Chapter 29

Robert's hand holding the phone paused slightly. "What's wrong?"

Then he followed Zoey's gaze, looking at the spot he had just stepped before.

Zoey kept shining her flashlight on it.

He also shone his light a couple of times but didn't see anything unusual.

Robert asked, "What did you find?"

Zoey examined it seriously for a few seconds before slowly looking up to explain, "Officer Davis, don't you think this manhole cover is strange?"

"What's so strange about it?" Robert asked. He thought Zoey was just eager to solve the case since she had just joined the detective team, so she found everything suspicious.

He smiled. It was people like her who could join the detective department; because they needed to have sharp eyes. But everything shouldn't be made a big deal out of; making a big deal out of small things could bring a lot of burden to themselves and the team.

"The manhole cover itself isn't strange, what's strange is that it's the manhole cover here." Even though it was midnight, Zoey still looked around seriously and continued to explain to Robert, "The harvest season here has long passed, and judging by the dust on the houses, almost no one lives here. But this manhole cover is brand new. If it had been left unattended for a long time, the gap between the cover and the frame would be filled with dust and mud from rainy days, making it hard to open."

Zoey continued, "If it wasn't a professional, they probably couldn't open it. And professionals would clean the gap to open the manhole cover. And I think there's something wrong with this manhole cover because its gap is cleaner than those on the main streets."

After Zoey's analysis, Robert understood what she meant.

Robert said, "Your analysis makes sense. If someone is skilled, it wouldn't take more than a few minutes to open this manhole cover."

Zoey glanced back at their car, "Do we have any tools?"

Seeing Zoey's anxious look, Robert couldn't help but laugh.

Zoey was smart, talented, and meticulous.; she even worked harder than he did.

Robert said, "Wait here, I'll call the station!"

It was pointless for Zoey to be anxious. Without professional tools, they could only wait.

Robert made a call to the detective department and said, "Why are you messing with Alexander's phone? Give it to him."

As Alexander answered the phone, Robert said, "It's me. Don't ask so many questions, just listen! Call everyone who's not busy in the detective department and get them over here! I'll send you the location in a bit; hurry up, as it's freezing out here. Additionally, bring an assortment of tools to open the manhole cover."

"Don't hang up yet! When you drive over, remember to bring us some food from the city."  Robert mentioned the late-night snack and specifically looked at Zoey beside him, then added, "Bring as much as you can."

Zoey had been working hard with them and they couldn't let her go hungry.

She had only been in the detective department for a few days but had been staying up late every day. For that alone, they had to make sure she was well-fed.

Alexander instantly understood who Robert meant by "bring as much as you can."

Alexander smiled, saying, "Got it!"

After hanging up, Robert laughed again. "You young people, I don't know if it's because you just became detectives and find it exciting, enjoying the process of solving cases. How can you be so happy working at bedtime?"

Zoey knew exactly who he was talking about. Who else but Alexander?

Alexander had been competing with her since school; he was a freak to her.

If it weren't for the scholarship competition, she wouldn't have wasted so much time staying up late to beat him.

Thinking about this, Zoey's remaining goodwill towards Alexander vanished.

The suburbs at night were much colder than the city because the city had tall buildings that could reduce the wind resistance by half. But the suburbs were full of dense woods.

After standing outside for a few minutes, Zoey and Robert felt chilled to the bone.

Robert observed the manhole cover with his flashlight for a while, then turned to see Zoey rubbing her arms to keep warm.

He got up and walked back to the car, rummaging through the trunk for a few minutes before returning to Zoey's side.

He handed her some foam padding. "Lay this down; it'll keep you warmer."

While Robert directly just sat on the ground.

Robert extracted a cigarette from his pocket, intending to light it to stave off drowsiness, and struck up a conversation with Zoey, "Where do you hail from?"

Zoey said, "Next to Emerald City, Shadow City."

"That's pretty close, just a two-hour train ride." Robert spoke with the cigarette in his mouth. From his posture, it was clear he was a seasoned smoker.

Zoey nodded. "Yes."

"An only child?" Robert asked, immediately feeling that he had disgraced his position as chief inspector of the detective department with such a banal question.

If Zoey was an only child, would her parents let her go to the police academy?

Zoey's eyes darkened with the night. "I have a younger sister."

Robert asked, "How much younger?"

Zoey's tone unknowingly became heavy, but Robert didn't notice, thinking she was just tired.

Zoey said, "Three years."

"That's nice. So, you just graduated from college, and she's in university now? What major did she choose? It's not the police academy as well?"

Zoey said, "She died."

Robert's eyes momentarily darkened, and the act of holding the cigarette in his mouth came to an abrupt halt.

"Zoey, I didn't mean to ask those questions... I just wanted to get to know you better. After all, we'll be working together a lot in the future." Robert tried to explain, then Zoey force a stiff smile and shake her head. "It's okay; I was just joking."

Robert was shocked.

Putting aside Robert's years as a seasoned detective, he was also a middle-aged man with a family! From the first time he met Zoey, he felt she was different from others.

She didn't smile much, didn't open up to others, and seemed hard to approach. Only when working on a case did she show her serious side.

Robert genuinely believed that Zoey must have had a difficult upbringing, with parents who neglected her, leading to her current personality.

Robert didn't dare to chat with her anymore, afraid he might make her cry.

He didn't even know what to do when his own wife cried. If Zoey cried, he thought it would be harder to handle than the case.