Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Before Sophia and Alton showed up at the police station to give their statements, Robert split his team into different groups. One crew was in charge of gathering and organizing the statements from Ben's relatives, while another crew, led by Robert himself, hurried to the parking lot of the traffic police station along with the forensic team and Ethan.
Robert had a feeling that there might be some clues hidden in the vehicles of those involved.
The parking lot sat at the rear of the traffic police station, an open and deserted area. The winter sun was feeble, barely lighting up the ground. The three vehicles from the incident were parked silently in the lot.
Robert swiftly surveyed the scene. When he spotted a sedan, he suddenly halted. A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes before he marched over with a serious expression.
As he got closer, he bent down to inspect the ground next to the car, pointing at the scattered glass pieces decisively, "Someone messed with this car."
Ethan was surprised by his statement, quickly moving closer to Robert to take a look, but he couldn't spot any clues.
"Officer Davis, how do you figure that?" Ethan inquired.
"The broken glass on the ground," Robert responded calmly. "These shards are pushed into the soil, fresh imprints, not from the day of the accident."
After explaining, he glanced around the parking lot. "Ethan, check the surveillance footage to see who's been here."
Ethan nodded and hurried to the surveillance room, his footsteps echoing in the empty lot.
Robert continued examining the sedan. Most windows were shattered, the interior in disarray, as if hit with force.
The glass shards on the ground were tiny, scattered all over. Robert crouched down to inspect them closely, his brow furrowing.
A forensic technician crouched beside him, pointing at a mark, "Officer Davis, you were right. These shards were stepped on later. The fresh imprints and chaotic directions confirm it."
Robert nodded, a sense of unease creeping in. If someone tampered with the car before the police arrived, what were they trying to hide?
He stood up, scanning the area, and noticed the truck that should've been impounded was gone. His heart sank, his expression turning colder.
"The truck's gone!" Robert called out, "Hurry, split up and search! The truck might not be far!"
He urgently dialed Ethan's number, "Ethan, check the records to see if anyone took the truck!"
A few minutes later, Ethan returned with the surveillance footage and the parking lot security guard.
In the chilly wind, Robert stood next to the car, flipping through the parking logbook, his finger tracing a signed entry.
"Gary?" he muttered softly, a touch of frost in his voice.
The security guard explained cautiously, "Yeah, he's the truck driver. He showed up with the paperwork, claiming he needed to rush for payment, so we let him take the truck."
"Was the paperwork legit?" Robert's gaze sharpened, his tone cutting.
"Yeah, everything checked out, he had all the right documents," the guard replied, sounding a bit uneasy, sensing the tension.
Robert closed the logbook and swiftly had Ethan pull up the surveillance footage. When Gary's image near the sedan popped up on the screen, Robert's brow furrowed once more.
He stared at the screen intensely, as if trying to dissect every move Gary made in the footage.
The video showed Gary lingering by the sedan for about ten minutes. He bent down to inspect closely, then reached into the broken window, rummaging inside for a bit.
His actions turned furtive, clearly hiding something, before casually strolling back to his truck and driving off.
"Slow it down, zoom in, let's see what he took," Robert's voice grew colder, his eyes piercing.
As the footage slowed, Robert focused on the screen, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, contemplating Gary's intentions.
He muttered to himself, "Did this trucker really flee the hospital just to dodge a few bucks in medical bills? Why would an outsider like him be near that remote forest? What's his tie to the 'forest burial case'?"
He promptly called Ryan, commanding, "Ryan, take the paperwork to the funeral home, retrieve Layla's body, re-examine it, and focus on checking for toxins."
After hanging up, Robert dialed Sophia's number.
Trying to sound composed but failing to mask his urgency, he inquired, "Sophia, I heard you found some irregularities in Ben's test report. What's the deal?"
Sophia's voice remained steady on the line, "The report indicates Ben's urine pH doesn't align with hyperkalemia. This anomaly could be linked to a specific medication. These drugs break down fast in the bloodstream, making them hard to detect, but they can show up in urine."
"Could this medication cause unconsciousness or weaken resistance?" Robert asked promptly, a suspicion forming.
"Yeah, and these meds break down quickly in the body, leaving only traces in urine," Sophia's tone carried gravity. "I recommend starting with a broad toxicology urine test, then moving to targeted testing."
Robert fell silent for a beat, then nodded. "Alright, send all this to Ryan via voice message, ensure the details are accurate."
He was confident this case would soon unravel.