Chapter 97

Charles took a sip of his soy milk in the car. "I don't get it. Chad's DNA was found on the victim a day before the incident. Wasn't Faye still okay then?"

"What's there to figure out?" Robert slammed his hand on the table, clearly frustrated. "Chad must've raped Faye. She is young and has never left the village. He probably scared her into submission. Damn, rapist!"

Zoey's mind was more on the village chief's family than Chad's.

In another police car, Alexander held a sandwich but hesitated to take a bite. "If Hugh's the killer, he must've known Janet was someone Evan was interested in, right?"

Jordan looked puzzled. "But even if Hugh's greasy and overweight, he couldn't have easily overpowered three seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls. Rural girls are strong from working on farms; they're not weaker than boys."

Zoey stuffed food into her mouth, worried today would be as busy as yesterday.

She analyzed while eating voraciously, "Could Hugh have tricked them into working for him, then drugged them with a sedative before raping them?"

"That's the most realistic theory!" Jordan agreed, looking at Zoey. "Don't forget, Hugh runs a factory. Just being the boss would make the victims trust him without question."

Alexander, however, wasn't entirely convinced. "Why would he kill them and dump the bodies in the village church if he's the factory owner? Wouldn't it be safer to lure them out and kill them elsewhere? Reporting them as missing would be less risky than a murder investigation."

Zoey looked at the nearly finished breakfast she had bought.

She reached for another sandwich but stopped herself. "Why don't you guys eat something? Aren't you tired of talking non-stop?"

The others were speechless.

The car pulled back into Willowbrook Village around 5:10 AM.

The six of them split up as they had the day before.

Alexander's group headed to the village chief's house, while the other three went to Chad's.

When Zoey's group arrived, smoke was already rising from the village chief's chimney.

They could hear voices from inside the courtyard, though faint.

The three exchanged glances, and Alexander cautiously knocked on the door, but there was no response.

He knocked again, harder this time.

Soon, the door opened.

A woman recognized the distinguished-looking Alexander immediately. "You're the officers from yesterday?" She looked at them with a mix of confusion and fear. "Sorry, is there something you need?"

Unlike yesterday, she didn't even dare to open the door fully. "My husband and his mother are still sleeping... Could you keep it down?"

"Sure, no problem," Alexander replied softly. "We just need to ask your husband a few questions."

"What about? Can't you ask me?" The woman spoke nervously, glancing inside the house, afraid they might wake her husband.

"Could you come back in an hour? They should be awake by then..."

"Maybe we could wait yesterday, but not today," Zoey said in her normal voice, startling Hugh's wife.

"Please, don't be so loud... Officer."

Zoey had no patience for a rapist and murderer.

She pushed the woman aside effortlessly, like moving a feather.

Before Hugh's wife could react, they were inside.

"Officer, you can't do this..." She couldn't stop them.

They quickly moved from the courtyard to the main hall.

The house wasn't big, and the bedrooms were easy to find.

Zoey kicked open a door, finding it unlocked.

Inside, a large back was exposed from under the covers, snoring loudly.

The room's sweat smell made Zoey pinch her nose and step back. "Alexander, this one."

Alexander glanced inside and woke Hugh.

Zoey and Jordan went to wake Hugh's mother and Evan.

In less than five minutes, the whole family, except the absent village chief, was sitting at the table.

Hugh yawned, looking like he hadn't slept enough.

Hugh's wife brought breakfast to the table, her frail figure trembling.

Seeing his wife, Hugh's anger flared. "Who told you to open the door for them?" He shouted.

His wife trembled, nearly dropping the breakfast tray. "I-I couldn't stop them..."

Zoey had no sympathy for Hugh. "Do we have to wait for you to wake up to do our job?" She was indirectly standing up for Hugh's wife.

Hugh's wife didn't dare lift her head, standing aside like she had done something wrong.

Evan, oblivious to the situation, kept eating breakfast, praising Hugh's wife's cooking.

Hugh, feeling the pressure of their stares, snapped, "It's five in the morning. Can I at least ask why you're here? What's so urgent?"

"You know why," Zoey replied with a smile that was more terrifying than a frown.

Alexander let Hugh eat, knowing the investigation in Willowbrook Village would take time.

If Hugh was indeed the killer, they'd need him to identify the crime scenes, and they wouldn't have time to feed him.

Hugh sipped his porridge, losing his appetite.

Compared to his aggressive behavior last night, he seemed much more subdued now.

After breakfast, Alexander signaled for Hugh's family to come with them.

"We have work to do. Can't you question us here?" Hugh's mother said arrogantly. "Hugh is a big boss. If you delay his work, you'll have to compensate for our factory's losses! Can you afford that on your police salaries?"

Alexander chuckled sarcastically. "Really, a big boss?" He looked Hugh up and down. "Fine, Mr. Wright, you will be the first to be questioned. No objections, right?"