Chapter 4

Richard pushed his glasses up and looked at me with a faint smile, as if he knew everything.

"Henry, come to my office for a moment."

After saying that, he walked past me without even looking back. I was left standing there, completely frozen.

Derek patted my shoulder and sighed.

"Henry, just tell the truth. We still have a chance to catch him. Don't blame yourself too much. But when you get home, you really need to talk to your mom. I don't know how she got my number. And I hope she won't call you during an operation unless it's something truly urgent."

I nodded repeatedly.

Lilianna probably went through my phone and saved Derek's number.

I thanked Derek and walked toward Richard's office with a heavy heart. I felt terrible.

If it weren't for Lilianna's phone call, we definitely would have caught that man.

I was worried that after escaping, he might commit another crime alone. The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became. I grabbed the edge of my jacket so tightly that my knuckles turned white. Before I realized it, I was already standing outside Richard's office.

I had just knocked on the door when my phone rang again inside my pocket.

I was so startled that I stumbled backward. I hesitated, wondering if I should answer.

I really didn't want to pick up. But I knew if I didn't answer, she would keep calling.

I walked about 15 feet away from the office before answering.

"Henry, Florence's dog went missing in the middle of the night. Can you ask your coworkers if they can check the security cameras and help us find him?"

"Mom, we can't just pull security footage whenever we want. Even if we could, you can't expect someone to stay up all night searching cameras just because a dog went missing, right?"

I was so helpless that I hit my chest twice in frustration.

"How can you be so heartless? Florence is really worried! The puppy is only one month old. How is it supposed to survive out there?"

"How far can a one-month-old puppy even go? If we police officers spent every day searching for lost dogs and cats, what would happen when a real emergency happened? I'm working right now. If you need something, send me a text message, okay? Don't call me again. Did you hear me? Do you understand?"

"It's already midnight. Why are you still working? You're my son. Am I not allowed to call you? Is your police department really that strict?"

......

Lilianna started talking nonstop again, and I couldn't take it anymore.

I had no choice but to hang up. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and gathered my courage before knocking on Richard's office door again.

Richard stopped what he was doing and looked at me seriously.

"Henry, you need to handle your personal matters properly. If something like this happens again, I'll have no choice but to transfer you out of the homicide unit."

"Understood, Chief Lawson." I lowered my head and answered quietly.

"Alright, you can go. Continue surveillance over the next few days. I hope you don't make the same mistake again."

After two more days of surveillance, we finally found signs of the suspect near his home again.

This time, the arrest location was set in an alley beside an old apartment building. We still divided into three teams.

To be safe, Richard even called in several officers who were close to retirement. He was afraid that Lilianna's calls would distract me at the most important moment again.

After waiting for four hours, we finally received the order to move.

The three teams quietly moved closer to the suspect's location. But suddenly, I saw a familiar figure.

Oh no.

It was Lilianna.

I never expected her to show up. She was running toward me while carrying a bag of groceries. She took a deep breath and shouted at me.

"Henry, the murderer is right there! Go catch him!"