Chapter 292: Fraud

Ning Zhe could think of it, and Mei Lin naturally thought of it too.

Of the 24 officers deployed in this operation, only 16 were sent by dedicated vehicle to prison for isolation and observation.

Of the 8 who did not leave, Surnak and two others went missing, John died, Chief Ebニック and Officer Suxi joined the investigation team to search for the missing Surnak and others; Officer Banuto—that is, Ning Zhe—slipped away secretly and returned to Vanessa Castle.

The last remaining person was Camack.

After leaving Vanessa Castle, Officer Camack did not board the vehicle with the main group to be taken to prison; instead, he was taken by another group bearing county police credentials to a rugged SUV reinforced with thick bulletproof steel plates, parked outside Vanessa Castle’s walls, where they questioned him.

“Relax, sir, we only want to ask you a few questions.”

The man across from him poured a glass of whiskey, added ice water to dilute it, and pushed it toward Camack: “You need to relax. This will be a pleasant conversation, not a serious interrogation—you’re not a criminal, after all.”

Officer Camack accepted the glass with some stiffness, took a small sip; the cold, burning liquid slid down his throat into his esophagus. Even diluted, the whiskey remained sharp, carrying a faint sweet apple-like aroma that miraculously calmed the tension he’d felt after witnessing his colleague being shot.

“Feeling better?” the man asked gently.

“Mm.” Camack nodded.

The man pulled out a voice recorder, pressed the power button, and placed it on the table, then picked up pen and notepad and asked: “First, I’d like to know: after you parted from Chief Ebニック and Officer Banuto by the stable’s pool, where did you and Officer John go, and what did you do?”

Camack picked up the whiskey and took another sip, then said:

“Following the chief’s orders, John and I went one after the other into the drainage pipe behind the pool…”

“That pipe was part of the castle’s rainwater collection system, its walls coated with thick scale. The chief ordered us to crawl inside because he saw messy black footprints and coal residue on the pool’s floor—but when we crawled in with flashlights, we found no ash or coal at all. It was completely clean.”

The coal residue leaving footprints seemed to exist only on the pool’s floor, not inside the pipe.

“The drainage pipe was wide enough that even adults could move through without difficulty. We quickly climbed up along the walls to the second-floor level. The pipe turned a right angle inward and branched off into the wall.”

“Before the operation, we’d studied Vanessa Castle’s blueprints and knew this was the rainwater collection system. Following the pipe forward, we soon reached the inlet beneath the second-floor eaves—but the outlet was sealed by a stone manhole cover. We couldn’t exit there, so we retraced our steps to the bend and took the other branch.”

“The other branch led into the castle’s interior. There were many inlets for the drainage system, but only two outlets: one beside the stable’s pool, and one in the boiler room below.”

“Considering the footprints on the pool’s floor were stained with coal residue, John and I agreed the intruder must have crawled into the drainage pipe through the boiler room’s outlet and emerged from the pool’s outlet to evade detection. We crawled forward through the pipe with flashlights. John spoke little, and I had no desire to chat. After a few minutes, we encountered another fork: one branch sloped downward, the other upward—we didn’t know which way to go.”

“Although we’d studied the building’s blueprints, we couldn’t memorize every pipe junction. John and I decided to split up—each take one branch. Whether we found anything or not, we’d return to this fork in half an hour and regroup. I took the downward branch; he took the upward one.”

“Just before we parted, he asked me: ‘Are we really going to find anything, wandering around like this?’ I said, ‘We’ll find something, surely—otherwise, how did those footprints get there? Maybe if you climb up, you’ll find the intruder hiding in some corner. Just make sure you keep your gun ready.’”

“I hadn’t finished speaking when John suddenly tapped me. I followed his finger—and far down the upward branch, a flicker of firelight had suddenly appeared in the darkness, blinked twice, then vanished. We were certain it wasn’t an illusion—we both saw it.”

“I wanted to report this via radio to the chief, but John stopped me. He said: ‘It’s just a light. Probably an old lighting fixture flickering above the inlet. The chief’s temper’s bad—if we tell him unconfirmed leads and he gets excited for nothing, we’ll get scolded.’”

“As John spoke, another flicker of firelight appeared in the upward branch. I said, ‘I won’t go down anymore—we’ll go up together.’ But John still shook his head, insisting we stick to the original plan.”

“I knew—he wanted to find the lead himself. He was a seasoned officer, with seven years in the force, just one reason away from promotion. He thought this was his chance to advance. I couldn’t stop him, so I didn’t try. I warned him to be careful, then crawled into the downward branch. John went alone into the upward one.”

Camack lifted the glass and drained the remaining whiskey, then continued: “I crawled further down. Suddenly, my radio crackled—it was Chief Ebニック urging us to exit the pipe immediately. I didn’t think twice; I turned back right away.”

“At the first fork, I met John. I asked if he’d found anything upstairs. He said no—he’d guessed right; the end of the pipe held only an old, flickering light. I laughed and said: ‘Your promotion’s not happening—but at least we didn’t tell the chief.’”

“We crawled out of the pipe, both covered in grime, and hurried together to the castle’s first-floor reception hall.”

No mistake. One shot. One death. One detail. One truth.

“Just as we entered, John was shot dead by that woman.”

At this, Camack’s expression visibly sank. The man questioning him poured another whiskey—this time undiluted. “Drink up, lad. Life’s like this—you never know which comes first: surprise or shock.”

The man pushed the glass forward. “It’ll pass.”

Camack nodded and drained the glass. “It’ll pass.”

After the interrogation, Camack’s statement and the recording were sent to Mei Lin’s phone.

(End of Chapter)