Chapter 896 Austin Silences the Witness
What Martin and Maximilian never saw coming was that when they rolled up to the mastermind's crib, the dude had already offed himself.
Maximilian took one look at the guy hanging there and almost lost his lunch, gagging off to the side.
The mastermind's spot was in a seriously sketchy part of town. Most folks had already bailed, leaving behind just some old-timers and a few lazy young bucks.
They followed the address, thinking the guy might bolt, and busted in without a second thought.
No way! As soon as they stepped in, they saw half a leg dangling. Looking up, they saw the guy hanging from the ceiling beam.
Martin's face scrunched up, and he told the bodyguards to cut the guy down and lay him out flat.
Martin barked, "Maximilian, gimme your phone!"
Maximilian knew what was up. After dry-heaving for a bit, he fumbled his phone out of his pocket, found the info, and handed it over to Martin.
He hated that he almost puked. It felt so weak. But he just couldn't help it.
Especially after seeing Martin grill Trevor, his stomach had gotten even weaker.
Martin seriously compared the guy on the floor with the info on Maximilian's phone.
Michael Edwards. Thirty-five. Took over his dad's biz, used to be the CEO of Summit Innovations Group.
Three years back, after five years of struggling, he finally declared Summit Innovations Group bankrupt due to bad management.
Sure, Summit Innovations Group tanked for a bunch of reasons—bad management, old-school thinking, no innovation, couldn't keep up with the times, and internal corruption.
But there were whispers that IntelliMerge Technologies Company took them down with some dirty tricks.
Otherwise, how could a century-old company like Summit Innovations Group go under so fast?
And IntelliMerge Technologies Company, in just a few years, shot to the top, becoming the leading mobile game company today.
Martin lifted Michael's chin and checked him out.
There was a red birthmark below his chin. Yep, it was Michael.
And the body wasn't totally cold yet. If you touched it, you could still feel a bit of warmth.
Maximilian fought his nausea and circled the body, "He must've known we were coming for him, so he offed himself out of guilt."
Martin didn't say anything and told the bodyguards, "Tear this place apart, find any clues you can."
The bodyguards jumped to it and started searching the tiny house.
Maximilian took a deep breath and said, "After Summit Innovations Group went belly up, the Edwards family, except for him, all died mysteriously. Overnight, the whole family was wiped out. Then he moved here."
Maximilian looked around the dump. The place was falling apart 'cause it was an old neighborhood.
No TV, no fridge, no AC or heating.
No ventilation, no sunlight—it was like living in a basement. It was damp, dark, and smelled rank from the lack of sunlight and poor ventilation.
Just standing there made him feel itchy and gross.
If Michael, who grew up with money, wasn't totally desperate, he wouldn't be living in a dump like this.
Martin asked, "How much did he pay to have Charles whacked?"
Maximilian shared what he found, "I checked, he wired a million bucks to Trevor."
Martin hinted, "He had a million to buy Charles's life, but no cash to live somewhere better?"
Maximilian was stunned for a moment.
Yeah! How did he miss such a big clue?
Maximilian replied, "You're right, no one would blow their whole fortune on a hitman. That million bucks could've set him up for life."
Martin stayed quiet.
Maximilian threw out his theory, "So, you think Michael wasn't the real mastermind? Someone else is pulling the strings?"
Martin's silence was all the confirmation Maximilian needed.
Maximilian's face tightened, "This guy's slick, knows how to cover his tracks and silence witnesses! We'll never find him now."
That was exactly what Martin was thinking.
That's why his face had been so grim.
If Michael was dead and he was the one who contacted Trevor, then they were at a dead end.
Finding the person who wanted Charles dead just got a whole lot harder.
While Martin and Maximilian were talking, the bodyguards finished their search.
One of the bodyguards reported, "The place is tiny and empty, nothing here! We found a safe in the closet, it wasn't locked. Inside, there was some cash and a medical record."
The bodyguard handed the safe to Martin.
Martin opened it and saw three big stacks of cash, neatly tied with rubber bands. Next to the cash was a medical record.
Martin took out the medical record, opened it, and his face instantly darkened when he saw the diagnosis.
Maximilian peeked over and his face also changed, "Schizophrenia? He had schizophrenia?" His voice was full of disbelief.
Then he thought about it and it made sense.
Maximilian said, "Going from a big shot to a nobody, and losing his whole family overnight, it's no wonder he had a mental breakdown and got a mental illness!"
He paused and added, "If he had a mental illness, then blowing all his savings on a hitman makes sense. He thought Charles was behind his family's downfall, so he used all his money to take him out."
And now it seemed that the million bucks wasn't all his money.
He had left some cash for himself.
Martin's face was very grim, and he didn't say a word.
He stood up and walked around the house.
Yep. The place was empty, nothing at all.
In other words, the guy living here didn't see this place as home, didn't plan to stay long, or was just living like a slob, day by day.
Maximilian followed him, "What's the plan now?"
Martin walked around, found nothing out of place, and said, "Put everything back, clean up the scene, and erase any trace we were here."
Maximilian got the message, so he told the bodyguards to follow Martin's orders, re-hang Michael, and put the safe back in the closet.
After they all left, they cleaned up the scene.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Austin was shaking all over, sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, his eyes locked on his trembling hands, his heart racing. Thinking about what just happened, he couldn't shake the fear and terror.
Even though his hands were clean, with nothing on them, he felt like they were covered in blood, dripping with it.
He had killed someone.
He had killed Michael.
He had actually killed Michael.
Just now, he personally fed Michael sleeping pills, then hung him on the beam, and put his medical record and money in the closet, all to make Martin believe that Michael had committed suicide.
He had cut off the clue.
He had used Michael and then killed him.
He had killed him.
Thinking about a life ending at his hands, he was terrified, unable to believe he had become like this.
Even though he wanted Charles dead, he hadn't done it himself, so it didn't hit him as hard.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
