Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"I need to see my son," Hayes said firmly.

"Let him go," Travis replied, standing at the office door with a steaming cup of coffee.

"Yes, sir!" Kian responded.

Hayes glanced at Travis and then followed Kian to the rehab center.

"Why is my son here?" Hayes demanded.

Kian looked annoyed. "Mr. Campbell, where else would Henry be if he's using drugs?"

"Go ahead, I'll wait here."

After getting out of the car, Hayes took out the pass that Kian had given him.

After waiting for twenty minutes, he finally saw Henry. 

In just a few days, Henry looked like a different person—skin and bones, with bruises on his face.

"Dad, why are you here?" Henry asked, unable to meet his father's eyes. He was terrified.

Hayes's voice trembled, "Henry... you..."

Taking a deep breath, he tried to steady himself. "Give me Roy and Eugene's contact information."

"Dad, I..."

Hayes raised his hand to stop him. "I know this isn't your fault. Those two ran away. You can't take the fall for their crime."

Henry shakily recited the numbers from memory. He had never forgotten them.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Henry said, his eyes welling up with tears.

Without another word, he turned and walked away. 

Hayes watched his son's retreating figure. Henry seemed to have grown up, but it felt too late. 

No! As long as he found those two, Henry could still get out of this mess.

...

"That was quick. I thought it would take you at least an hour," Kian said, sitting in the car with a smirk.

"Thanks," Hayes replied quietly.

Seeing Hayes's demeanor, Kian sighed and said nothing more.

Back at the station, Hayes drove straight to the company. Travis stood by the window, watching Hayes leave.

"Captain Smith," Kian said.

Travis didn't turn around. "Did he see Henry?"

"Yeah."

Travis put down his coffee cup. "Let everyone rest for a couple of days. We'll wait for Hayes's news."

Kian looked puzzled. "Captain Smith, are you sure Hayes will find those two?"

"Of course. For Henry, he has to."

Kian asked quietly, "Should we keep following up on Tony?"

Travis glared at Kian. "What are you thinking? Of course, we continue." 

"But don't rush. Let everyone rest. They've worked hard these past few days."

Kian excitedly ran out to share the news. 

Listening to the cheers outside, Travis sighed. They could rest, but when would he get a few days off?

After everyone left, Travis was alone in the investigation team. 

Standing in front of the whiteboard, he organized the case progress. 

Ethan's death, Aurora's death. 

He wrote a big "DRUGS" in the middle of all the suspects. 

And all the members of Ethan's café, everyone revolved around this word.

While Travis was overwhelmed, Jerry from the narcotics unit wasn't doing much better. 

He thought Ethan's death would lead to new clues through the café. But who knew, drugs were still circulating in Hillcrest. And the quantity hadn't decreased at all. 

It even involved the sons of two high-ranking officials, which was Jerry's biggest headache.

At that moment, Elaine gently pushed open the office door.

Holding a lab report, she said, "Jerry, we found something."

Jerry's eyes lit up as he took the report.

The new information left Jerry puzzled.

Seeing this, Elaine explained softly, "I analyzed the new drugs appearing on the market. These are their components. I found one component right here in Hillcrest."

Jerry stood up. "In Hillcrest?"

Elaine nodded. "When I was with the investigation team, because of Jay's case, we found suspects Tony and Crow." 

"Tony operates around Morning Glow District. I compared the components of the two drugs. I found the components are almost identical, except the latter has an additional component."

"What component?" Jerry asked eagerly.

"A pharmaceutical ingredient, but it's been banned from production."

Jerry looked at Elaine with a complex expression. "That place where they manufacture the drugs, it's not the abandoned pharmaceutical factory in the east part of town, is it?"

"How do you know?" Elaine asked, her face showing surprise.

"We investigated that place a few years ago." Jerry took a file out of the drawer and placed it on the table.

"This case was a joint operation between us and Travis. There were a lot of people involved, and eventually it just got dropped. That pharmaceutical factory has been abandoned ever since."

Elaine's eyes widened. "The factory was abandoned because of you guys?"

Jerry nodded awkwardly. "Not because of us, but because of the case."

They were indeed a driving force back then, so saying the factory was abandoned because of them wouldn't be entirely wrong.

Elaine carefully examined the case files, and when she saw a familiar name, her pupils suddenly contracted.

Her hand trembled slightly as she glanced at Jerry's expression.

Trying to appear casual, she asked, "Jerry, this case... I see George Williams' name in many places. Who is he?..."

"Oh, him?" Jerry replied knowingly. "I can't tell you that."

Elaine didn't press further, her eyes fixed on that name.

Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Jerry, can I learn more about this case?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Jerry. I'll be going now." Elaine said and quickly ran off.

Jerry watched Elaine's hurried departure, thoughtfully lighting a cigarette.

After closing the office door, he dialed Travis's number.

"Travis, has Elaine been acting strange over there?"

"Strange? What do you mean?"

Jerry pulled down the privacy blinds in his office, ensuring Elaine wasn't outside, then spoke in a low voice. 

"Elaine mentioned the pharmaceutical factory just now, so I casually showed her the case file from back then."

"She seemed very sensitive to the name George."

"You suspect Elaine?" Travis's probing voice came through the phone. "Impossible! Not Elaine. None of us had access to the core of that case back then, and Elaine certainly couldn't have been involved."

Jerry didn't respond. He knew that baseless suspicions were useless.

"Forget it, it's been so many years. We're short-handed in the narcotics division. Tomorrow, you and Elaine should visit the pharmaceutical factory."

"Don't argue, I know you're off duty. Consider it a trip down memory lane; maybe you'll discover something new."

Travis's wry laughter came through the phone. "You've got me cornered."

"Alright, I'll go tomorrow."

"Thanks!"

That night, Travis lay in bed, lightning and thunder outside. 

He walked to the window, his face reflected in the glass. The bloodshot eyes were clearly visible. He looked exhausted. 

Seeing his reflection, Travis smiled bitterly. 'Born to work hard.'

He took a beer from the fridge and sat on the sofa. 

Just as he opened it, there was a knock at the door. 

Travis opened the door, puzzled. Elaine stood there with barbecue and beer, smiling.

"How did you know my address?"

Elaine put down her umbrella. "Knowing your home address is easy. Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Elaine glanced inside. 

Travis stepped aside. Elaine entered, placing the barbecue on the dining table, looking around.

"Captain Smith, your life is so dull. No entertainment at all?"