“This is bad.” Adrian’s pupils contracted the moment he realized what had happened.
Before Martin Hayes could fully recover from the shock, Adrian grabbed him by the shoulder, turned him around, and guided him toward the open door of the minibus.
Martin was still unsteady from the fight, so when his balance shifted forward, he instinctively stepped into the vehicle without even realizing what Adrian was doing.
Detective Grant glanced back, saw that Martin was already aboard, and immediately made a decision.
“Call an ambulance.
Miller, get them out of here.
Reed and Carter, stay with me.” Miller did not hesitate.
He climbed behind the wheel without even waiting for the door to close properly and pressed down hard on the accelerator.
The engine roared as the minibus lurched forward.
The villagers had been stunned by Ethan Pike’s collapse and the warning shot, so the vehicle finally had enough room to break through the crowd.
Within moments, Pine Hollow Village was disappearing behind them.
Adrian stood near the rear window and looked back.
Detective Grant remained in the village with two officers, his weapon still drawn while several others crouched around Ethan and attempted to stop the bleeding until emergency medical personnel could arrive.
The minibus bounced violently along the mountain road, and the figures behind them gradually became smaller until they finally disappeared from sight.
Adrian withdrew his gaze and looked toward Martin.
The older man was standing almost motionless beside Clara, his expression still twisted with anger and disbelief.
The bloodshot look in his eyes had not completely faded, and both hands, which had been holding his daughter only moments earlier, were covered in blood.
He had killed someone.
At least, that was what Martin believed.
The realization seemed to hit him all at once.
His breathing gradually became faster as he stared at his blood-covered hands.
In his mind, there was probably only one conclusion: someone had died because of him, and sooner or later, he would have to answer for that death.
He had spent ten years searching for Clara.
Ten years.
He had finally found his daughter, only for everything to fall apart within minutes of their reunion.
Martin’s eyes became vacant.
Adrian watched him for several seconds before the familiar mechanical sound appeared in his mind.
[Ding!
Criminal Case Detected: Abduction Case] [Criminal Case Reward: 100% chance of extracting one skill from the client, along with a certain number of Gratitude Coins.] [Note: Reward quality increases according to the client’s level of satisfaction.] [Accept Case?] Adrian’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Another case had been triggered.
He mentally accepted without hesitation.
[Case Accepted: Abduction Case] The translucent screen faded, and Adrian turned his attention back to Martin.
“Mr.
Hayes.” Martin did not react.
Adrian moved slightly closer.
“It looks like your situation has become considerably more complicated, so if you’re willing, I can continue representing you.” Martin’s vacant eyes finally moved toward him.
Adrian held out his hand.
“You may need a little more legal assistance than we originally expected.” For several seconds, Martin simply stared at the hand in front of him.
Then his expression slowly changed.
The next morning, October 3rd, Greenwood City Police Department was already unusually noisy before most of the day shift had even arrived.
Anyone approaching the building could hear the shouting from outside.
“My son is dead!
He was only thirty years old, and now he’s gone because of you people!” “Where is the justice in this world?” “Give me back my son!” Several officers entering for work exchanged tired looks before stepping into the lobby, where they found a crowd gathered around two familiar figures.
Walter and Martha Pike had arrived early that morning.
Martha was sitting directly on the floor, striking her thighs while crying loudly enough for everyone in the building to hear, while Walter stood beside her glaring at anyone who came near.
Captain Victor Shaw, head of the Criminal Investigation Division, stood nearby with an increasingly strained expression.
“Mrs.
Pike, please get up so we can discuss this properly.
This is a police station, and people still need to conduct official business here.” He bent down and attempted to help her stand.
Walter immediately shoved his hand away.
“Don’t touch her!
None of you are any good.
Where have you hidden the man who killed my son?
Bring him out here!” Martha took that as her cue to begin wailing again.
“The police brought those people into our village, my son ended up dead, and now you’re protecting the killer!
What kind of justice is this?” Her cries carried through the lobby and attracted even more attention from members of the public who had come to the station for unrelated matters.
Captain Shaw’s expression became increasingly unpleasant.
It was barely morning, residents were already arriving to file reports and handle administrative matters, and two people were now loudly accusing the police of helping someone murder their son.
If this continued much longer, the department’s public-relations staff were going to make his day considerably worse.
“Mrs.
Pike, get up first and we’ll talk.” He tried once more, but Martha seemed determined to remain exactly where she was.
