Chapter 467: Sawyer, Can You Do Me Another Favor?

Chapter 467: Chapter 467: Sawyer, Can You Do Me Another Favor?

Suspect #2 pulled a crossbody bag out from behind the altar. Inside was a change of clothes and a wig.

She changed into clothes in a style she’d never worn before, put on the wig, and after making sure everything looked right, she retrieved a chain-strap purse from a pile of junk in the corner of another room.

Suspect #2 opened it for a quick check. After confirming its contents were all there, she quickly slipped out of the room, put on a face mask, and prepared to leave the residential complex through the back gate.

It was peak time for residents to order takeout and return from work, so there were many people coming and going. As long as she moved quickly, she wouldn’t be noticed.

Suspect #2 had her plan all figured out, but Zoe Sawyer was watching her every move.

And as soon as she stepped out, Zoe reported it to Evan Keller, telling him to inform his colleagues on stakeout to watch the crowds and apprehend the target.

Meanwhile, Suspect #2 held her breath as she reached the back gate. Her hurried steps slowed considerably. She took out a burner phone and pretended to be on a call, planning to blend in and slip by.

Just as she was about to walk out the back gate, a glint of excitement appeared in Suspect #2’s eyes.

The moment she stepped outside and was about to hail a cab to leave, two police officers suddenly rushed out from either side and pinned her to the ground.

"What are you doing?! I don’t even know you! Why are you arresting me?!" Suspect #2 struggled wildly, shouting at the top of her lungs to attract the attention of passersby.

’But a strange panic was rising in her heart. Why were the police here?’

’Besides, I’ve completely changed my appearance. I’m wearing a wig and a mask. They shouldn’t have been able to recognize me so easily!’

A few residents, unaware of the situation, saw the scene and instinctively walked over, wondering if they could help.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you’re doing?!"

"Let her go right now, or I’m calling the police!"

Two concerned citizens rolled up their sleeves and started to walk over.

The next second, one of the officers holding down Suspect #2 pulled out his badge and said, "Police business. Please do not interfere. This is a human trafficker who has been in hiding for many years."

With that, he pulled off Suspect #2’s mask, glasses, and wig.

The surrounding residents indeed hadn’t recognized her in her disguise.

But once the mask, glasses, and wig were off, someone from the same building recognized her.

"Isn’t that the woman from the first floor who never goes out? Last time I walked past her door, I was carrying something and accidentally dropped a tissue in front of her place. She saw it and pointed at me, cursing me out," said a white-collar worker carrying groceries.

Dropping something by accident is normal, and she had picked it up immediately.

But it was as if that woman was always standing right behind her door. The moment the tissue was picked up, she threw the door open and yelled at her.

That day happened to be the day the worker was laid off, so she remembered it very clearly.

And where there’s one, there are others.

There were people who got yelled at for walking their dog past her door, and others who got yelled at for stopping in front of her home for more than a minute.

If it weren’t for the woman’s son and daughter-in-law coming over later with gifts to apologize, explaining that their mother had an extreme case of mysophobia—so severe it required medical intervention—and hoping they wouldn’t hold it against her.

The people who had been yelled at figured it was better to avoid trouble, so they let the matter drop.

But over time, Suspect #2 became rather infamous in the building. It was only because she rarely went out that a sort of balance was maintained with her neighbors.

Now that she had been arrested by the police, some of those she had cursed at finally felt free to speak out without reservation.

"Suspect #2 is extremely paranoid. She thinks anyone lingering by her door or dropping things might be an undercover police officer trying to scope her out."

"So she used mysophobia as an excuse to cover for her behavior." Evan Keller quickly figured out the meaning behind Suspect #2’s actions.

Realizing she couldn’t break free, Suspect #2 gave up struggling. Her voice was tinged with hoarseness. "How did you recognize me? I’ve never worn this outfit out before."

"How do you think we knew?" one of the officers pinning her down sneered, his words intentionally vague.

Suspect #2 was already prone to overthinking, and after hearing this, her thoughts couldn’t help but run wild.

’Did they install surveillance cameras in the next room?’

’No, that’s not right. I installed some myself and didn’t find anything unusual.’

’Wait... I think I wore this outfit before when I took a picture for the other two.’

At this thought, Suspect #2’s head snapped up. She looked at the officer beside her. "Did the two of them tell you?"

The officer just scoffed, not answering her question. Instead, he shoved her into the police car that was already waiting nearby and headed for the station.

Aside from the officers escorting Suspect #2 back to the station, the remaining members of the team opened the doors to both apartments. They searched them from top to bottom, bringing back anything suspicious.

And so, the altar in the adjacent apartment came into the view of the onlookers.

Seeing the altar in the room, and the urn in front of it, the residents gasped in shock. Why was there a memorial room here?

Furthermore, people had frequently seen the door open and someone going inside to clean, which was completely different from what they knew before. So no one had ever connected this apartment with being a memorial room.

The onlookers now lost all interest in Suspect #2’s case. They swarmed the property management office, demanding an explanation.

After Suspect #2 was caught, the teams staking out the other two suspects wasted no more time and arrested them directly.

The other two, who had initially been resisting, gave up the fight as soon as they heard that Suspect #2 had been caught trying to escape on her own. Realizing they had been abandoned, they gave up their resistance and told the police where Suspect #2 had hidden the evidence.

"The two of us never once thought about ratting her out. If we could have escaped, we were determined to keep the location of her hidden evidence a secret. But she actually abandoned us and tried to run off by herself."

"I will never forgive her for this betrayal!" Suspect #1, the one who was targeted first, said through gritted teeth.

’Telling me to wait while she snuck away.’

’The heavens have eyes! The police got her!’

’Otherwise, I think I would’ve died from sheer frustration!’

The place where Suspect #2 had hidden the evidence was under a large tree on an unnamed mountain. She had chosen it when passing by on a delivery once, thinking the spot was rarely visited by anyone and offered good concealment.

"Thirty years ago, the two of them said they had earned enough money and wanted to quit, worried we’d get caught if we kept going." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"I had no objection. On our last delivery, she deliberately took us over there and had us bury the stuff. As long as that tree hasn’t been cut down, it can definitely be dug up," Suspect #1 said.

The location she provided was very far from the police station. A normal trip would take at least three days.

So, the Chief turned his gaze to Zoe Sawyer.

"Sawyer, could you help us out again?"