Chapter 406: Chapter 406
"Let me see that!" Evans reacted even faster than Leon, who was dazed.
"You mean, this is Tyler? THE TYLER..... the very same one that we have been investigating?"
"You mean he’s the same person we’ve been looking for?" The coroner noticed that these were just rhetorical questions and kept quiet. Who in the station did not know about the miraculous recovery of Miss Aliya and the fervent search for what had happened to her fiancé? Since it had been a request from Chairman Ian, this had gone straight to Leon’s team, but the new development was still unexpected.
As Leon gave a solemn nod, Evans’ voice wavered between disbelief and grim satisfaction.
For a fleeting moment, relief surged through him, like cool water after a gruelling, endless marathon.
’Finally,’ he thought, sagging to the ground as his knees buckled beneath him. This was the breakthrough they’d been chasing, the answer to countless sleepless nights and dead-end leads.
’We finally have something concrete for Chairman Thronston!’ However, at this thought, his eyes fleeted to the body on the cold table: lifeless! This contrast was the opposite of the relief he’d felt seconds earlier. His gut twisted, the hollow ache of reality replacing any sense of accomplishment.
"Of course, he’s dead. We expected this. We knew it would end this way." Evans whispered.
And yet, knowing hadn’t softened the blow. The sight of the man’s lifeless form—skin pale and taut, eyes closed in a silent farewell—struck like a gut punch. The case might be one step closer to closure, but the victory tasted bitter, laced with the undeniable weight of failure.
Leon exhaled shakily, his gaze fixed on the body as a grim sense of purpose returned. "We’ve got him," he muttered, though the words carried no triumph. "But it doesn’t feel like a win." Thre was no room for talk on what happened to him as it could be deduced. For the moment, the two had other pressing tasks to work on as well.
Leon brought out his phone and then shoved it back into his pocket.
"Thanks, guys," then turning to Evans, who was still sagged on the floor, said, "Come on! we have to let the Chairman know!"
"Do we have to be here now?" Evans asked, as the two walked quickly into the T-Vino island hospital not long after. The first two bodies had been sent to the forensics investigators in the police station, but the other three were in the morgue of the hospital itself.
"Sometimes, I don’t know what you use your head for! We still need to officially identify the remaining three and release the body to the families! Besides, didn’t the Chairman’s assistant tell us that they were in the hospital? We will kill two birds with one stone!"
Leon shook his head but said nothing. As the two pushed open the heavy doors of the morgue, the sterile chill of the room greeted them, but it was the sound that froze them mid-step. From a far corner came the unmistakable, gut-wrenching cries of a young woman. In their line of work, this was a frequent occurrence, but that did not mean that they ever got used to it!
Her voice cracked with raw anguish, each sob tearing through the otherwise quiet space. "Papa," she choked out, the single word carrying a lifetime of pain and love. It echoed off the cold, tiled walls, making the room feel even emptier despite her presence.
Evans and Leon exchanged glances, their usual stoicism faltering for a brief moment. The sound wasn’t just grief—it was a primal wail of loss, the kind that clawed at your chest and made you feel helpless, even as a stranger. They continued forward cautiously, their footsteps heavy as though reluctant to intrude on such a personal moment.
"Papa! We were supposed to have dinner together! Why? Why did you leave me behind? What can I do now?"
The morgue had seen its share of sorrow but hearing it so raw and unfiltered was a reminder that every case, everybody, came with a story—and someone would always be left behind to tell it.
"Miss, we are sorry for your loss," a quiet voice whispered,
The girl rose up, wiping her tears that just kept flowing, nonetheless.
"We’ll handle all the arrangements, so let us know if you’d like anything else done!"
The girl bit her lips tightly as she stared at the white cloth that had been used to cover her dad. Her father loved his job so much, but apart from the assistant, there was no one else there. How cruel and ridiculous was this?
It would only be moments after before she would come to understand why her father’s employers were MIA. Leon and Evans watched for a while before Currey spotted them. He gave a few reassuring words to the girl, Albert’s daughter and then headed towards them.
"Detectives, sorry about this mornin-"
"It’s okay, assistant Currey. We understand that it’s been a trying day for the family. However, we have urgent information for the Chairman!"
