The woman continued, “…Take that deaf man from our neighborhood, for example. He couldn’t get a wife, so he got a mangy dog. Every time they open their door, you can hear that dog barking. The deaf guy obviously can’t hear it, and he doesn’t do anything about it. I bought rat poison too late—should’ve killed it sooner…”

Logan Sullivan lost his patience, suddenly lifted his eyes, and stared straight into the woman’s eyes, mercilessly suppressing her mind. The woman, who had been chattering away like she was on a stimulant, immediately looked dazed, and in no time, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

Logan Sullivan said expressionlessly in her ear, “You ate something bad, but you just went to the bathroom and already expelled all the filth. Oh, and because you lost your balance, you stepped right into a cesspit. The smell on you is so bad, you’ll never wash it off…”

William Sherman heard him getting more and more outrageous and had to cough loudly.

“…Oh, even though you’ve turned yourself into a walking stink bomb, the food poisoning is almost gone. The handsome police officers who came this afternoon were just doing their job, asking for information about the people selling poisonous oranges, and by the way, gave some citizens a little lesson in moral conduct…”

William Sherman: “Ahem!”

“That’s all. Reflect on your own behavior.” At William Sherman’s request, Logan Sullivan shut up, was the last to leave the hospital room, and just as he was about to step out, turned back with a wicked grin: “Hope you have nightmares, auntie.”

William Sherman quickly reached back and dragged him out, afraid he’d start telling ghost stories by her ear.

“She clearly doesn’t know the poisoner.” As soon as they were out the door, Logan Sullivan switched to lecture mode for Charles Gray. “There’s not much karmic connection under her eyelids. Even though I find her annoying, it’s unlikely the one who poisoned the oranges was a dog. In my experience, this kind of thing is usually just someone causing trouble for no reason.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Charles Gray, who was furiously taking notes in his little notebook, slowed his speech a bit, and waited for Charles Gray to catch up before continuing, seemingly offhandedly: “If that auntie had a direct connection to the victim—say, she killed someone and now someone’s back for revenge, that’s not our business. Human law doesn’t allow an eye for an eye, but the karmic order between yin and yang does.”

Charles Gray nodded eagerly.

“But from what the victim said, she clearly doesn’t know the orange seller. And with such a weak karmic link, maybe their only interaction was brushing past each other on the street, or stepping on each other’s toes—of course, there could be deeper secrets, but most commonly, it’s a vengeful ghost harming people on purpose. In that case, not only can we catch them, we can execute them on the spot.”

Charles Gray instinctively patted the pocket where he kept his little stun baton. Logan Sullivan’s mouth twitched—he felt a headache coming on.

“Alright, I’ll go check on the unluckier one in the ICU.”

As soon as he glanced over, William Sherman nodded in understanding. “I’ll go handle the other victim.”

Logan Sullivan gave William Sherman a sunny smile, then turned and scowled at Charles Gray, putting on a fierce face: “You—call Holly Harlow and have her talk to the higher-ups, get them to approve this fast. I want full authority to handle this before tonight—don’t dawdle! If you keep dragging your feet, I’ll kick your butt. Move it!”

With Professor Sherman, who might have stood up for him, already gone, Charles Gray could only cover his backside and get to work.

Chapter 53: The Merit Pen …

Finally, a little after four in the afternoon, before the sun had fully set, Holly Harlow arrived at the hospital, bringing the approved coordination authorization.

“The sub-bureau people have all left now. I ran into Xiao Li downstairs just now, and he said he’ll treat us to dinner sometime, so…”

Holly Harlow had only gotten this far when she suddenly stopped, swallowing the rest of her words—because she saw William Sherman walking over with drinks he’d just bought. Holly Harlow paused, then switched to a more subtle approach: “So now the case is officially ours. What’s the plan?”

William Sherman of course noticed her hesitant look, and immediately handed the drink to Logan Sullivan, considerately saying, “You all have work to do. I’ll step out for a bit.”

Logan Sullivan grabbed him, showing his clingy side: “No way. What if you regret it later and I can’t catch you again?”

People often passed through the hospital corridor. Logan Sullivan, tall and handsome, already drew attention, and now, pulling and tugging at another man, they quickly attracted curious looks.

William Sherman quickly glanced around and lowered his voice: “We’re still in public. Be careful.”

At that, Logan Sullivan immediately turned to glare at the onlookers, saying nonchalantly, “What are you looking at? Never seen two handsome guys flirting?”

The onlookers really hadn’t seen anyone flirt so boldly, and quickly turned away, embarrassed.

Logan Sullivan turned back to William Sherman with a fawning grin: “Hehehe.”

William Sherman: “……”

Holly Harlow could hardly believe this goofball was their wise and mighty Director Sullivan. Her turbulent heart instantly withered to just four words: “Too horrible to watch.”

Still, William Sherman frowned slightly: “You have work to do. It’s probably not appropriate for me to stay.”

Holly Harlow also whispered, “Yeah, Director Sullivan, our internal rules…”

Logan Sullivan cut her off: “I make the rules. If I’m not happy, I can change them anytime—and the rules just say to avoid outsiders during operations. He’s not an outsider.”

William Sherman was stunned for a moment, almost thinking Logan Sullivan was about to reveal his identity.

But then he heard Logan Sullivan lower his voice and say to Holly Harlow, “He’s my ‘better half,’ after all.”

William Sherman: “……”

Holly Harlow was speechless for a moment, then turned her face to the window, and in a monotone like an automated phone message, said to Charles Gray, “Xiao Guo, look how green the sunset is outside! Just like it’s been pickled in vinegar!”

Charles Gray couldn’t help rubbing his eyes.

Logan Sullivan cleared his throat, straightened his expression, and got serious again, resuming his leaderly demeanor: “Alright, enough—Holly Harlow, call the forensics team and have them all come here, especially Julian West. Last night, that thick-skinned guy actually ran off first. Today, I’ll make sure he learns what happens when you abandon the team.”

Holly Harlow replied with an “okay,” then turned to text everyone in the forensics department at No. 4 Guangming Road: “Come to Huangyan Temple Hospital, watch the king of ghosts show off—see how smug he is now.”

Everyone rushed to the hospital before dark, but instead of spectating, they were bossed around by Logan Sullivan, who sat there like a lord, not moving a muscle: “Old Chu, go set up two layers of ‘nets’ on the roof—one-way, in only, no out, in case he tries to run. Xiao Guo, follow and take notes, hand in a report later. Holly Harlow, put ‘monitoring bells’ on all the doors and windows in the inpatient wing, then section off the space as your domain—don’t let any bystanders wander in, and do it cleanly, no traces… Darrin Grant, go help.”

Darrin Grant was just whispering with Julian West, who had been saying, “Look at Mr. Sherman’s arm, still bandaged—our boss is such a beast.” Darrin Grant was just starting to daydream when it suddenly heard its name and shivered.

William Sherman awkwardly tugged at his sleeve.

“As for Julian West…” Logan Sullivan pulled a small medicine bottle from his pocket. Julian West suddenly had a bad feeling.

Logan Sullivan grinned maliciously at Julian West: “This contains a curse I took from one of the victims.”

Carter Shaw helpfully explained to the clueless newbie, “So-called vengeful ghosts are born from resentment. The resentment placed on others is like a tentacle, sharing the same origin, so it’s all connected.”

Charles Gray, who had been following Logan Sullivan and hadn’t had dinner yet, suddenly thought of takoyaki at this, swallowed, and his stomach growled.

Carter Shaw: “……”

Sometimes he really couldn’t understand what went on in this rookie’s head all day.