That was hardly surprising, because they had come specifically to cause a scene.
Ethan Pike had died the previous day from blood loss before emergency medical personnel could save him.
Walter and Martha were certainly upset by their son’s death, but their grief was complicated by another fact that they appeared to consider extremely important: Ethan had left behind a son.
As far as they were concerned, the family line would continue.
That did not mean they intended to let his death pass without trying to gain something from it.
“I don’t care what excuses you people have,” Walter shouted.
“Find the man who killed my son.
Ethan cannot have died for nothing.” Martha suddenly stopped crying long enough to add, “And there has to be compensation.
Our son is dead, so somebody has to pay us.” She scrambled to her feet, placed both hands on her hips, and looked around the station.
“And where is Clara?
Our family supported her for ten years, and now she thinks she can just disappear?” Several officers who knew the full story visibly stiffened.
Martha continued as though she saw nothing wrong with what she was saying.
“My son is dead now.
Who is supposed to look after us when we’re old?
Clara needs to come back with us.” The officers nearby clenched their jaws.
They had personally seen the woodshed in which Clara had been locked and the chain around her ankle, yet Martha was standing inside a police station describing ten years of captivity as though the Pike family had performed an act of charity.
Before any of the officers could respond, someone among the growing group of spectators finally spoke.
“If you want compensation and want to sue someone, shouldn’t you be talking to a lawyer instead of screaming at the police?” Walter and Martha both stopped.
“A lawyer?” They looked at each other.
Their expressions changed almost simultaneously.
That was right.
They needed a lawyer.
Their son was dead, which meant they could sue Martin Hayes, demand compensation, and perhaps use the courts to force Clara back into contact with them.
Martha immediately seemed energized by the idea.
“Yes, a lawyer.
If the police refuse to give us justice, we’ll find someone who will.” She glared at the officers before grabbing Walter’s arm.
“Come on.” The two hurried toward the exit and disappeared from the station almost as quickly as they had arrived.
Captain Shaw watched them leave and finally exhaled.
At least the lobby was quiet again.
Unfortunately, the problem itself had not disappeared.
He looked around.
“Where’s Grant?” One of the officers answered immediately.
“Detective Grant is in the holding area interviewing Martin Hayes.” Captain Shaw’s face darkened.
“Of course he is.
He leaves those two out here for me while he hides in the back.” After dispersing the remaining spectators, Shaw headed deeper into the station.
Martin had been temporarily detained after Ethan Pike’s death because what had begun as a trafficking recovery operation had now developed into a potential homicide investigation.
Until investigators established exactly what had happened during the struggle, Martin could not simply be allowed to leave.
Detective Grant was responsible for taking his statement.
Inside one of the interview rooms, Grant sat across from Martin with a cigarette between his fingers.
Martin’s wrists were restrained, and he sat with his head lowered, looking so exhausted that even breathing seemed to require conscious effort.
Grant studied him for a moment.
“How was last night?
Manage to get any sleep?” “It was all right.” “The food?” “Fine.” The exchange barely resembled an interrogation.
After everything that had happened in Pine Hollow, Grant found it difficult to treat Martin like an ordinary violent suspect, even though procedure required him to investigate the death properly.
The room fell silent for a while.
Eventually, Martin spoke.
“Detective Grant…
Clara?” Grant looked up.
“She’s safe.
We arranged temporary accommodation for her and Evelyn somewhere the Pikes won’t be able to reach them.” Martin’s shoulders relaxed slightly.
“And her son?” “We were prepared for the custody issue before we entered the village, so the appropriate proceedings were started last night.
The court and prosecutors are treating the situation seriously, and everyone involved knows Clara was trafficked into that household as a child.” Martin nodded slowly.
“You don’t need to worry about her representation either.
Another attorney has volunteered to handle Clara’s side of the custody matter without charging the family.” Grant paused before continuing.
“As for you, though, things are more complicated.” Martin gave a faint, humorless smile.
“I figured.” The problem was not difficult to understand.
There was a strong argument that Martin had been acting to protect Clara when Ethan attempted to drag her from the bus, and the sickle had originally been in Ethan’s possession.
Unfortunately, Martin had also been the first person to physically attack Ethan inside the vehicle when he bit his hand and drove him out of the bus.
What happened afterward had unfolded in a chaotic group fight.
Depending on how investigators and prosecutors interpreted the sequence of events, Martin could potentially face a very serious charge.
