Empire of Shadows

The evidence of corruption within the police force was being collected quickly, much faster than Lance and District Attorney Dean had anticipated.

Under Charlie's management, the judicial system of Goldport City had long since become like a clump of damp flour, firmly stuck together.

You are in me, and I am in you.

Perhaps someone had tried to report it in the past, or done something similar to seek justice.

But the end result was unlikely to be good. They tried to get Charlie and his people to investigate themselves to solve their problems, which was simply a systemic joke!

Over time, Charlie's subordinates discovered that no matter how outrageous their actions, they would not get into trouble themselves, and they became even more unscrupulous!

The more unscrupulous they were, the more difficult it was for them to hide during interrogation.

For example, the simplest thing: large sums of money from unknown sources. They didn't hide these things at all; they were just out in the open.

These bureau chiefs almost all lived in large detached houses or villas, and drove luxury cars worth tens of thousands of dollars.

No one tried to hide the fact that "I shouldn't be this rich." Their open display of wealth also became one of the reasons for the rapid collapse of their psychological defenses!

In addition, there was Lance's deterrent force. Under the threat of family annihilation and immense pressure, people simply couldn't hold out for very long.

One person opening their mouth meant that more people would open their mouths.

They used to use these tricks to deal with suspects and criminals, but now that the same tricks were being used on them, they were particularly effective!

Soon, a series of cases were confessed. District Attorney Dean originally thought this was just a low-level "power struggle."

And what he had to do was provide ammunition for this "power struggle."

Someone wanted to get rid of Charlie, so he was assigned to investigate Charlie.

He even considered whether he should help Lance fabricate some evidence and cases if these people didn't confess enough to directly nail Charlie down.

District Attorney Dean was also outstanding in this area.

After all, Chief Prosecutor Terry had instructed him to do this job. Whether it was for his own work performance or to fulfill Chief Prosecutor Terry's instructions, he certainly had to do this beautifully.

But the more these people confessed, the more shocking it became, and the less he needed to do anything extra. Instead, he became somewhat nervous and incredulous because of the things they confessed.

As a prosecutor in the State Prosecutor's Office, the cases he usually dealt with were certainly of a relatively high level. These types of cases might have a big impact and cause great losses, but they wouldn't be too shocking.

But these cases…

"I don't know what to say…" District Attorney Dean looked at the transcripts in his hand, his expression was somewhat unexpectedly complex. "I originally thought it would take three to five days to sort it out, but now it looks like it might take longer."

He held the telephone receiver in his hand, while flipping through the sorted files with the other.

For example, in the one he was currently looking at, a bureau chief confessed to the investigation team that Charlie had once instructed him to make trouble for a small businessman.

For these small vendors who had no ability to withstand risks, the police were one of the most lethal natural enemies.

He simply used a very simple method, temporarily sampling the small vendor's goods, saying that someone had reported him for selling Maple Iris grass, and then, while inspecting his goods, he put a small bag of Maple Iris grass into his merchandise.

This was a trick that almost all police officers knew!

There was a not-so-funny joke that said if you were driving a nice car on the interstate highway.

You weren't speeding, you weren't overloaded, you weren't doing anything that might be illegal, but a police car still came up and signaled you to stop.

Then you'd better keep a close eye on those highway patrol officers, because you don't know what those officers might find in your trunk.

It might be a small bag of Maple Iris grass that's enough to put you in jail, or it might be a bloody handgun directly related to a murder case, or it might be a kitchen knife stained with someone's blood!

The bureau chief at the time simply put a small bag of Maple Iris grass into the small vendor's goods, then refused to listen to the other party's explanation and arrested the small vendor.

Subsequently, this small businessman was arrested for "transporting and selling contraband" and quickly sentenced.

Later, less than three months after this small businessman went to jail, he had a conflict with the prison gang. During a recreation period, he was stabbed in the heart by the gang with homemade spikes and eventually died in prison.

There were many similar things, and some people even confessed that Charlie or Hunter would sometimes have them dispose of some corpses—putting these corpses in gasoline drums and then sinking them into Angel Lake.

