Chapter 55 Private Warehouse

Luke approached slowly, his voice gentle. "Hey, Caroline, I'm Detective Luke. Are you alright?"

Caroline, frantically waving her hands, cried out, "Don't come near me! Please, don't kill me..."

"Calm down," Luke reassured her. "I'm a police officer. I'm here to protect you."

"Are you really a policeman?" Caroline asked, her voice trembling.

"Yes. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

Caroline shivered uncontrollably, clutching her hair with both hands. "There's a devil... the devil wants to kill me! I ran as fast as I could..."

Luke pressed gently, "What kind of devil?"

"No, no, no..." Caroline shook her head vigorously.

"Where did you see this devil?"

"There are so many houses. I opened one... and the devil was inside... ah!" At this, Caroline screamed and flailed wildly, as if she had remembered something horrifying.

Brooke rushed over and grabbed Caroline's arm. "Mom, I'm Brooke. The devil is gone now. I'll keep you safe..."

"Brooke, you're my son..." Caroline's gaze turned eerie as her bloodshot eyes fixed on him.

"It's me, don't be scared. I'm right here."

Caroline shook her head and pushed him away forcefully. "No, go away. I don't want to see you..."

Emma approached, crouching beside her mother. Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke, "Mom, please don't scare me. It's Emma..."

"Emma, my daughter Emma."

"Mom, what's wrong?" Emma took Caroline's right hand in hers.

"There's a devil, and it wants to kill me! I'm so cold. Don't leave me. You're all I have now." Caroline clung to her daughter desperately.

Brooke sighed and turned to Luke. "Officer Luke, my mother is in a fragile state and easily agitated. Can we hold off on the questions for now?"

Luke glanced at Caroline and then at Brooke. "You found her?"

"Yes."

"May I speak with you?"

"Sure."

The three stepped out of the ward, and Luke offered Brooke a cigarette. "Did you bring Caroline to the hospital?"

"Yes," Brooke replied, lighting the cigarette.

"Last night, I called Caroline after leaving the police station, but she didn't answer. I went to her house this morning and found her huddled in the yard, trembling and disoriented, so I brought her here."

"Why did you call her last night?"

"I just needed to ask her something, and I wanted to know if she mentioned it to you."

"Aside from her mental state, does Caroline have any other injuries?"

Brooke considered for a moment. "She has some minor wounds, likely from a fall. Nothing too serious."

David interjected, "Like the injuries your father sustained?"

Brooke retorted, "No, I explained this clearly yesterday. It wasn't Sofia's or my fault. Lawn was trying to cover up an attack."

David said, "Lawn is still in a coma. You can claim innocence now, but once he wakes up..."

Brooke shrugged. "I have a clear conscience."

Luke continued, "Do you know what happened to Caroline?"

"I asked her, but she was too frightened and confused to provide clear answers."

"Do you know what she was doing last night?"

"I don't."

"Does Sophia know about this?"

"I haven't told her yet."

Luke, not fully trusting Brooke, decided to speak with Caroline's attending physician. The doctor confirmed that Caroline's condition was likely due to shock and recommended avoiding further stress, suggesting immediate treatment.

Reluctantly, Luke and David returned to the detective bureau to update Susan on the situation.

At 6:30 p.m., Luke left the police station, having hit a wall in his investigation and eager to unwind. He met Daisy at the Flying Bar, having ordered a curry lamb rice bowl and a couple of drinks in her absence.

It was past eight when Daisy finally arrived.

"Sorry for the delay," Daisy said, planting a kiss on Luke's cheek.

Luke checked his watch and replied, "It was a bit of a wait. I had a few interesting conversations while waiting."

Daisy smiled. "Well, that just proves I have good taste."

She ordered a glass of red wine and clinked glasses with Luke. "How's the case going?"

Luke took a sip of vodka and sighed. "Not great. Lawn is in a coma, and no one knows what happened. Caroline is in a state of confusion."

"What happened to Caroline?" Daisy asked, clearly surprised.

"She's deeply frightened and mentally unstable."

Daisy struggled to believe it. "How could someone like her end up like this?"

"It's unclear. She's not communicating well, and our attempts to track her movements last night haven't yielded any leads." Luke chose not to elaborate further.

At the case summary meeting earlier, opinions were divided. Marcus suggested Caroline might have been robbed. Luke suspected she knew something she shouldn't have, which led to retaliation. The deputy team believed she was simply acting out.

All theories were plausible, but none had concrete evidence.

Luke looked at Daisy and asked, "What made you think to invite me out tonight? Afraid of being alone?"

Daisy cleared her throat and produced a document from her bag. "This is a will from Lawn dated two years ago. I thought it might be relevant to the case. I went through a lot to get it."

Luke took the document and scanned it. "A will from two years ago? This means there might be a more recent one."

"Lawn was originally a client of a senior colleague who later moved to New York. The will was handled by that senior, but it's been invalidated. My colleague managed to retrieve the electronic version."

The will, though similar to the current one, included additional inheritance, like a private warehouse alongside real estate and cash. This warehouse intrigued Luke.

The following morning, Luke and David went to the Mon'en Warehouse Center to investigate. It was a large facility with thousands of private warehouses.

The manager, Borrett, a middle-aged man with a notable belly, greeted them.

Luke showed his badge. "I'm Detective Luke. We're investigating a significant case and need your assistance."

Borrett, slightly confused, stood up. "What's the issue?"

"We need to check if a man named Lawn Bull rented a warehouse here."

"Do you have a search warrant?"

"We'll apply for one once we confirm he has a warehouse here."

"Alright, I'll check." Borrett looked up Lawn Bull and confirmed he had a warehouse, with the lease expiring in six months.

Borrett added, "Private warehouses require keys. Only the tenant can access them. We can't help with that."

David called Susan to request a search warrant. Meanwhile, Luke suggested Borrett give them a tour of the facility.

The center was vast, with warehouses of various sizes available for monthly, quarterly, or annual rent. Without labels, it was easy to get lost.

Luke noticed a lack of surveillance cameras. Borrett explained they had been removed due to declining customer numbers.

As they walked, Luke saw a group of people gathered. Borrett explained it was auction day for abandoned warehouses. Last time, someone had found gold coins worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Luke was tempted to check it out but was interrupted by David's phone ringing.

David returned with news that Marcus and the search warrant had arrived. They proceeded to Warehouse 53.

Borrett, after reviewing the warrant, pointed to a steel door. "This is it, but it's a special door. How will you get in without a key?"

The technician produced an electric saw. "How about this?"

Borrett, though concerned, had no objections. The saw sliced through the chain, and David opened the rolling door, releasing a faint, unpleasant odor.

David instinctively drew his gun. "It smells like decay."

The warehouse was disorganized, with scattered oil paintings and a large gray box against the wall.

Marcus moved forward. "Why would someone keep an incubator here... Wait, there's a pool of blood."

Luke, also drawing his gun, said, "Marcus, open the box."

"Why me?" Marcus protested.

David replied, "You're the closest."

With reluctance, Marcus opened the box, revealing a corpse clutching an oil painting, staring lifelessly at them.