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Chapter 49. Who should I trust?
Another two days passed.
On television, Councilor Santos's attitude had shifted to ambiguous territory, showing support for the 'Police Budget Cut' bill for the first time.
This councilor, whom Keller had described as straightforward and fiery, appeared completely like a seasoned politician in public, showing no trace of having once beaten someone to a pulp.
However, if his actions were viewed alongside other news developments, the accuracy of Keller's assessment became apparent.
Councilor Miller announced his candidacy for next year's mayoral election, and his first campaign promise was to increase the police budget and enhance urban security.
Councilman Howard, Councilman Carter, Councilman Grant, and Senator Bennett publicly expressed their support for Councilor Miller.
Among them, Senator Bennett also called on the public to pay attention to their children's education in addition to her endorsement...
The search for Helen Bennett had yielded no results; she had been officially classified as a missing person.
The case seemed to have entered a cooling-off period.
The killer's identity had been confirmed; all that remained was the arrest, and the case appeared poised for a perfect conclusion.
In the conference room, Keller was sharing political gossip with everyone.
This aide to Old Howard seemed to have completely forgotten his actual identity, appearing quite content to stay put.
He told everyone that Councilor Santos was 'liquidating his assets,' preparing to go all-in to fund a mayoral candidate.
Santos intended to target Councilor Miller directly.
Old Howard and Councilor Santos held differing political views but maintained good private relations. Last night, Old Howard had acted as a mediator but was directly driven out of Santos's house at gunpoint.
When he mentioned this detail, Keller's smile was exceptionally bright.
He commented that Old Howard's diplomatic move was a complete failure and openly scorned whoever had advised Old Howard to make such a terrible miscalculation.
Bernie and Ricky loved listening to his insider gossip, especially Bernie, only political intrigue could momentarily make Bernie forget his worries about educating young Sullivan.
After laughing, they both patted Keller's shoulders, one on each side, saying, "Brother, we all know you're the best."
Perhaps from listening to too much political gossip together, Ricky and Bernie's relationship had improved significantly.
The secret to their harmonious coexistence was simple: they never mentioned Charlie Burton or the West District, pretending those complications didn't exist.
The entire morning passed in easy laughter.
In the afternoon, Keller left for two hours and returned with two young men in tow. Ricky and Bernie teased him, asking if he had changed professions to become a nanny.
Keller's expression grew somewhat gloomy and unnatural.
Bernie and Ricky patted his shoulders, one on each side, their tones sincere: "Brother, we all know you're the best."
Keller was torn between laughter and tears, quickly changing the subject to ask Ricky if he could help arrange something.
The two young men he'd brought were young Howard and Paul Miller.
Old Howard hoped his son would behave himself during this sensitive time and not cause any trouble, so he'd handed him over to Keller's supervision.
Paul Miller was simply a gesture of goodwill from Councilor Miller, currying favor with Old Howard.
Ricky found two detectives to take the young men away. He arranged for them to go on patrol duty.
This arrangement brought them unexpected gains.
Ricky had assigned them to patrol the area covering the university and its surrounding neighborhoods.
The four of them spotted a 'familiar face', Helen Bennett, in a high-end restaurant next to the university campus.
Young Howard and Paul Miller were immediately confined to their patrol car, while the two detectives called for backup and walked toward the restaurant...
An hour later, Helen Bennett was brought back to the police station, processed, and placed in the interrogation room.
At this point, there was less than half an hour until quitting time.
Ricky really hoped Theodore could conduct the interrogation tomorrow, but seeing Theodore's excited expression, he could only abandon that hope.
Bernie was assigned to lead this interrogation, partnering with Theodore, while Ricky and Keller remained outside to provide support.
Helen Bennett confessed quickly.
She said she had been pestering James Carter at her birthday party, and when James Carter hid in the bathroom, she waited outside for him.
During this time, she went to the restroom herself and found him gone when she returned. Then she heard a commotion upstairs and ran over to see what the excitement was about.
Regarding her disappearance during this period, she denied running away from the investigation, stating that she had argued with her parents and simply ran away from home.
She also wrote down her whereabouts for the past few days and relevant witnesses, which Ricky handed over to the detectives for verification.
The interrogation lasted only an hour before concluding.
Due to the East District's tradition of no overtime, they could only stop there for the day, agreeing to continue tomorrow.
Ricky believed this was a good start, any suspect initially denies everything.
Theodore, however, had many concerns.
On the way back, Theodore asked Bernie, "If Helen Bennett really liked James Carter, and she came out of the restroom to find him gone, shouldn't she have looked for him? Why would she go join the commotion instead?"
Bernie recalled the chaotic relationship dynamics that caused him constant worry and said, "Maybe she was drunk and didn't know what she was doing."
He looked Theodore up and down and smiled. "You should be asking yourself that question, you're not much older than them."
Theodore just shook his head. "Tomorrow, I want to go back to the scene and take another look."
The next day, the four went to the villa.
Ricky had given specific instructions, and with Keller's mediation, the villa remained sealed, with two detectives guarding it daily.
The 'evidence' inside the villa had already been cleared by the detectives; looking at it now, the space seemed somewhat empty.
Perhaps because someone had died there, the villa, though spacious and bright, gave off an eerie and desolate feeling.
Theodore first went to examine the bathroom where James Carter had hidden.
The bathroom was positioned opposite the side of the staircase, with the back door diagonally opposite.
Then he went upstairs.
This time, he didn't go straight to the attic but carefully observed each floor.
Now, everything here was pristine, but according to the evidence inventory taken away by the detectives, the place had been packed at the time of the incident.
Detectives had searched these two floors and found large quantities of underwear, condoms, beer, marijuana, and various other prohibited items.
Theodore walked through every corner of the villa, conducting a mental crime scene analysis.
But no matter how he worked through the sequence, the result felt like a movie, full of convenient coincidences and precisely timed actions.
At least 170 guests had attended the party at the time of the incident.
These people had filled the villa inside and out, either drinking or having sex.
The killer would have needed to first lure the victim into the attic and kill him, then quickly navigate through the intoxicated crowds on the second and third floors, precisely locate young Howard in the front hall, and pass the note to him.
Then, he would have had to precisely find James Carter, who had locked himself in the bathroom.
He also would have needed to ensure that no impatient partygoers broke into the attic during this critical window.
It required far too much luck!
The killer had been impossibly busy, there was simply too much to accomplish!
This was quite a discrepancy from Theodore's psychological profile!
Whether it was the bold and meticulous decision to act during a crowded birthday party, the elaborate triple-layered trap to frame young Howard, or even the smooth manipulation of guests to inadvertently clear the crime scene, all of it seemed inconsistent with relying on luck and coincidence.
The profile conflicted with the actual circumstances. Which should be trusted?
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