“Later on, that Emily Carter got involved in several cases of group gambling and fighting at the nightclub. For the specific details, we’d have to check the case files in Gongzhou. But she was lucky—one intentional injury charge was dropped, and for one charge of harboring gambling, she was released on bail pending trial. Let me see... wow, not bad, she must have spent quite a bit of money. It’s not easy to get bail in Gongzhou.”

Logan Bennett asked, “What about Henry Turner?”

“He went back to his hometown after she was first suspected of intentional injury. It doesn’t look like the two of them were all that devoted to each other.”

Logan Bennett lit another cigarette, following in the footsteps of the deceased from last night, staring thoughtfully at the pattern of the sidewalk tiles.

“As for what Henry Turner did back in his hometown, we’ll have to check his place of origin. But the car accident three years ago was just as he said. As for Emily Carter, after her second release on bail, she came to Jianning and took over this KTV. Because of the business contract, she even had a lawsuit with the previous landlord, and she actually won pretty quickly. Damn, Brother Bennett, this woman either has powerful connections or is just incredibly lucky—she always manages to get out of trouble.”

As the sky gradually darkened, the streetlights flickered on one after another. Logan Bennett withdrew his gaze from the distance, when suddenly, by the edge of the storm drain a few steps away, something flashed with a faint glimmer.

At first, Logan Bennett didn’t notice, but a few seconds later, a certain intuition honed by over a decade of frontline criminal investigation gently knocked in his mind.

“Brother Bennett?”

“...Wait.”

Logan Bennett walked over and squatted down. At the corner between the sidewalk and the one-way street, lying quietly in the dust, was a shiny little object—

A zipper slider.

Logan Bennett picked it up with two fingers, holding the small piece of metal half-wrapped in leather up to the light, squinting his eyes.

“What is it, Brother Bennett? Did you find something during the scene re-examination?”

“Go check the case files for Emily Carter’s lawsuits in Jianning, and tell the tech team not to leave the office.” Logan Bennett stood up, put the zipper head into an evidence bag, and said, “I’ll be back at headquarters in half an hour. There’s been a major discovery at the scene—if it checks out, it could be a breakthrough clue.”

“Got it!”

Logan Bennett hung up the phone and turned around, but all his movements froze instantly.

Not far away, by the alley, Ryan Sullivan stood quietly under the streetlight, holding a large plastic takeout bag in his hand.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment. The sound of cars on the distant street came and went, and moths kept bumping into the streetlight, making faint thumping noises.

Ryan Sullivan walked forward and handed the still-warm plastic bag to Logan Bennett, saying gently,

“Officer Bennett, don’t eat too late.”

His gaze slid over the zipper slider in the transparent evidence bag, and then his fingertips brushed against Logan Bennett’s hand for a brief moment.

They stood face to face, less than half a foot apart. Logan Bennett saw his own reflection in the light-colored pupils of Ryan Sullivan, and suddenly realized that his jaw muscles were so tense that he was unconsciously showing a look as if facing a formidable enemy.

But actually, that was strange.

The person in front of him, with an unmistakable air of illness, was far from anything threatening.

“...Got it.” Logan Bennett stepped back half a step, lowering his face to hide his expression, and nodded, “Thank you.”

Ryan Sullivan stood with his hands folded, smiling and nodding silently, watching as Logan Bennett turned and gradually walked away under the streetlight.

The sound of high heels striking the ground came from the alley. Emily Carter stopped behind Ryan Sullivan, watching Logan Bennett disappear at the end of the road, then looked at Ryan Sullivan with concern. “Are you going to help him investigate this case?”

The gentle light in Ryan Sullivan’s eyes had faded, and his tone was calm and indifferent: “If the case isn’t solved, the police won’t withdraw their attention. Do you want to be watched by the police for months?”

“...Then,” Emily Carter hesitated, then asked, “So how do you plan to investigate?”

Ryan Sullivan lowered his eyes, not answering immediately, as if deep in thought.

Emily Carter wrapped her thin shawl tighter around herself, looking up at the streetlight’s hazy yellow glow spreading over Ryan Sullivan’s hair and cheek, like a layer of delicate pale gold gauze.

No matter how many years passed, in Emily Carter’s eyes, Ryan Sullivan was no different from when they first met. The hardships and dangers of a wandering life had not taken away his overwhelming caution, enough to face any situation.

“Zipper,” Ryan Sullivan murmured.

Emily Carter stared at him without blinking.

Suddenly, Ryan Sullivan looked up. “Do you have anything you want to sell to a secondhand shop?”

Emily Carter: “Secondhand shop?”

·

“Fendi?” Mason Reed took the zipper from the evidence bag and held it up to the light, looking surprised.

Logan Bennett slurped his takeout eel rice. “Mhm.”

The upper part of the zipper head was black lambskin, edged with yellow oil paint, and the lower part was metal stamped with the FENDI logo. It was still quite new, but the small ring connecting the end to the slider was loose, probably torn off by force or caught on something.

Mason Reed looked a bit puzzled. “What does this prove?”

With greasy chopsticks in one hand, Logan Bennett pushed the computer screen on his desk at an angle, signaling him to look at the FENDI official website.

Mason Reed: “What?”