Chapter 37 chapter 37
Chapter 37
“What do you mean, officer? How could there be no records of an accident on the said date?” Natalie asked. That was the day her father called and said that her mother was involved in a tragic accident.
“Ma’am, maybe you got the dates mixed up. Can you maybe tell me the name of the person who was involved, or where the accident took place?”
“Her name is Clara Hart. She was a lecturer and Sterling City University.”
“Okay, ma’am, I will check.” The officer said.
He keyed in Clara’s name in the computer and found the file, but when he tried to open it, it showed that the file was restricted and only higher-ups had the authority to open it.
He looked at Natalie and Sean and spoke, and in an apologetic voice, “Ma’am, mister, I am sorry, but I can’t help you. I have found the file you are looking for, but unfortunately, I can’t access it. It had been restricted, and only my boss has the authority to open it.”
Both Sean and Natalie were stunned. Now, they were certain that something was not right concerning Clara’s case. It looked like someone had specially put restrictions on the case file.
Natalie looked at the officer and spoke, “Then what are you waiting for? Call your boss right now.”
The office wanted to say something, but one stare from Sean and he was scared shitless. Although he was an officer who had undergone rigorous training, he could not stand Sean’s cold gaze.
“I will call him right away.”
The office walked some distance before he made the call.
“Boss, there are people here, a man and a woman, and they want to reopen a case from a few years back.”
“Which case?”
“About Clara Hart.”
“What?” The station head was stunned.
His heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly asked, “Did you show them the case file?”
“No, boss. The file is restricted, and only you have the right to access it. That was why I called you.”
Officer Noah heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he was warned in the past that someone might try to reopen the case, and he already put protective measures in place.
After calming down, he started to reprimand the officer on call, “What kind of police officer are you? Who told you that you can reopen the case just because someone asked you to, huh? Did you really finish your training?”
“Boss, I…” The officer was stunned when his boss changed the tune and started to reprimand him.
“A case can only be reopened upon submission of new evidence. Were you given new evidence by those people?”
“No, boss. They just said that they wanted to look at the case file and reopen it.”
“You did well by calling me, or else, you might have lost your badge.”
The officer trembled. What was with this kiss that even the boss was afraid to talk about it? Well, since he did not want to lose his job, he would just go and tell Natalie and Sean to leave.
“Go and tell them that the officer who handled the case back then was transferred, and I am on leave for the next two days, so the case file cannot be reopened without my authorization. Also, tell them that they need to bring in new evidence that is more convincing before we can consider reopening it.”
“Yes, boss. I will go and inform them right away.”
Natalie looked at her wrist and became impatient. She looked at Sean and asked, “What is taking him so long?”
“Just relax, okay. He will be back soon.” Sean comforted.
The office returned, but just a single look at his face and Sean already knew what he was going to say. Looks like there was more to this case than what met the eye.”
“Sir, ma’am, I am sorry, but I won’t be of help today. Uhm, my boss has gone on a two-week leave, and he told me to inform you that the person who handled this case was transferred, and it is beyond my position. Also, for you to reopen any case, you need to submit new evidence, and then we can consider it after reviewing the new evidence.”
“What the heck!” Natalie cursed under her breath.
“I am sorry, ma’am, but I would ask you to leave. Maybe you might return after two weeks when the boss is done with his leave.”
Natalie wanted to say something, but Sean stopped her.
“Come on, honey, we will talk in the car, okay.”
Natalie left the police station, her mood having hit rock bottom. Now, she was certain that her mom’s death was not an accident at all. And she was going to make sure that anyone involved pays, no matter what!
The moment they reached the car, Natalie could no longer hide her anger. She punched the car seat and spoke angrily, “What the hell do they take us for? They are doing this on purpose.”
Sean handed a bottle of water, “Calm down, honey. We are now sure that something fishy is going on regarding your mom’s case, or else, they wouldn’t have dodged us like that.”
Natalie drank the water and spoke, anger seething from her eyes, “Where the hell do they want us to find the evidence? Isn’t it their job? And they even got the date my mom died wrong. What is wrong with them?”
Sean could not bear to see her angry. He hugged her, and his eyes clouded with a mysterious light. As of now, he was just a mere cardiologist with no power or deep connections. Looks like his other identity had to come out of hiding as soon as possible.
He kissed Natalie on the forehead, and his deep voice carried a reassurance that made Natalie calm down, “Honey, don’t worry about anything. We are now certain that something happened to your mom, and I will not rest until we uncover the whole truth.”
“We are going to make sure that anyone who laid a hand on her pays the price!”
…
The moment Sean and Natalie left the police station, the chief of police quickly dialed a number that he hadn’t called in years.
He was sweating so much that he could feel the wetness cascading down his chubby cheeks.
The moment the call was answered, he stammered as he tried to report, “Sir, someone stopped by, and they want to reopen the case. Good thing I had taken precaution, so they left empty-handed.”
The person from the other end of the line stood up, his body trembling, “What did you just say?”