Drew hummed. He didn’t care about the PR. He was only worried about how Linford would deal with the police.
As far as Drew knew, this case was shadier than what the police had let out.
However, before Linford could finish the interview, a middle-aged man suddenly dashed out of the crowd and threw his fist at Linford’s face.
Linford was unguarded, falling back before the camera.
“Fuck!” Drew screamed as he tried to go forward for his best friend. But the crowd went completely chaotic.
He pushed around in the panicked crowd, but he couldn’t approach Linford.
The attacker’s roar was clear to hear amid the scream of the journalists and onlookers.
“FUCK YOU! Linford Bradley! What did you promise us?! Huh? What the fuck did you promise us when you sold the house? Fuck you! You only care about the money!”
“Hey! You stop!” Drew yelled as he dashed forward and fought that man.
****
“MOM! MOM!” Candace screamed before the TV, tears streaming down her cheeks, “Mom! Someone’s beating Dad!”
Cristelle dashed forward and immediately turned the television off before pulling Candace in.
Franco and Mr. Weston both saw that interview on TV as they came out.
“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s okay,” Cristelle kissed Candace’s forehead as she rocked her small body gently, “TV is not real, remember? Cody told you how it worked before, right? It’s not real.”
Franco’s eyes were gonna bulge out. Mr. Weston grabbed one of his trembling hands and shook his head slowly. The babies were still here. They couldn’t make a scene.
“Call Enzo,” Pop said breathily as he turned to Jack, “Call Enzo immediately.”
Jack hesitated, “But Enzo’s probably still in the military base.”
“CALL HIM!” Franco’s voice thundered.
Jack didn’t dare to mess with the old man. He fetched the phone immediately.
“How did you do your work?” Franco hissed to the phone, “Five people died! FIVE!”
Enzo was stunned and barely came up with a good explanation. He had tried his best. He didn’t expect the murderer to manage to kill innocent and weak people.
“Why are you suddenly becoming mute, Enzo!? I’m telling you. If you can’t solve this immediately, I’ll make you regret being born! Franco threw his phone away, panting.
Cody went forward and pulled at Pop’s sleeve, “Pop, don’t yell at Uncle Enzo. It’s not his fault. It’s the murderer’s fault.”
Franco tried very hard to stop his body from trembling before crouching down, “I know. Enzo is in the camp. He wouldn’t have been able to stop this. But seeing so many people dead broke my heart. What a filthy bastard! Killing those innocent people without the power to fight back. If I were young, I would have put a bullet in his head myself.”
Cody had never seen his Pop act like this before.
Mr. Weston frowned, “Alright, Franco. That’s enough. We can’t mess up with ourselves right now. Whoever is the culprit behind it, he will be so glad to see you lose your composure. Just leave it to your grandson. He will take care of everything properly.”
****
The attacker’s name was Felix, 38 years old, working at a nearby factory. He used to live in a small town. It took him years to finally get his money and buy a house in the big city.
However, after enjoying a couple of happiest days in his new house, his mother and his newborn son were murdered overnight.
Anyone would go mad in his shoes. Linford didn’t fight back when Felix hit him. It broke his heart even more after hearing about his situation and deciding to compensate them financially.
Linford wouldn’t hesitate to crush any of his enemies in the business field. But to this poor man, he only held deep sympathy. Linford had trained in the military for years. If he wanted to fight back, that man would have lost all his teeth by now. But he didn’t want to do so. Getting punched in the face was nothing compared to the cruel training Enzo used to give him.
All the netizens could tell he was a big-hearted man by how he treated the victims’ families. The condemning voice on the internet thus went weaker as Linford had never tried to escape his responsibility.
Linford went back to the company after checking out the neighborhood. And then, he conjured up a couple of emergency meetings to discuss compensation issues.
He didn’t hesitate to give out the money to those who went through the tragedies, knowing losing a little cash wouldn’t cause his company to fall but losing his credits and brand would.
****
Charles also came to his company after the meetings.
“Got any clues?” Linford wiped his hands with a wet tissue.
The look on Charles’s face was complicated. Linford instantly sensed something was wrong. His hands faltered as he asked, “What?”
Charles seemed hesitant as he opened his mouth, “We’ve actually shot the murderer on the scene. But my higher official refused to let the public know.”
Linford’s eyebrow jumped, “Why is that?”
“Come on, Linford,” Charles looked desperate, “You know your security force is not the one to get blamed. The problem is the police force nearby. Boss is new to this district, and the first thing he did was police force distribution. This case will make him look like a clown. They held a couple of meetings and decided to delay the process of the case. They would need at least three weeks to investigate this case to distract the public’s attention.”
“Three weeks?” Linford’s voice was cold and sharp, “Your boss wants to hide the investigation process just to make himself look less stupid? And my company will take all the bullets for the police when it’s actually your fault?”
Charles looked at Linford. He looked like he was begging Linford, “Man, I know this is shitty, but we’re friends, aren’t we? Your company’s already taking the blame. Three weeks would be nothing. Besides, you know I wouldn’t have come here to ask you if I had a second choice. I really need this job.”
Charles might be an officer, but his influence could be neglected compared to his boss’s.
This man had helped him with so many things. Linford knew he couldn’t say no to this.