Chapter 13: In-Depth Understanding

After getting back from Starfield Town, William headed straight to Aurelia's old workplace to track down Lucy Kim.

Meanwhile, Olivia made her way to the morgue. Ethan had mentioned some new findings. Spotting Henry there, she greeted him, "Hey, Mr. Phillips, didn't expect to see you here!"

Henry gave Olivia a puzzled look. What was it with her and this place? Most girls would steer clear of the morgue, but Olivia seemed to drop by whenever she had a spare moment.

"Have you finished the report on the female corpse case?" Henry asked.

Olivia was caught off guard. "Uh... not yet."

Actually, it was William who was handling the report. Olivia was still just a supporting detective and didn't need to write the materials. But Henry seemed to have forgotten that.

"Then get on it. I want it on my desk by 3 PM. I need to see what you've learned these past few days!" Henry said, his tone icy. Though Olivia was a bit reluctant, she obediently left.

After she left, Ethan looked puzzled, not quite getting what Henry was up to.

"Henry..." Ethan began.

"Ethan, Olivia's a girl. The morgue's too cold for her. She shouldn't be hanging around here so much," Henry cut him off.

When Olivia had come in earlier, Henry noticed she looked a bit pale and unwell. Her fingers were tucked into her sleeves, clearly cold. The morgue's low temperature might be fine for men, but it wasn't great for women.

"Wow, Henry, you actually care about girls now. Got it, I'll keep that in mind!" Ethan teased, turning around with a chuckle.

Henry's expression turned a bit awkward. He thought to himself, 'Am I concerned about Olivia? There's nothing wrong with that, right? As a team leader, I should care about my subordinates, shouldn't I?'

What Henry didn't know was that Olivia was on her period and was actually shivering from the cold when she came to the morgue, so his concern was pretty timely.

Back at her desk, Olivia reviewed the case files and jotted down her doubts on the blackboard.

A voice suddenly came from behind her. "Think something's off?"

Olivia turned around to see Henry with a cigarette in his mouth, eyeing the names on the blackboard.

Though he seemed to be looking at the board, he'd actually been watching Olivia from the doorway for a while, noting her every expression.

In the office, Olivia wasn't wearing her police uniform jacket, and the simple shirt she had on looked surprisingly stylish. It was the first time Henry had really noticed a woman's figure, and Olivia's was quite striking.

Realizing what he was thinking, Henry coughed awkwardly.

Olivia thought Henry was quite improper. If he weren't a cop, he might have ended up as a gang leader, though that was just a thought. Despite his rugged appearance, Henry was very clean. His police uniform was always tidy, and apart from the scent of soap and cigarettes, he never had any other odors.

Plus, whenever Henry wore his police uniform, he always buttoned it up completely. Even with a shirt, he always fastened the top button.

"Mr. Phillips, are you done with your work? What did Ethan say?" Olivia asked.

Henry stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into the trash. He walked over to Olivia, took the marker from her hand, and scribbled a few words on the board.

"The blood test came back. The deceased had sleeping pills in her system," Henry announced.

Olivia's eyes lit up. "So, it wasn't suicide; it was murder?"

Henry nodded. "I've already sent William to the traffic department to check all the city's surveillance footage. We've input Aurelia's image, and we should soon find where she appeared."

Olivia looked at Henry with newfound admiration. She had thought he was too rigid and unfeeling, but now she saw she had been too quick to judge.

"Mr. Phillips, impressive!" Olivia smiled brightly at Henry. Seeing her smile, Henry reached out and ruffled her hair.

But as soon as he did, he froze and quickly pulled his hand back. Olivia was also stunned.

After Henry left, he finally realized that Henry had ruffled her hair. What did he mean by that?

Olivia's face instantly turned red. While she wasn't new to relationships, this was Henry!

"Olivia, we found something!" William suddenly returned, breaking the awkward atmosphere. However, he was puzzled by Olivia's flushed face.

"Olivia, are you sick? Why is your face so red?" William asked.

Olivia didn't respond because she was at a loss for words. It wasn't until Henry's voice sounded that the focus shifted.

"What did you find?" Henry asked.

William's attention immediately turned to the case, and he displayed the surveillance footage on the big screen.

"Mr. Phillips, look, this is Aurelia. On February 19th, she appeared at the Sunset Boulevard bus stop. Look, there's someone following her! And here, this is the surveillance footage from a nearby bank. They went to the bank together, and Aurelia withdrew $5,000 in cash!" William explained.

Olivia took a screenshot of the woman following Aurelia, who was likely the Lucy Kim that Leo had mentioned.

She then input the image into the police system and found information on Lucy.

"Lucy Kim, 53 years old, from Oasis Town, Emerald City. She has been a nanny and caregiver, and now she's a cleaner at Evergreen Hospital," Olivia reported. The key person in the case had appeared.

"William, have Lucy come to the Detective Unit. Olivia, go talk to her colleagues, supervisors, and neighbors to learn about her life!" Henry instructed.

No one would commit a crime without a reason. Olivia received her task and headed to Evergreen Hospital, starting with Lucy's colleagues. She learned a lot.

"Lucy is a very nice person. She often covers shifts for us, and she's a great cook. She's very frugal and rarely eats out, always bringing her own meals!" one colleague said.

"Was there someone named Aurelia here?" Olivia asked.

"Aurelia? Yes, she worked here before but resigned recently. I heard she went back to her hometown," said Maeve Harrington, a caregiver who had worked with Lucy for five years and had a good relationship with her.

Olivia didn't tell them that Aurelia was dead but asked, "How was her relationship with Lucy?"

"They seemed to get along well. When Aurelia first came, she lived with Lucy. They rented a place together to save on rent!" Maeve explained.

If they had such a good relationship, why would Lucy have the motive to kill?