Chapter 47

The company archive room was right next to my office. Ever since I had arrived, all the case files had been digitized and uploaded to the computer, so hardly anyone visited the archive room anymore. So, why was there suddenly an extra copy of this document?

Who brought this copy in? It was like someone knew I'd be looking into the Sand Village demolition case.

I thought about who in the company could access this case. Besides Howard and Zoey, there was no one else, and those two had no reason to do this; they could have just handed it to me directly.

I took a deep breath and thought it over. Even without this insurance policy, I had already noticed something fishy from the witnesses' statements during the initial court trial. I started digging into these witnesses, and even without this policy, I would still have suspected Tony.

But this insurance policy jogged my memory and reminded me of my original line of thought. Tony blew all of his $500,000 compensation on this $2 million policy. Even if Zack had more money, the remaining $1.5 million he invested was no small change. He must have known Tony's motive.

If Tony's big investment was tied to this case four years later, then he must be involved.

Therefore, the greatest significance of this insurance policy lay here: Zack also had a significant connection to this case.

Lally's disappearance, the elusive Zack, the history of Sand Village, and the kids from the orphanage-all these people were tangled up with Tony.

Maybe finding Tony would uncover more hidden secrets.

As I was thinking, a guy wearing a helmet rode a motorcycle out of the alley. The motorcycle stalled after a few steps.

The moment the guy took off his helmet, I recognized him. Yep, it was Tony. His photo was on the resume Anna gave me earlier.

It was already December, and winter had set in. He was wearing a black cotton jacket, squatting on the ground to check the motorcycle engine, scratching his head and looking around like he couldn't figure out the problem. The motorcycle looked old, a model from over a decade ago, so it was bound to have issues.

I glanced at the time, 9:10 AM, ten minutes past the commuting time Anna mentioned.

After a while, the motorcycle started again. Tony put on his helmet and rode out of the alley.

I followed slowly in my car. Anna didn't know that Tony had left Digital Leap Technologies Company, but Tony still followed his regular work schedule. What was he doing every day, and was Lally's disappearance related to him?

I followed Tony, keeping a safe distance and being cautious. When Tony was fixing his motorcycle, I took out my phone and snapped a picture of his license plate: [SilverlightD·K6329].

In case I lost him, I could ask Ruben to contact the traffic police to search for the recent driving records of this motorcycle.

Luckily, the half-hour drive had no turns, and I followed him smoothly without losing him. There were other vehicles on the road, so he probably wouldn't notice me.

A few minutes later, Tony's motorcycle stopped near the CBD area.

This area had the largest shopping mall in the northern suburbs, called Stellar Plaza. It was newly built in recent years and was quite popular, with many social media influencers coming to take photos and hang out.

I drove slowly, observing through the car window. After parking his motorcycle, Tony greeted an employee coming out of Stardust Diner and walked straight in.

Did he work at Stardust Diner?

There were no other businesses on that floor besides Stardust Diner. Although Anna didn't know Tony had left his previous job, he still needed to work and earn an income. Otherwise, where would the money come from?

Thinking about this, I called up a buddy at the state employment department and asked if they could check the employee records at Stellar Plaza's Stardust Diner. I sent over Tony's details.

Ten minutes later, my friend called back. Tony was indeed working at Stellar Plaza's Stardust Diner, as a waiter since May this year.

The timeline fit perfectly. Tony started at Stardust Diner right after leaving Digital Leap Technologies Company.

Feeling relieved, I stepped on the gas and headed back to the office. Now that I knew where Tony worked, there was no rush to confront him. I needed to figure out who had slipped Tammy's insurance policy copy into the files.

When I pulled up at the office, Zoey was already there, waving at me with a coffee in hand, looking all excited.

Zoey had wanted to come to Sand Village with me this morning, but I was worried something might go wrong if we both went, so I asked her to head to the office first. I had already filled her in on my way back.

"Mrs. Smith, how did it go? Any progress?" Zoey asked, handing me the coffee.

"I found out where Tony works," I replied.

"Mrs. Smith, I told you there was no danger in following Tony, but you still didn't let me go," Zoey pouted, looking a bit miffed.

I put my arm around her shoulder and walked towards the office. "To make it up to you, how about I treat you to lunch at Stardust Diner? Then in the afternoon, we can inform HR and go together."

Since Tony had been found, there was no danger in going there. It was better to bring Zoey along rather than have her worry in the office. After all, she was my assistant, and when I wasn't around, Zoey seemed to be idle in the office. Others seemed hesitant to give her tasks, probably because of my usual work style.

"Mrs. Smith, you usually don't like going to Stardust Diner, saying the food is average. How about we choose another restaurant?" Zoey was speaking when her eyes suddenly lit up as she realized, "Tony works at Stardust Diner!"

"Smart!" I said.

"Of course, I'm your apprentice!" Zoey said proudly, then her face fell. "Mrs. Smith, I thought you were really making it up to me."

"How about a three-scoop Haagen-Dazs and a venti Starbucks cold brew?" I said, looking at Zoey's gray coat. "Your birthday is coming up. How about we look for a dress in moss green to match your coat? It would look stylish and vibrant, just like you."

"Yay!"

Zoey had been with me for a long time, and her birthday was coming up, so it was the perfect time to give her a gift.

When I arrived at the office, I found Howard there. He was surprised to see me and quickly called me to his office to ask about the case.

I hadn't seen him for a while as he had been on business trips. He had just returned last night. After I briefed him on the situation, Howard nodded and said he had met another witness, Tom, at the airport last night.

Tom had also just returned from a business trip. They knew each other from before, and since I had asked Howard to investigate Tom, they decided to have dinner next week, though the exact time wasn't set yet.

Howard briefly mentioned Tom's background, which he hadn't detailed over the phone.

Tom was a senior executive in urban investment planning, whom Howard had met at a business salon. He had business dealings with Frank. Speaking of Frank, Howard asked if we should contact him again since he was currently in Silverlight City.

I thought about it and decided to first investigate the people from the orphanage. Frank's matter could wait. Although they came from the same orphanage, according to Lally's recollection, Alan was the one who was close to them. Frank, being a few years older, probably didn't play with them as kids, so their relationship wasn't as close.