Chapter 84: Suspect Kane Lloyd

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Suspect Kane Lloyd

The Chief probably knew already. As for everyone else, Captain Wright could only guarantee that they would never hear a word about this from him.

Heath Hale nodded without a word, but his eyes clearly conveyed that they believed him!

Beau sat next to Zoe Sawyer in a bit of a daze, not quite understanding what everyone was talking about.

But intense curiosity still compelled Beau to raise his hand and make a solemn vow, just like the others.

"Beau, do you usually stay at home?" Heath Hale, thinking of his plan, put on a gentle smile and looked at Beau as he posed his question.

After getting an affirmative reply from Beau, Heath Hale asked a few more questions: Did he like Zoe Sawyer? Did he want to wear a police uniform like Captain Wright? Did he enjoy what he had just drawn? Did he want to draw more things like that?

After receiving a series of "yeses," the smile on Heath Hale’s face grew even wider.

"Beau, could you ask your grandpa and grandma to come in? This police officer has something he’d like to discuss with them." Heath Hale took out a few pieces of candy he had on him—originally intended for Zoe Sawyer—and placed them in Beau’s hand.

"No problem!"

Beau hopped up and bounded out of the living room with a spring in his step.

Zoe Sawyer and Sean Hughes, who had witnessed the entire exchange, instinctively rubbed their arms.

’Yikes. That gentle expression... If they didn’t know how terrifying Heath Hale was during training, they might have actually mistaken him for a nice guy!’

"Smiling tiger!"

"He’s up to no good!"

Zoe Sawyer and Sean Hughes traded barbs, and Heath Hale, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but clench his fists as he listened.

’Never mind. We’re on someone else’s turf right now. Once we’re back at the station, I’ll show Zoe Sawyer what ’up to no good’ really means!’

Evan Keller opened his mouth as if to speak, but then hesitated.

He shot Zoe Sawyer a complicated look. ’It’s one thing for Sean Hughes, since she doesn’t answer to Heath, but you train under the guy. How can you bad-mouth him without even trying to be discreet?’

Before long, Beau returned with his grandparents.

Heath Hale quickly ushered them to the sofa. He then explained that he wanted to recruit Beau to join the Varden Police Department.

The Logan Grandparents looked hesitant. ’Across provinces? Isn’t that a little too far?’

"Please, don’t worry. We’re aware of Beau’s situation," Heath Hale explained quickly. "The department can provide a dormitory. If you’re able, it would be best if you both could come along to take care of him."

He then addressed The Logan Grandparents’ concerns, outlining the many benefits of Beau receiving an official position.

Forget everything else; the simple promise that the department would take care of Beau for life was enough to sway The Logan Grandparents.

"Shouldn’t he run this by the Chief first?" Zoe Sawyer whispered, tugging on Sean Hughes’s sleeve.

"Special cases call for special measures," Sean Hughes whispered back. "When you find a talent like this, the only rule is to act fast!"

If they waited until the case was solved, who knew if some other police department would notice Beau and recruit him first.

You have to strike while the iron is hot!

While they were persuading The Logan Grandparents, Captain Wright was rushing back to the station.

He handed a hair sample to a junior officer, telling him to get it to the lab for testing with the utmost speed, then rushed to the Chief’s office without pause.

He placed the two sketches he was holding on the Chief’s desk.

"Chief! The suspect sketch! Have you managed to narrow down the list of candidates?" Captain Wright asked, panting from the rush.

The Chief, who had been frowning at his computer, looked up, and a flash of delight lit up his eyes when he saw what Captain Wright had brought.

"Excellent! I’ve narrowed the list down to ten people, but I was hitting a wall. I can’t believe you brought me such a huge surprise at a time like this!" The Chief eagerly reached out and grabbed the papers Captain Wright had placed on his desk.

’Who would have thought? Zoe Sawyer just got here and she’s already found a breakthrough!’

The Chief looked at the conspicuous mole in the drawing, then back at the ten faces on his computer screen.

"How did you get this sketch?" the Chief asked.

Captain Wright explained the situation briefly. When the Chief heard that Zoe Sawyer had seen the suspect and then dictated a description for Beau to draw, he pursed his lips.

He then clicked on a photo in the bottom-left corner.

An image of a man’s face suddenly filled the screen. The Chief gestured for Captain Wright to come closer.

Captain Wright gasped when he saw the photo on the screen. The resemblance was uncanny!

From the mole to the look in his eyes, it was a perfect match.

Scars twisted like centipedes from the corners of the man’s mouth to his earlobes, and combined with his clenched jaw, he looked exceptionally menacing. In the photo, his eyelids drooped, but the gaze shooting from the narrow slits was like a poisoned arrow, flying through the screen and straight into Captain Wright’s heart.

"Kane Lloyd?"

Captain Wright looked at the information next to the photo and read aloud in confusion, "Age thirty-two. Five years ago, he had an episode and assaulted his older brother and a neighbor. His brother ultimately died from his injuries, and the neighbor has been in a coma ever since."

When he read the man’s current address, Captain Wright looked at the Chief in horror. Wasn’t that near where the Chief lived?

"That whole affair was a big deal at the time. After being sued, his family sold off everything but their old ancestral home to pay compensation to the neighbor.

Kane Lloyd’s parents chose to issue a letter of forgiveness for their eldest son’s death. The eldest son’s wife couldn’t accept it. After the sentence was passed, she declared that since her husband was dead, her marriage was null and void, packed her bags, and went back to her parents’ home.

"Because he turned himself in, the injured party’s family was compensated, and the deceased’s family—his own—issued a letter of forgiveness, the court only sentenced Kane Lloyd to four years. He was released a few months ago." The Chief rubbed his temples.

There was a rumor back then that caused a huge stir. It said that the eldest son’s wife had been unwilling to sign the letter of forgiveness, so her in-laws beat her up and locked her in the bathroom for days without food or water. She finally couldn’t take it anymore and agreed to sign.

But on the second day after returning to her parents’ house, she went to the hospital for an abortion.

This enraged the old Lloyd couple, who claimed she had murdered their first grandson.

Now, whenever the Chief goes home, he sees the old couple begging and picking through trash on the street, and he never knows what to say.

"Unlawful confinement... that’s illegal, isn’t it?" Captain Wright asked, stunned.

"No complaint, no investigation. Besides, neither side ever came forward to confirm if it was true, so there was nothing we could do." The Chief, on the other hand, was pragmatic. He waved his hand, signaling it was time to move on.

Captain Wright pursed his lips and didn’t dwell on it.

"I’ll have a team look into Kane Lloyd’s recent movements and internet history right now.

You go back and stick with their team. Report back anytime if you need anything."