These cases alone were enough to make people feel terrified based solely on these people's descriptions. Charlie, as the director of the Goldport City Police Department, should have upheld justice and fairness for the people.

But now, he had become a chilling executioner hiding in the shadows.

To find out more details about these cases, including whether they actually existed, would take time to investigate—a lot of time.

They were different from cases such as accepting bribes to provide convenience to others, where the nature of the case itself was simple.

As long as you check the bank's cash flow, you can largely restore the truth of these cases.

Your annual income is only a thousand dollars. You've worked for forty years, so you have a maximum of forty thousand dollars, but now you have four hundred thousand dollars, and there are three hundred and sixty thousand dollars that you can't explain where they came from. Then this is evidence of bribery.

But these cases were different. These cases were very complicated and not simply cases of duty-related crimes. They involved many people, many things, and many mysteries.

If they wanted to bring these cases to court, then they had to investigate these cases clearly, at least after figuring out the causes, consequences, and motives before they could use them in court.

And investigating these old cases clearly would definitely not be something that could be cleared up in three to five days.

Lance frowned when he heard this, "How long will it take approximately?"

District Attorney Dean casually flipped through the file bags on his desk, "It might take two or three months, or even longer, maybe a year or two."

"The cases they confessed to span about thirty years. We can ignore those that are too long ago, but we definitely have to deal with the cases that happened five to ten years ago."

"So, we won't be able to use these people's confessions in the short term."

For cases like the small vendor's, if you want to investigate clearly, you have to figure out what the motive was and what benefits Charlie ultimately gained from this.

They needed to investigate many things, and some of the investigations couldn't be done openly.

In short, this matter did take a long time, and it also required a lot of manpower.

However, District Attorney Dean didn't really want to investigate these cases in his heart. These cases had too much of a negative impact!

If a group of vicious gangsters had killed them or done those outrageous things, then investigating these cases clearly, arresting the people who should be arrested, and sentencing the people who should be sentenced…

That would be a victory for justice and the law!

But now, the creators of these cases were themselves law enforcement officers, people who uphold the law and justice. Solving these cases wouldn't make people feel comfortable; instead, it would make people feel uneasy.

What he could do now was make the problem clear and let Lance make the decision.

Lance thought for a while and changed his approach, "What if we only consider using some simpler and more straightforward cases first to try to send him in?"

District Attorney Dean wasn't the kind of newbie who didn't know anything. He had been a prosecutor for a long time and was very clear about some of the unspoken rules of federal politics.

He understood the meaning behind Lance's words—

Strip him of his "politician status" and then fabricate him in other ways!

District Attorney Dean thought for a while and then asked, "I don't think there's a problem with your idea."

"Just the bribery issue is enough for him to lose his politician status, but you have to tell me what you plan to do with him in the end."

District Attorney Dean lowered his voice a little, "If you just want to make trouble for him, but he will still be alive, or if you want to make him disappear through legal means, then we still have to continue the investigation."

"But if you plan… you know, to silence him in your own way, then some of our investigations don't need to continue."

"You should understand what I mean?"

Lance then said, "Yes, I understand what you mean."

"You guys prepare to go through the process, and those other cases…" He paused for about four or five seconds, "…don't worry about them."

District Attorney Dean understood what he meant, "Okay, I'll have someone arrange it."

If Charlie died unexpectedly for various reasons, then they wouldn't waste time investigating meaningless cases. There wouldn't even be a defendant, so the investigation would only be a waste of time.

District Attorney Dean had encountered this kind of thing many times, such as when the suspect under investigation couldn't withstand the immense psychological pressure and committed suicide directly.

Or some suspects were silenced by certain forces during detention?

Or when playing basketball with the gang, they were shot eighteen times in a row on the basketball court.

As long as these suspects died, the investigation would be terminated, and the judicial process would be followed.

After determining that the prosecutor's office is not at fault, the file will be sealed. Whether the case continues to be investigated and advanced requires a comprehensive assessment, but it is unlikely to be pursued further.

