After receiving the call from Hank, Bruce drove the Mercedes AMG GT gifted by Ivanka to the agreed location quickly.
It was an abandoned chemical plant, and Hank had already arrived.
Bruce saw Hank’s black Cadillac Escalade parked in the darkest corner.
Hank stood by the car, lights off, like a sculpture in the shadows.
His face appeared aged and weary in the gloom, and beneath his calm exterior, the anger in the corners of his eyes could not be hidden.
“Sergeant.” Bruce approached.
Hank looked up, his eyes bloodshot.
“Thank you for coming.
This matter…
is very tricky.
You can choose to refuse.”
“What case?” Bruce’s tone revealed a hint of excitement.
Right now, he feared tricky cases the least; he had already started going against the mayor of New York, and he couldn’t wait to improve his abilities.
Looking at Bruce before him, Hank vaguely sensed his active emotions but couldn’t be certain.
Unable to dwell on it, Hank took a deep breath, pondered slightly, and decided to speak.
“A citizen found a body in Lincoln Park this morning.
There was a bullet hole in the head; it was a murder.”
“The deceased is Frank Fittoli, a gang boss in the South Side who usually does some robbery jobs.
This case itself isn’t special; on the surface, it looks like a gang fight, but…”
“But what?” Bruce clearly felt Hank’s struggle and hesitation.
Hank took a deep breath, looking straight at Bruce.
“But, my son Justin might be involved.”
This sentence hit Bruce like a heavy punch, leaving him stunned on the spot.
On Hank’s desk was a photo of Justin, a young man in his twenties with a bright smile.
Bruce also knew Justin had a criminal record, having been imprisoned for fighting, and had just been released from prison.
“Justin has only been out of state prison for a month.” Hank’s voice was hoarse.
“I found him a job at the DMV, but he has been absent without reason for three days…”
“Is there any evidence pointing to him?” Bruce recovered from his initial shock and began to analyze calmly.
Based on his understanding of Hank, if there were evidence directly pointing to Justin, Hank would never cover it up; it seemed there was more to the story.
“No direct evidence.” Hank pulled an evidence bag from the driver’s seat, took out a photo—a young white man with a somewhat gloomy smile.
“This is Joe Catalan, Justin’s cellmate in prison,” Hank stated his findings in a hoarse voice.
“I am very familiar with his uncle, Alessio Crow; we grew up together.”
“Frank had a conflict with Alessio over the ownership of the territory, and Joe was also framed by Frank for his imprisonment.”
“So when I received the report this morning, the first people I thought of were Alessio and Joe, and I went directly to find them…”
Bruce listened quietly, not interrupting Hank.
“Joe, this reckless young man, admitted directly that he was the one who killed him, but he said Justin was also involved…”
Hearing this, Bruce couldn’t help but interrupt Hank.
“You believe him?”
“I don’t believe the words of any gangster,” Hank lit a cigarette for himself and offered one to Bruce.
“But I cannot ignore it either.
Justin’s time in prison was only smooth because of Joe’s help and protection; otherwise, I dare not imagine what would happen to a policeman’s son in prison…”
“I have reason to believe that Justin has some connection with him.
Most importantly, Joe stated directly that if I arrest him, he will drag Justin down with him…”
Hearing this, Bruce frowned deeply and took a long drag of the cigarette.
“So, Hank, what do you want me to do?”
Hank extinguished the cigarette in his hand and looked seriously into Bruce’s eyes.
“Investigate Justin’s role and level of involvement in this murder, and at the same time, help me find him.
Don’t let him fall into Joe’s hands.”
“Why ask me alone?” Bruce asked the key question, the one he cared about most.
“The Intelligence Unit can investigate…”
“Because the Internal Affairs Division has already stepped in,” Hank’s voice was calm but suppressed anger.
Bruce had heard of this name, a star investigator of the Chicago Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, known for being ruthless, incorruptible, and also somewhat unscrupulous in her methods, especially fond of turning people against each other.
“So Gladysal is targeting you?” Bruce said.
“She also convinced someone in the Intelligence Unit?
Antonio?
Jay?”
Hearing this, Hank’s eyes lit up.
“As expected of the officer I chose.” “Yes, she is targeting me.
You know, sometimes I don’t like to follow procedures when handling cases.”
Bruce shrugged, indicating he didn’t care.
“She thinks I will affect the impartiality of the investigation.
This time she is right.
If Justin is really involved, I’m not sure if I can remain objective, so I need you to find the truth before the event is ruined by me.”
Hank looked straight at Bruce.
“I need you to find Justin before the rest of the Intelligence Unit, especially before Antonio, and find out what he actually did.”
Bruce frowned.
As expected, Antonio Dawson, the most righteous detective in the Intelligence Unit, would never tolerate any illegal behavior, even from colleagues or superiors.
