Chapter 272 Detained for Five Days
When Zachary covered her eyes, Winona's gaze had already fallen on Carlos.
He was shielding his head with his hands, body curled up, blood and urine mixed together, forming a puddle on the ground.
It was quite filthy.
Every time Winona saw Carlos recently, he was always in such a sorry and destitute state that she could hardly remember his once arrogant demeanor as the head of a household.
Winona pulled Zachary's hand away from her eyes. "Let's go."
Zachary naturally clasped her hand, interlocking their fingers. When he tightened his grip, his fingers touched something sticky and wet, reminding him that his hand might be stained with Carlos's blood.
He raised their joined hands to his eyes and indeed saw a patch of red on Winona's fair hand, with some even smeared on her face.
The man frowned.
Someone immediately handed him a wet wipe. "Mr. Bailey, please wipe your hands."
Zachary took it and carefully wiped the blood off Winona's face and hands before casually wiping his own. His knuckles were injured, not sure where he had scraped them, with the skin peeling back and blood dripping from his fingertips. It was hard to tell whether it was his blood or Carlos's.
His wiping was not gentle, like erasing homework with a rubber eraser, and the rough texture of the wet wipe left a slight redness where it rubbed. Everyone present could feel his tenderness towards Winona.
Winona wanted to refuse, partly because it was uncomfortable and partly because there were so many onlookers. Zachary was the kind of person who attracted attention without doing anything. With so many people watching, and a man who was supposedly her father lying on the ground, possibly dead, she couldn't be as composed as he was.
After he threw away the wet wipe, she lowered her voice and said, "Let's go."
Zachary said, "Okay."
He reached for her hand, but Winona walked so fast that his fingers brushed past her clothes. When he looked up again, she was already outside the mediation room.
Zachary's face turned cold, his lips pressed into a straight line, clearly unhappy. But he still followed, only to be stopped after taking just two steps.
Zachary frowned and turned to look at the police officer blocking his way, asking in a stern voice, "What do you want?"
"Mr. Bailey, you can't leave just yet," he gestured to the surveillance cameras above, "With so many eyes watching and the person beaten like this, we have to follow procedures, or we can't explain it to our superiors."
"What procedures?"
"Five days of detention and a fine of over five hundred dollars," seeing Zachary's gloomy face, he added, "That's the minimum. If Carlos wants to pursue further, then..."
Before he could finish, Anthony walked to the door of the mediation room with a briefcase. His well-tailored suit and tall, upright posture made the hallway lights seem dimmer. "Mr. Bailey, the bail is ready. You can leave."
"What about her?"
Although Anthony arrived late and didn't see anyone, he knew who Zachary was asking about. "I didn't see Mrs. Sullivan when I arrived."
Zachary pursed his lips and sneered, "Her heart is really frigid."
If it were any other woman, she would at least be concerned about his hand injury, or even moved to tears. But Winona didn't ask anything and left him here alone.
His enthusiasm for Winona was once again met with indifference.
If he had to care about her matters again, he would be a fool.
Zachary was fuming as he walked to the police station entrance, only to see the woman who had supposedly left coming towards him with a bag of medicine.
He stood on the steps, looking down at her. The height difference, coupled with his haughty attitude, made his voice sound condescending. "Aren't you afraid I'd be gone when you got back?"
"You're still here, aren't you?" Winona handed him the medicine and glanced at Anthony beside him. "Your hand is injured, so let Mr. Lewis..."
Anthony said, "I'll be going now."
Without waiting for Zachary's response, he nodded to Winona as a farewell and headed straight to the parking lot, not wasting a second.
Zachary extended his hand, exposing the wound to Winona. "Don't you have anything to ask?"
Winona looked at the ghastly wound on his knuckles. Although he had roughly wiped the blood with a wet wipe earlier, it was still a bloody mess.
She was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Are you going to get an HIV prevention shot?"
His hand was injured and had Carlos's blood on it. Carlos had so many lovers, Who knew if he might have contracted something?
Zachary remained silent.
He ignored her and headed towards the car, the veins on his forehead bulging with anger.
He had never seen a woman as cold as Winona.
But then again, he hadn't really known many women.
After a few seconds of silence, Winona's footsteps followed. She walked slowly but at least she was following. Subconsciously, Zachary slowed his pace, the tight line of his lips relaxing slightly, and his sharp features softening.
Zachary's car wasn't far. By the time Winona reached it, he was already in the driver's seat, the car's hum breaking the night's quiet.
They looked at each other through the windshield.
The car was running but hadn't driven off. If Winona didn't get in soon, Zachary was prepared to wait in the car indefinitely.
They stood off for a full half-minute.
Winona gave in and opened the passenger door to get in.
Zachary very naturally extended his hand to her. "The police in City A have responded. The two who kidnapped you were street thugs, desperate for money. They saw you, a woman who seemed wealthy, and had bad intentions."
"They believed that?"
The reason was absurd. Eirondia Avenue was full of rich people with branded items, and Winona's outfit wasn't worth much. Yet they claimed she was kidnapped for money.
Zachary said, "They have to believe it. City A is very remote, and the situation is more complicated."
He showed her photos of the suspects sent by his subordinates. "Are these the two who kidnapped you?"
Winona was carefully wiping the dried blood off his fingers with a wet wipe. Hearing this, she looked up and glanced at the photos. "No."
Although the facial features and build were somewhat similar, she was sure that the kidnappers weren't the ones in the photos.
She asked, "What about the two who saved me?"
"No one." Zachary half-closed his eyes, a layer of hostility brewing in the shadows covering his eyes. "According to those two, they got into a fight over the spoils of a previous crime, both were injured, and fearing the commotion would attract the police, they abandoned the car and fled."
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