough. Everyone in the family who could work was working, but we were still coming up way short. So I thought... I’m the HR specialist at the factory. It’s easy for me to forge attendance records and identity documents. So, I invented Mason Walker and collected his salary for nine months."

"When I heard them say at work today that the dead man’s name was Mason Walker, I was on edge all day. I was afraid you’d find out what I’d done, so I didn’t dare say anything."

"But if I didn’t speak up, my conscience wouldn’t let me rest. I also wanted to do the right thing for my child’s sake. That’s why I was about to head to the police station to turn myself in."

After listening to Arthur Sullivan’s full account, Lynn’s hand was gripping her pen tightly.

If what Arthur Sullivan was saying was true, then the factory manager and the workshop director had been lying to the police from the very beginning.

They had seriously hindered the investigation.

This was too serious. Lynn and Mills couldn’t afford to wait. They immediately called their chief and prepared to take Arthur Sullivan back to the station.

Considering Lacey’s condition, Lynn and Mills decided to let Fiona Hawthorne stay home for now. They would find a chance to take her statement later.

Bill was worried about Arthur Sullivan, so when he heard they were going to the station, he asked Lynn and Mills if he could go along with them.

In the interrogation room, an older police officer stared at Arthur Sullivan, who was seated in a chair. He slammed his hand on the table. "You fabricated an employee to defraud the company of nearly forty thousand, and now you’re tied to a murder case. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Arthur Sullivan took the bank card for "Mason Walker" out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it across. "The money’s all here. I haven’t touched a single cent."

"My plan was to wait until after my daughter’s successful surgery, then slowly pay the company back. I never expected a murder to happen."

"If you weren’t going to spend it, why not just return it from the start?" the older officer pressed.

Arthur Sullivan shook his head, his voice filled with an even deeper bitterness.

"I knew what I was doing was illegal. But returning it right away would have been an admission of guilt."

"And then I would have lost a source of income, leaving even less money for Lacey’s medical bills. I’m choosing to confess now for two reasons. One is that ’Mason Walker’ has become the victim in a murder case."

"And the other, more important reason is that I don’t want the real victim to die a nameless death."