Chapter 130: I Suspect You’re Throwing Shade at Me
Chapter 130: Chapter 130: I Suspect You’re Throwing Shade at Me
"What?" On the other end of the line, Beatrice Donovan and everyone listening in the living room exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Arabella Donovan’s expression was graver than ever before. She knew the details so clearly because the book had contained a very detailed report on the case.
This report had revealed every detail of the case: the number of casualties, how the suspect snuck into the mall, how he avoided detection to plant the bombs, the exact locations of those bombs, how many weapons he was carrying, and the true reason for his actions.
"The person who planted these bombs in the mall is a man under forty named Vaughn. Three months ago, he was cheated by a friend, causing his company to lose a huge amount of money. His cash flow was severed, and he had to declare bankruptcy. Shortly after that, his only daughter was taken hostage in a mall by a desperate robber. Something went wrong during the police rescue attempt, and his daughter was tragically killed on the spot..."
By now, Beatrice Donovan’s call had already been patched into the team’s main comms channel, allowing everyone to adjust their strategy based on the information Arabella was providing.
Hearing this, a young police officer suddenly exclaimed, "I think I know who it is!"
Instantly, the entire channel erupted.
"Spit it out! Now’s not the time to be mysterious. The chief will have your hide!"
"The high-profile jewelry store robbery a little while back. The robber had a gun, so everyone from the Southward District was called in for backup. The negotiations were actually going smoothly, and the robber was starting to soften. But then some woman suddenly screamed, startling him. The gun went off, and the little girl he was holding hostage was killed instantly. The guys from the Southward District were all pretty shaken up. More than half of them requested counseling afterward."
After the young officer finished speaking, he seemed to recall something else. "It’s a coincidence, now that I think about it," he added. "That robbery happened at Jennings Plaza, too."
The rest of the team: "..."
The young officer looked up, only to find all his colleagues staring at him with looks that said, ’No kidding, Sherlock.’ He jumped. "Wha... what is it?"
"Sometimes ignorance is bliss. The ignorant know no fear."
The young officer: "..." ’I feel like you’re insulting me, but I have no proof!’
When Beatrice Donovan saw the compiled case details and the profile of the suspected bomber, her first thought was of Arabella’s earlier warning.
She had said she suspected the bomber might have a grudge against the police and was deliberately creating a huge incident to lure them in and take them all down with him.
If Vaughn really was the suspect, then it all fit perfectly.
Beatrice relayed the information from her colleagues to Arabella, but after hearing it, Arabella still wasn’t completely sure it was the same man.
In the vision she’d accidentally seen, Arabella hadn’t gotten a look at the man’s face, and the book had only ever referred to him with a placeholder name, like "Mr. Vaughn."
"I’m not sure if it’s him," she said. "I just know he has a scar on his left wrist."
Beatrice wasn’t too disappointed about not getting a definitive confirmation. After all, Arabella had already given them more than enough information. If they couldn’t even handle this last part, they might as well just turn in their badges.
"Okay, I’ve got it. Thanks for your help. I’ll call you back when this is all over."
"Okay. Cousin, remember to wear your bulletproof vest. Everyone going should wear one, just in case."
Beatrice instantly recalled Arabella’s internal monologue from that night, where she’d told herself to basically have a bulletproof vest welded to her body.
She let out a chuckle, and some of the tension in her nerves eased.
"Okay, I’ll pass the message on to them. Don’t worry. We’ll all be fine."
"...Okay."
’Easier said than done. How could anyone truly relax until the dust settled on something this huge?’
Chester Donovan, one of the main officials in charge, rushed to the side to make a call as soon as he had all the information.
The clock in the living room went TICK-TOCK, each passing second sounding like a death warrant from the King of Hell.
The Donovan family had never known an hour to feel so long. But in an atmosphere this tense, no one was in the mood to make small talk to pass the time.
Even Dennis Donovan temporarily set aside his obsession with his lost love, focusing entirely on waiting for news from Beatrice.
Just as the shortest hand on the living room clock pointed to three, Chester Donovan finally walked back inside, his face etched with weariness.
"How did it go?" Dennis Donovan shot to his feet, his voice grave.
"It’s fine, it’s fine. Everyone’s safe." A smile finally touched Chester Donovan’s lips. "Beatrice handled it perfectly. They weren’t sure if the suspect had a remote detonator, so they had experts disguise themselves as shoppers to sneak in and dismantle the other bombs. Then, they quickly pinpointed his location in the mall and pinned him down before he could take any hostages."
"And the bomb he was wearing?"
The smile vanished from Chester Donovan’s face at Arabella’s question. He spoke through gritted teeth, "The man is a complete lunatic. The one strapped to him is the most powerful of them all, and the most difficult to disarm. The bomb squad managed to temporarily disable it, but it’s going to take some time to remove it completely."
Chester Donovan was filled with a mix of fury and resentment. He couldn’t fathom how someone could be so bent on self-destruction, willing to throw away their life just to take so many innocent people with them.
’He probably never intended to get out of this alive, so he went big. After all, with his entire family gone, he likely lost the will to live. It’s like they say, don’t push a good man too far. When they snap, they can really try to take the whole world down with them. Still, that’s no excuse for dragging innocent people into it. I guess every villain has a sob story. But being pitiful and facing judgment for his actions aren’t mutually exclusive.’
The rest of the Donovan family: Uh...
Dennis Donovan frowned. "Only temporarily disabled? Then where are they now?"
"They’ve moved the suspect to a secure location, and they’ve evacuated Jennings Plaza. It’s just..."
"Just what?"
"Somehow, the media got wind of it. They were already staked out outside Jennings Plaza, taking pictures of Beatrice and her team evacuating people. A few papers have already published articles accusing them of incompetence, twisting the facts, stirring up public sentiment, and creating panic. To stop the situation from getting any worse, I probably need to head back."
"Then go," Dennis said. "The situation is resolved. Your purpose in coming here has been fulfilled. There’s no need for you to stay any longer."
Chester Donovan’s gaze flickered between Dennis Donovan and Arabella, but in the end, he reluctantly left.
Arabella watched his retreating figure, a look of confusion in her eyes.
’Is it just me? Why did it seem like my uncle was so reluctant to leave?’