Chapter 316


    Chapter 316 No Way It’s Him


    We all went silent, trying to figure out who this mystery man could be..


    Breaking the silence, Idris chimed in, “Does Moore know who he is?”


    Officer Jackson gave a confirming nod. “Right after it all went down, I grilled Moore. She’s dead set on


    iming she has never met the guy. She even spilled that thest time he showed up, he told her to


    put the me on Ms. Scott and let him deal with the fallout.”


    The situation was as knotted as a pair of earbuds left in your pocket. Nervously, I chewed on my lip,


    “I’ve neverid eyes on this man before.”


    Officer Jackson gave a nod and let out a long, tired sigh. “Here’s the real problem: Jack’s wife is totally


    convinced you’re the bad guy, Mr. Young. She thinks you weren’t satisfied just getting Jack kicked out


    of his job and thinks you kept on his case, threatening him left and right. She’s telling everyone you


    were gunning for payback, trying to get back at Christina for the close call with Ms. Scott.”


    All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    I was just about to snap back with aeback when Officer Jackson jumped in with more. Listen,


    there’s a whole lot more to this. Christina has had a nightmare of a time in jail, winding up in the


    hospital and everything. Seems like someone has been slipping cash to the wrong hands to make sure


    she had it extra rough. By the time they rushed her to the ER, her insides were a mess. It was so


    messed up that the doctors had no choice but to take out her uterus.‘


    My head was buzzing, and I just could not stop myself from sneaking a peek at Idris. His face was


    unreadable, yet the slight frown etched there was a dead giveaway–he was ticked off.


    I took a moment, then faced Officer Jackson again. “So, you’re saying Idris is the one who nned the


    attack?”


    Officer Jackson’s head shake came with a world–weary sigh. “At this point, it’s more than just a hunch.


    The evidence? It’s like it’s got your name and Mr. Young’s written all over it in big, bold letters.”


    “Wait, mine?”


    I waspletely baffled. My eyes locked on his as I tried to make heads or tails of the situation.


    He gave a serious nod. “Yep, it’s you. All the victims share one thing–they’ve all ticked you off at some


    point. Take Moore, for instance. She found big trouble behind bars. Made an enemy out of a death row


    inmate and ended up with her hand on the chopping block. If the cops had not busted in just in time,


    she would probably be missing her tongue too. With all this craziness stacking up, you can’t help but


    start asking questions.”


    I got the picture: Moore and Christina were in deep trouble in jail, and it was not just bad luck -they


    were in someone’s crosshairs. Obviously, someone out there had a score to settle with them, and since


    they had both double–crossed me before, they were now targets.


    Jack was caught up in the same mess.


    I stopped dead for a couple of seconds, then burst out, “But how does Jack’s death pull me and Idris


    into this whole mess? Even if he was Christina’s dad, he never messed with me. Offing


    him just does not make any sense!”


    However, the question remained: how did Jack’s death entangle me and Idris in this whole mess? Even


    if he was Christina’s dad, he never messed with me. Offing him just didn’t make any sense!


    Officer Jackson’s eyes flicked from me to Idris before he hit us with a shocker. “Word on the street is


    that the night you got pegged for that murder, you weren’t at the precinct but at the Youngs‘ ce.


    Guess what? It was Jack who fed that juicy bit to the news hounds. The night You zipped over to the


    station, he must have been the one who tipped off the reporters about


    where you were.‘


    “He died because of that?” I blurted out, my mind reeling from the revtion.


    With a grave nod, Officer Jackson shot a meaningful nce at Idris, who mmed up and did not utter


    a word.


    I did not hesitate for a second before I leaped to his defense. “No way he would do something like that.”


    Officer Jackson and Idris both whipped around to look at me–Jackson with a puzzled frown, Idris with


    his eyes wide in disbelief.


    Our gazes locked, and even though Idris was not exactly on my list of favorite people, I did not back


    down. “Forget it. Christina and Moore? They had iting. He’s not the type to  dirty. And yeah, he


    might have looked into Jack’s business, but murder is just not him.”


    Officer Jackson gave Idris a quick look, his face all chill, and chuckled. “Ms. Scott, you’re pretty


    confident, aren’t you?”


    I bit my lip and steered clear of Idris’s eyes, nodding hard. “Totally!”


    shing a gentle grin, Officer Jackson peeked at Idris again and said, “Ms. Scott, you could not be


    clearer. If I second–guessed you now, it would be like saying our years of friendship meant nothing.”


    I furrowed my eyebrows, thrown off. What was he hinting at?


    Was it possible that all his earlier hunches and second–guessing came from the idea that it was me


    grilling Idris, and not him? It seemed that deep down, he never stopped believing Idris was


    clean.


    Officer Jackson caught my annoyed yet unsure nce and let out augh. “Don’t look at me like that,


    Ms. Scott. You’re right in the middle of this. I asked you toe in today because I really wanted to


    hear your side of the story. Yeah, I have known Mr. Young for ages, but I was not about to make any


    snap judgments. You have vouched for him, and if I still had doubts after that, it would be like I was


    dissing our friendship.”


    Confused about what he was trying to get at, I chewed on my lip and asked him straight up, “If you


    never had any doubts about Idris, why haul us all the way over here?”