“The man has been caught.”
Lance was a little surprised when Chief Bruce called. “I thought you’d need a bit more time to find him.”
Lance already knew that Charlie’s car had been found, but that Charlie himself had disappeared.
It wasn’t that they were personally searching for Charlie there; it was good enough that the local marshals or highway patrol could continue to advance the case. You couldn’t expect them to do everything immediately; that wasn’t realistic.
Lance had guessed it might take some more time. If Charlie was determined to hide, it would be quite difficult to find him.
And now, no one knew if he had already left the town, where he had gone from, or where he was headed. All of this was unknown.
All they could say was that they were getting closer and closer to Charlie.
But he hadn’t expected the man to be caught so quickly.
Chief Bruce, having captured Charlie, was completely relaxed, and his tone was a bit lighter. “There might have been some twists and turns. When the officers from the marshal’s office arrived at the clinic, he happened to have gone out.”
“And he might have seen the police car nearby, so he ran…”
Chief Bruce laughed. “He thought things were too simple, and at the same time, too complicated.”
“If he had just hidden, then our men might not have been able to find him. If he had hidden for a few days, we might have thought he had already escaped and would have relaxed our control over the town.”
“But he did something no one expected. He actually… thought of applying for a job at a farm!”
Lance could already guess the result. “And then he was caught by the farm owner, right?”
He also started to laugh. This was indeed very interesting.
“Yes, yes!”
“The farm owner arrested him directly and then called the marshal. They are on their way back with him now.”
Hearing this result, Lance was not surprised. In fact, the upper class’s understanding of the “lower class” came almost entirely from the mouths of others or from media reports.
Many big shots no longer knew how to interact with the bottom of society, how to communicate with them, what to say, or what to do.
The distance between the highest ruling class and the lowest ruled class was too great, so great that they didn’t seem to be products of the same society.
The gentlemen of the upper class always overly idealized or demonized the very bottom of society.
Imagining them as overly simple and pure, or overly treacherous and cunning.
In fact, the bottom of society was always there. As long as they could bend down and lower their heads, they could see clearly. But they had never done so.
Not in the past, not now, and not in the future, because there was no need.
Although some of them might make laws, regulations, and policies around the lower class, and some might implement these policies and regulations for the lower class, they didn’t necessarily know if the things they were doing were really necessary for those at the bottom.
Charlie’s problem was that he had thought of these things too simply. A town, not too big of a town, with a few hundred households.
The residents of the town might not know the names of everyone living here, but they had definitely seen all the residents of the town.
After all, the town was only so big. It was only a few hundred meters from the easternmost to the westernmost side. Sooner or later, everyone would meet on the road.
Not to mention, during festivals like the Holy Farmer Festival, they would also gather together.
So when Charlie proposed to apply for a job as a cowboy on the farm, the farm owner felt that he was not right.
A stranger, whom he had never seen in town, suddenly wanted to be a cowboy on his farm. Could there be anything more ridiculous than this?
This was not an era where travel was convenient. The many highway killers made solo travel an extremely risky thing.
And there was no bus from the town to the city, which meant that this stranger had most likely driven here himself.
When an old man who looked to be at least fifty-five years old, driving a car worth at least a few hundred dollars, came from a big city to be a cowboy for a salary of ten or twenty dollars a month, this was not normal!
The farm owner, while agreeing to Charlie’s request, contacted the marshal. Soon, the marshal changed his clothes and came over to get close to Charlie.
He found that Charlie was the guy on the wanted poster, so Charlie was arrested.
The farm owner had done almost nothing but make a phone call and get a reward. He was overjoyed.
The marshal’s office was also very happy. Catching Charlie was a “credit” for them, enough to turn one of them from a temporary worker into a full-time employee.
Becoming a full-time employee meant more benefits and welfare. For these people in the countryside, a little more was a good thing.
Charlie was arrested because he had thought of the lower class too simply. He thought the farm owner would help him cover his tracks and let him hide on his farm for a while.
But in reality, for the residents of these towns far from the big cities, as long as it was a stranger, they would treat them with vigilance and caution, not tolerate them or accept them.
