“It’s true, Nat. Your mom came to see me yesterday to talk about Jared. We got into an argument, and then your mom stormed away. She was walking too fast. That’s why she slipped. I called for an ambulance the moment I found out your mom had fallen down, but I never expected…”
Harrison’s voice trailed off, and he lowered his head, as though overwrought with grief.
Natalie’s entire body was trembling. “Enough with your phony attitude. My mom doesn’t need any of that! You’re beneath her!”
“Nat…”
“Just stop,” Natalie cut him off. Taking a deep breath, she blinked back her tears before continuing, “Since both of you refuse to tell the truth, fine. I’ll get to the bottom of it myself. If I find out the two of you have something to do with my mom’s death, I’ll make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your lives!”
Having said that, she pierced Susan and Harrison with one last icy glare before walking out of the room because she knew that getting the truth out of them was impossible.
Upon seeing Natalie coming out, Shane pushed off the wall he was leaning against just moments ago and asked, “How did it go?”
Natalie shook her head. “They’re staying tight-lipped. I couldn’t get anything out of them.”
Shane stared at the door to the interrogation room and replied solemnly, “I’m not surprised. If they’re really the culprits, it’s completely normal that they’re refusing to cooperate to escape legal consequences.”
Natalie lowered her gaze to conceal her emotions.
After a moment of silence, she raised her head and walked toward the police station lobby.
Shane wordlessly trailed after her.
At the lobby, Natalie found the inspector running point on this case. “Inspector, may I take a look at the file for this case?”
The file consisted of detailed investigation reports, so she wanted to see if she could find any clues from there.
The inspector was caught in a bind because police were not allowed to let common citizens view their case files.
Noticing this, Shane whipped out his phone and dialed a number.
The call was quickly connected, and Shane greeted the person on the other line in a respectful tone, “Mr. Gunn.”
Mr. Gunn?
Natalie tilted her head at him curiously, silently asking who Mr. Gunn was.
Shane signaled with his eyes that he would tell her in a bit. Then, he told Mr. Gunn the reason he was calling was to request permission to view a case file.
“Ah, I see. Sure, sure. I’ll get someone to contact the police station right away,” Mr. Gunn immediately agreed with a smile in his voice.
“Thank you.” Shane nodded gratefully.
Mr. Gunn touched his greying beard and chided, “There’s no need for that. Just make sure to bring Jacqueline to visit me some time.”
“I will,” Shane replied courteously.
Thereafter, they ended the call.
After keeping his phone, Shane answered Natalie’s silent question from earlier.” Mr. Gunn is an official in J City. One word from him and you’ll be permitted to look at the case file.”
“I see.” Natalie nodded in understanding. “Thank you, Shane.”
“I’m your husband.” Shane peered at her with a serious expression. “So there’s no need to thank me.”
“Okay.” Natalie’s heart warmed and she curved her lips into the first smile since the previous day.
Right then, the inspector came over with the case file. “I just got off the phone with my superior. He agreed to let the two of you look at the file, but you have to do it here.”
“Sure.” Natalie nodded and accepted the file from him. With that, she began flipping through it.
Shane sat beside her and looked through the reports together.
After they were done, Natalie shut the file with a snap and bit her lip in frustration. “How’s this possible?”
The contents of the case file were more or less the same as what she heard at the morgue the day before.
In other words, the police would close this case with the conclusion that her mother’s death was accidental, and she had indeed slipped on her own.
Perceiving the indignance lining Natalie’s features, the inspector took off his cap and put it aside. “I can understand how you’re feeling, Ms. Smith, but so far, nothing proves that Susan and Harrison are involved in this case, so I suggest you be mentally prepared.”
