Chapter 82: Meeting an Old Acquaintance

But what really had Declan freaking out was the thought that his soon-to-be-wife might dump him if he got sent to the front lines. He was sure she would if he went.

"But I'm about to get married! I just bought a house! If I go to Regal City, my girlfriend's definitely not gonna be okay with it!"

"Declan, you need to get it through your head that you're a cop first and a man second. A cop's duty isn't up for debate. If you can't handle the transfer, then take off your uniform and leave. I don't need cowards here!"

Declan got chewed out big time, and in a fit of rage, he ripped off his uniform and quit, leaving everyone stunned.

"Mr. Cunningham, Declan's just acting out. He can't really mean to quit..."

"Acting out? Nelson, what's the number one thing a cop can't be? Emotionally unstable and unable to stay calm. It's my fault for coddling him all these years, making him arrogant and blind to the hard work of the frontline officers. I wanted him to get some experience for his own good. He's about to get married, and if he could gain some experience for a year or two, he could come back and get promoted to deputy chief. What a waste!"

Nelson Taylor knew exactly how much of a waste it was. It was a shame that Declan saw such a good opportunity as a punishment. Nelson just shook his head. Since Declan had quit on his own, the department didn't need to keep him.

Henry was surprised when he heard about it, but he quickly got over it. Everyone had the right to choose a better life, and he got why Declan made that call.

But Henry was more worried about Olivia, especially with her health issues. He felt anxious. So, for the first time, Henry decided to call Autumn. Autumn was shocked to get his call.

"Henry, you actually called me?"

"Autumn, I need a favor. It's about Olivia!" 

When Autumn heard it was about Olivia, her expression turned icy.

"What do you want?" she asked.

Henry explained his concerns, and Autumn didn't say a word, just hung up on him.

Staring at the phone, Henry felt helpless.

Olivia had no clue about any of this because she had just gotten a cold case and had to go on a business trip with her colleagues to Seaside City down south.

She didn't have time to report to Autumn, so she just told Ivan and left with her team.

When she got there, she ran into someone unexpected.

"William? What are you doing here?" Olivia asked, surprised.

William was just as surprised to see her.

"Olivia, so you're the expert from Silverlight City? That's awesome!" Following William into the police station, Olivia found out that William had been transferred to Seaside City for two years and would be heading back to Silverlight City soon.

"I heard Mr. Phillips went to Silverpeak State. I really miss him!"

Olivia smiled and headed straight to the conference room. The files and projector were all set up, and Olivia quickly got up to speed on the case.

"The scene was found by a herding boy. It's in a mine cave on a barren mountain. This mountain used to have iron ore mining, so there are a lot of these mine caves around. He got curious and went in, and found a woman's body inside. The body was floating in the water, but her head was up and her feet were down, the whole body was suspended."

William was in charge of presenting the case. At this point, he handed the autopsy report to Olivia.

"When they pulled the body out, her feet were tied with tape, but there were no creases on it, meaning she didn't struggle. There were no wounds on her body, and the autopsy showed she didn't drown because there were no petechiae in her eyes. If she had drowned, there would definitely be signs of it!"

Olivia scanned the autopsy report and then looked over all the evidence from the scene, making a quick analysis.

"The victim was a woman around forty. She was wearing a red sweater, jeans, and high-heeled boots, which means she cared a lot about her appearance. Why would someone like that be in a mine cave? It suggests she wasn't there alone. The tape on her feet shows no signs of struggle, which means it was probably done by someone she knew!" Olivia concluded, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Olivia then pulled out a few photos and displayed them on the big screen.

"There was no ID in the bag we found, but there were several condoms. It's unusual for a forty-year-old woman to carry those around, don't you think?"

Someone chimed in, "Is it possible that she's a sex worker, so she would..."

"That's one possibility. Another is that if she was murdered, the person who took her there must have been someone she knew, or they might have had a relationship!" Olivia finished, and everyone agreed with her.

"The key points now are figuring out who she was and why she was there. If she was local, she wouldn't go to such a remote place, so she might not be from around here. Also, why didn't she drown but was suspended in the water? This needs more investigation!" William said, watching Olivia speak confidently and admiring her even more.

Then William secretly sent a message to Henry, telling him he had met Olivia.

William: [Mr. Phillips, guess who I ran into?]

Henry: [Hmm, I already know who it is!]

William was stunned. How did Henry know?

Little did he know, Henry had already tracked Olivia's whereabouts, knew she was working on a case, and was about to call William.

Henry: [I'll give you a recipe. Follow it to prepare meals for Olivia!]

William scratched his head. Did he really have to cook for Olivia? When did Henry become so thoughtful?

William: [Mr. Phillips, do you like Olivia? Even when you're not around, you ask me to prepare meals for her.]

Henry almost spat out the water he was drinking when he saw the message.

Henry: [William, do you want to get punched? Didn't you notice anything unusual about her?]

William did notice that Olivia had lost a lot of weight and looked very thin.

William: [Mr. Phillips, I get it. Don't worry, I'll make sure Olivia gets the meals according to the recipe.]

Henry breathed a sigh of relief and sent a few more words to William.

Henry: [Don't tell her I did this!]

Seeing Henry's message, William quietly put away his phone and then looked at Olivia for a long time.

Compared to when she was in Emerald City, Olivia had changed a lot. Her face was a bit pale, her eyes were bigger but looked somewhat out of place. Although she was still beautiful, her eyes no longer had the passionate spark they had in Emerald City.