Grant watched him carefully.
Martin leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling.
“It’s enough.” Grant frowned.
“What is?” “Finding her.” Martin’s voice was quiet.
“It was worth it.” For several seconds, he said nothing more.
Then the memories began coming out.
“You know how Clara disappeared?” Grant remained silent.
“I took her to a little shop near our home.
She was fourteen.
I turned away for maybe a minute because I was buying a light bulb, and when I looked back, someone was forcing her into a car.” Martin’s eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.
“I ran after it.” His voice became rougher.
“I ran as hard as I could, but the car kept getting farther away.
I remember thinking that if I just ran a little faster, maybe I could reach it.” He laughed softly, although there was nothing amused about it.
“But how is a person supposed to outrun a car?” Grant lowered his cigarette.
“I couldn’t catch them.” Martin swallowed.
“Then you told me the traffickers moved her more than a thousand kilometers away in two days.” His eyes reddened.
“It took them two days to take my daughter away, and it took me ten years to finally reach her.” Grant said nothing.
Martin continued in the same distant voice.
“Evelyn cried so much after Clara disappeared that she eventually lost her voice.
We looked everywhere.
We sold things, borrowed money, traveled from city to city whenever someone claimed they had seen a girl who looked like her, and every time it turned out to be nothing.” He slowly lowered his gaze from the ceiling.
“But we found her.” A faint smile appeared.
“That’s enough for me.” “Now Clara has her mother again, and Evelyn has her daughter.
They’ll have each other even if I’m not there.” Grant could no longer remain silent.
“And what about you?” Martin looked at him.
“You spent ten years trying to bring your daughter home.
You finally found her yesterday, and now you’re already talking as though you’ll never see her again.” Grant leaned forward.
“Your case isn’t decided yet.
There are serious questions about what happened during that fight, which is exactly why you need proper representation.
A good lawyer may be able to argue for self-defense, defense of another person, or at the very least substantially reduce your responsibility depending on what the evidence shows.” Martin remained quiet.
“We can arrange legal aid through the bar association if necessary,” Grant continued.
“You don’t have to simply sit here and accept the worst possible outcome.” Several seconds passed.
Then Martin finally looked up.
“Can I request a specific lawyer?” Grant raised an eyebrow.
“You can request one, although whether that attorney accepts is another matter.” Martin hesitated.
Then he said the name Grant had not expected.
“Could Adrian Cole represent me?” Grant stared at him.
“Adrian?” Martin nodded.
Grant’s expression became complicated.
If the circumstances surrounding Ethan Pike’s death became public, plenty of attorneys would probably be interested in the case.
It involved trafficking, an attempted rescue, an isolated village, a fatal confrontation, and difficult questions of self-defense and defense of others; even lawyers normally uninterested in legal-aid work might see the case as an opportunity to gain public attention.
Some of those attorneys would have decades more courtroom experience than Adrian.
Yet Martin wanted the young lawyer from Blackwood & Reed.
“Are you sure?” “I’m sure.” Grant studied him for several seconds.
Before he could answer, movement appeared through the window in the interview-room door.
Captain Shaw was standing outside and motioning for him to come over.
Grant sighed.
“All right.
A specific appointment still depends on the lawyer agreeing to take the case, but I’ll have the bar association contact Adrian and see whether he’s willing.” Martin nodded.
Grant ended the interview and stepped outside.
Captain Shaw was waiting in the corridor.
He glanced briefly through the window at Martin before turning toward Grant.
“How’s it looking?” Grant sighed.
“There isn’t much left to clarify.
Unfortunately, the basic sequence of events is fairly straightforward.” Neither man said anything for a moment.
Sometimes complicated cases offered room for interpretation precisely because so much was uncertain.
A simple sequence of events could be far harder to escape.
Captain Shaw eventually shook his head.
“I’ll have someone else continue with Hayes for now.
Something else came in this morning, and I need you on it.” Grant looked at him.
“What happened?” “An extortion report.” Grant’s expression sharpened.
“How much?” “Three million.” That caught his attention.
“Three million?” Shaw nodded.
“The complainant says his wife’s lover threatened him with private material unless he paid.
His name is Daniel Hart.” Grant stared at him.
Daniel Hart.
The name sounded vaguely familiar, although he could not immediately remember why.
Captain Shaw handed him the initial report.
“The evidence is apparently solid.
Go take a look.”