Chapter 157 Joe Collects the Debt
The entire Fourth Squad had recently been focusing primarily on the gun trafficking case. However, since Alexander and Jasper were not working on the same case, Alexander was reluctant to get involved personally and only instructed his subordinates to cooperate as needed.
The appearance of the missing person case initially did not pique Alexander's interest much, as such cases were quite common nowadays. A quick look through the backlog of cold cases would reveal plenty of similar instances. The entire police system's manpower and resources were very limited, and there was simply no energy to improve the chaotic law and order situation in the Black Street District.
Therefore, Alexander's decision to pursue this case was initially driven by personal motives. He had heard that the suspect, Zephyr, had been getting close to William recently and thought it might be a good opportunity to deal with him. What Alexander did not expect was that the dark side of Pine City might be even darker than the unplanned areas.
Morning.
After reviewing the file John gave him in the office area, Alexander immediately asked, "Did the old man leave an address?"
"Yeah." John nodded.
"The details in the file are not very thorough. Take a couple of people with you, and let's go check out his place," Alexander instructed.
"Isn't Jasper planning to have a meeting this afternoon? Is it okay for you to be absent?" John asked.
"He'd love for me to be far away right now," Alexander replied with a smile, "It's fine. We'll do our thing and let others handle the meeting."
"Alright." John nodded.
Around 1 PM, the police car stopped in front of a dilapidated courtyard on the edge of the Black Street District. Alexander, John, and the others got out and knocked on the iron gate.
A few minutes later.
The old man who had reported the case yesterday opened the iron gate and looked at Alexander and the others in surprise. "Why are you here?"
"You reported the case, didn't you? We need to come and understand the situation," Alexander replied with a smile.
The old man was stunned for a moment. "I never thought you guys would actually come to me personally."
"Is there a problem?"
"I thought you were just going through the motions and taking notes," the old man replied bluntly, then stepped aside and said, "Come in."
The group entered the courtyard.
The old man led them to three dilapidated brick houses built by the relief agency. Alexander looked around with his hands behind his back and found that the house was almost unfurnished, with only some second-hand furniture.
In the living room, the old man set up a table, poured some slightly yellowish water for everyone, and asked tiredly, "What do you want to know?"
Alexander sat on a chair, frowned slightly, and asked, "This case is from four months ago. Why did you report it now?"
"I reported it a long time ago." The old man sighed. "But initially, the Black Street District police said that my son might have disappeared in the Riverside District, so the case should be handled by the Riverside District police. I went to the Riverside District, provided clues, and reported the case there. But after more than three months of investigation, I went to the Riverside District police dozens of times, and they kept saying there was no progress, the case was too complicated, and the initial incident definitely happened in the Black Street District, so they couldn't handle it. They just listed my son as a missing person, and that was it. The more I thought about it, the more unwilling I was, so I reported the case to you again."
After thinking for a while, Alexander asked softly, "Sir, I read your statement before coming here. You claim that Zephyr is the suspect. Do you have any concrete evidence?"
"He's not a suspect. My son didn't go missing; he was killed by him," the old man stubbornly corrected Alexander's wording.
Alexander gestured to his team not to take notes and asked, "Why do you say that?"
The old man organized his thoughts and, with a somewhat dazed look, said, "My son and his wife worked at the Barbie Club. I won't hide it from you; my son was an errand boy there, but my daughter-in-law was in charge of a few guest rooms because she was quite pretty."
"Did she entertain guests?" John asked directly.
"She would drink with some regulars and get some tips. But she wasn't a prostitute and never stayed out overnight. She always came home with my son after work," the old man responded objectively.
"Okay, go on." Alexander nodded.
"The whole thing started with my daughter-in-law." The old man recalled and began to recount the events.
Riverside District, in front of a certain card room.
Joe, with one hand in his pocket, wearing a sheepskin coat, and his small braid swaying in the wind, walked into the room.
A guy behind the counter smiled and asked, "Come over to play? Want a public table or a private room?"
"I'm looking for Milo," Joe responded, glancing around.
"Who are you?"
"I'm his friend. Just tell him to come to my private room. I still owe him some money from the last time we played cards," Joe replied with a smile.
"Alright, I'll take you to the private room first."
A few minutes later.
Joe was playing with a dirty deck of cards in his right hand, a cigarette in his mouth, looking tired.
With a creak, the door was pulled open from the outside, and a young man with a buzz cut entered, smiling. "Who’s looking for me?"
Before he could finish his sentence, the young man saw Joe and froze. "You... why are you here?"
Joe smiled at him without saying a word while his two companions stepped forward, grabbed the young man, and pushed him inside, closing the door.
"Where's the money?" Joe asked, sitting in a chair.
"The goods weren't taken by me. Why are you looking for me?" Milo retorted, his neck stiff. "If you want money, go find Duke!"
"Wasn't Duke introduced to me by you?" Joe asked again.
"I introduced him, but the deal was between you two. It has nothing to do with me!" Milo replied arrogantly, pushing away the strong man on his right and slowly walking to sit in front of Joe. "I heard Duke got into trouble and ran away. He probably can't pay you back anytime soon."
"Messing with me?" Joe asked, baring his teeth.
"Honestly, I want to help you get your money back so I can get my share of the commission. But Duke ran away, and there's nothing I can do!" Milo said, his mouth wide open, looking fiercely at Joe. "Why don't you go ask Duke's boss for the money? That guy is well-known and wealthy in the Riverside District, but I'm afraid he won't pay you any attention."
"Messing with me and scaring me?"
"I already said, this matter..."
Before Milo could finish, Joe lifted his leg and kicked him in the chest.
Milo fell backward with the chair. "Fuck!"
"Don't move."
"I said don't move."
The two strong men stepped forward and pinned Milo to the dirty floor.
Joe slowly stood up, squatted next to Milo, and held a deck of cards in his hand. "Open your mouth."
"You..." Milo struggled violently.
The two men grabbed Milo's jaw and forcibly pried his mouth open.
Joe stuffed the entire deck of cards into Milo's mouth, then slowly stood up, frowned, and stomped down hard with his right foot.
The sound of teeth breaking echoed, and blood spurted from Milo's nose as he struggled free from the two men's grip, writhing in pain on the floor.
Joe glanced down at Milo and said succinctly, "Tell that Duke that no one who cheats me out of money has ever been born. I'll give him three days. If he doesn't pay me back, I'll make you sing while eating the rest of the cards."
With that, Joe walked to the door and pulled it open.
Outside, seven or eight men gathered around.
Joe stepped aside with one hand in his pocket, and his two friends opened their coats, shouting at the crowd, "Get lost!"
Meanwhile.
The old man, having organized the information in his mind, began to recount the details of the case to Alexander and the others.
Four months ago.
In an empty private room on the third floor of the Barbie Club, a young woman was suddenly pushed in by Zephyr. She shouted in panic, "Boss, boss, I really can't... Please. My husband is just downstairs... Don't do this..."
"Let me tell you the truth, if it weren't for him being here, I wouldn't have been turned on. Don't shout. It'll be over in two minutes." Zephyr, reeking of alcohol, pushed her and hooked the door with his foot.
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