Chapter 28

"Alright then." Benjamin gave a sheepish grin. Zoey's words had cut short the master and apprentice duo's performance. From Benjamin's expression, it was clear he wanted Ruben to impress Zoey.

Zoey's usually all smiles, loving Vesperia literature, anime, and movies. But when it came to work, she was laser-focused, tuning out everything else.

Her earlier comment was meant to put Benjamin and Ruben in their place. Zoey couldn't stand their boasting. I had heard Howard mention that Zoey's father was also in the public security system, so she must have been exposed to it from a young age. But I don't usually pry into that stuff.

"The case is pretty straightforward. The crime happened on the night of November 15th. The suspect, Tanner Green, isn't from around here; he's a thug. We got a tip-off, and within minutes, the Entertainment Club called the cops. It was all very mysterious, and the acting was top-notch." Ruben said casually, looking like a seasoned pro.

The case wasn't huge, and they already had the suspect. No need to take him to the scene. The main goal was to check out the Entertainment Club's connection to the case, which was why they made such a big deal out of it.

"Alright, Mr. Adams, just give us the details of the case," Zoey said, not even looking up as she took notes.

"Sure thing!" Ruben replied cheerfully.

I almost burst out laughing, and Benjamin kept shaking his head, looking disappointed. This guy was a bit too cocky. Then he raised his eyebrows, thinking that youth was meant to be wild. After all, he had won Cindy over in a similar way. Feeling proud, he looked at his apprentice with satisfaction.

When Cindy agreed to Benjamin's pursuit, I was curious. Cindy wasn't the type to be easily swayed by emotions, so I asked her about it. Surprisingly, she said that during a holiday, she "accidentally" met Benjamin at the train station.

In the scene where they waved goodbye, she suddenly remembered the TV show "Love Story" and its not-so-brave protagonist, which led her to agree.

But the version I heard was that Benjamin boasted about his excellence to everyone, and his sincerity eventually moved Cindy, who agreed to be with him.

This master-apprentice duo really had a connection.

However, Ruben wasn't as lucky as Benjamin. Although Zoey didn't have a boyfriend, she had mentioned more than once that she liked gentle, sunny, artistic boys. Zoey's ideal boyfriend was completely different from Ruben.

Unaware, Ruben kept trying, "Here's the deal, Ms. Taylor. Our goal this time is, first, to take the suspect to identify the scene and investigate the Entertainment Club for clues. Second, we learned from the suspect's phone chats that there would be a drug deal at the Entertainment Club at noon today. The other party is an addict, and we plan to catch him on the spot and find out who he usually buys drugs from."

"Okay, so is the suspect in the police car behind us?" Zoey asked, glancing at Ruben's uniform in the rearview mirror.

"Of course, I arranged it. Is there a problem?" Ruben was momentarily stunned.

Benjamin, lounging in the passenger seat, suddenly remembered something and turned to glare at Ruben. Ruben got a bit jittery and stammered, "Mr. Wright, don't look at me like that. It's... it's kinda scary, especially while driving."

Benjamin, fuming but with a forced smile, said, "My dear apprentice, please enlighten your unfortunate master on what your plan is this time."

"First, to identify the scene and investigate the Entertainment Club. Second... second, to use the suspect as bait to catch the drug addict and trace the upstream sellers..."Ruben felt a chill run down his spine and started sweating. Zoey and I were already grinning.

"So why did you only tell me about tracing the upstream sellers today?"

"To... to surprise you, you know..."

Benjamin lost it, starting to scold Ruben without caring that Zoey and I were in the car, "Is your brain a single-core processor? You're in a police uniform, driving a police car, making a big scene at the Entertainment Club, and bringing Tanner in handcuffs. Then you expect Tanner to act nonchalant and meet the guy upstairs. Is the guy blind? Or are you an idiot? Turn around and head back to the station immediately!"

"Mr. Wright, the unmarked cars were taken by other teams today."

"Call two rideshare cars yourself, and you pay for them!" Benjamin fumed.

"No need, Mr. Wright. Mrs. Smith can drive. We'll go ourselves. Mr. Adams, just cancel one of the rides," Zoey said.

The car had already gone halfway, so Ruben reluctantly turned around and headed back to the station. They went to the locker room to change into plain clothes. When they came out, Ruben looked deflated, indicating that Benjamin had given him a quick lesson.

Benjamin then solemnly thanked Zoey, admitting his failure in teaching his apprentice. If it weren't for her reminder, the operation might have failed.

We set off again, avoiding too many people to prevent drawing attention. This time, Ruben, Benjamin, and the suspect Tanner took one car, while Zoey and I drove ourselves.

Zoey, sitting in the passenger seat, laughed so hard she got hiccups, "Mrs. Smith, this master-apprentice duo doesn't seem very smart."

I smiled too and said, "Benjamin wanted to show off with his apprentice, but you taught them a lesson. But don't be too harsh; I still need Benjamin's help."

"If it weren't for me, this operation would have failed." Zoey wrinkled her nose and said in an old-fashioned manner, "That guy stared at me like he'd never seen a girl before and bragged about his detective skills in the car. I didn't expect him to make such a rookie mistake. Ruben is still too young."

"I underestimated you. I didn't expect your internship at the Silverlight City Journal to give you such insight into detective work," I teased.

"Mrs. Smith, my dad used to tell me a lot about it..." When she mentioned her dad, Zoey paused, a flash of sadness crossing her face, "Anyway, I know quite a bit. Don't worry about me. Mr. Wright might want to set me up with Ruben, but I'm not interested. I'll never date a detective. You need to find me a perfect man!"

It seemed Zoey didn't have a good relationship with her father. I didn't ask further and sighed, "Where am I supposed to find you a perfect man? As long as you're safe and sound, that's enough."