The final video on the screen shockingly showed Bert on Shane’s marital bed. His left hand was wrapped around Shane’s wife, while his right held his own fifteen-year-old younger sister as they explored the mysteries of human origin together. The scene was, at one point, downright cringeworthy. Ironically, above the large bed hung an affectionate wedding photo of Shane and his wife. In the photo, they embraced, both looking forward, seemingly dreaming of a happy future...
"Dean, am I seeing things?" Lawrence blinked.
"Shane has a ’filial’ son," Dean said with a sneer.
The father had an affair. To spare his old man the effort, the son took on a husband’s responsibilities at home every day. What’s more intriguing, Bert also had an affair with Zoe. Like father, like son. So by this logic, his motive for killing Shane became even more substantial. With Shane dead, Bert could take over everything he owned. As for the victim Zoe, she was no innocent party either. All those threats aside, the numerous videos suggested she had a voyeuristic streak and easily stole Shane’s financial account information, indicating she had left a backdoor in the financial software she built. Zoe likely had a mental disorder to begin with. Luckily for them, this was how Dean and Lawrence discovered the ethical issues within the Shane Family.
"Alright, Lawrence, it’s time to reap the rewards."
Dean picked up his phone to call Holz. He reported the situation and asked Holz to compare Bert’s fingerprints. DNA was hard to collect, but fingerprints were much easier. Holz already had the fingerprints of all four members of the Shane Family. The killer’s fingerprints remained on the baseball bat used to kill Shane. They had not previously suspected Shane’s son, Bert. Now, if Bert’s fingerprints matched those on the baseball bat, the police department could justifiably issue an arrest warrant for the missing Bert! Right now, Bert should be with his sister and mother. Finding him means finding Shane’s daughter and wife as well. At this point, the case was nearly closed.
Holz was a workaholic and highly efficient. He quickly gave Dean an affirmative response. "Dean, after identification, Bert’s fingerprints perfectly match those on the baseball bat. I’ll send the report to Squad Four, and you can issue a warrant for Bert now."
Hearing this news, Dean clenched his fist. Perfect! Once the warrant is issued, finding Bert and these unprofessional civilians won’t be hard. He could soon harvest another wave of Experience Points.
In a good mood, Dean’s tone became more cheerful. "Holz, what should we do with these chat records? Do Lawrence and I need to bring the computer to forensics?"
"NO," Holz declined Dean’s offer, explaining, "We’ll request the data directly from ICQ. Dean, just a friendly reminder: when you and Lawrence head back to the department, try to keep a low profile."
Dean gave him a puzzled look. "Why?"
"The FBI is here, and I heard you might have had some conflicts with them."
I see. Dean let out a sigh of relief. It must mean Anthony and the others have finished dealing with the Dagger Gang. Still, it was good of Holz to give him a heads-up. He’d need Holz’s assistance in future cases.
Dean responded even more amicably, "Holz, thanks for the warning. I’ll buy you a drink after we close this case."
"Sure, I’ve been wanting to hit up a strip club. Going alone is no fun..." Holz agreed cheerfully. He saw Dean as a promising talent and planned to get closer to him.
After the call ended, Dean returned to Squad Four with Lawrence.
Back in the office, Old Hunter and a few others had also returned. They were discussing their findings. When Old Hunter saw Dean and Lawrence, he raised his coffee cup. "Gentlemen, let’s welcome our victorious heroes!"
Lawrence chuckled, and Dean also wore a smile. It seems Holz already delivered the forensic report and told Old Hunter and the others about their findings.
From the crowd, a slightly disgruntled Harry remarked, "Wow, heroes ditching their little followers right before triumphantly returning in glory. Sounds pretty good."
"Harry, you’re not a sidekick; you’re our intelligence expert." Dean approached, wrapped an arm around Harry, and said humbly, "Each and every one of us is an indispensable part of Squad Four. The credit doesn’t belong to any single individual; it’s the result of all of us working together!"
Before others recognize your worth, you must show them how good you are. But once they acknowledge your excellence, you need to learn to be humble. In his past life, Dean’s ability to survive on the periphery of a large organization, without being dealt with by it, was not only due to his decent professional capabilities but also because he was adept at reading people and maintaining a proper sense of proportion in his conduct and actions. On the contrary, his companions who had grown up with him—crazier, stronger, and more bloodthirsty—had long since become mere material for training newcomers by the time Dean transmigrated, who knows when.
Everyone was undoubtedly very satisfied with Dean’s words. Harry also looked a bit embarrassed. He had to admit he was a bit jealous of Lawrence. That lucky bastard Lawrence must have stepped in dog shit to get an amazing rookie like Dean as his apprentice and piggyback on his successes. It made Harry want to follow Dean himself.
Old Hunter stepped forward. "Dean is right. Cracking the case is a collective achievement. However, everyone has witnessed Dean’s contribution, so once it’s over, I’ll propose to the captain that we consider ending Dean’s six-month internship early."
Once the internship was over, Dean’s rank could also be raised. It’s another form of a pay raise. Though Dean didn’t care much for the money, he still expressed his gratitude.
With the warrant issued, everyone had some downtime. A month had passed, and Bert and his two companions had long since vanished without a trace. Now, all they could do was wait for results. The only one still swamped with work was Daisy. She had to organize all the clues everyone had discovered and continue to track Zoe’s credit and bank card information. Even though Bert and the other two had transferred Shane’s finances, what if they had gotten greedy?
After several busy days, everyone was somewhat tired. Dean took Lawrence and Harry out to the balcony, planning for them all to have a smoke. Just then, a phone call came through. It was Anthony.
"Sorry, guys, I need to take this," Dean apologized as he left the balcony and answered his phone. "Anthony, is everything going smoothly?"
Over the phone, Anthony’s hoarse voice replied, "Not exactly smooth, but Amodeo is no longer of any use. If you’re free now, come to the interrogation room."
Before they parted last time, Anthony had promised to teach him how to properly dispose of criminals they didn’t want to see again. They had also arranged to hand over the items found at Bill’s place. Dean was looking forward to it.