Chapter 514: A Foolproof Guarantee

Chapter 514: Chapter 514: A Foolproof Guarantee

The two officers who’d just followed Cameron were on the other end of the line.

Evan Keller raised a hand to the group, signaling for them to quiet down. Then he spoke into the phone, "What’s the situation? Find anything? Be clear."

"They claim to be the bank’s local branch office for this area and even showed us a stack of stamped documents. But we called the bank to verify, and they don’t have any such office.

These guys are impostors."

Back at the "branch office," one of the officers stood in the lobby, phone in hand. His gaze swept across the entire room, finally landing on Cameron and the others, who were squatting on the ground with their hands over their heads.

The office had put on a good front. The lobby was decorated with the bank’s photos, the employees all wore uniforms similar to those of bank tellers, and they frequently peppered their speech with the bank’s rules and regulations. They could even produce a stack of contracts bearing red seals.

It was certainly enough to fool some of the unsuspecting residents nearby.

After all, their targets were the elderly, who were less likely to be well-informed.

In reality, though, all it would have taken was for one person to feel something was off and call the official bank to verify the truth.

Cameron, hands clasped over his head, glanced at his colleagues squatting on the ground in the same position, then looked over at the police officers standing a short distance away, their sharp gazes fixed on them.

He inwardly cursed his luck. ’If I’d known we’d get busted trying to scam that idiot, I never would have gone along with this deal.’

’And now look. We didn’t get the money, and the cops have rounded up the whole lot of us!’

’We’re all going to be eating prison food now!’

Meanwhile, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, blocking the entrance.

"What’s going on here?" a woman carrying a grocery basket asked curiously.

"They’re a bunch of scammers! The police found them out and are making arrests now!" replied a man who had been inside about to do business. He patted his chest, his voice filled with lingering fear. "Thank goodness these two officers showed up when they did. Otherwise, my money would’ve been gone!"

’Sure, if it was a scam, he’d probably get his money back after the case was solved.’

’But that could take ages, and I couldn’t stand the uncertainty!’

’This is much better. Cut my losses before they even happened!’ At this thought, the man’s expression grew even more relieved.

"For real? My cousin just deposited money here yesterday!" a passerby’s face fell. After the man from inside nodded grimly, he frantically called his cousin, quickly explained what was happening, and told her to hurry over.

The crowd’s whispers grew—a flurry of "he said, she said"—and with no attempt to control their volume, their words traveled directly into Cameron’s ears.

No matter how thick-skinned he’d trained himself to be, the shame was too much. He couldn’t stop himself from covering his face to block out the public’s stares.

Back on the phone, Evan Keller listened to the officer’s summary, then thought for a moment. "Keep an eye on them. I’m sending people over to help you now."

After hanging up, Evan Keller turned and called over a junior officer who was passing by, asking him to lead the way.

There weren’t many officers from his team on-site—not enough to bring in all the suspects. Besides, this wasn’t their home turf. It was best to hand the matter over to their colleagues in this jurisdiction.

And sure enough, after a brief explanation, the local precinct took over the case. They sent officers to drive over and bring everyone from the fake office back to the station.

"Let’s go to the interview room first. We need to pin down the time Roger left with them," Heath Hale said, glancing at his watch.

This case wasn’t overly complex. The important thing was to figure it out quickly and catch the mastermind.

Cameron was likely just a participant, and the chances of getting answers out of him right away were slim.

So Heath Hale and Zoe Sawyer conferred and decided to approach it from the Rowan family’s end for a quick resolution.

"Mrs. Rowan, do you remember what time Roger left with them?" Heath asked, looking at the three anxious members of the Rowan family sitting across from him.

At this question, Mrs. Rowan seemed to slow down. A thoughtful expression crossed her face, and her tone became hesitant. "I don’t remember clearly... Could Wren help me check the transaction history on my phone? I remember the approximate time, though. It was a little after six in the evening. I was just about to start making dinner."

Since a large part of her income came from the money Wren Rowan transferred to her each month, Mrs. Rowan always spent a fixed amount on groceries.

Roger’s announcement that he was eating out that day had been sudden. She had just made a simple meal for herself that evening, so there were enough leftovers for her and her son the next day. As a result, she hadn’t gone grocery shopping.

Checking the transaction history should allow them to pinpoint the exact day.

After hearing Mrs. Rowan’s explanation, Wren Rowan took her mother’s phone, quickly scrolled through the transaction history, and soon found a day that was missing the usual grocery expense.

With a specific date and person of interest, the next steps became much easier.

Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale borrowed an office from the local precinct chief and began to use the door’s ability to rewind to the events of that day.

Since Mrs. Rowan only knew the time Roger had left home, Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale decided to jump forward in half-hour increments.

Zoe Sawyer gripped the doorknob. Once she felt the familiar sensation, she pulled the door open.

The first thing she saw was a brightly lit dining hall. A clock on one of the walls showed the time as 7:30 p.m.

It was the peak of the dinner rush. Customers bustled to and fro, and the whole place was so noisy that you could barely hear the person sitting across from you unless you shouted.

Zoe Sawyer’s gaze swept across the hall, finally locking onto the security cameras installed in the four corners of the ceiling.

After confirming the cameras were functioning normally, Zoe returned her gaze to Roger and the people with him.

There were eight people, including Roger, seated around a small dining table.

Roger sat awkwardly beside a gaunt man, his hands resting on his thighs. He nervously fidgeted with the fabric of his pants, a panicked look on his face.

He kept glancing up at the food on the table, but since the people next to him hadn’t said anything, he didn’t dare touch his chopsticks.

"Theodore Hughes, you actually brought the simpleton with you!" the man sitting across from them said, a sneer on his face as he looked at the frightened Roger. "This idiot doesn’t know a thing. Is he really going to be useful?"

"That’s the point. The fact that he doesn’t know anything makes him easier to handle later on!" Theodore Hughes said with a smirk, clapping Roger on the shoulder. "He’s been sheltered his whole life. His mind is like a four or five-year-old’s."

"All we have to do is get him a good meal, make him happy, and then have him sign on the dotted line. It’ll be a piece of cake."

He’d done his homework, after all. It was guaranteed to be foolproof!

"What about you? Is everything ready on your end?"