CHAPTER 514: CHAPTER 302_1

「The next day.」

At the small town police station, the sound of a desk being slammed could be heard.

"Case closed?" Officer Nellie looked at the police chief and her colleagues in disbelief. "Why aren’t we investigating Selica? You all saw this photo! That little bitch definitely has a problem!"

"Whoa!" The colleague who had inspected the body with Nellie the day before whistled as he watched Nellie slam the desk. "Nellie, you’re finally back to normal! You were so gentle before, I suspected a witch had put a spell on you!"

Nellie was speechless. This wasn’t because Detective Dean wasn’t present.

In fact, when the police chief had first assigned her to meet Dean, he had hoped Nellie’s infamous temper would scare off the detective Teague’s father had hired. To his surprise, the detective turned out to be a pretty boy.

Fortunately, the principal had confessed and committed suicide. Now, the chief had avoided being blamed for Teague’s wrongful arrest, and the mayor had gained the townspeople’s support. Teague and his father would not only be freed but would also receive compensation. A perfect trifecta, wasn’t it grand?

As for the compensation money, well, the sheep pay for the shearing; it would all come out of the townspeople’s pockets.

Seeing Nellie’s agitation, the police chief shrugged and advised, "Nellie, it’s quite clear now. The principal was the one who killed Teacher Toddy. We can’t drag another female student into this just because of a photo showing only half a car. Besides, our bonuses won’t amount to much after compensating Teague’s family."

The other officers nodded in agreement.

"You all..." Nellie clenched her fists, snorted, and stormed out of the police station. She would uncover the truth of this matter, no matter what!

「...」

The string of murders had severely damaged the town’s reputation. With matters being expedited from all sides, Teague and his father were finally officially released that afternoon.

Teague’s mother tearfully embraced her son and husband. The family of three clung to each other, sobbing uncontrollably. The townspeople who had gathered to watch the spectacle applauded in unison, celebrating the wonderful resolution.

Such peaceful times. If this were all a movie, it would undoubtedly be a happy ending.

A cameraman framed the shot of the three locked in a tight embrace. Reporters, who had been waiting for the atmosphere to build sufficiently, then stepped forward with microphones, reciting their prepared questions. "Mr. Fadili, what would you like to say about this ordeal?"

Fadili wiped his tears, faced the camera, took a deep breath, and said with trembling lips, "I always believed my son wasn’t a bad person. Thank God, Teague’s mother and I persevered until the end, and justice has prevailed. I also want to thank our mayor. He..."

Not far off, a middle-aged man in the back seat of a sedan listened to the cheesy lines through an earpiece, nodding in satisfaction. The police chief, sitting beside him, discreetly grimaced. That middle-aged man was the mayor.

Regardless of whether Teague was the culprit, the mayor could use this murder case to rally support from the townspeople. He, on the other hand—the chief—might have been forced into retirement if the principal hadn’t confessed. These damn politicians!

Back to Fadili, the reporter continued, "But from what I understand, Mr. Fadili, you also hired a private detective to prove your son’s innocence?"

Fadili nodded. "Yes, and for that, I must also thank our mayor. When everyone believed my son was the murderer, the mayor felt the case, involving a minor from our town, needed to be handled with caution, so he helped me contact a detective agency. However, that detective wasn’t much help. The main reason our family can be reunited and breathe the air of freedom again is thanks to our town’s police officers. They might have been fooled by that bastard Slip, the principal, but they followed procedure every step of the way. It was also their continued secret investigation that pressured Slip into leaving a suicide note and confessing."

Upon hearing this, the police chief, who had been somewhat disgruntled, also nodded in satisfaction.

Push all the blame onto the dead principal. Perfect!

As for the truth? No one cared about the truth. They only cared about how things were handled to their own benefit. This case was closed!

「...」

"That bastard!!!" In the crowd, Officer Nellie watched Fadili confidently speaking to the reporters, her fists clenched tightly.

Fadili and his son were only released because she and Detective Dean were on the verge of uncovering the truth, which forced Principal Slip to commit suicide, giving them a chance! Yet, listening to Fadili, all the credit had suddenly gone to the mayor and the police chief!

Nellie felt a chill run down her spine. Right then, she desperately wanted to rush forward and reveal the whole truth!

To hell with this police job!

Just as Nellie’s fiery temper began to flare, the vibration of the cellphone in her pocket interrupted her.

Nellie pulled out her phone, recognized the caller ID, and hurried to a secluded corner to answer. "Mayfair," she said excitedly, "did you find out anything about that thing I asked you to do?"

Mayfair was Nellie’s college classmate. After graduation, Nellie had returned to her small town to become a police officer, while Mayfair had landed a job at a government financial institution, settling into a comfortable, uneventful office life.

"Yes, Nellie. I pulled Principal Slip’s credit card records for August fourth. It shows he made a large purchase at 3:22 PM in the XX district of Los Angeles."