Chapter 11: The Case of the Female Corpse

When Autumn found out that Benjamin was the one who convinced Olivia to head to Emerald City, she was fuming. She grabbed her phone and gave him an earful.

"Benjamin, you did this on purpose, didn't you? I always knew you had some hidden agenda, pushing Olivia to join the police academy, and now she's working right under you. What's your game?" Autumn demanded.

Even though Benjamin was the police chief, he didn't dare to talk back to Autumn. "Autumn, this is the job Olivia loves. I was just helping out. Don't worry. I swear, as long as she's with me, nothing will happen to her!" he replied.

"I don't buy it. Write a report and transfer Olivia back to Silverlight City right now. If you don't, I'll make her quit. I'll take care of her myself!" Autumn shot back.

After hanging up, Benjamin was drenched in sweat. Ten years had passed, and Autumn was still as fierce as ever. But he really couldn't bring himself to transfer Olivia away.

After mulling it over, Benjamin made a few calls. "Sir, you gotta help me out here!" he pleaded.

Olivia had no clue about any of this. After getting back to Silverlight City, she spent most of her time at the hospital, taking care of Autumn. Seeing Olivia so busy, Autumn felt bad and told her to go home and rest for a few days.

After much deliberation, Olivia decided to speak her mind. "My flight's tomorrow night, Mom. I only have two days off!"

"I know you're worried about me, afraid something will happen to me like it did to Dad. But Mom, I didn't go to the police academy just for Dad, but also for you! You've been married to Ivan for so many years, but his family has never accepted you. Even though you and Ivan are legally married, people still call you a mistress. Mom, I want you to have the respect you deserve!" Olivia explained, tears streaming down her face.

Autumn felt heartbroken and hugged Olivia, crying. Ivan Franklin, dressed in his police uniform, walked in and was startled to see the scene.

"What happened? Are you feeling unwell? I'll go get the doctor!" Ivan said, about to leave, but Autumn stopped him.

"Stop it. Don't alarm anyone. I'm fine. I'm just heartbroken for Olivia!" Autumn assured him.

Ivan finally let out a sigh of relief. Autumn had been worried about Olivia's desire to become a police officer for years.

After Olivia went home to rest, Ivan took off his police uniform and sat by the hospital bed, peeling fruit for Autumn.

"Olivia is a lot like Mr. Smith. She's perfect for being a police officer. Honey, give her a chance to follow her dream. Mr. Smith's death is a wound in her heart. She needs to heal it herself," Ivan said.

Autumn leaned against Ivan's chest, feeling a mix of sadness and concern for Olivia. In the end, she nodded in agreement.

With Autumn's blessing, Olivia could head back to Emerald City. Ivan personally took her to the airport.

"I heard you guys just cracked a big case?" Ivan asked while driving.

Olivia nodded. "Yeah. It was a really strange case. Took us four months to figure it out. Ivan, please take care of my mom and talk to her more!" she requested.

Ivan glanced at Olivia and thought to himself how the big-eyed little girl had finally grown up.

"Olivia, call your mom more often. She misses you a lot!" Ivan advised.

On the plane back to Emerald City, Olivia looked at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window. The heavy burden on her heart finally lifted.

She reported back to the Detective Unit, but Ethan pulled her away before she could even sit down.

"Olivia, come with me and be my assistant. The forensic department is swamped and can't keep up!" Ethan said, sounding urgent.

Olivia didn't even get a chance to let Henry know before she was whisked into the car. The police car sped all the way to the riverbank. Ethan had brought her along because the body found today was a female.

"Last night, two fishermen were out fishing. Around midnight, their hook snagged something. They pulled it up, and it turned out to be a woman's body!" Ethan explained on the way.

Olivia stayed quiet, feeling pretty down. She had finally taken some time off to go home, only to find Autumn sick. And now, she had barely sat down before being dragged into more work. She felt like crying but held it in.

"Olivia, am I holding you up?" Ethan asked, a bit sheepish.

"Not really. I'm just worried Mr. Phillips won't be able to find me and I'll get chewed out!" Olivia replied.

At the mention of Henry, Ethan chuckled. "Don't worry, Henry won't scold you. He's just tough on the outside!" Ethan reassured her.

Olivia looked at Ethan with a smirk. She had heard he was nearing retirement. At the station, he was almost invisible, always neatly dressed in his uniform. He was a bit bald and, at about 5.5 feet tall, easily overlooked in the Detective Unit.

To Olivia's surprise, Henry was already standing by the river. She quickly straightened her uniform and went to greet him.

"Mr. Phillips, Olivia reporting back!" she said formally.

Henry looked at Olivia with a stern face. After just two days, she looked even more worn out. Had she not slept? And why did she always have to be in the thick of things?

"Get to work. Be careful!" Henry instructed.

Olivia nodded, grabbed the equipment from the car, and followed Ethan.

The body was pale from soaking in the water, indicating it had been there for a while. After a preliminary examination, Ethan had the body bagged and taken back to the morgue.

"Preliminary assessment suggests drowning. No visible fatal injuries, so we can't rule out suicide," Ethan stated.

Olivia was in charge of taking photos. She snapped pictures of the body and sent them to her colleagues. By the time they got back to the Detective Unit, William and the others had already identified the female corpse.

"The victim's name is Aurelia Kingsley. She's married and from Starfield Town, but there have been no missing person reports for her from there," William reported.

Olivia returned just in time for lunch. She grabbed food from the cafeteria and was a bit surprised to hear the case analysis.

"Starfield Town is 50 miles from Emerald City. How did she drift so far?" Olivia wondered aloud.

She was eating while looking at the information in William's hand. William glanced at Olivia and smiled, "The autopsy isn't out yet. I'm going to take lunch to Mr. Phillips!"

With that, he was about to take another food box to Henry's office, but Olivia took it from him.

"I'll take it. You get busy. We have a case analysis meeting soon, so hurry up!" Olivia said.

William nodded and quickly ran to his seat to start making calls.

Olivia carried the food to Henry's office, but the door was open, and no one was inside. She placed the food on the table and was about to leave when something on the desk caught her eye.

It was a photo of a woman, quite beautiful. But Olivia found her somewhat familiar.