Skip to content
Novel Catalog
Chapter 186
The mention of Wesley Walker’s identity—the governor’s nephew and a soldier from the Southern Region—was a reminder of the tangled web of power and danger surrounding the case. Nash led Jupiter and Angelica into the villa, his mind still turning over the new information.
“Maria, please help me make a pot of coffee,” Nash called out. Maria had lost her job when the Lewis family’s estate was compromised. In an effort to support her family, Hera had hired Maria as their maid at the Royal Bay villa.
“Ah, alright!” Maria responded and moved to prepare the coffee.
“Captain Holt, please take a seat wherever you like,” Nash said, gesturing to the luxurious furniture. The grandeur of the villa made Jupiter and Angelica feel slightly out of place. It wasn’t every day they found themselves in such opulence.
“Do you have any detailed information about Wesley?” Nash asked as he settled into his chair, his expression serious.
Angelica, as usual, had already memorized the details. “Wesley is 35 years old. He joined the army at 18 and was assigned to the Southern Region at 23. At 28, more than ten of his teammates were killed in a bombing during a battle because of a mistake he made. He was arrested and dismissed from the army.”
She paused before continuing, “He couldn’t stand the restrictions placed on him by the local inspection department, so he fled abroad. We haven’t heard from him since.”
Jupiter added to the story, his tone flat. “Three years after Wesley disappeared, we received word from abroad. We sent someone to retrieve a body, and a DNA test confirmed it was Wesley. After obtaining the death certificate, Governor Townsend took it to Chief Zink to have his record officially closed.”
Nash frowned, perplexed. “Then how did you confirm that the perpetrator is Wesley?”
It was a valid question. After all, if Wesley had been dead for years, how could he possibly be involved in these new crimes? Someone who had died would have likely changed their appearance by now.
Before anyone could answer, Maria arrived with the coffee, setting it down with a polite smile. Jupiter hesitated, normally a stickler for keeping sensitive information secure, but said nothing as he thanked Maria. She smiled again and moved off to clean the kitchen, unaware of the conversation unfolding.
Jupiter took a sip of his coffee and blew on it before continuing. “Wesley is originally from Jonford. After his supposed death, we received orders to keep him under surveillance. I was one of the officers assigned to monitor him. What we didn’t expect was that Wesley, fed up with being watched, turned violent. Three of my colleagues were strangled to death. It was a surprise, to say the least.”
Angelica leaned forward, her voice soft yet firm. “At the time, Captain Holt was the deputy director in charge of internships, but because of the incident with Wesley, he was demoted. Now, he’s just a small captain, and his team is tiny—only about 20 officers. Other teams have 40 or 50.”
Jupiter glared at her. “Don’t air all the dirty laundry.”
Angelica shrugged. “So, you have a deep impression of Wesley, right? You’ll recognize him as long as he doesn’t change his face.”
Nash, processing the information, picked up his coffee and gently blew on it. “I see,” he murmured, understanding now. “So, you would recognize him immediately if he’s the one we’re looking for.”
Jupiter nodded gravely. “Exactly. The most memorable thing about Wesley is that he’s missing a small piece of his left or right ear. And when we reviewed the surveillance footage, we saw a man with a similar ear defect.”
Nash raised an eyebrow, a skeptical look on his face. “What if it’s just a coincidence?”
Jupiter didn’t hesitate. “It’s not. Wesley is left-handed, and the person in the footage used his left hand to eat. Wesley also sustained a serious injury to his right leg in the explosion. It became infected and caused him to limp. The man in the video also limps on his right leg. It can’t all be a coincidence.”
A heavy silence settled in the room, and Jupiter’s gaze hardened. “We’ll find out for sure when we confront him.”
Jupiter and Angelica led Nash to a narrow alley near Rex District. They had arrived in a white Volkswagen, parking outside a popular restaurant. The same restaurant where Nash had once invited Queenie for lamb stew.
Nash’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the bustling restaurant. A faint twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Could Wesley be the son of the owner of this place?” he wondered aloud, his thoughts swirling.
The restaurant was as lively as ever, with customers chatting and eating, oblivious to the undercurrent of danger that seemed to be gathering around them.
Nash couldn’t shake the feeling that they were on the verge of uncovering something far more intricate and dangerous than they had initially imagined.