Chapter 12

John glanced at it briefly, "Isn't this the commemorative item from the Red Flag design team back in the day?"

"How can you be so sure?"

Facing Elaine's questioning, John chuckled, "Officer, I've worked in the textile factory for decades."

"I can tell at a glance, and the material used for this is the best from that time."

"I still have one at home."

As he spoke, John stood up and retrieved a similar red flag from a cabinet.

"Take a look, our Red Flag design team had five members, and Mason was one of them. He was even my apprentice."

Travis pondered for a moment, "What about Ethan?"

At the mention of Ethan's name, John looked disdainful, "Him? He doesn't deserve it."

"I never thought much of Ethan. He was all about flattering the bosses, had no real skills."

"But who would've thought, Ethan later became the factory director."

Travis and Elaine exchanged glances.

"There's a similar red flag in Ethan's office," Elaine whispered.

Travis nodded, deep in thought.

John was too old to be lying.

If that's the case, the origin of the red flag in Ethan's office is very suspicious.

"John, you rest up. We'll be on our way to gather more information from others."

John stood up to see them off.

Sitting in the car, Travis looked serious, "Ethan is lying."

"So what do we do now? It's been so many years, many people have left."

Travis stepped on the brake, bringing the car to a steady stop by the roadside, and lit a cigarette.

It had become a habit for Travis; he liked to smoke when he was thinking.

After finishing the cigarette, Travis said bluntly, "Investigate Ethan."

"John mentioned corruption, which involves many people."

Following the address, the car arrived outside a high-end neighborhood.

Elaine looked at the information, "Benjamin White, the retired accountant from the textile factory."

"He should know the most about the internal affairs of the factory back then."

Travis didn't say a word, opened the car door, and walked straight in.

He gently knocked on the door of a duplex.

The door opened, and a well-maintained man in his sixties looked at Travis and Elaine with a puzzled expression.

"Who are you?"

Travis showed his badge, "Hello, Benjamin, right? We're from the criminal investigation team, here to ask you about some matters."

"Criminal investigation team?" Benjamin looked them up and down, "Come on in."

"Officer, what do you need to ask me about?"

Elaine took out the information, "Do you know Mason?"

Upon hearing the name, Benjamin dropped the cup he was holding, and it shattered on the floor.

He froze for a few seconds, then quickly regained his composure.

"Mason, I know him. He was quite the figure in our textile factory back then."

Travis didn't reveal anything, calmly asking, "How so?"

"He was handsome. All the young women in the factory liked Mason."

"But it's a pity. He was doing well at the factory, but insisted on going abroad. No one could stop him. I wonder how he's doing now."

"He's dead. He never went abroad. He died twenty years ago."

"We found Mason's body at a construction site, along with this."

Travis took out the red flag and stared at Benjamin.

Benjamin's face turned pale as he glanced at the red flag. "Dead twenty years ago? How is that possible?"

"We want to know about the factory back then. As the accountant, you should know more than the frontline workers."

Benjamin sat up straight. "Officer, I'll tell you everything I know."

Elaine took out a pen and paper. "Let's start with why the factory suddenly went bankrupt."

Benjamin's eyes darted around, and after a long pause, he muttered, "The factory wasn't doing well, so the director wanted to explore the market."

"He took out a large loan from the bank, but the market didn't open up, and they couldn't even pay the workers."

Travis leaned back on the sofa, smiling at Benjamin. "That's not right. From what I know, the factory had government funding. Would the government just let it go bankrupt?"

Benjamin sighed. "It was during a policy shift. The factory was a pilot project. It started well, but the profits declined year by year."

"The director worried a lot about it. After the bankruptcy, he even sold his house to pay the workers."

"Later, the government provided some compensation. Otherwise, I wouldn't be living here now."

Benjamin looked around the house as he spoke, but the unease in his eyes was clearly caught by Travis.

Smiling, Travis changed the subject, looking around the house. "This house must have cost quite a bit."

"Not much. The prices were low back then, less than $300,000."

"Less than $300,000? That's not a small amount. Accountants really make money. I might consider becoming an accountant."

"You better not."

Travis and Elaine joked, seemingly oblivious to the sweating Benjamin.

"Ethan was the director back then. He shouldn't have lacked money. Why did Mason want to go abroad?"

"Officer, how would I know? Mason had his own ideas, was quite stubborn."

Travis smiled and approached Benjamin from behind, whispering, "Actually, we want something."

Benjamin turned around, puzzled. "What is it?"

"The factory's ledger from back then. You know what I mean."

Forcing a smile, Benjamin said, "Officer, you're joking. After the bankruptcy, all the records were taken away. How could I have the ledger?"

Travis didn't respond, just stared at Benjamin, then said, "You're right. I didn't consider that."

"Well, we'll be going. If you remember anything, contact me. Here's my number."

Travis wrote his number on a note and left with Elaine.

Benjamin watched them leave, then collapsed on the sofa.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he took deep breaths. His hand trembled as he picked up the coffee cup.

The phone suddenly rang, and Benjamin nearly jumped like a startled bird.

Answering the call, a cold voice said, "Did the police come to see you?"

"Yes, they just left."

"Did you say anything?"

Benjamin swallowed. "Don't worry, I didn't say anything."

"You better not have. If you did, we're both in trouble."

Back in the car, Elaine was eager. "How much of Benjamin's words can we trust?"