“Has Gladysal approached Antonio?” Bruce asked.
“Just this noon,” Hank nodded.
“Although Antonio didn’t tell me, I know.
The way he looked at me today…
I know he is monitoring me and reporting to Gladysal.”
Bruce felt a chill.
The division within the Intelligence Unit was more dangerous than any external enemy.
“Why me?” This was Bruce’s last question.
“Because you have the ability, and you can understand me,” Hank said bluntly.
“You are not a rookie who blindly follows the rules, nor are you a bastard who would cover up crimes.
You will find the truth, no matter what that truth is.”
Bruce was silent.
Yes, he understood Hank’s approach.
Fighting fire with fire was the fastest method, and there were always some people who would escape the sanctions of the law.
“Then what if I find evidence that Justin is guilty?” Bruce asked, looking straight into Hank’s eyes.
Hank’s expression twisted in pain, but eventually, the professional ethics of a policeman overcame the protective instincts of a father.
“Then arrest him, but at least let me know the truth, instead of him being framed and sent to prison.”
“What if he is innocent?”
“Then prove it.” Hank said firmly.
“Before Catalan frames him, before Antonio and Gladysal destroy him.”
Bruce thought for a moment.
This was a dangerous mission, not only dangerous due to weapons but also dangerous to his police career.
He might be targeted by the Internal Affairs Division and even lose his job because of this.
“I need authorization,” Bruce finally said.
“Access to surveillance systems, vehicle tracking, phone records.”
Hearing this, Hank smiled and handed the evidence bag to Bruce.
“This is everything I could get, without going through official channels.”
“Understood.” Bruce took the evidence bag and drove away in his Mercedes.
“There will be results by tonight.”
During this time, he also took a moment to send a text message to Ivanka, telling her he would be home late tonight and not to wait for him.
Ivanka on the other side quickly replied, “Waiting for you, no matter how late!”
Looking at the message on his phone, Bruce smiled and put the phone in his pocket.
Looking up again, Bruce was already serious.
…
Hank’s home was tidy to the point of being desolate, a typical residence of a single man.
Apart from the photos of his late wife and Justin on the living room mantelpiece, there were almost no personal traces.
Justin’s room was on the second floor, the door was locked.
It seemed Hank hadn’t had a chance to go home and search his son’s room today.
Bruce easily picked the lock with his tools.
The room was very ordinary, just a typical American teenager’s bedroom.
High school sports trophies, faded band posters, a bulky desktop computer, a basketball hoop, and rough wood carvings made by the prison art program.
Bruce searched the computer’s browsing history, emails, and chat records.
Most were boring content: looking for jobs, contacting old friends, online shopping.
But there was an encrypted chat app that required a password.
Bruce tried a few common passwords, but all failed.
Finally, Bruce tried using the anniversary of Hank’s late wife’s death as the password, and it worked.
The chat records popped up, and it was only the last few messages that made Bruce discover clues.
Joe Catalan: “Justin, is your Mustang still there?”
Justin Voight: “Yes, street racing tonight?”
Joe Catalan: “Not racing, borrowing the car, brother.
I’ll give you 500 cash, no questions asked.
The old place, 10 PM tonight.”
Justin Voight: “Just borrowing the car?
Nothing else?”
Joe Catalan: “I swear.
Just need transportation.
Any problem?”
Justin Voight: “Okay, no problem, see you at the old place!”
Bruce photographed and saved all the chat records, then continued searching.
In a hidden folder on the computer, he found an audio file, timestamped at 10:45 PM last night, uploaded from Justin’s phone.
Bruce played the audio; it was a recording.
In the recording, Joe Catalan was on the phone.
Joe Catalan’s voice: “Yes, Frank, I’m here.
Only me…
Okay, see you in ten minutes.”
Then Catalan hung up the phone, presumably speaking to Justin: “Park, wait for me here.
If I don’t return in half an hour, drive away.”
Then Justin’s voice: “Joe, this doesn’t feel right.
You are meeting Frank?
Aren’t you guys…”
Catalan: “Shut up and drive.
Remember, you are just the driver.
You don’t know anything.”
The audio ended.
This was key evidence proving that Justin was only the driver so far and did not know about the murder plan.
This gave him room for defense: accessory rather than principal, perhaps even arguing he was unaware.
But it wasn’t enough; Bruce needed more.
He tidied up the scene.
Now that the Internal Affairs Division was targeting Hank, he didn’t want to leave any evidence behind either.
Then Bruce drove off, preparing to go to the Kettle Cemetery.
Searching Justin’s room earlier, he discovered that he had a closer relationship with his mother.
Therefore, that was the most likely place to encounter Justin, because his mother’s grave was there, and people habitually look for their closest people when they are confused.