Currey looked at them for a while and then opened his mouth, but then, the doors pushed open just at that time,
"Good! All the people that I am looking for in one place! You had better tell me something concrete now!" A livid Geneva boomed!
"Mum, wait!" Brad followed closely.
Currey sighed and itched to run his hands through his hair. He was frustrated beyond reason, and for the first time, the situation was out of hand, and he, of all people, did not have any control over it!
"Can we step out of the morgue and discuss this?"
"Mum!" Brad shook Geneva’s hands and led her out of the place.
She glared at the three men and then stormed out, but immediately outside the place, she folded her arms across her chest and then shouted, "Now talk!"
Prior to this, Geneva and the rest of the family had tried to no avail in reaching Currey nor Murray. Alex had asked a few people and had gotten a jist of the situation. Following this, one of the prominent servants was sent to the scene of the crime, and the rest were rushed to the hospital based on the information that they had received.
"My apologies, Mr. and Mrs. Thornston. I needed to get the whol-"
"Just tell, me, where is my daughter? And why is Ian not here yet?!"
Currey sighed and then he turned to the detectives, "Please give me some time with the family and I’ll get back to yo-"
"Assistant Currey. I believe the Chairman had said that this was important and in as much as I want to respect your wishes, our plates are full of the issues at hand, so-"
When Leon said the issues at hand, Currey knew that it was related to the disappearance, so he nodded before Leon completed his statement.
"Since the Chairman is not here, we’ll just give the family the information." This was not an important set of info but for some reason, Leon felt that he had to give it out,
"Before the unfortunate accident today, we received word of an unidentified body. It turned out to be Tyler, the fiancé of Miss Aliya, whom you had tasked us to investigate-"
Geneva frowned. This was not what she wanted to hear, and her sentiments at that time, were echoed by all but one.
The news jolted Currey so much that he stumbled back one step. They had been looking for Tyler for a while as they suspected him to be the Merperson out of the relationship. However, if Tyler was dead, and a body was found, then the probability that he was human was very high. Did this mean that Aliya was-
Currey murmured to himself, but Currey could not dispute this fact. He had his own suspicions but there had never been anything concrete. This was a solid proof!
Just at that time, a memory that he had buried deep down resurfaced, and Currey blanched! Just then, Leon’s voice pierced his thoughts,
"Mrs Thornston, we need to find the Chairman too... He ne-"
"The chairman is unconscious at the moment-"
"WHAT!!!!! What happened to my son!"
"Ian is unconscious?"
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!"
The exclamations of surprise echoed all around them.
Geneva stumbled back as a wave of dizziness washed over her,
"What of my daughter?"
"She is still yet to be found after the accident."
Albert’s daughter had stepped out of the morgue right at that time and heard these two pieces of information. Despite her grief, shame washed over her at her foul thoughts on her father’s employers.
"Mum, you have to stay strong. We need to go see Ian and -"
"Miss Ava is in surgery too-"
"Oh no!!!! Why me?! Why me!" Geneva cried out in despair.
"We’ll do all we can to find Miss Shelby!" Leon promised. At this time, they had nothing more left to do there. The two detectives quickly asked for their leave and left the family, with the promise of frequent updates.
"Where are they?" Alex asked, his voice hoarse as if he had just aged another decade in the last few minutes.
"The surgery is over, sir...."
A doctor said as he removed his mask and gown,
"Where is the girl’s family?"
Rocky rushed up to the doctor, closely followed by Matt and Nicholas. In the end, he succumbed to the need to see Ava as he was of no help to the policemen at the scene of the accident in looking for his sister.
"She has no close family at the moment. I am her boyfriend, though," Rocky said,
The doctor looked at Rocky suspiciously,
"Rocky, calm down and let the doctor finish his words," Matt and Nicholas tried to hold him back from rushing at the doctor. The doctor sighed and then started,
"She pulled through just fine. She is one strong woman. Though she is still unconsc-"
The doctor looked at the worried faces and kept all his thoughts to himself,
"She is currently in a coma, and we have done all we can to help her. It is up to her fate at the moment."
Rocky’s body went limp. His mind was in chaos. However, the doctor’s words pierced through the fog,
"...despite the extent of the injuries, she and the baby are okay!"
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