Chapter 703: One Side of the Story
Chapter 703: Chapter 703: One Side of the Story
Renee Jennings’s lips curled up, and she secretly gave Henry Stark a thumbs-up.
’Not bad, not bad. I only had to remind him once, and he remembered.’
Sheryl Sawyer reacted a beat too slow. She froze for a moment before calling out, "Got it."
Renee Jennings winked at her.
Henry Stark then added, "I’ll treat everyone to dinner after work."
Upon hearing this, Renee Jennings immediately raised her hand. "Can I treat? I got my bonus today."
Henry Stark arched a dark brow. "You can get it next time."
After dinner, Renee Jennings went with Sheryl Sawyer to her place to get her ID, then headed back to Eastgate Villa.
**
At 12:26 PM, the plane landed on time at Jaelara International Airport.
The Jaelara police had already arranged for a police car to meet them at the airport.
Perhaps because Renee Jennings and Sheryl Sawyer were both women, the officer sent to pick them up was also a woman.
She was a young woman with shoulder-length hair, about twenty-five years old. When she smiled, two faint dimples appeared on her cheeks.
"Consultant Jennings, Officer Sawyer, hello. I’m with the Jaelara PD’s Criminal Investigation Division. My name is Carmen Lane."
After exchanging greetings, the three of them got into the police car and left the airport.
As she drove, Carmen Lane asked, "Consultant Jennings, Officer Sawyer, I was going to take you to lunch first. Do either of you have any dietary restrictions?"
"It’s alright, we just ate on the plane. We’re not hungry," Renee Jennings said with a smile. "You can just take us to the station or the crime scene."
Sheryl Sawyer chimed in, "That’s right. We already ate. We’re not hungry."
Carmen Lane looked hesitant. After all, her superiors had instructed her to make sure she took good care of the consultant from Zenvia.
After a moment’s thought, she asked, "How about I take you to try some of Jaelara’s local specialties?"
Upon hearing this, Renee Jennings glanced at Sheryl Sawyer before saying, "Alright, let’s give it a try then."
Jaelara’s cuisine was on the sweeter side, which neither Renee Jennings nor Sheryl Sawyer was used to. They lost their appetites after just a few bites of each dish.
Seeing this, Carmen Lane quickly said, "Oh, I’m sorry. Most Jaelara dishes are sweet. Tonight, I’ll take you for a different type of food—hot pot, barbecue, or maybe some Japanese."
"It’s no problem," Renee Jennings said with a light laugh. "It was good to try something new."
Sheryl Sawyer added, "Yeah, now we know for next time we’re in Jaelara."
"Let’s head back to the station for now, then," Carmen Lane said. "After we review the case files, we can pay a visit to the victim’s home."
Once they were in the car, Renee Jennings asked, "Carmen, what kind of pet does the victim’s family have?"
"An alpaca," Carmen Lane replied.
’Good.’ Renee checked her system. Alpacas belonged to the camelid family, and she happened to have a camel dictionary.
Half an hour later, the police car pulled into the Jaelara Police Headquarters.
As soon as they entered the main office, Carmen Lane introduced them to her colleagues. "This is Consultant Jennings, and this is Officer Sawyer."
Everyone greeted the two of them enthusiastically.
"Consultant Jennings, Officer Sawyer, hello!"
"It’s great to finally meet you in person! Consultant Jennings and Officer Sawyer, you’re both so young and accomplished!"
"Consultant Jennings, I’m actually a big fan of yours..."
After the greetings were exchanged, Carmen Lane led the two of them to the director’s office.
"Director Archer." She raised her hand to knock just as the door opened from the inside. "Consultant Jennings and Officer Sawyer are here."
"I just heard you arrive and was about to come down to greet you." Director Archer looked at Renee Jennings and Sawyer, extending a hand with a genuine smile. "Consultant Jennings, Officer Sawyer, thank you for making the long trip. We’re very grateful for your help!"
"You’re too kind, Director Archer." Renee Jennings shook his hand.
Director Archer gestured for them to sit and personally prepared tea for them as a sign of respect.
Perhaps looking for a topic of conversation, he suddenly said, "Actually, Director Lowell and I are old schoolmates."
"Director Archer and our Director Lowell are old schoolmates?" Sheryl Sawyer’s voice was tinged with surprise.
Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow slightly. "Did you skip a grade, Director Archer?"
’He and Quentin Lowell didn’t look like they were the same age at all.’
’Director Archer was in great shape, both his face and his physique.’
’He looked at least five years younger than Quentin Lowell.’
"I misspoke just now," Director Archer explained. "Director Lowell was my senior."
Sheryl Sawyer nodded. "That makes more sense."
Renee Jennings couldn’t help but laugh at her deadpan response.
Director Archer laughed as well. "But we were only two years apart in school. Your Director Lowell is two years older than me."
Sheryl Sawyer said, "That still doesn’t seem to add up."
After some more pleasantries, Carmen Lane and a colleague brought in the case files.
Renee Jennings took the files and began to look through them carefully.
The victim was Holden Lee, a 32-year-old delivery driver.
The suspect was Donna Young, a 26-year-old live-streamer.
Donna Young’s testimony stated that the victim frequently delivered her takeout orders, and they got to know each other over time.
Sometimes, when she didn’t want to eat the food her admirers ordered for her, she would give it to the victim.
But according to her, the victim became pushy and even wanted to come inside her home to eat.
Donna Young said that at first, she thought it wouldn’t be a problem since it was broad daylight, so she let the victim eat at her house before leaving.
But to her complete surprise, after the victim finished eating, he started making lewd comments and saying vulgar things to her.
Donna Young became very angry and told the victim to leave her home.
But this action only seemed to anger him. Far from leaving, the victim started getting handsy with her.
Donna Young said she was terrified and ran to hide in the kitchen.
But the victim followed her in and tried to drag her back out.
She claimed she struggled and begged for mercy, but the victim had no intention of letting her go, his movements growing rougher and more desperate.
Donna Young was petrified. She didn’t know what to do. At that moment, she had only one thought: she would not let him violate her.
She spotted the knife block on the counter and grabbed a fruit knife.
She stated that when he threw her onto the sofa, she repeatedly warned him not to come any closer or she would stab him with the fruit knife. But he wasn’t scared at all and lunged at her.
At that point, she closed her eyes, her mind went blank. When she came to, the tip of the fruit knife was already plunged into the victim’s chest.
"Donna Young’s home has no security cameras," Director Archer said grimly. "Everything we have is just her side of the story."
Carmen Lane spoke up. "We investigated Donna Young’s home. The evidence suggests there was a third person at the scene that day, but she swears it was just her and the victim."
Another officer added, "The surveillance in her residential area is spotty. There are a lot of blind spots, so the investigation will probably take a significant amount of time."
Director Archer said, "That’s why, after some consideration, I reached out to Director Lowell and asked for Consultant Jennings to come and assist with the investigation."
Hearing this, Renee Jennings’s expression turned serious. "I’ll do everything I can to cooperate and uncover the truth as quickly as possible."
"So, are we heading to the suspect’s house now to question the alpaca?" Carmen Lane asked.
Director Archer nodded. "Yes, you should head out now."
"Understood," Carmen Lane replied.
Renee Jennings and Sheryl Sawyer also rose and left the office.
It was a drive of over thirty minutes from the police station to Donna Young’s residence.
The car slowed to a stop. Renee Jennings got out and surveyed her surroundings.
The area was filled with old, self-built residential buildings, their walls mottled and faded, exuding a sense of time-worn neglect.
Carmen Lane said quietly, "The car can’t go any further. We’ll have to walk a ways to get to her house."