Empire of Shadows

After parking the car, the officer sat in the driver's seat for a while, then went into the police station.

People greeted him, and he responded with a smile, just like he used to do every day.

He went to his desk and carefully wiped everything on it with a rag.

During this time, he chatted with his colleagues for a while.

Because he took leave during the day, he would be here all night tonight.

In the first half of the night, everyone still had things to do. That's the good thing about working the night shift together: when there are enough people, you won't be too sleepy.

If he were alone, he would have fallen asleep long ago.

They could talk about many interesting things, things that kept their eyelids from getting heavier and heavier.

By the second half of the night, even fewer people were going to get coffee. Many people were either leaning back in their chairs or lying on the table, lost in dreams.

According to the requirements in the police work manual, they had clearly… violated the regulations.

But often the things in the work manual are written for non-workers to see. Who among the real workers would bother to read the work manual?

Those veteran employees would tell the newbies that if you take it seriously, then congratulations, you can't even do the most basic work.

He looked at his colleagues around him, then picked up his cup and walked to the pantry.

The pantry had a coffee machine, coffee powder, a coffee pot, and hot water. He easily made himself a cup of coffee, and then used a public cup to make a second cup.

Sometimes there would be some people who reported cases, lawyers, or others who were related to the case but were not criminals, who would come here to give statements or handle other matters.

Some cases were relatively more complicated and required significantly more time.

They couldn't let those people sit there bored, so they needed to get them some coffee or something.

The public coffee cups here were for these people to use.

He took out the small box from his pocket, took out one of the pills, and threw it in.

He watched the pill sway and sink to the bottom of the cup, creating some tiny bubbles before there were no other movements.

He picked up a stirring spoon and stirred it, then left the pantry with the coffee.

When Bundy was caught, he also went to see him.

He was also curious. As a character with a great reputation in the city, Bundy's capture had too many meanings.

Many people wanted to see this legendary figure in the police station.

However, he didn't see him. After Bundy arrived, he was locked in the interrogation room, and there were special people guarding the door.

He wasn't sure if he could send the coffee in, but he had already thought of many reasons in the process.

For example, "So-and-so asked me to send a cup of coffee in." All he had to do was send the coffee in and let Bundy drink it.

If other people wanted to steal this coffee, he would let them make their own. If they jokingly insisted on his cup, he would accidentally spill it on the ground.

He thought of many ways to respond, how to complete this mission.

He didn't really care if he would be exposed, because once he went in, he would definitely be exposed.

If only one person sent a cup of coffee in all night, and then Bundy was poisoned to death, then whoever sent the coffee was the murderer, that was for sure.

He didn't think that young man would spend 100,000 yuan to get Bundy to take a vitamin pill. That was impossible and unrealistic, so this pill was a poison.

When he turned a corner and naturally showed some impatience on his face when he arrived here, he didn't see the scene he had expected.

There was no one guarding the interrogation room, and there wasn't even anyone watching in the entire corridor. Everything he had seen before seemed like an illusion.

He looked back, then looked in other directions, and after confirming that this was indeed the place, he came to the outside of the interrogation room with a heart full of confusion.

The door was ajar.

These people were too careless. What if Bundy ran away?

He thought to himself, and still pushed open the door. He saw Bundy sitting in the chair, smoking.

There were two packs of cigarettes on the table, and at his feet were two crumpled cigarette packs, the soft-pack kind, and a pile of cigarette butts.

The room had a very strong smell of smoke. The moment he came in, the strong smell of smoke was like a punch to his head.

He waited for two seconds before entering and leaving the room.

"Your coffee," he put the coffee on the table.

Like a statue, Bundy gradually "came to life." First, his eyeballs moved, turning to the officer, then his face, his movements. Finally, he changed his sitting position and looked at the coffee.

"Do you have to watch me drink it?" he asked.

The officer didn't know what he meant, and seemed a little embarrassed. He took a step back, "No, I just…"

Bundy shook his head, picked up the coffee, and drank it in one gulp, "There's a bitter almond taste. My tongue is a little numb!"

He put down the coffee cup and looked at the officer, "Did you put too much in?"

He shook his head, and a visible amount of sweat was squeezed out of his pores. At the same time, his breathing began to become very rapid as he spoke, like… he had just run for an hour in place, running so hard that he couldn't catch his breath.

The second before, he didn't seem to have changed, but the next second, his nose began to breathe heavily, and then he began to open his mouth, taking deep breaths.

His eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably, and one hand was tightly gripping the table, his eyes looking at the officer with a slight change in color.

A small patch also appeared on his forehead… the officer didn't know how to describe it, like capillaries suddenly rising up!

Bundy also clenched his other hand into a fist, holding his thigh, supporting himself so as not to fall down.

But from his increasingly painful expression, it could be seen that his current situation was very bad!

The officer was frightened. He didn't know what was happening. He turned around and quickly left here.

That bastard didn't tell him that this medicine would take effect so quickly!

Watching the officer leave, Bundy could only lower his head and use his willpower to fight against those strong feelings of near death, not just one!

He felt his mouth and tongue begin to go numb, then his scalp, and even all of his skin began to lose sensation.

He wanted to move, but it was difficult to do so. At the same time, his breathing began to be suppressed.

He would inexplicably stop breathing every two or three times, until he subjectively realized this and then forcefully breathed again, and his lungs would barely begin to expand and contract again.

He knew he was about to die.

At this time, he unexpectedly found that the fear of death did not seem so strong anymore. All his attention was focused on dealing with the body's reactions.

He didn't know how long it took, but his body went black and he completely lost consciousness…

The officer returned to the pantry, holding his coffee back to his desk. He deliberately pushed the chair with his leg, causing it to shift. The harsh friction caused his colleague on the night shift next to him to raise his head and glance at him, then lie back on the table.

He took a heavy breath and sat there in a daze for a while, maybe ten minutes, and after confirming that no one was coming to make trouble for him, he felt relieved.

In fact, what he didn't know was that someone had already seen everything and recorded it.

The reason for not attacking him now was because this was part of the script.

Yes, part of the script. If he was attacked now, some scripts wouldn't be so easy to perform.

In anxiety and apprehension, he also fell asleep groggily, until someone woke him up.

He saw Duke, Duke leading a group of people, including the forensic doctor, walking towards the interrogation room, his face looking terrible.

His colleague whispered beside him, "Did you know?"

"Bundy is dead!"

"The guard on duty last night had a bad stomach. Someone sent a cup of coffee in while he was in the bathroom, and then poisoned Bundy!"

He showed a shocked expression, "My God, they dare to kill someone in the police station?"

"Do you know who did it?"

His colleague shook his head, "I don't know, but it's definitely not a small fry. The brother on the night shift has already been sent to the interrogation room. They think he's also involved."

"If you ask me, I just happened to be lucky enough to trip somewhere else—"

"If he hadn't had a bad stomach, he might already be a corpse."

"But because he had a bad stomach, although Bundy died, he luckily survived."

"The killer wouldn't let him go if he hadn't left at the time!"

The officer disagreed with these guesses. He wouldn't easily attack his own people. He still had his own bottom line.

Soon the forensic doctor found the cause of death: an overdose of cyanide poisoning, and they detected cyanide substances in some of the coffee left in the coffee cup.

The police officer on duty at the gate of the police station last night said that no one came in from the front door, and all the several back doors were completely closed according to regulations at night.

The coffee cup on the table was a public coffee cup from the pantry. There were only two places to get it—

The police station's supply warehouse.

And the pantry.

The break room is in the middle of the police station's officers' offices. If someone who isn't a police officer comes in, makes a cup of coffee, and then delivers it to the interrogation room, someone is bound to notice.

But the people who didn't sleep last night didn't notice anyone doing that, or at least they didn't notice any outsiders. So, there's only one possibility.

The killer who murdered Bandi came from inside the police station.

Upon hearing this conclusion, the police officers showed expressions of disbelief, but some faces revealed a knowing 'that's how it is' look.

The only reason they would risk so much to silence someone within the police station is either they were threatened or they were tempted.

Before long, Chief Blue also came down. He stated that this was a very egregious case and that he would thoroughly investigate the entire police station. He hoped that the person would come forward, for the sake of everyone being colleagues.

The officer didn't know what to do; he was a bit lost.

But as long as people can live, they will try everything to survive.

He didn't confess; he continued to pretend he didn't know who did it.

"Was the investigation clear?"

"His wife was taken to the hospital, and he paid over fifty thousand dollars in medical expenses at once to treat his wife's cancer."

"According to some of our investigations, he had been raising funds early on to prepare for his wife's cancer treatment."

"He was just short about twenty thousand dollars and couldn't raise enough."

