Chapter 304
Blood dripped steadily from the back of the car, pooling beneath the trunk. Brandon had seen enough in his years on the job to know exactly what that meant.
He slipped on a pair of gloves before popping the trunk open.
The lid rose slowly, and the first thing Brandon saw was a pair of legs, heavy combat boots laced tight. Then the body came into view.
Theo’s eyes went wide, his pupils constricting. He hadn’t seen the man’s face, but just from the build and the clothes, he could tell this was a European.
Even Brandon, who’d handled his share of cases, felt a jolt. Seriously? Someone really drove a dead body right up to the station?
He looked over at Theo. “Mr. Newton, I’m going to have to ask you to come with us and answer some questions.”
A cold shiver ran down Theo’s neck. He gave a stiff nod.
“What’s going on here?” someone called out.
“That guy isn’t-” another officer started, but before he could finish, a colleague walking by stopped, surprised. He pulled out his phone, swiped open his photo album, and stared at the body, then at the photo.
His face drained of color. He handed the phone to Brandon. “Someone reported this guy missing about an hour ago. Gave us this picture. Said he might’ve been taken by enemies.”
Brandon looked at the phone, then back at Theo, his gaze sharp.
“Mr. Newton, let’s head inside.”
“I need to make a call first,” Theo said.
Brandon just nodded, waving him on.
Theo dialed up Howard, giving him a quick rundown of what happened.
Howard was quiet for a moment on the other end. He already knew about what went down with Jackson the night before. That was supposed to be step one–take out Patricia’s right–hand man and make things easier. With Jackson out of the way, Patricia would have fewer cards to play.
But he hadn’t expected things to flip this fast.
“I’ll get our lawyer over there,” Howard said, then hung up and made the call.
Theo had made sure not to drive the car home or open the trunk where anyone could see, all to keep things under wraps.
None of it mattered. Someone still managed to snap a photo.
By the time the story hit the internet, Theo was sitting in the interview room at the station, cool as ever. There wasn’t a hint of nerves on him. It looked like he honestly didn’t have a care in the world.
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Chapter 304
Brandon scanned his notes, then looked up. “According to your statement, people outside the lab saw something leaking from your trunk. Why didn’t you open it right then and check?”
“I was scared,” Theo said. “The Newton family’s made a lot of enemies. We’ve been getting targeted. I didn’t know if someone planted something in my car. What if it wasn’t a body, but a bomb? If I opened the trunk in front of everyone, it could’ve been way worse.”
“So you think someone set you up?”
“It’s not a guess. I know it,” Theo said, his voice flat. “If I really killed someone, why would I stuff the body in my own trunk and drive it here? That’s just stupid.”
Brandon scribbled in his notebook. “How long have you had this car, Mr. Newton?”
“Five years.”
“And today, when did you first drive it?”
“Seven thirty this morning. Left my apartment, drove to work, then to the research center at two. That’s it.”
Hector leaned against Oliver’s desk in the office, coffee in one hand, phone in the other. “Gotta hand it to Theo–driving straight to the station was smart,” he said, scrolling through the news.
He kept scrolling until suddenly, the article was just… gone.
