Chapter 250 The Murderer Is Still at Large
“I guess so, but I’d usually treat this as being polite.” After Rachel kept the medicine kit away, she walked upstairs. “It’s getting late. I’m going to rest now.” I should try my best to avoid spending time with Justin alone, now that both of us are living together. After all, I know how strong he is as a man.
The incident from five years ago was clearly imprinted in her memories, forcing her to defend herself. While she was walking halfway up the stairs, Justin’s voice rang.
“Rachel!” “Yeah?” She turned around and saw his slightly raised head as he stared at her under the bright lights of the living room.
“What is your relationship with Hernandez?”
“We’re just friends. Rest earlier.”
After giving a short answer, Rachel directly headed into her room without any intention of staying any longer for further explanation.
Hence, Justin was left alone in the living room. He tightly clenched his fists next to his body with a dark expression.
He never believed in any pure friendship between a man and a woman.
Apart from that, Hernandez was overly close to Rachel—the man kept addressing her as ‘babe’. Just the mere thought of it was enough to infuriate Justin.
Meanwhile, as soon as Rachel entered the second bedroom, she received a message from Janice.
After reading the message, her expression stiffened and she immediately gave Janice a ring.
“Janice, what do you mean by that? Old Mr. Burton has silently agreed to Jefferey’s drug smuggling? Is this related to the Burton Family as well?”
Janice’s voice rang from the other end. “To be precise, it’s related to Jason Burton.”
Jason Burton?
Upon hearing that name, Rachel tightly clenched her fists.
“Old Mr. Burton’s video evidence indicates that there are three people involved in the case. It’s obvious that a few frames have been deleted, but he missed something this time although he’s usually meticulous. When we managed to recover the video in its HD quality, we saw a fourth person in the reflection on one of the car windows.”
…
Now that they were seated inside a cafe, Janice shoved a few pictures to Rachel from across the table.
It was all pictures of Hans witnessing the smuggling deal that Hudson Pharmaceuticals was engaged with in the hospital. The car on the left of the picture had been zoomed in, which illustrated another man standing near the corner of the wall.
Rachel only thought that he looked familiar, but she could not recall his identity. “And this man is?”
“He’s Bucky. Does it ring a bell now?”
As soon as she heard that name, her eyebrows trembled and she tightened her grip on the edge of the photograph.
Five years ago, her grandmother was kidnapped. After that, the police had been tracking one of the kidnappers who evaded arrest. In the end, the remaining perpetrator was sentenced to jail for orchestrating Nancy’s kidnapping. This man was none other than Bucky.
“What you’re saying is that Bucky is also involved in Hans’ case?”
Rachel could not believe that the same person who caused her grandmother’s death had also killed Hans.
However, Janice shook her head. “This is not what I meant. At this point, it’s not important whether he is involved in Hans’ case or not. What’s more important is that Old Mr. Burton has deleted Bucky from the video. Have you thought about what this means?”
Rachel shook her head as well.
Janice explained, “Bucky is actually not an important person among this group of people since he is just a trivial gangster. My guess is that even he is unaware about the context of the transaction. He was merely running errands for them. In their kind of circle, the less information they know, the safer it is for them.”
Rachel still did not understand what Janice wanted to tell her.
Her main reason for returning was Hans’ death. Since Bucky was unrelated to Hans’ death and the mastermind of the incident—that’d be Jefferey—was already behind bars and received the punishment he deserved, she was unbothered with the rest of the matters. What smuggling case is she referring to? I’m just a normal person, so I don’t have the resolution like Janice, who is a public servant. Apart from that, I don’t even have the intention to contribute much to society.
Janice could tell that Rachel was confused, so she patiently explained, “I know that bringing up the older incidents would hurt you again. However, after reflecting on it for the past two days, I figured that you have the right to know the truth.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The mastermind behind your grandmother’s kidnapping is still at large.”
When Rachel heard that, her expression immediately changed. “What did you just say? Hasn’t Bucky already been sentenced to prison?”
“Haven’t you thought about this? Bucky is just a trivial gangster having a hard time to even buy meals for himself. Would he threaten a big shot like Justin Burton and kidnap your grandmother because of Brookville’s bid? He hasn’t even graduated primary school—I’m afraid he doesn’t even know what a bid means.”
So. he’s just a scapegoat.
Nancy’s death that year was a huge blow to Rachel as Rachel was at the darkest period of her life. She was being imprisoned by Justin and had no means to track down the mastermind who orchestrated her grandmother’s kidnapping. When the cops arrested Bucky, she thought that he was the perpetrator.
However, everything she knew in the past was no longer the truth now.
Rachel’s hand suddenly jolted.
While looking at her, Janice hesitantly added, “Rachel, you have the right to decide whether you want to know about this or not. If you don’t want to, I won’t say another word and the matter will end here. After all, we can’t revive the dead no matter what. I guess your grandmother also wants you to move on and have a good life.”
As soon as Rachel recalled Nancy’s smile, her heart started to ache. If she knew about this in her afterlife, I’m sure she wouldn’t want me to investigate this case. After all, six years have already passed. It is meaningless to find out who the mastermind behind the case is now. Be it Grandma or myself, we are just collateral damages among business battles. No one will remember us. Just because we are just ordinary people, should they sacrifice us?
“Just tell me. I only want the truth.” Rachel’s voice trembled, but she firmly said, “Who was the mastermind who kidnapped my grandma?”
Janice took a deep breath before she slowly exhaled and mentioned a name. “Jason Burton.”
Upon hearing that, Rachel remained silent.
The cafe was only a street away from Burton Group.
Rachel left on her own after she met up with Janice. The traffic lights had turned from red to green, yet she continued to stand by the crosswalk. She looked as if she had lost her soul and forgot to cross the road.
Her mind continued to think of what Janice said earlier.
“Six years ago, after your grandmother’s kidnapping, the police had actually suspected Jason. However, the case was suddenly intercepted by someone else within 24 hours and the biggest suspect was now Bucky. The motive was changed to a gangster kidnapping for money. All the logical deductions and the business schemes behind the scenes completely disappeared. After Bucky was caught, Old Mr. Burton slowly revoked Jason’s responsibilities in the Burton Group and even transferred all of Jason’s shares to Justin. Within a year, no one in the Burton Family and the entire business circle in Riverdale ever discussed Jason Burton, as if the man never existed in the family. I’m confident that Bucky is somewhat associated with Jason.”
As Rachel recalled Janice’s words, she was deep in her thoughts.
“Chris!” A voice rang from the near distance.