"I checked some information. He didn't sell his house or car, and there's no other loan information. Also, the money he raised is still in the bank."

"This fifty thousand dollars came very strangely and very suddenly. Someone must have paid him for delivering the poison."

"The information I received from the hospital is that last night, he suddenly requested that his wife be treated according to the planned方案, so the person who contacted him should have done so last night after he got off work."

Duke sat across from Chief Blue. He wasn't speaking to Chief Blue but to Lance.

The phone on the desk was on speakerphone, and Lance could hear every word he said without missing a single one.

If they hadn't deliberately transferred the guards away, that guy wouldn't have been able to deliver the coffee at all.

Whether it was Lance or Bandi, they both knew it was time for him to leave, but he couldn't be killed by Lance or anyone else, like Councilor Williams.

He needed to be 'silenced.' Only when he was silenced could he leave behind a… like a square, very smooth box. If you don't have a place to grip, it's hard to pick it up.

Bandi's death was like leaving two places to exert force on this smooth box, making it easy for people to pick it up.

This is also a 'fulcrum'.

After listening, Lance said with some emotion, "Touching love!"

"But that's not a reason for us to forgive him. After things have fermented for a while, arrest him."

Chief Blue asked, "Should we make him confess who ordered him to do it?"

This was a very clever response. He explicitly proposed to have this officer point out 'who' ordered him.

But in reality, they most likely all know that that person won't really appear in front of him. There's an intermediary in between, so he can't possibly know who planned all this behind the scenes.

But why did Chief Blue still say this?

Because sometimes, people don't really care about what the truth is; they only care about what they see.

When this officer testifies that a big shot in the Bay Area ordered him, whether he has evidence or not, whether it's true or not, the police station has a reason to investigate and gather evidence against the person he accused.

And they can obtain a subpoena and search warrant from the judicial department through the 'key witness testimony'!

These things are very important.

Because their next opponents are those old masters in the Bay Area, the judicial department will be more cautious in issuing legal documents than before and won't give them what they want so easily.

Everything must comply with and meet the requirements of the judicial process; there can be no overstepping.

Lance didn't deny it. "Wait for my news."

He paused for a moment, "This incident has made me realize a problem: even after we've increased police officers' salaries, they still can't afford some terrible, sudden, large financial expenses."

"This will make them vulnerable and potentially exploitable."

"Remember what I told you before?"

Chief Blue was stunned for a moment. Lance had told him too many things, and he couldn't quite remember.

He didn't speak, and Lance knew he didn't remember, but he didn't mind much and reminded him, "I'm planning to establish a foundation specifically to address police officers' families' sudden financial expenses."

"Like the problem this… officer encountered. After the foundation is established, he can get help through the foundation."

"Financial, medical, including we can help him find better medical institutions and better experts!"

"And we're not just limited to medical issues, children's college expenses, loans when buying a house."

"Some money we can provide to them for free, such as medical issues. Someone needs a lot of money to see a doctor, but they can't get it out. We can give them this money directly."

"For things like buying a house or going to college, we'll do it with low-interest or interest-free loans."

"This can prevent a crack like this from appearing within our ranks to a greater extent!"

"Honestly, I initially thought the most likely scenario was that a killer broke in, killed him, and then was caught by us when leaving."

"But when you guys told me it was one of our own people who did it, I thought it was ridiculous!"

They actually had someone watching all the time; they knew everything, they just didn't know it was a police officer who appeared, not some mysterious killer.

Chief Blue and Deputy Chief Duke's attention was clearly not here; their attention was on the foundation Lance mentioned!

What this foundation was going to do made their scalps tingle!

They knew very well how tempting such a foundation would be to the police officers. They would stand on the side of the foundation to maintain its operation, not on the side of them, the chiefs, or the mayor!

As Lance increased the police officers' salaries, they would have more ideas than before.

To exchange for a detached house instead of being crammed into an apartment where you can see people urinating and defecating everywhere, or would they consider providing for their children to go to college?

But they couldn't complete either of these independently.

When people can't do something, they most likely won't care about these things they can't do.

But once they have the opportunity to do it, they will care about it immensely!

Lance is building a police welfare system independent of the municipal system, and it's a system that people can't refuse.

The two looked at each other and saw a kind of horror and helplessness in each other's eyes.

They didn't know how much money Lance had earned in the past few years to be able to squander it like this!

But they certainly knew that it was definitely a lot of money, so much that they couldn't even imagine!