Chapter 130: Chapter 130

The man tried to protest. “Wait! Why are you all doing this to me? I didn’t do anything!” he exclaimed.

He struggled fiercely, but it was no use. He couldn’t possibly stand a chance against this many bodyguards.

Michael peered at the man closely. This stranger — the culprit, apparently — looked panicked, but he didn’t seem dangerous.

Yet.

Though that scar looked a little ominous…

Michael stopped the guards for a moment, staring straight into the man’s eyes. “What’s your name?”

“My name? It’s… it’s Hank,” the man replied, looking uncomfortable under Michael’s icy gaze. “Hank Howard. I didn’t do anything—”

“Who ordered you to crash into my sister’s car?” Michael’s voice was deceptively calm. “If no one ordered you to do so, then why did you try to kill her? Don’t even try to convince me that it was an accident. It was clearly a set-up. You did it deliberately,”

The man’s eyes went wild, and he began to struggle once more, albeit in vain as the bodyguards held him down tightly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let me go! This is against the law!” he growled.

“Christian Callahan,” Michael suddenly interjected, surprising Will and the other officers. “Does that name ring a bell?”

“Callahan?” The man looked puzzled for a split second before his expression hardened again. “Look, you’ve got the wrong guy. I don’t know anything about a Callahan!”

Michael’s brow furrowed in response.

It should be a lie, right?

How could someone not know who Christian Callahan was?

“Then you can explain yourself in detail at the police station,” Will interrupted.

The bodyguards escorted the man out of the airport under the watchful eyes of the public, forcing Hank into one of their cars.

Michael and Will followed closely behind, the tension in the air palpable.

They went straight to the police station. The place was buzzing with activity, with officers moving in every direction. It seemed that they were still trying to solve the latest McGregor case and examine pieces of evidence.

Soon, the man was handed over to the authorities, and Michael watched as Hank was escorted away by two police officers.

One of the officers called for Detective Jenkins, the lead investigator on Joanna’s case.

Detective Jenkins arrived shortly and greeted Michael and Will, his expression no-nonsense and intense. “Mr. McGregor, what is going on?” he asked.

Michael briefly explained everything to him, with Will interjecting details here and there. Jenkins listened intently and took notes.

“We’re going to need to verify all of this,” Jenkins said. He turned to the suspect, who was now standing beside him. “What’s your name?”

The man stared, but remained silent.

One of the bodyguards leaned over and whispered something to Michael, handing him something.

Michael nodded and gave Jenkins the man’s ID, which had apparently been confiscated during the arrest.

“So… Terrence Brooks,” Jenkins read. “All right, Mr. Brooks, you’re going to tell us everything.” He turned to the two uniformed officers flanking him. “Take Mr. Brooks into custody,” he ordered, and the officers promptly led Hank away, despite his loud protests.

“Why am I being arrested? I didn’t do anything!” he complained.

Jenkins turned back to Michael and Will. “Let’s go to my office. We need to discuss this further.”

Michael agreed and followed the detective from behind.

Huh. It seemed that Hank Howard was a fake name, after all.

Or was Terrence Brooks the fake name?

Only Jenkins would be able to tell him that once the interrogation was over.

***

Jenkins led them into his office and sat down behind his desk, motioning for Michael and Will to sit. The atmosphere was tense and suffocating, but both brothers were determined to get to the bottom of this case.

“First, thank you for bringing this to our attention,” Jenkins began cautiously. “However, we need concrete evidence to properly charge him. After all, your sister’s life and your family’s reputation are at stake.”

Michael nodded. “We understand. We just need to make sure the real culprit doesn’t get away. What’s the next step?”

Jenkins leaned back in his seat, considering. “We’ll start by questioning Mr. Terrence Brooks and verifying his alibi. We’ll also follow up on the tip you provided.” He looked at Will. “You mentioned contacting the airlines earlier. Do you have any records of those communications?”

Will nodded and handed over his cell phone. “Here are the calls I made. The airline also has security footage confirming his presence at the airport. There were several witnesses at the scene as well.”

Jenkins took the phone and scanned it. “Good. We’ll subpoena the footage for our files. In the meantime, we need to process Mr. Brooks’ belongings. Did he have any personal items with him when you arrested him?”

Michael pointed to the bag the bodyguards had confiscated. “He had that with him when he was detained.”

Jenkins took the bag and carefully unpacked its contents. Among the items were a plane ticket, cash, a burner phone, and a fake passport.

“Interesting,” Jenkins murmured. “These suggest that he was planning to disappear. He was prepared.”

Michael’s jaw tightened. “He’s planning to flee the country because he’s guilty. We need to get him to talk,” he said.

Culprit or not, this Terrence Brooks was nothing short of suspicious.

But how on earth did Camille find out that it was him? That was the real mystery.

Jenkins nodded. “We’ll get him into an interrogation room and see what we can learn.”

***

Later on, in the interrogation room, Hank Howard sat at a bare metal table, wrists handcuffed as he was forced to stay there and wait.

Detective Jenkins and another officer, Detective Ramirez, entered and sat across from him.

“Mr. Brooks,” Jenkins began, “you were caught trying to leave the country. We know that you were involved in the incident with Joanna McGregor.”

Hank’s eyes flickered with fear, but he tried to remain defiant. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m innocent. I heard about what happened to that woman, and it’s unfortunate, but I’m not involved. I—”

Ramirez pushed the plane ticket and fake passport across the table. “These say otherwise. You were ready to leave. You even gave Mr. McGregor a fake name, presumably. Why is that?”

Hank shifted uncomfortably in his seat. His fake name, Terrence Brooks, was printed on the passport and ID. “I just wanted to take a vacation, that’s all,” he said defensively.

Jenkins leaned forward. “With a fake passport? Come on, Terrence. That is, if that’s your real name. Do yourself a favor and tell us what really happened.”

Silence filled the room for a moment, but it didn’t last long.

Hank shook his head. “I haven’t done anything. I’m just someone who wants to go on vacation. I only gave a fake name because I was scared and he was suspicious! What would you have done if you were me, huh? I just didn’t want to give away my identity. The truth is that I’ve been falsely arrested! I want a lawyer!” he demanded.

Jenkins and Ramirez exchanged glances.

This was going to be another long day.