Chapter 88

"Hurry up, keep up!" Shouted the police as they arrived at the scene. Two officers quickly pinned down Murphy, intending to take the suspect back to the station. One of the officers asked "Who called the police?" Nancy gently patted down the dust on her, elegantly walking down the podium "We didn't call the police." Liam lay on the stage, his body in such pain he couldn’t move. He looked at Nancy, his heart burning with annoyance, but he couldn’t utter a word. Murphy also didn’t understand the meaning behind Nancy’s words. "No one called the police?" The officer was thoroughly confused. Could it be that they caught the wrong person? Nancy tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, beaming a smile. "Perhaps one of the journalists at the scene was scared and falsely reported it. It's nothing but a personal grudge. This whole thing is a misunderstanding." The officer suspiciously scanned the scene. Amidst the remnants of the fight was blood on the stage. His brows furrowed and with a pair of menacing eyes, he watched over Nancy, Liam, and Murphy. The situation seemed increasingly off to him. It couldn’t be as simple as a personal grudge. "A misunderstanding? Bet it would have ended in a homicide if the brawl had gone on. Take them all away!" The officer, with his beer belly, waved his arms and ordered to take all three back to the station. After the three were escorted away, the officer briefly surveyed the scene. As he turned to leave, he caught a shimmer of silver under the stage. Bending down, he peeked under the platform and found a gleaming knife! This was not a misunderstanding at all, but a premeditated murder. "Tony, take the evidence." The officer instructed a junior policeman next to him. The young officer, wearing gloves, put the silver knife in a transparent, sealed plastic bag. The officer looked at the evidence in the bag, his smile deep and meaningful. At S City's First Police Station, exactly at noon. Liam, Nancy, and Murphy were sitting side by side on the sofa in the police officer's office. Liam was lying back, pressing a bag of ice on the injury on his face. "Who the hell do you think you are? You punched so hard!" Liam's eye had already swelled shut from the punch, and he had a visible bruise on his nose. It had taken some effort to stop his nose bleed. "I beat you up. You deserve this for abusing Nancy. If it wasn't for Nancy, I would have killed you already!" Murphy glared at Liam with hatred. He wanted to kill any man who was involved with Nancy. "So, you came after me for Nancy. What's your relationship with her? And who told you that I was abusing her?" A series of questions flashed through Liam's mind. He was indeed unlucky today. This accusation of absent-mindedly abusing Nancy was clearly a deliberate attempt to stir up discord between them. "That's none of your business. I have my ways to find out." Murphy clenched his teeth, and looked at Liam in despise "As for my relationship with Nancy, it's far stronger than yours." Murphy gave Liam a cold laugh. He always felt that this man, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, looked gentle outwardly, but was in fact malicious and venomous. "Nancy, what does he mean? Who is this man?" Liam was becoming increasingly frustrated. He looked at Nancy, full of confusion. "Honey, don't be too anxious. You have a cut in the corner of your mouth, so don't talk too much. I'll explain everything about this man when we get home." As Nancy comforted Liam, she glanced stealthily at Murphy, indicating with her calm eyes that he should not act rashly. She had her own plans. The police officer opened the office door and instructed all the guards to leave, leaving behind only Officer Paul. The officer had just finished his lunch in the canteen, and he had brought boxed meals for the three of them to the office. "Mr. Humphrey, Mrs. Humphrey, and ... I'm not sure how to address you, brother, sorry to keep you waiting." The officer placed the three boxed meals on the coffee table and personally handed them to them. Liam ignored the officer. When Nancy saw that neither of the two men next to her responded, she had no choice but to reply "Officer, what's your name?" "My last name is Tony." There was a greasy smile on Officer Timothy's chubby face, and he was practically star-struck looking at Nancy. "Oh, Officer Timothy, my father had an old friend with the same surname. He was as approachable as you are." Nancy gave a charming smile. Seeing this, Murphy felt a sudden urge to beat up Officer Timothy. Nancy was not only trying to make Officer Tony feel close to her, but she was also subtly reminding him that she was not only Mrs. Humphrey from Humphrey Group, but equally the cherished younger daughter of the Clarkson's Empire, Jacob Clarkson. If anyone dared to bully her, Jacob would make them pay. "Oh, really? I am known as an extremely easy going and nice person at the police station. Right, Tony?" Officer Timothy's face retained that grotesque and insincere smile as he inquired at the young cop beside him. The young officer was slow to react, stammering "Oh, yes... universally acknowledged." Officer Timothy motioned for Tony to bring over a chair. He sat across from Mr. and Mrs. Liam and Murphy, his voice slow and soft, his expression somewhat troubled as though he had no choice but to question them because of his professional duty. "Mr. Humphrey, Mrs. Humphrey, what exactly happened between the three of you today that escalated to such an uncontrollable extent? Enough to elicit a police report!" Officer Timothy exaggeratedly expressed with a look of theatricality. He seemed to sympathize with them, yet helpless to simply let them go. "Actually, it's nothing major. Just some disagreements over old matters, which we have just resolved." Nancy casually raised her hand and replied with a composed smile. "But your resolution can't suffice. Now that someone has reported it, as a police officer I have to take responsibility for this. It's necessary for us to understand the situation." Officer Timothy insisted unwaveringly, he couldn't let them off that easily. Nancy gave a nonchalant smile. Her captivating eyes fixed on Officer Timothy as she said "It's nothing more than a conflict between an ex-boyfriend and my current husband. What is there to talk about?" Pretending to be embarrassed, Nancy paused for a moment before she asked "By the way, Officer Timothy, who reported it?" "The call came from a woman, she didn't mention her name," he recalled. Officer Timothy had personally answered the call and still had a vague impression of the voice. He was confident he would recognize it if he heard it again.