Chapter 500: The Donovan Siblings

Chapter 500: Chapter 500: The Donovan Siblings

A well-dressed middle-aged woman and a man in a sharp suit pushed through the crowd and rushed in.

Their eyes locked onto the body covered by a white sheet. They stumbled before running over and kneeling beside it.

As if oblivious to the stench of decay, the two wailed with heart-wrenching sobs. The man even began pounding the ground repeatedly, as if venting his emotions.

"Which body is Old Man Donovan’s? What a shame! He was perfectly healthy, didn’t lack for money, and his children were so filial.

How did he get targeted by those three murderers? A perfectly good family, ruined just like that." An older woman shook her head in regret, watching the weeping siblings on the ground.

"Exactly. But at least his affection for those two wasn’t wasted. Even the police can’t stand the smell, but it’s like they don’t notice it at all," another person chimed in.

At least they weren’t ungrateful.

The neighborhood residents commented on the siblings’ behavior one after another, their words filled with praise.

As if on cue, the siblings let out a sudden "WAAAH!" and began crying even louder.

Zoe Sawyer stood in the open doorway behind the Donovan siblings, giving her a crystal-clear view of them using their clothes as cover to viciously pinch their own thighs and other hidden spots.

’The grief is real, but I wonder how much of it is genuine.’

"Look at their hands. They’re pinching themselves," Zoe Sawyer said in a low voice, pointing out the siblings’ furtive movements.

Heath Hale noticed it too. His expression darkened. He took a step back and called out to Officer Lee on the other side, "Liam, check the financial situation of Old Man Donovan’s two children. See if they have any debts or large expenditures on their bank statements."

"Roger that, Coach Hale. Anything else?" Officer Lee asked while typing on his computer.

"After you’ve looked into their statements, check the surveillance footage around Old Man Donovan’s residence," Heath Hale added after a moment of thought, continuing to delegate tasks.

Time was short and the task was heavy. They needed to get this information first; the rest could wait.

Because the body’s stench was overwhelming and an autopsy was required, Evan Keller had the old man’s body taken back to the station after a thorough inspection of the scene and its surroundings confirmed nothing had been missed.

The time and specific cause of death had to be determined, both of which required a report from the medical examiner. Zoe Sawyer’s abilities alone weren’t enough.

Just as Evan Keller was about to leave with the remaining team members to inspect the crime scene, a man who looked to be in his thirties pushed his way in, a nervous expression on his face.

Upon seeing Evan Keller, he hurried over and asked, "Officer, I’m Wren’s landlord. Is Wren okay?"

He scanned the surrounding crowd as he spoke.

After looking over everyone at the scene and not finding Wren Rowan, the man grew even more anxious. He clenched his fists and looked at Evan Keller expectantly. "Officer, where’s Wren? How is she?"

"Miss Rowan was severely frightened, so our colleagues rushed her out of here to be looked after.

She hasn’t suffered any physical injuries, but we can’t say the same for her mental state," Evan Keller said, deciding to share Wren Rowan’s condition with her landlord after a moment’s thought.

From the looks of it, what happened to Wren Rowan was a completely random misfortune.

"As long as she’s okay, as long as she’s okay." Upon hearing that Wren Rowan was safe, the man slumped to the ground, his strength giving out.

’Great. Now Wren will definitely refuse to keep renting my place.’

’After this, I’ll either have to leave the apartment vacant or convert it for the same purpose as the others.’

"You came at just the right time. Since the crime scene is right next door, as the property owner, you’ll need to come to the station to give a statement," Evan Keller said, gesturing for a nearby officer to help the man up and bring him back to the station as well.

Soon after, Evan Keller and his team, led by Old Man Donovan’s children, quickly arrived at the deceased’s residence.

The old man’s apartment appeared neat and tidy. In the storage room near the entrance, cardboard boxes were stacked in neat bundles.

The living room, the kitchen, and even the bathroom were very clean. At a glance, nothing seemed out of place.

"That’s strange. Dad cleaned, sure, but he always did a half-hearted job—just swept up the trash and dusted a bit. As long as it looked passable on the surface, he was happy.

There’s no way it would ever be this clean, with even the top of the cabinets wiped down," said the old man’s daughter, Mrs. Donovan, spotting the discrepancy immediately.

Her father was very lazy. Aside from wiping down the parts he used often, he would just flick the surface dust off the rest with a duster every once in a while.

And the older he got, the lazier he became, and the less he cared about cleaning.

So, for the cabinets and all the decorative items on them to be wiped clean like this was, in their eyes, the equivalent of sticking a note on your forehead that says, "Something is wrong with me!"

"Get the kits ready. Check for any blood reactions," Evan Keller quickly ordered a nearby officer.

’If the family is saying this, then it’s highly likely the killer cleaned the entire apartment after committing the crime.’

However, Evan Keller recalled that Old Man Donovan’s body had no other wounds besides the severe ligature mark on his neck.

There were no wounds that would cause major bleeding. If this really was the primary crime scene, then why did these people clean the entire apartment?

’Or is there some truth hidden here that we haven’t discovered yet?’

Just as Evan Keller was pondering the possibilities, the test results came back.

Large amounts of blood were detected all over the living room floor and walls. The volume of blood would have been enough to kill an adult from exsanguination.

"Old Man Donovan’s body has no wounds that would cause that much bleeding, so where did all this blood come from?

Could there be a second victim?" Evan Keller fell into deep thought, a bad feeling creeping into his heart. Seeing the Donovan siblings standing obediently to the side, he asked, "Besides going out for walks, did the old man have any other hobbies?"

Mr. Donovan frowned in thought, then shook his head. "Sorry, I’m not really sure. I’m usually busy with work. Sometimes a whole week goes by and I don’t even have time to call my dad."

’He only called to act like a filial son when he was short on cash or wanted something from the old man. As for what hobbies the old man actually had, he really couldn’t say off the top of his head.’

Hearing this, Mrs. Donovan, who was standing beside him, rolled her eyes in disdain. If not for the present circumstances and the police officers nearby, her next words would have likely been dripping with sarcasm.

"I know. My dad’s hobbies were actually quite varied."