Chapter 12: Doyle

They planned to get a good night's sleep and talk about work the next day, but out of nowhere, someone knocked on their door within half an hour.

It was the innkeeper, Marshall Banks, looking all apologetic. He asked, "Have you seen a young guy, about 5'7", wearing a gray coat, around 23?"

Sophia thought for a sec and said, "We just got here and didn't see anyone like that. What's up with him?"

Marshall, a kind-looking middle-aged guy, slapped his thigh and said, "That idiot Doyle! He dropped out of a good college, came back, and blew all his parents' money. He promised he'd quit gambling, but now he's run off again."

Doyle?

Wasn't that the guy they were looking for?

Sophia flashed her badge at Marshall and asked him to spill the details about Doyle.

Seeing the badge, Marshall pleaded, "Officer Brown, you gotta find Doyle. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham are really suffering. Their good-for-nothing son is driving them to the poorhouse with his gambling."

Sophia gently said, "Marshall, trust me, I'll find Doyle. Just tell me what you know."

She gave Robert a look, and he got the hint.

While Sophia was talking, Robert contacted the tech team to track Doyle's phone.

According to Marshall, Doyle came back to Harmony Falls Village three months ago. He was super skinny, looked down and out, and only perked up when talking about gambling.

His parents, Atticus and Violette, said Doyle always wanted to hit it big and go back to Stellarnova. But by hitting it big, he meant gambling, not working or starting a business.

Atticus and Violette tried to talk sense into him many times, but it was no use. Doyle was obsessed with getting rich through gambling.

"Finally, Atticus and Violette had no choice but to lock Doyle at home to force him to quit gambling. But you know, you can't force someone to quit gambling. Just this month, Doyle has sneaked out three times."

Sophia asked Marshall, "Where does he usually go?"

"Just a few casinos. Here in Harmony Falls Village, we have small casinos, but other cities have big ones. And with today's tech, he could gamble at an illegal internet café."

"Illegal internet café?"

"Doyle's credit cards are all with his parents. If he wants to go online, he has to go to an illegal internet café."

Just then, Sophia got a message from Kennedy.

Kennedy sent a voice message saying, "Officer Brown, I just remembered something. About three months ago, the day Doyle came back to Harmony Falls Village, I got a 'sorry' message on WhatsApp from an unknown number. I thought it was a mistake, but now I think it might have been from him. The timing matches."

Sophia immediately reported the message to the tech team, and they quickly confirmed it was from Doyle to Kennedy.

Robert quietly analyzed, "Looks like Doyle feels some guilt, at least towards Kennedy."

Sophia nodded.

She smiled at Marshall and said, "Marshall, our department is already on it. We'll know where Doyle is soon. You should go rest. I'll let you know as soon as we have news."

Marshall thanked her, "Thanks a lot."

After Marshall left, Sophia picked up on Robert's thoughts, "Doyle feeling guilty towards Kennedy might mean he's seen through Brynn and knows who really cares about him."

Robert pondered for a moment, then said, "Did Doyle, like Kellan, find out that Brynn was working as a prostitute at Urban Harvest Eatery?"

Sophia shook her head. "That's unlikely."

Doyle's feelings for Brynn were totally different from Kellan's.

Kellan had this protective instinct towards Brynn, while Doyle got his sense of manhood from her.

A guy wouldn't let his wife sleep with others. If Doyle knew Brynn was a prostitute, he wouldn't rest until everyone knew she was working as a high-end prostitute at Urban Harvest Eatery.

"But you reminded me, if Doyle knows he was deceived by Brynn and has a gambling addiction, he might demand money from her. Given Brynn's personality, she would never repay him. In a fit of rage, Doyle might have killed her. And since Brynn's body hasn't been found, it means the killer didn't dare to dispose of it. There must be clear evidence of the cause of death on the body."

For example, if Brynn's valuables were missing, it would indicate the killer was after money.

"We still need to find the body," Robert said.

Without the body, their investigation had no direction.

As they were talking, the tech team sent a message saying they had located Doyle at the bus station in the neighboring town of Harmony Falls Village.

Sophia immediately notified Marshall to bring Atticus and Violette to catch Doyle. Doyle was clearly planning to leave Harmony Falls Village. The bus station there had too many people who knew him, making it hard to escape, so he chose the neighboring town's bus station.

When Sophia and Robert arrived at the bus station with Atticus and Violette, Doyle was playing Texas Hold'em on a newly acquired phone.

He hadn't noticed anyone approaching, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the screen as if he wanted to dive into it.

Suddenly, he jumped up and shouted, "I won! I won, I won!"

He looked up and saw the aged Atticus and Violette. Excitedly, he grabbed Violette's hand and said, "Mom, I won! I won $200,000! I'm going back to Stellarnova to find Brynn."

Atticus, with a sorrowful expression, raised his hand and weakly slapped Doyle. "$200,000. Do you know how much you've lost? Over a million dollars, including two houses. What's the use of winning $200,000?"

He became more agitated as he spoke. Just then, a passenger was found with a fruit knife in their bag, requiring a search.

Seizing the moment, Atticus grabbed the fruit knife and stabbed Doyle.

"My knife!" the passenger called out.

"Mr. Cunningham, calm down!" Robert shouted.

The scene was chaotic. Doyle still clung to his phone, occasionally glancing at the screen, his fingers swiping quickly.

Robert could see he was placing bets.

Even in this situation, he couldn't stop gambling, showing the depth of his addiction.

Half an hour later, Sophia and the local officers escorted the Cunningham family to the interrogation room.

In the interrogation room, Doyle sat in a chair, fidgeting restlessly like he had ADHD.