When Stella Grace arrived at the entrance of the research center, she was still deep in thought.
If she was the only woman that Jasper Milton had, how did Katty Davis get syphilis?
Did she have another man?
“Pretty girl, you’ve arrived at your destination,” the driver shouted.
Stella picked herself up and said, “Oh, okay.”
She took a look at the meter, paid the fare, and got out of the car.
What was she thinking about?
Even if Katty had an affair with another man, it had absolutely nothing to do with her.
She was only surprised what these three years had done to them.
Stella walked into the centre and found Greg Miles in a rage.
“How did any of you graduate? All you know is how to boast when everything is fine, but when a case comes up, none of you dare to handle it?”
“Don’t we have an expert here? She is probably the only one who can handle it,” someone suggested.
“If she handles every case here, then why do I even bother hiring you?” Greg snapped.
Stella walked into the meeting room and gently knocked on the door.
Greg looked at Stella, feeling embarrassed. He wanted to say something to her but hesitated.
Stella smiled and said, “Well, I’ll take it.”
Greg looked hopefully at Stella. “You’re my savior, Stella. Come with me to my office.”
Greg came out of the meeting room and took Stella to his office. He showed her some photos.
Stella saw a smaller version of a European-style castle in the first photo. It was built with black bricks which were no longer used now. There were woodbine all around the wall of the castle. It looked a little mysterious with all the plants overgrowing it.
In the second photo, a tall man lay dead in a room. His body was curled and his fist was clenched tightly. His face looked distorted and in pain.
“His name is Jae Chyl , Nina Chyl’s younger brother. He was the mayor of Riverside city. He was found dead in this castle. It’s a locked room murder. There was no wound on his body. The autopsy found that his brain was filled with blood and they concluded that he died in fear. There was no poison found in his body, and no sign of substance abuse,” Greg explained.
Stella looked at the third photo. It was also a dead man in a room. He lay on the floor gripping his own neck. His eyes were red. The way he died looked terrible.
“This is Zion Chyl, a Lieutenant and coach of the special forces at the military base. It looked like he strangled himself to death. But, he was also found to have died in fear. Both of them died yesterday. Now the higher-ups are pressuring the authorities to close the case within a week. We have to take it,” Greg said helplessly.
Stella understood. “Well, heavy is the head that wears the crown. Since your center is one of the top in the country, you should be able to handle it.”
“Stop teasing me. I’ll leave this to you. You can claim all your expenses and even stay in the presidential suite. I’ll pay you a thousand dollar every day. I can pay you for anything as long as you solve the case,” Greg said without hesitation.
“Am I going there with the police?” Stella asked.
“Two police officers will be coming shortly. The police are taking this case very seriously. They hired an expert, Benjamin Levis. He will be bringing an assistant with him. The five of you will be assigned to this case. Benjamin will be the team leader.”
“Benjamin Levis? I’ve heard of him. He’s famous but he has always kept a low profile. He isolates himself from the outside world when he’s not involved in cases. It’s such an honor to be able to meet the legendary expert” Stella said with a smile.
“You might be a goddess in his eyes too. Your global reputation could be on par with his,” Greg commented.
Stella said nothing more. She went back to pack before heading to the police station.
She did not tell Jasper that she was going outstation.
Out there, he had no authority.
But she still had to inform Eli Wayne. “Girl, I’m going on a work trip. We can’t meet up for the time being.”
“Ah. How did you get so busy? I thought you just joined the center. How can Greg be so mean? Did he ask you to go on a work trip, like, right now?” Eli Wayne complained.
“Yes, I have a case to work on. I’ll get in touch with you when I come back,” Stella apologized.
“Let me tell you, something happened on our military base last night.
An officer was killed, and at the same time, another officer died in Riverside City. The thing is, the one that died in Riverside City did not apply for a leave, which means that he broke the law and left the base without permission.
The Chief is very angry. The fact that a murder happened here in the base meant that there is a problem with the security system. It’ll be even worse if there is a spy here. Anyway, it’s very serious, especially now that the Chief’s running for President.
This has been covered up for now. I have to lay low for the next few days. I’ll talk to you soon. I need to got for work now.” Eli ended the call.
Stella put away her mobile phone. No wonder Jasper looked so serious last night.
Was Zion Chyl’s death related to the one at the military base?
If she could find the truth, it might help Jasper.
…..
….
Stella was the last one to arrive at the bus prepared by the police.
She got on and ran into Benjamin Levis.
He looked like he was around thirty-five years old. He wore a black windbreaker and a hat. He was tall and thin with a triangular face and single eyelids. His sharp gaze could slice a man in half.
He didn’t look too friendly, so she decided not to greet him and took her seat.
“Stella Grace.” Benjamin spoke in a very deep voice unique to him.
Stella turned to Benjamin and smiled. “You were rushing from the airport. A little girl holding milk tea bumped into you and her mother was very angry. They thought you were a pervert and planned to call the police. So you got mad and took both of them to the police station.”
Benjamin pursed his lips and did not answer. He stared at Stella with a dark glint in his eyes.
Benjamin’s assistant was very surprised. “How did you know that?”
“I saw the tag on Mr. Levis’ luggage. It says the flight landed at eleven o’clock and it’s only twelve thirty now. You usually need an hour to reach here from the airport. You must have been in a hurry. Then there’s the milk stains on your clothes that you haven’t cleaned up. Judging from the height, it should be a little girl.
When I arrived, a middle-aged woman was leaving with a little girl. She was cursing the pervert who made her miss her flight.
As I got on the bus, I could see remnants of rage in Mr Levis’ eyes,” Stella explained.
“Are you trying to show off ?” Benjamin asked bluntly.
Stella was not angry at all. “When you called me, there was doubt in your eyes. You wanted to know my capabilities. I just proved myself to you, didn’t I?”
Benjamin remained silent.
Stella’s phone rang.
It was a text from Jasper.
It was brief and concise, “G XXX, go to bus No. 12. I’m there.”
…