Chapter 79

"Do you know Joseph?" Leonard asked.

I shook my head. "Not really. He's three years younger than Alan and me. He was closer to Alan, and they seemed to have a good relationship. Alan took care of him a lot... but..."

I paused, a thought suddenly popping into my mind.

Alan's close friends from college-Frank, Laura, Bob, and Mike-all came from the old steel mill area where kids were trafficked. They had a deep bond because they had gone through tough times together. But Joseph was three years younger than Alan. Why were they so close?

Could it be just because they were in the same drama club and Joseph had a talent for singing?

That shouldn't be it. There were plenty of talented people in the club back then. Why did Alan only take care of Joseph and not others?

"What's on your mind?" Leonard asked when he saw me stop mid-sentence.

I frowned and slowly shook my head. "Nothing, just a wild guess. It's not worth mentioning right now."

I couldn't let Leonard get too involved in this. It was better for me to investigate on my own. "Back to what we were talking about. I'm not that familiar with Joseph, but after Alan's incident, Joseph was the medical examiner who performed the autopsy that day. I didn't recognize him when I went to identify the body. He approached me halfway, and that's when I remembered him."

"Such a big incident, and he specifically came out to recognize you. It wasn't just to catch up, was it? What did he say to you? If you trust me, I can help you analyze it." Leonard took a sip of water and said nonchalantly.

"What do you mean by 'if you trust me'?" I frowned at Leonard's insinuation. How did this old man become so sarcastic?

"You didn't tell me your guess earlier. You must have some suspicion in your mind but didn't say it." Leonard said with a bitter face. "Nancy, are you trying to kill me? This water is scalding!"

I couldn't help but laugh in anger. How did this man become like a child? Where did the serious and upright Deputy Prosecutor Leonard go?

I said, "That night, I was emotionally overwhelmed and walked back alone, wanting some peace. I ran into Joseph by the roadside. After he introduced himself, I remembered him. He had changed a lot. He told me that during the autopsy, he overheard the police discussing the case. They said no witnesses recognized Alan. That's how I knew Alan lied about going to a class reunion. He went alone..."

Class reunion? No, wait!

This meant there was a high possibility that Alan didn't lie. He really went to a class reunion!

But this class reunion was likely not about reminiscing the past. Alan might have known about their plan and went to stop Frank and the others!

If that was the case, then besides Tammy, Tom, Lally, and Tony from Sand Village, Frank, Laura, and the yet-to-be-seen Bob and Mike were also present that day!

This class reunion always existed. Alan didn't lie to me.

"It seems you know where the problem lies," Leonard said calmly.

"What problem?" I was puzzled and explained, "I just suddenly remembered that Alan might have been telling the truth about going to a class reunion."

"It seems you're hiding a lot of secrets, but it doesn't matter." Leonard gave me a deep look. "Don't you think Joseph's actions are a bit strange?"

I repeated, "Strange?"

"Yeah," Leonard nodded, his eyes distant. "Why would a medical examiner be around when detectives are discussing a case? Even the greenest detective knows not to bother the medical examiner during an autopsy. And for such a big case, would the cops really talk about it in front of outsiders? That's confidential stuff."

"Plus, even if Joseph was inside and the cops were outside, how could he hear them? Were they using a loudspeaker or something? It just doesn't add up."

I nodded. Joseph's behavior was definitely suspicious, but it didn't seem like the best place to start.

"Of course," Leonard said, pulling out Joseph's personal file and pointing to the personal information section. "Look at where Joseph works."

It clearly stated Silverlight City Court.

I asked, "He's at the court? Why would a court medical examiner go to the police station to do an autopsy?"

Leonard saw that I caught on and continued, "I wasn't sure at first, so I checked the time of Alan's incident and the attendance records of the medical examiners at the police station. All three of the police station's medical examiners were present, and there was no autopsy work scheduled that day."

Leonard closed the file, looked up at me, and said slowly, "So why would a court medical examiner go to the police station in the middle of the night to do an autopsy? The body was severely damaged, making DNA testing very difficult. Yet, in such a short time, he confidently identified the body as Alan's based on a ring and signed the autopsy report. This kind of efficiency is unheard of."

Leonard saw that I wasn't speaking, turned off the computer, and shredded the printed documents. The sound of the shredder matched my swirling thoughts.

Yeah, I never suspected Joseph.

That night was the darkest of my life. On the verge of collapse, Joseph's appearance reignited my drive to investigate the case and pulled me out of my grief.

In terms of timing, Joseph was the first to give me a clue, saying that Alan went to the Entertainment Club alone that night.

This led me to wonder who Alan met and what he did at the club. Then, during the trial, I noticed discrepancies in the witnesses' testimonies and gradually uncovered the twenty-year connection between Alan, Sand Village, and his college friends.

Joseph was a key point. He inspired me to question the case and motivated me to dig deeper.

Now, Joseph's actions were highly suspicious. He was a court medical examiner. Why did he go to the police station to do an autopsy? All personnel related to this case have been transferred, so why was Joseph still in Silverlight City?

Based on this, how could Joseph hear the police discussing the case? The police wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

This could only mean one thing: Joseph was lying.

Maybe Alan wasn't alone at the Entertainment Club that night. There were others with him, and these people must be his college friends. Frank could be ruled out. Howard mentioned he had just returned, so the timing didn't match.

Wait!

I also overlooked an important point about Frank!