Chapter 18

Travis was working on his case report in the office when his phone rang.

Jerry's frustrated voice came through the line, "I asked for a witness, and you send me a corpse? Are you out of your mind?"

"I didn't want this either. He insisted on killing himself. Anyway, I got you the person. I never said they'd be alive."

"Travis, screw you!"

"All of Ethan's files are with you. With your years of experience, you should be able to find the relevant people."

Jerry sighed, "Wanna grab a drink tonight?"

"Sure, send me the location."

After hanging up, Travis picked up his report and headed to the chief's office.

"Chief Johnson."

As soon as he entered, Carter gestured for silence.

His face looked grim, "Alright! I understand."

"We'll fully cooperate with you."

It took a full five minutes before Carter hung up the phone.

Travis looked curious, "What's going on?"

Carter rubbed his forehead, "Just some minor issues. Is the case report ready?"

"Yeah, all the cases are sorted out."

Carter glanced at it, "Ethan's suicide, the narcotics team has complained to me several times."

"Can't blame us. I couldn't stop him from killing himself."

"But we do have evidence. All the membership records from the café have been handed over to the narcotics team."

"The narcotics team is having a tough time lately. There's a new drug on the market, very pure. They're swamped."

Travis looked at Carter curiously, "Was that call from the head of the narcotics team?"

Carter nodded, "They're short-staffed and want to transfer a few people from the detective squad."

"Detective squad to the narcotics team? That's a joke."

Carter spoke softly, "Elaine has already applied."

"Elaine? What's she going to do in the narcotics team?" Travis looked puzzled.

"Who else would be suitable? She's the only one in our department who's dealt with drugs before."

That evening.

Travis met up with Jerry at a restaurant.

Jerry looked exasperated, "If you came any later, they'd be closing."

"Quit whining. Just tell me if I showed up or not."

"You look a lot older after just a few days."

Jerry sighed, "Don't you know? There's a new drug on the market, incredibly pure."

He glanced around warily, "Our investigation shows Ethan is connected to this."

Travis glanced at Jerry, "I suggest you keep this to yourself. It's your narcotics team's issue."

"True, let's drink."

After a few rounds, Travis looked at Jerry, "Elaine is reporting to your narcotics team tomorrow."

"Elaine? The consultant you guys parachuted in?"

Jerry looked puzzled, "What's she doing in the narcotics team?"

"She applied for it herself."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. I wouldn't dare neglect your people."

Jerry looked at Travis with a gossiping expression, "Do you have a thing for her?"

"You've never been this concerned about any of the other girls who transferred in."

"Quit talking nonsense."

"Hahaha..."

After a few more drinks, the two left the restaurant shoulder to shoulder.

They sat by the beach, enjoying a moment of peace.

"This feels great!"

Jerry lay down on the steps.

"Ethan's café... those members?" Travis hesitated.

Jerry seemed to read Travis's mind, squinting, "You mean Philip, Tate's son."

Travis nodded, "Tate is a congressman. His son is now connected to Ethan. You guys are going to have a tough time."

Jerry sighed, looking at Travis with interest, "Did you check out the members of Ethan's café?"

Travis shook his head, "Didn't look closely."

"Let me tell you, it's like a who's who of Hillcrest."

"The powerful, the wealthy! A small portion of them are members of Ethan's café."

Jerry lowered his voice, "There are two or three like Philip, sons of officials."

"Don't talk about the future. Tate is already pressuring us."

"You guys just closed the case, and Tate called our department right after."

"If you ask me, we're just regular narcotics officers. We do what we're told."

Jerry lazily looked at the stars, and the atmosphere quieted down.

The two men stayed there, the coastline slowly lighting up.

They finally headed to their respective homes.

In a daze, a scream woke Travis up.

He opened his door, confused, and saw a female delivery driver sitting on the ground outside the neighboring apartment, frantically pushing herself away.

Travis walked over curiously, and the scene inside instantly sobered him up.

A naked woman lay on the floor, eyes wide open, her skin an unnatural grayish-blue.

She lay stark naked on the ground.

The scream had attracted nearby neighbors.

With their involvement, the news of the dead body spread through the community in less than ten minutes.

Everyone was on edge, avoiding going out unless necessary.

Travis hurried back to his room, got dressed, and called Kelvin.

"Get over to my house with people, now!"

He then went to the scene, looking at the terrified delivery driver, "What happened?"

The delivery driver, eyes red, looked at Travis, "I was just delivering food."

"I knocked for a long time, but no one answered. I gently pushed the door, and then I saw the woman lying there."

Travis carefully entered the room.

There was a strange smell inside.

Not pleasant, with a faint stench, very odd.

The living room was messy, clothes piled on the floor and sofa.

Trash was everywhere, but the woman was quite attractive.

At least, she was with makeup on.

The only clean spot in the living room had a streaming setup.

From the professional equipment, it was clear she was a streamer.

"Captain Smith! What's going on?"

Kian ran up, panting, and froze at the scene.

"Go to the narcotics team and get Elaine over here. This smell is off."

Travis sealed off the scene.

He stayed alone with the body, while Kian took the delivery driver away.

She was the first person at the scene and needed to give a statement.

Travis sat at the door, looking at the corners of the room.

There were no other footprints on the floor.

No obvious fingerprints on the windows.

From the scene, there were no signs of suicide.

Was the killer this sloppy?

Or did they not bother to stage the scene?

While thinking, Elaine arrived with her toolkit.

"Just transferred to the narcotics team, and you already have work for me," Elaine joked.

A strange smell hit Elaine's nose.

"This smell..."