Chapter 11

"Have some coffee, officers."

Ethan placed the coffee cups in front of them and sighed. "Honestly, Captain Smith, I haven't seen Mason in over ten years."

"What happened?" Travis asked, curiosity evident.

Ethan pulled out a photo.

The two people in it looked almost identical, except one had a slight disability in his leg.

"Mason was always determined to see the world. He left years ago, and I haven't heard from him since."

Ethan's eyes reddened as he spoke. "I don't even know if Mason is alive or dead."

"Do you have any news about Mason? Where is he now?" Ethan's voice grew anxious.

Elaine interrupted, "Wait a minute, didn't you report Mason missing to the police back then? Why did you withdraw the report?"

"Three or four days after I reported him missing, Mason sent me a letter saying he was fine and not to worry. So, I withdrew the report."

"But after that, I never received another letter. I tried contacting some friends to look for him, but there was no news."

Ethan's story seemed flawless.

"Well, we won't bother you any longer," Travis said with a smile.

"I'll have my secretary see you out."

Ethan watched them leave from his wheelchair.

In the car, Elaine stared at the Artisan Roast Co. entrance. "I don't know why, but something about that guy feels off."

"Investigations aren't based on feelings."

"There was a red flag in the corner of his office that looked just like the one found with the bones."

Kian's eyes widened. In which corner? How did he not see it?

"Go investigate the employees from the old textile factory."

Just then, Travis's phone rang. He answered, and Kelvin's voice came through.

"Captain Smith, the forensic results are in. It's Mason!"

"Got it."

Travis hit the brakes.

Under the puzzled gazes of his team, they returned to Artisan Roast Co.

This time, without waiting for an escort, Travis led Elaine and the others straight into Ethan's office.

"Officer, is there something else?"

Ethan smiled at them.

"We found Mason."

Ethan's coffee cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.

His voice trembled. "Really? How is he? I need to see him."

"I'll take you to him, but you need to stay calm."

Ethan's face changed. "Officer... what do you mean by that?"

"You'll understand when you see him. Kian, push him."

The atmosphere in the car was tense.

When they arrived at the forensic department, Ethan was trembling, tears welling in his eyes.

When he saw the pile of bones, Ethan froze, as if struck by lightning.

He sat in his wheelchair, staring blankly, disbelief in his eyes.

Pointing at the bones, his voice choked, "Officer, you must be joking, right?"

"How can you joke about this? Mason said he was abroad."

He broke down, crying uncontrollably.

Elaine turned away, unable to watch.

Travis patted Ethan's shoulder. "We did a DNA comparison. These bones are indeed your brother Mason."

"The forensic report shows Mason was injured before he died. His skull and finger joints were damaged. We need to know more about Mason's life."

Ethan didn't respond, just stared at the bones in a daze.

"Officer, can I take Mason with me?" Ethan's voice was barely a whisper.

Travis nodded and took out the half of the red flag. "This was buried with Mason at the time."

Ethan showed little reaction to the flag.

After signing some papers, Ethan took Mason's remains home, looking utterly defeated.

"There's nothing like the bond between brothers," Kian remarked.

Travis's voice was somber. "Investigate the reason for the textile factory's bankruptcy and everything about Mason's life, including his address."

Kian was stunned. "Captain Smith, are you serious? Finding an address from twenty years ago?"

"Is there a problem?"

Kian immediately backed down. "I'll do it, but don't blame me if I can't find it."

"Have Kelvin look into the contacts of the old textile factory workers."

Elaine was puzzled. "Why not just ask Ethan directly?"

"Sometimes you need more than one perspective. Ethan might be lying."

"No way," Elaine said, watching Ethan leave. "If he is, he's a great actor."

"Mason's head injury is real. We need to understand why the textile factory went bankrupt. A factory that big doesn't just go under without reason."

They left the forensic department, and the entire detective team got to work.

Investigating something from twenty years ago was no easy task.

"Captain Smith, we found something!" Kelvin placed a report in front of Travis.

"There are three former textile factory workers still in Hillcrest. One was the accountant, and another was a worker."

Travis grabbed his coat. "Let's go!"

They drove down a country road.

"John Taylor worked at the textile factory for over forty years, even before Ethan was the director."

Travis nodded. After half an hour of bumpy roads, they arrived at a small yard.

An old man with white hair was smoking a pipe.

"John?" Kelvin called out tentatively.

The old man looked up, puzzled.

"Hello, we're police officers." Travis showed his badge.

John stood up immediately. "Officers, what brings you here?"

"We need to ask you about the old textile factory."

John's face darkened at the mention of the factory.

"Get out. I don't know anything about the factory."

"We found Mason and need to understand what happened," Kelvin said loudly.

John put down his pipe. "Mason? You found Mason?"

Travis nodded. "We did."

"But... he's been dead for about twenty years."

"What!"

"How is that possible? Ethan said he went abroad."

Travis and Elaine exchanged glances, seeing something new in each other's eyes.

"Can you tell us more?"

"Why did the textile factory go bankrupt?"

John sighed. "What's there to say? Embezzlement. A bunch of people who didn't know what they were doing, just taking money."

"Bankruptcy was inevitable. Poor Mason."

Travis didn't respond. He pulled out the red flag that had been with Mason. "Do you recognize this?"