Chapter 276 Benjamin Is Dead
At six in the evening, Freya sat in front of her computer in her bedroom, chatting with Inken in the Green Flamation forum’s elder group.
She swiftly typed on the keyboard, connecting all the surveillance cameras around Kaufmann Residence and the research laboratory to her computer.
Then, she wrote a small piece of code that could automatically recognize familiar faces, and Freya copied the facial data of people like Brisa into it.
In the future, the cameras would be able to intelligently identify individuals, so if anyone with ill intentions entered Kaufmann Residence, an alarm would sound immediately.
In the chat group, Heartless Scoundrel posted several screenshots of mission assignments and asked, ‘Ink,. why do I feel like the mission prices have gone down lately?‘
Ink replied, ‘It’s almost the holidays, so more members are taking on tasks.’
Heartless Scoundrel questioned, sounding surprised. ‘Does our line of work have peak and off–peak seasons now?‘
Over this extended period of time, she had read and familiarized herself with the content of The Compendium of Medical Wisdom she had copied. Yet, she hadn’t found any clues..
Can it be that their objective isn’t the content of the book but the book itself?
She walked to the window and pulled the curtains shut before moving to the bedside table and picking up the box there. Slowly, she felt around the bottom of the box until she found a small, slightly raised piece.. She dug it out, and the bottom of the box opened up.
Freya took out the book and carefully opened the secret compartment.
Half an hour later, Freya held The Compendium of Medical Wisdom in her hands.
Since the content wasn’t the issue, it must be the book itself.
She pinched the pages; they were very thin and lacked any hidden compartments.
Freya frowned in response. There were no patterns or markings on the paper either. What exactly are these people after? What are they searching for within this book?
While Freya was flipping through The Compendium of Medical Wisdom, a rap came at her door.
“Who is it?”
Sylvia’s voice echoed from outside the door, urgent and anxious as she pounded on it. “Frey, open the door quickly. Mel is in trouble.”
At that, Freya tucked The Compendium of Medical Wisdom under the blanket and quickly answered the door.
“Mom, calm down and tell me slowly!” Freya said.
Sylvia looked panicked. “The police called me just now and said Melissa and that Monaghan girl have been arrested. They are suspected of…”
“Suspected of what? Please tell me quickly!” Freya urged.
Sylvia gritted her teeth. “They are suspected of homicide!”
Freya’s mind went blank. “Impossible!”
Although Melissa was carefree, she was honest and kind–hearted. If she had a grudge, she would settle it on the spot, at most getting into a fight.
“But, Frey, as you know, in cases where there’s not at least ninety percent certainty, they wouldn’t arrest someone as a suspect,” Sylvia said desperately. “This situation is very complicated. We need to go to the police station and bail Mel out.”
Freya nodded. “Okay! Let’s see Mel first!”
She turned around, put on a coat, and directly stuffed “The Compendium of Medical Wisdom” into the inner pocket of her coat. Without any security measures, she didn’t want to leave it at home.
Sylvia and Freya urgently left the Kaufmann Residence and headed to the police station where Melissa and Hannah were being held.
After entering, the police first called Freya in for questioning, mostly asking about Melissa’s childhood experiences and mental state.
Freya was anxious. “Officer, my cousin has always been timid since she was little. She wouldn’t even dare to kill a cockroach. How could she possibly commit murder?”
“That’s not necessarily true. We have encountered many cases where the suspects claimed they didn’t even have the courage to kill a chicken, yet they ended up committing dismemberment,” the officer said, glancing at Freya’s pale face. “However, please rest assured that if your sister is not involved in this case, we will clear her name and release her.”
After a series of investigations, Freya and Sylvia finally got to see Melissa.
“Mel, what exactly happened?” Freya asked through the barrier, urgently needing to know the details of the situation that led to such a serious accusation against Melissa.
Melissa sobbed and ran to the railing, wanting to hug Freya, but was separated by the barrier.
“Frey, Benjamin was murdered!”
Benjamin Anderson?! Freya widened her eyes. Isn’t he Melissa’s boyfriend? But why would the police suspect Melissa of his death?
“Benjamin drowned in Swan Lake on the south campus of our school,” Melissa wiped her tears. “The police reviewed the surveillance footage from those days and said that there were no traces of anyone passing by on the roads. Only I had been there.”
“That can hardly be called evidence. It’s just suspicion,” Freya said coldly.
Melissa seemed unable to get over her grief. “Frey, how could I have killed Benjamin?! I loved him so much! Yes, we argued the night before, but the next day, he asked me to meet him at Swan Lake.
“Our routine after a fight was like this: if he wanted to apologize, he would be waiting for me at Swan Lake. If I accepted his apology, I would go to meet him there.
“That night, Benjamin called me and said he was at Swan Lake, asking me to come and talk to him.
“I thought he wanted to apologize for our argument the day before, so I went there. But when I arrived, I couldn’t find him after searching for a long time. I thought he was playing a prank on me, but he didn’t answer my calls or reply to my messages, so I had to go back on my own.”
Freya furrowed her brows as she listened. “Is that all?”
If it really was just that, why did the police detain Melissa? Usually, a suspect will only be detained if there is solid evidence, because once detained, there would be little chance of serious error.
“Yes, that’s really all. Frey, don’t you believe me either?” Melissa looked at Freya with a touch of grievance, tears streaming down her face.
“Frey, Benjamin and I had always had a good relationship, even though we often quarreled. We had already planned to get married and even have children in the future…” Melissa’s face turned even paler as she thought of Benjamin, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Freya thought for a moment. “Why did Hannah become an accomplice?”
“What? Hannah became an accomplice?!” Melissa’s face froze.
“When I came in, they asked if I had an accomplice, and I told them that I didn’t kill anyone, and I’m not even the main culprit, so how could there be an accomplice?”
Freya nodded, and Sylvia watched Melissa by the side, her heart aching.
Freya instructed, “Mom, you stay here and talk to Melissa. I’ll go find the police to ask about the situation!”
With that, she walked out of the door.
Someone’s clearly framing Melissa! I have to find him out quickly. He must have a powerful backing. If we delay further, the case could become ironclad, and we might not have a chance to save Melissa anymore!
After Freya left Melissa’s side, she went directly to the investigating police.
She recounted Melissa’s words to the police officer who was handling Melissa’s case. He was a man in his thirties, stern–faced, and was listening intently to Freya’s words.
“Miss, please don’t get agitated. Your cousin indeed didn’t explain things clearly to you.”
Today, I went to the beachfront with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!