Chapter 574

After leaving Joanne White’s, Melody Summers thought for a moment. Still curious about the situation in 4-1404, she decided not to go home and headed to the Emergency Response Office instead.

As she crossed the square, she saw that the supply distribution point next to the Emergency Response Office was packed with people. Survivors and residents stood in long lines, waiting to receive their daily disaster relief rations.

Seeing Melody approach, Crystal Lynch raised a large ladle, smiled, and waved her over. "Today’s mushrooms and wood ear fungus are pretty good," she said. "They’re stir-fried. Want to try some?"

Melody shook her head and pointed to the Emergency Response Office. "I’m going to check on something next door first. I’ll come back and give you a hand in a bit."

Crystal Lynch froze for a second. She grabbed Melody’s arm and lowered her voice. "Don’t go! I just saw them carry a dead body inside. The man’s face and head were covered in blood. It was horrifying!"

Hearing Crystal’s words, Melody couldn’t help but ask in astonishment, "The man is dead?"

’Did the wife really kill her husband right in front of the police?’

With that thought, Melody ignored Crystal’s attempts to stop her and rushed over to the Emergency Response Office.

However, despite Crystal’s warning, and even though Melody had tried to prepare herself, she was still taken aback by the scene that greeted her.

The Emergency Response Office was crowded with people. Officer Sean Pierce sat at a desk, pen and paper in hand, apparently taking a statement from the middle-aged woman sitting opposite him.

On a long bench beside them lay another person. Melody couldn’t see her face from her vantage point, but based on her attire, it looked like another middle-aged woman.

What shocked Melody was the body lying on the floor in front of the desk. Judging by the build, it was a middle-aged man. His face was a bloody, mangled mess. One of his eyes had been gouged out, and his neck was covered in bite marks. From the looks of his horrific injuries, he was clearly dead.

Several uniformed police officers were gathered around the man, speaking in hushed tones, apparently discussing the cause of death.

Seeing Melody edge closer, one of the officers frowned and snapped, "What are you doing? Who let you in here? This is no place for you. Don’t interfere with police business. Get out!"

Officer Tristan Tanner, who was standing nearby, looked up. When he saw it was Melody, he waved a hand at the other officer. "It’s fine, let her stay," he said. "She’s Director Summers’ daughter. She’s one of us. She’s helped us out a lot in the past."

After hearing what Officer Tanner said, the other officer nodded and fell silent.

Melody frowned, her eyes fixed on the mutilated man on the floor. She looked at Officer Tanner and asked, "Is that the husband from 4-1404? Is... is he still alive?"

Officer Tanner nodded. "That’s him. He’s gone. We just had a doctor from the medical center take a look. The cause of death was massive blood loss. It looks like his wife bit him to death."

Melody’s eyes widened in shock. "Bitten to death?!" she pressed. "Are you serious?!"

’Is it even possible for a person to bite a grown man to death?’

’That’s just insane!’

Officer Tanner nodded grimly. He pointed to the victim’s neck and said in a low voice, "His wife tore open his carotid artery. She chewed off a whole section of the vessel!"

Recalling the scene, Officer Tanner’s expression turned grim. He frowned and muttered, "You have no idea how messed up it was. His wife was like she was possessed, just clinging to him and chewing on him for dear life. While she was biting him, she was also gouging out his eyes. I couldn’t pull her off!"

This was the second call Officer Tanner had received about 1404 today. He’d assumed it was just the wife having a psychotic break and acting erratically, but he never expected to witness such a bizarre and horrifying scene.

The wife from 1404 had her hair down in a mess, clinging to her husband and tearing at him like a maniac—she looked just like a zombie from a movie. The husband was drenched in blood from her bites, and the blood gushing from his neck had sprayed across the walls.

Officer Tanner tried to subdue the woman, but she was astonishingly strong. He used all his strength but still couldn’t restrain her.

He then resorted to his stun baton, but the shocks had no effect on her. In the end, with no other choice, he had to bludgeon her on the back of the neck several times with the baton, finally knocking her unconscious.

By then, however, it was too late. The husband’s throat had been torn out, and he was beyond saving.

Listening to Officer Tanner’s account and looking at the mangled body on the floor, Melody couldn’t help but shiver. A chill crept up from the soles of her feet. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how gruesome the scene must have been.

Melody surreptitiously pointed at the woman sitting across from Officer Pierce. "...Is that the wife from 1404 giving the statement?" she whispered to Officer Tanner.

Officer Tanner shook his head and glanced toward the bench. "The one lying down over there is the wife from 1404. I knocked her unconscious. She’s still out."

"The woman giving the statement is Dina Lawson. She’s a coworker of the wife from 1404. They’re both maids for the same employer. We couldn’t get in touch with any other relatives or friends, so she was the only one we could reach. We had to bring her in to see what she knows."

Just as Officer Tanner finished speaking, they heard Officer Pierce ask, "You and Tanya Archer are coworkers, correct? During your time working together, did she ever show any unusual behavior?"

Tanya Archer was the wife from 1404.

Dina thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, not at all. She was perfectly normal. She was a serious, diligent worker. Never slacked off..."

Officer Pierce jotted down notes as he listened. Then he asked, "What about any mental health problems? Did you ever see her take any kind of psychiatric medication?"

Dina shook her head again. "No, definitely not. We both work as maids in the villa district out back. Those rich folks have very high standards for who they hire! If she had a mental illness, there’s no way she would’ve gotten the job."

Officer Pierce nodded slightly. "Do you know what her relationship with her husband was like? Did she ever mention any problems between them?"

Dina frowned in thought and answered hesitantly, "Well... I don’t think so... Her husband seemed really good to her. Every time she had a day off, he’d come all the way to the villas to pick her up. I thought they had a pretty good relationship..."

Dina wrung the hem of her shirt, looking helpless. "Officer, to be honest, I didn’t know her that well. We were always busy with our own tasks at our employer’s house. I really don’t know much about her personal life..."

Officer Pierce asked Dina a few more questions, but just as she’d said, she really didn’t know Tanya well. She had no answer for most of what he asked.

After Dina left, Officer Pierce looked down at the notes he’d taken and was lost in thought.

According to Dina, there were no conflicts between Tanya Archer and her husband; their relationship was, by all accounts, a good one. Tanya herself was apparently a patient, grounded person who never argued with the other maids and staff at the villa.

’So how could a person like that suddenly act like a lunatic and bite her own husband to death?’