Chapter 104: Surprisingly Gained Nothing

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Surprisingly Gained Nothing

Renee returned to her room, sent Henry Stark the details about the buried person, set her alarm for eight in the morning, and went to bed.

The next morning, when her alarm went off, Renee got up immediately.

She checked her phone while brushing her teeth.

Henry Stark had replied to her message from last night at six in the morning.

They would pick her up from Blissborne Garden at eight-thirty and head directly to the site of the incident.

Renee quickly got ready, went downstairs, and got into the waiting police car to head out.

According to the clue provided by Inky’s friend, Baldy the Owl, the burial site was in a villa garden in the northern suburbs of Zenvia City.

The suspect who buried the body was completely covered up, so Baldy the Owl couldn’t make out their features. All he knew was that the suspect seemed tall and well-built.

"Are you sure he didn’t get a clear look?" Henry Stark asked, looking at Renee through the car’s rearview mirror.

"That’s the information I received." ’In truth, Renee suspected the owl was holding back because it hated humans.’

Henry’s brow furrowed. "The search area is too big. This won’t be easy."

Renee bit her lip and whispered two words: "I’m sorry."

At her words, surprise and a hint of panic flashed in Henry’s dark eyes. He quickly explained, "Don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t blaming you."

"I know." Renee sighed, her brow furrowed. "It’s just... I feel like I’m not being very helpful."

"You’ve already been a huge help." Henry turned to look at her, his expression serious. "If it weren’t for you, we might have never found out about this."

His words made her feel a great sense of relief. A faint smile touched her lips. "I guess I am pretty useful, then."

Henry’s gaze softened, and a smile crept into his voice. "Very useful."

Upon arriving at the villas in the northern suburbs, Renee stepped out of the car and immediately began scanning the area for small animals, hoping to find another "eyewitness" like the owl.

Staring at the rows of luxurious villas, Kyle Morgan couldn’t help but sigh. "Man, when will I ever get to live in a place like this?"

Renee raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I’m moving to Eastgate Villa soon. I’ll save a guest room for you to try out."

Kyle Morgan just thought she was joking. "Sure, but you’d better hurry. I might buy my own villa by then."

"It should be soon." Renee glanced at the time on her phone. ’The move-in date should be coming up,’ she calculated.

Since the information from Baldy the Owl wasn’t detailed enough, they had to canvass the villas one by one.

The six of them split into three teams.

Renee was partnered with Henry.

Watching their backs as they walked away, Kyle Morgan pulled Sawyer aside to whisper, "I’m telling you, the Captain totally has a thing for Renee."

"How can you tell?" A head suddenly poked in between Kyle Morgan and Sawyer.

"Jeez!" Kyle blanched. "Zachary, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Zachary grinned. "You’re a detective, and you’re this easily scared?"

Kyle was speechless.

’He thought it was the Captain!’

Kyle Morgan rolled his eyes, not bothering to answer him. He grabbed Sawyer’s arm. "Sawyer, let’s go."

Zachary stood in place, rubbing his chin as he watched their retreating backs. ’Kyle definitely has a thing for Sawyer,’ he mused.

"Sawyer’s taken," Zachary’s teammate, Levi Hollis, said quietly.

Zachary Conway asked in surprise, "How do you know?"

Levi forced a polite but cold smile. "I asked Sawyer out. She turned me down, said she was already seeing someone."

Zachary was speechless.

’He had no idea about either of those things!’

"Enough gossip. Let’s get to work." Levi’s expression turned serious. "I’m not interested in talking about feelings. I just want to focus on the job."

Zachary didn’t argue, but he thought, ’Yeah, right.’

By the time the two of them got down to business, Renee and Henry had already searched their first villa.

This villa’s garden was paved with flagstones, and its flowerbeds were filled with colorful blossoms. It didn’t match the description from Baldy the Owl.

The owner was a gentle, cultured middle-aged woman who was very cooperative. She even warmly invited them to stay for dessert.

Renee and Henry politely declined her kind offer and moved on to the second villa.

"The layout here is just like the last one," Renee said quietly.

Henry nodded slightly. "Let’s go."

They searched every villa in the development, but after a full day of work, they had come up empty.

The yards here were either paved with tile or covered in grass, and none of the lawns showed any signs of having been recently disturbed.

"Could the clue be wrong?" Zachary Conway grumbled. "Could that Swallow be lying to you?"

Renee frowned and mused, "Inky probably wouldn’t lie to me, but I’m not so sure about that owl."

"Why do you say that?" Henry Stark asked, puzzled.

Renee: "That owl hates humans."

"It’s not surprising for an animal to hate humans," Levi Hollis said coolly. "After all, we’re the ones who took over their homes."

A silence fell over the group.

Renee said softly, "Why don’t you guys go back first? I’ll look around a bit more and see if there are any small animals nearby I can ask."

It was her lead that had sent everyone rushing around all day for nothing. Renee felt terrible about it.

"It’s getting dark. Let’s head back for now." Henry Stark knew she was blaming herself and said in a low voice, "I’ll treat everyone to hot pot tonight."

BUBBLE... BUBBLE...

Thinly sliced beef swirled in the boiling, milky-white broth.

Renee was absentmindedly chewing on her chopsticks.

Henry used the serving chopsticks to place some beef into her bowl, joking, "Eat the meat, not the chopsticks."

"Thanks." Renee accepted the piece, dipping it into some shacha sauce before putting it in her mouth.

Kyle tried to comfort her. "Don’t beat yourself up over it. That’s just how investigations go. Sometimes they’re smooth sailing, other times you just keep hitting dead ends."

"Yeah." Sawyer placed a beef meatball in her bowl. "You get used to it."

"Thanks, Sawyer." Renee prodded the beef ball with her chopsticks, then looked up at the others, a small smile playing on her lips. "Okay, I’m done overthinking it. Thanks, everyone."

She wasn’t the type to get stuck in her own head, but this was her first time working with them as part of the department, and she’d wanted to perform well.

Seeing that she was back in good spirits and actively fishing food out of the pot for herself, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief and dug in with gusto.

Kyle let out a cola-flavored burp. "Man, I can’t even imagine how perfect a beer would be right now."

"Then don’t." Zachary poured more Coke into his glass. "Just drink this."

It was almost ten o’clock by the time she got home after the hot pot dinner.

After not seeing her all day, her furry friends all crowded around to greet her.

Inky emerged from his little nest and asked expectantly, "Renee, did you find it?"

"No." Renee shook her head. "I’ll go take another look tomorrow."

The next time they went out to the suburban villas, it was just the three of them: Renee, Kyle Morgan, and Sawyer.

As soon as they entered the villa complex, Renee saw the middle-aged woman from the day before—the one who had so warmly invited her and Henry for dessert.