Chapter 71: Arrest

At midnight, the two men switched shifts.

David rested.

Luke looked out the window. It was pitch dark, and with the manor being so vast, it was hard to notice if someone tried to sneak in.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he faintly heard a crying sound.

"Whimper..."

The crying was subdued, rising and falling, like a woman's or a child's.

The sense of desolation was identical to the sound he heard in the pit.

Luke scanned the manor outside. It was all dark, with no apparent anomalies, so he began checking his gun.

David, not sure if he was awakened by the sound of the gun being cocked or by the crying, rubbed his face, got out of the car, changed into his gear from the trunk, and handed Luke a set of body armor.

Luke put on the body armor. Although he had a bulletproof card, it was for life-threatening situations, and who knew if he could draw it again next time? Better to save it.

The two men prepared themselves, holding a flashlight in their left hands and a gun in their right hands. They proceeded towards the manor, but they didn't turn on the flashlight yet.

When they reached the wall, Luke peered into the manor. The manor was overgrown with weeds, making it difficult to spot someone lying on the ground, especially with a pit that could potentially be used to hide.

Knowing that the suspect might be near the pit, Luke and David decided to keep the lights off, climbed over the stone wall, and crawled stealthily towards the pit.

Indeed, the crying grew louder the further they went.

David suddenly signaled Luke to stop, as if he had discovered something.

David then abruptly turned on the flashlight.

"Ah!" Someone screamed in the distance.

Luke got up and saw a shadow illuminated by the flashlight, holding a megaphone.

The person was momentarily blinded, so Luke also turned on his flashlight and ran forward, crouching.

"LAPD, get on the ground, hands on your head, don't move!"

David rushed up as well, shining the flashlight around to check for others.

Luke approached and subdued the person with the megaphone, handcuffing him from behind.

The man was a middle-aged individual, looking to be in his fifties, tall and thin, with meticulously groomed hair.

Luke asked, "Do you have any accomplices?"

"No, I'm not a bad person."

"Who are you?"

"Hans Miller. This is my home. I'm the owner of the manor."

"Are you Anna's husband?"

The man looked a bit surprised. "Yes, you know my wife?"

Luke examined the man's appearance. He had seen a photo of Hans Miller, but that photo was from twenty years ago. Over time, the man had aged a lot, but his features were unmistakably those of Hans Miller.

"What are you doing here?"

"I miss my wife and children, so I came back to see."

Luke kicked the nearby megaphone. "This is how you watch over them? There have always been rumors about the manor being haunted. Is it your doing?"

Hans Miller showed a stubborn expression. "I haven't harmed anyone."

"If you don't speak up, we'll take you to the police station. Once we sort things out, we'll see if the neighbors will accuse you."

"No, I'll tell you." Hans Miller sighed. "Twenty years ago, my business ran into trouble. I was busy with work all the time, which caused problems in my relationship with my wife.

Later, my wife and child disappeared, taking our belongings, cash, jewelry, oil paintings…

My world collapsed, and I couldn't focus on business anymore, leading to total bankruptcy.

My manor, our home… was also repossessed by the bank.

Here are the memories of our family. I've always hoped they would come back…

Even for them, I must keep this manor.

To prevent the manor from being auctioned off, I used this method."

David holstered his gun. "I understand your feelings, but this isn't an honorable method."

"I know, I've been trying to earn money to redeem this manor from the bank. I never gave up and never will…" Hans said, as if recalling something.

"How did you end up here? Did someone report you?"

"No, we came to investigate the case of your wife and children. We tried to contact you, but you changed your phone number." Luke unlocked the handcuffs.

"To find my wife and child, I kept that phone number for ten years. But over the years, hope turned into disappointment… The creditors kept pressuring me.

I fell into severe depression, and the doctor advised me to change my phone number.

Why are you investigating my wife's case again? Didn't the police abandon the investigation? If it weren't for the lack of clues over the years, I wouldn't be completely disheartened.

It's been twenty years, twenty whole years.

Do you know how I've lived through these twenty years?"

"We're from the Los Angeles Police Department. We found new clues in the case just a few days ago, so the department decided to reopen the investigation of the 'Taylors Manor Disappearance Case.' We hope you can assist in solving the case."

"What new clues did you find? No one knows this case better than I do."

Luke pondered for a moment. "We found a red Ford Focus… and two bodies."

"What? My wife and child are dead? Is that what you mean?"

"We only found two bodies in the car; the DNA results are not yet available."

"No, no, no, that's not right. It's not two people, it's three. You must be mistaken. Those can't be their bodies. I don't believe it… It can't be.

I've waited so long…" Hans couldn't help but start crying.

Luke didn't stop him. Let him cry; he wasn't sure how to comfort him.

Maybe crying would help.

"Whimper…" Hans cried out loudly, more mournful than the crying heard through the megaphone earlier.

Tomorrow, someone might again claim the manor is haunted.

After a long time, Hans finally stopped crying. "Where are the bodies? I want to see them, I need to see them now…"

"Los Angeles Police Department."

"You said there were two bodies? Whose are they?"

"One is a female skeleton in her thirties, and the other is a boy's skeleton around ten years old. They both died twenty years ago."

"What about my daughter? Lily? Where is she?"

"That's still unclear. We're here to investigate the case, gather more clues, and hopefully catch the perpetrator and find your daughter as soon as possible."

"Can you confirm my daughter is still alive?"

"No."

"Does your daughter have any distinguishing features?"

"I have a photo of her when she was a child; I've always carried it with me." Hans pulled a photo from his pocket and handed it to Luke.

It was a family photo of four.

Luke didn't take the photo; he took a picture of it and returned it to Hans.

"Thank you." Hans took the photo, gently stroked it, and carefully put it back into his wallet.

"Is there anything else I can help with?"

"Of course, I'd like you to identify a few people." Luke took out a sketch photo of Cole. "Do you know him?"

"He…" Hans looked at the photo for a while, his face showing anger. "Driver Cole, I'd recognize him even if he turned to dust. He killed my wife and child; it was him."

"Calm down. We're already looking for him."

Luke then took out photos of Tony and Rowan. Hans scrutinized them but didn't recognize the two.

Luke asked, "With such a large manor, did you employ anyone other than Cole the driver?"

"In the past, we did employ many people, including servants, gardeners, and chefs. But later, my business ran into trouble. To cut unnecessary expenses, we gradually let them go.

I didn't want to, but… it was indeed very difficult at the time."

"Do you remember the names of the manor's employees?"

"Cindy Botu, Shani Cabin…"

Luke noted these names and compared them with those in the files.

After taking the statement, Hans Miller bid farewell to Luke and David and hurried to Los Angeles.

He had waited too long…

Too long…