Chapter 41

"I couldn't find it. The info on the household registration site is super vague. Silverlight City only started digitizing this stuff in the last decade or so. For special cases like theirs, they had to go to the office themselves to fill out the forms and get their IDs. It says they're from an orphanage." Benjamin thought for a moment and responded.

"So, how can we be sure they're from the same orphanage?" I asked.

"Duke mentioned it during his statement. Once he got over his drug addiction, he actually seemed human and confessed to everything he did." Benjamin spat on the ground, clearly showing his sympathy for Lally's situation.

"Wait, did you find something new in your investigation?" Benjamin asked.

"Lally and Duke both know Alan." I sighed and quickly filled Benjamin in on what I had found out in Sand Village over the past few days.

"What?" Benjamin was clearly shocked by this news. Cindy had probably told him about Alan growing up in an orphanage. With his years of experience in the police force, he quickly grasped the situation and asked, puzzled, "Are you saying that Alan also came from that orphanage, and that Lally, Duke, Tammy, Zack, and even Alan's other college friends are all somehow connected to this case?"

I nodded and said, "I want to hear your analysis."

"It seems complicated, but it can be divided into two parts. One part is Sand Village, with Lally, Tammy, Tony, and Zack as the main characters. The other part is Alan's close college friends."

Benjamin frowned, thinking deeply. "But, Nancy, let me be blunt. What we have now are just speculations, not solid evidence. First, the three witnesses gave false testimonies, which is just your feeling. Tammy's statements were consistent. If I were Tammy, I would say that I didn't go to school, have no education, and was afraid of the court, so I wrote down the case details in advance and memorized them. There's nothing wrong with that; many witnesses do the same."

"Secondly, regarding the orphanage, the current info shows that Lally and Duke did know Alan. Even if they had a deep bond, wouldn't it be natural for Lally to testify against Laura?"

My face started to change. In Alan's case, the police, the prosecutor's office, and the court expedited the process under the pretext of 'special circumstances,' but the evidence was highly questionable, and even the witnesses gave false testimonies. Otherwise, Laura's defense attorney wouldn't have made that speech before the trial ended, leaving everyone speechless and causing the trial to be adjourned.

"Are you saying I should just accept Laura as the murderer, wait for her to be sentenced to death, and then cry at Alan's grave for justice?" I coldly looked at Benjamin and asked word by word.

"That's not what I meant. You really haven't changed a bit." Benjamin smiled bitterly, thinking of the fearless Nancy who interned at the prosecutor's office during college and later worked there, even daring to scold the chief prosecutor.

He sighed helplessly, rubbed his tired face, and said in a deep voice, "On the contrary, I think your suspicions are entirely reasonable. The witnesses had a deep bond with Alan, yet showed no sadness in court. Meanwhile, the reactions of the people from Sand Village and Alan's college friends were different, which is also suspicious... but..."

I shouted, "What is it? Just spit it out. I'm not an outsider!"

From Benjamin's tone, it seemed he had something tough to say. Now wasn't the time for hesitation. Where was the police captain's confidence?

"Actually, after I met you that night, I went to the station to wrap up the case with my colleagues." Benjamin's eyes showed some hesitation as he slowly said, "But the colleagues involved in the case were sent to another state for training. When I went to the chief to wrap it up and check the relevant files, I was suddenly given a bunch of tasks the next day. Today at noon, I received a notice to assist in a case out of town and have to leave tomorrow. I suspect..."

"Someone is interfering with this case, keeping you from getting involved." I was shocked.

"Yeah." Benjamin nodded.

A surge of anger rose within me. I had always despised the abuse of power that undermined fairness and authority, which was why I left the prosecutor's office when Leonard had an ambiguous attitude towards it.

I never expected this case to attract such high-level interference from the police. What was the reason?

"Nancy, I said all that just to make it clear that you must gather solid evidence. Losing one Laura is nothing, but Alan's death must not remain unresolved!" Benjamin said in a deep voice, "You'll probably have to investigate this personally. If you need any help, you can call me anytime. Also, I left Ruben in Silverlight City. If you need any assistance from the police, just find him."

As he spoke, Zoey came in with breakfast, bringing an extra portion for Benjamin. Benjamin thanked her repeatedly, putting away his serious expression. It wasn't that he was wary of Zoey, but the fewer people who knew about the internal matters of the police, prosecutor's office, and court, the better. I agreed with this. If Zoey got too involved, she might be in danger herself.

Benjamin ate his breakfast, joking that he would fire Ruben tomorrow and find a new apprentice according to Zoey's standards.

Zoey laughed, blushing. "You won't find another one like me; I'm one of a kind. By the way, Mr. Wright, your boss seems to be here."

"My boss?" Benjamin was stunned, almost choking on his sandwich. "What's he doing here?"

"I don't know. He's an old man wearing a jacket like those old leaders. He asked me if I knew Benjamin and which room he was in. Isn't that your boss? Luckily, I was smart and said I didn't know, then took another elevator up." Zoey said as she took out oatmeal from a plastic bag and handed it to me.

"I'm a cop, so my boss is definitely a cop too, wearing a uniform." Benjamin looked a bit guilty, glancing at me from time to time while eating his sandwich.

"Benjamin, did you tell Leonard that I'm in a hospital?" I immediately understood through Benjamin's expression and Lally's words.

"Well, yesterday, there was some business, you know. Our police, the prosecutor's office, and the court are like a family. Then I met Mr. Williams. He asked about you, and I couldn't help it..." Benjamin stammered.

At this moment, a tired, elderly voice came from the door, "Mr. Wright, it's not fair to blame me. I remember it was you who called me yesterday afternoon."

I turned to look at the door.

Sure enough, it was Leonard Williams, the deputy chief prosecutor who had mentored me during my time at the prosecutor's office.