Chapter 85

Alexander continued Dennis's words, "Some villagers who didn't want to reveal their names told us that Janet had originally agreed with her family to go out to work next month. Unexpectedly, the village chief's son came back from outside these days, took a liking to Janet at first sight, and discussed the engagement with her parents, saying that once engaged, he would take Janet to the county, which would be a kind of care."

Robert found this clue interesting and immediately asked, "Did Janet like him?"

"Does it matter? His father is the village chief, practically a god to these people. They might not listen to the cop, but they have to listen to the village chief," Dennis couldn't help but complain.

"What era is this, still controlling children's marriages?" Robert was angry but had no way to change it. He let out a heavy sigh.

Zoey retorted Robert's words, "This isn't about parental control over marriage, is it? He clearly saw that Janet was the prettiest and chose her. If the village chief is the highest official here, then the village chief's son would naturally be seen as the second most authoritative person."

The others thought Zoey made sense and nodded in agreement.

"There's another thing I find quite unusual," Dennis said. "You say these kids are dead, how can their parents be so calm? I just asked them to come over and make a statement, and their parents actually told me that this church is an unfortunate place and refused to come."

"Unfortunate?" Robert's frown deepened.

He now had one thought, more important than solving the case. How could they change their deeply ingrained beliefs?

Robert snapped, "If they won't come, we'll go! I want to see exactly how these rotten ideas have harmed the people of this village! Let's go!"

"Alright, let's go!" With Dennis leading the way, they left the church. After walking a few steps, they saw a small shop.

Charles went in to buy a few bottles of water and came out looking aggrieved. "Do you know how much this water costs? Guess!"

"What happened?"

"5 dollars!" Charles's resentful eyes were almost about to explode with anger. "They say their village is backward, but I don't see it at all. They saw I wasn't from the village and jacked up the price!"

"Damn, 5 dollars, they really dare to ask for that!" Dennis was speechless. "Aren't the villagers supposed to be honest and simple-minded?"

"Aren't there any bad people in the village?" Clearly, Zoey's joke didn't land well.

The others were slightly stunned, unable to understand her humor.

Only Alexander couldn't help but laugh.

Robert added a laugh, "Haha, right, it's okay. We're not staying long anyway, consider it a donation."

They didn't mention it again, and Dennis led them forward.

After a few steps, they saw a brick house with a small yard. Dennis said, "If my memory serves me right, this is Janet's home."

Dennis had already informed them beforehand. They entered the yard together, and a dog ran over, barking at them.

Robert looked at the small black dog that could be kicked away with one foot, "This dog is quite fierce."

Small as it was, it showed no fear of the much larger beings.

As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the brick house opened from the inside.

A woman, about fifty or sixty years old, wearing a white headscarf, was about to come out. Seeing the group, she stopped in her tracks.

She looked warily at the strangers who had suddenly entered her home and asked, "Why are you at my house?"

Robert took a step forward, with a formal smile, and said, "Hello, we are cops here to investigate a case. Are you Janet's mother, Renee Russell?"

"cop?" From Renee's tone, it was clear she had a strong aversion to the police. "Ask away, I'm feeding the dog."

Seeing her attitude, Robert confirmed again, "Mrs. Fuller, you need to answer my questions first. Janet is your daughter, right?"

Renee bent down, picked up the dog's food bowl, and petted the small black dog, answering nonchalantly, "Yes."

The others looked at each other, puzzled. Why wasn't she sad about Janet's death?

Dennis whispered to Charles, "Is Janet really her biological daughter? Janet's body is still lying in the church, how can she be so calm?"

Renee happened to hear this.

She turned around, glaring at Dennis, "She's just a useless thing. The village chief's son taking a liking to her was her good fortune. Which girl in this village doesn't want to marry him? She died too early, I didn't get any advantages, a worthless thing!"

The entire investigation team was fuming.

Renee, still oblivious, continued muttering, "Janet, being pretty is useless and foolish, always thinking about going to the city to work. How can city life be better than here? Does she even know how many advantages she could get by marrying the village chief's son? Useless, truly unfortunate!"

"Please respect the deceased!" Alexander, who had been silent, finally spoke, "Janet is your daughter. How can you, as her mother, be so indifferent? Why did you give birth to her in the first place?"

Renee, suddenly enraged, turned to attack Alexander. "It's none of your business. I give birth if I want to. She is worthless, causing such a big commotion. She deserved it."

The entire investigation team was puzzled.

Changing the villagers' rotten beliefs seemed more urgent than solving the case.

"Hey! You're Janet's mother, how can you say such things?" Charles snapped.

Robert pulled the impulsive Charles back, pushing him behind, while he himself suppressed his anger.

He still appeared calm as he asked, "Who was Janet closest to?"

Renee replied, "Janet was closest to the two girls who died with her. Every time I pulled Janet to the fields, they would come and talk to her all day, leaving me to do most of the work. They were just two unfortunate people, now they're all dead."

Seeing her getting more agitated, about to curse Janet again, Robert quickly changed the topic, "Besides those two girls?"

"How would I know? Everyone in Willowbrook Village knows each other. I only know Janet was close to them, I don't know about others."

Zoey suddenly asked, "Before the village chief's son proposed to Janet, did they have any interaction? Did Janet clearly show any refusal or dislike?"