Perhaps even at the moment Charlie was being escorted into the police car, he still didn’t know why the farm owner had betrayed him, nor did he understand why he had called the police, why all of this was not the same as the script he had written for himself.
Of course, there was a high probability that he would not have the chance to ask the farm owner for the answer. He was already in the highway patrol car. He would first be taken to the highway patrol station for necessary registration and statement work.
He needed to explain what had happened between him and the two bodies in the motel, and only then would he be handed over to the Golden Port City police.
He knew he was finished.
Sitting in the police car, he suddenly felt a wave of listlessness. His ambitions, and his almost perfect plan, had all become meaningless.
The person who came to pick him up this time was the chief of the highway patrol’s homicide office, and also the person in charge of the motel homicide case.
As he drove, he asked what had happened in the motel.
At this point, Charlie no longer planned to hide this information that was harmless to him. He confessed truthfully that because he might have exposed the money in his wallet, it had ultimately led to the tragedy.
The homicide office chief’s deduction was almost the same. After asking some details, he shifted the topic from this case to Charlie himself.
Perhaps most police officers’ hearts still retained a curiosity for exploring the world.
“I hear you’re a cop too, Charlie,” the homicide office chief asked casually as he drove.
He had read Charlie’s personal information, which stated that he had once been a police officer in Golden Port City and had held important positions for many years, with rich experience in counter-surveillance.
This was also what this homicide office chief was very curious about: how a retired police officer could end up on a wanted poster.
The wanted poster didn’t say what he had done, only that he was wanted, and that was all.
Charlie didn’t speak. He didn’t want to answer this question that had no connection to the motel.
Seeing that he was not speaking, the homicide office chief said again, “I hear several police cars are coming from Golden Port City to pick you up. You must be a big shot!”
Charlie still didn’t speak. The homicide office chief continued to make small talk. “Are you involved in some big case?”
“Otherwise, why would they send so many people? I’ve never heard of a case that requires so many people to escort a criminal!”
“At most, two police cars would be very grand. You’ve broken my understanding of this. you must not be an ordinary person.”
Charlie still didn’t speak. The homicide office chief looked at Charlie in the rearview mirror twice, wanting to get some information from him.
But unfortunately, he didn’t get anything.
Charlie was unwilling to talk, so he didn’t continue to talk. The other three police officers in the car remained silent.
The highway was not romantic at all, only endless boredom, especially the Federation’s interstate highways.
The almost unchanging scenery could make people feel the most fatigue in a very short period of time.
You don’t know how many kilometers you have driven forward, how far you are from the destination. The always the same scenery can make people go crazy!
Mentally, physically. So those truck drivers need motels, a comprehensive release from body to spirit, before they can continue on the road.
Even if it costs a few more dollars, they are willing.
The car was getting closer and closer to the interstate highway police station. Two trucks came from the opposite direction, looking like they were going very fast.
The homicide office chief moved a little to the side of the road and couldn’t help but say, “If it weren’t for you, I would have them stop now. They are already speeding.”
Although he was from the homicide office, he could also give these big trucks a ticket.
He didn’t like these truck drivers who floored the gas pedal. This often meant that they were either in a state of excitement or in a drowsy state. Otherwise, they wouldn’t do that.
Either way, it represented danger.
Seeing the two big trucks getting closer and closer, the homicide office chief even moved a little more to the side, just to avoid an accident.
But the more you fear something, the more it comes. Just as the two sides were about to pass each other, the truck in front suddenly turned its steering wheel and came straight at them!
The homicide office chief was instantly scared into a cold sweat!
He frantically turned the steering wheel, causing the car to drive off the road shoulder, but unfortunately, he hit a large rock on the side of the road.
White smoke rose from under the hood, and the car broke down.
He dodged the first truck, but not the second.
He protected his head with his hands and then watched as the front of the truck hit his police car.
With a boom, he lost consciousness…
After an unknown amount of time, Charlie struggled to push away the person pressing on him, dizzy, and tried to crawl out.
The car door was suddenly pulled open. Several armed men stood outside the car door.
The moment he saw them, the anxiety in Charlie’s heart finally subsided.
(End of a Chapter)