Briar’s heart skipped a beat. Given Ashton’s sharp instincts, it was only a matter of time before he started questioning lan’s identity.
Still, she answered the phone, “Ashton?”
There was a lot of noise on Ashton’s end, and she could hear him ask, “Briar, is lan with you?”
Briar glanced at lan, who looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. She replied, “Yeah, he’s at my place. Are you looking for him?”
“Yeah, pass him the phone. I need to talk to him,” Ashton said.
“Sure thing.” Briar handed the phone to lan, a faint, teasing smile tugging at her lips as she caught his terrified gaze. She stated, “He says he wants to talk to you.”
lan fell silent as he braced himself before taking the phone. “Ashton, did you need me?” he asked.
“Why couldn’t I reach you on your phone? You need to get over to the lab right now. The cops want to talk to you,” Ashton said.
lan’s face drained of color, and he asked, “Ashton, do I have to go? Can’t we just talk on the phone?”
lan was feeling really nervous. His true identity was something he needed to keep secret. What if the police finished asking him questions and decided to investigate him even further? He’d never caused any trouble in Dasmieca, but the police here made him uneasy. Their instincts for uncovering the truth were quite intense.
Right now, he didn’t want to see Ashton, the most influential guy in town.
lan couldn’t shake the thought that Ashton might have already figured out who he was.
“What do you think?” Ashton asked, his voice dripping with confidence, as if he understood lan’s fears perfectly. “Just relax and come over. I’ve got your back.”
lan hesitated before responding, “Okay, just… give me a moment.”
Ashton’s following words made lan even more anxious. “I’ve already sent Connor to pick you up. He should be there in about ten minutes. Just go wait at the front gate.”
lan felt he had no choice but to agree, “Okay.”
Ashton hung up, looking satisfied.
Briar, who had listened to the whole conversation, patted lan on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. She reassured, “Relax. If Ashton says he won’t make things hard for you, he means it. Maybe the police just want to ask you a few questions. Don’t panic over nothing.”
lan frowned, looking worried. He whined, “Briar, do you understand how intimidating Ashton can be?”
Briar couldn’t help but laugh, “Come on, he’s not that bad. He’s pretty reasonable.”
lan fell silent as he thought, ‘Who in their right mind would dare ignore the ‘reason‘ of one of the wealthiest men in Shoneport?‘
lan shuffled over to the front gate, looking completely defeated as he waited for the car.
A few minutes later, Briar came out to join him, and the two of them stood there together. Sure enough, ten minutes later, C time.
car pulled up right on
“Miss Jennings, you’re coming too?” Connor asked, though he was already out of the car and holding the back door open for her.
As for lan, Connor just gave him a look that made it clear he was supposed to sit in the front.
1/3
Tue, 19 Aug
Chapter 170
Briar slid into the car as she replied, “I heard what lan said, so I figured I’d come along and see what’s going on
Connor nodded in response, “Got it. I’ll let Ashton know.”
‘Some of the scenes at the lab were far too bloody and brutal for Miss Jennings to see, he inwardly reasoned
However, Briar didn’t mind. She had tagged along partly because she wanted to see what kind of live experiment lab lan had gotten hunself mixed up in and partly because… well, she was genuinely worried Ashton might scare fan to death
Moonspring Estate wasn’t far from the lab, and it was just a fifteen–minute drive.
As Briar watched them pass intersection after intersection, she spotted the stretch of police tape marking off the lab. Her brows drew together, and a cold shiver ran down her spine.
The lab was only three blocks from Shoneport University. It was so close, and yet two innocent girls had lost their lives right here.
As soon as they got out of the car, Ashton waved Briar over as he called out, “Briar, come here.”
Briar glanced at lan, and now that she was by his side, he suddenly seemed far braver than before.
No matter how ruthless Ashton was, there was no way he’d lay into lan with Briar standing right there.
As long as he survived today, lan was determined to pretend any old grudges had never existed.
“So, what’s the situation?” Briar walked over to Ashton as asked, though she kept trying to get a better look at the lab, her face full of curiosity.
There was quite a commotion here, with a crowd of onlookers gathered outside the police tape. Ashton calmly stepped in front of Briar, shielding her from the prying eyes. “It’s pretty serious,” he said. “They’ve confirmed the organs came from at least ten different people. The earliest was an unidentified victim from five years ago, and the most recent were the two girls from Shoneport University who were killed this month.”
Briar’s face darkened as she asked, “These people are absolute monsters. What about Sawyer? Did you find any evidence on him?”
Ashton paused, watching her closely as he replied, “No. By the time my team arrived, all the surveillance footage related to Sawyer had already been forcibly replaced. They’re still checking footprints and fingerprints at the scene, hoping to find any evidence connected to him.”
Briar let out a sigh, “They’re fast.”
Ashton nodded in response, “Yeah, these people are highly organized and disciplined, and they’re pros in a lot of ways. If we can’t recover the surveillance footage, I’m afraid lan’s testimony identifying Sawyer won’t be enough.”
In his rush to save the victims, lan ended up disturbing the scene slightly, which gave the lab personnel more time to destroy the evidence.
“Where’s Sawyer?” Briar asked as she glanced at the time. It was Sunday, so the school doctor wouldn’t be on duty. At this hour, checking his alibi
shouldn’t be too hard.
Ashton watched Briar’s furrowed brow. With so many people around, his hand hovered, itching to reach out and smooth her frown, but he held back.
Ashton knew exactly what she was getting at, and he replied, “He’s got a solid alibi.”
Briar clenched her jaw, probing, “Who’s backing up his alibi?”
“Emily, Robert, and Jewell,” Ashton replied, listing the names without hesitation.
Briar looked up in surprise and asked, “Jewell? He hasn’t been kicked out of Shoneport yet?”
Ashton finally gave in and reached out to smooth the frown from her brow. In a patient voice, he explained, “He can’t disappear just yet. We’ve still got other plans for him.”
Briar nodded in understanding, “So even if this place gets busted, this case will probably just end up as another cold case, huh?”
2/3
10:51 Tue 19 Aug
Chapter 170
“Don’t worry. One way or another, I’ll make sure they pay the price,” Ashton promised Briar.
“Ashton, there’s nothing new for now. I’ll take the forensics team back to the station,” a member of the criminal investigation unit said as they waled
over.
Ashton nodded in response, “Alright, get back to your work. If anything comes up, let me know right away.”
“Understood,” they replied.
Just then, lan shuffled over with an uneasy look as he asked, “Briar, are we heading out?”
He didn’t want to spend even a single second more around Ashton.
However, Ashton wasn’t giving lan any chance to slip away this time as he instructed,, “You and Briar, come with me. I’ve got some questions for you?
lan remained sitent as he thought, ‘Crap, is it still possible to make a run for it now?‘
“Alright, let’s head to my place then,” Briar said with a chuckle as she grabbed lan and dragged him along. She leaned in and whispered, “Come on, have some confidence and don’t chicken out now.”
AD