After all, someone has sacrificed their life to prevent the investigation of the case. Who knows what will happen if the investigation continues.

The two reached an agreement, and Lance said with a smile, "Okay, I'll trouble you to pay more attention to this matter."

"You're welcome, this is what I should do."

Prosecutor Dean hung up the phone and looked at the dozen or so thick file bags on the table for a moment.

He dialed Attorney General Terry's phone. After chatting for a while, he let out a heavy sigh of relief and threw some of them into the file box.

This also means that these documents and files are very likely not to be used again.

Prosecutor Dean and his people quickly took action. The simplest way to investigate whether Charlie had accepted bribes was to investigate his financial situation.

This requires the cooperation of the bank.

Earlier, Prosecutor Dean called Attorney General Terry for this matter. When they arrived at the bank, the bank staff had already prepared to cooperate.

It won't take long to investigate these things clearly.

However, no matter what, this case will definitely have a great impact, even if they try their best to prevent it from escalating.

Charlie's bank fund flow is healthy, but he must have used other accounts, which requires a little tracing.

Prosecutor Dean personally led people to search for clues in countless accounts—

The villa Charlie purchased is a clue. They found the account that paid for the villa and then tracked the flow of each fund according to this account, eventually locking in some things they wanted.

This is a meticulous and tedious task. When looking down, it was still broad daylight, but when looking up, the sky was already a bit dim.

A subordinate walked to Dean with a strange expression, bent over, and whispered a few words. Prosecutor Dean turned his head and looked at him for a while with an unusual expression.

The subordinate nodded again and again to confirm. Prosecutor Dean picked up the phone and called Lance.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Lance asked.

Prosecutor Dean lit a cigarette and licked his lips. "I'm at the bank and have already gained some results, but we've encountered a problem."

"What problem?" Lance raised his hand, signaling the others to leave first.

There were many people in his office, all of whom were brought by Morris, operators of private casinos.

The first moment they heard that Lance was going to collect money from them, their minds went blank, and then they immediately wanted to curse, but soon smiles appeared on their faces!

Collecting money means that Lance will take care of them, and they don't have to hide everywhere like rats like they used to!

So the operators who knew about this came, and they were discussing these things.

Prosecutor Dean didn't know how to start, but this matter definitely needed Lance's help, "Charlie and his family have disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Lance didn't react at first, "Are you saying that he and his people are no longer in King's Harbor City?"

Prosecutor Dean nodded in agreement, "I arranged for people to monitor them, because our work here has reached the stage of actual evidence collection."

"And we also hope to see if we can find any additional supplementary evidence through the consumption and actual situation of his family."

"But the people we arranged didn't find them in the places where he and his family frequented."

"They may have fled."

"Escaped?" Lance couldn't help but laugh a few times, "I see, I'll arrange for someone to look for them."

He said, laughing twice, "I'll notify you if I have any news."

He had thought of many possibilities, such as Charlie taking the initiative to seek peace with Councilor Williams.

Now that Lance and Councilor Williams are in the same group, it would be difficult for him to seek peace with Lance, but it would be much easier to seek peace with Councilor Williams.

As a qualified politician, Councilor Williams considers not only simple likes or dislikes, but also many other things. Maybe he might accept Charlie's surrender.

He had also considered the situation where Charlie might persuade some people in the Bay Area to avoid the investigation from a higher level, such as finding Mr. Hoff, who has a certain influence in the state government, to stop the investigation.

This possibility is relatively high, and this is what politicians do most often: exchanging benefits.

He had even considered that Charlie might burst out with unprecedented courage when facing desperation, for example, he... taking a weapon and coming to his door alone, ostensibly to say something to himself, and then taking advantage of his inattention to shoot himself!

Lance had many guesses, but he never guessed that he would run!

He has too many interests in King's Harbor City. Is he really willing to give them up?

He has worked hard all his life, being a dog for almost forty years, before he has everything he has now. Is he really giving it up so easily?

Lance didn't think he was that kind of person. He couldn't do these things!

But now, the person can't be found.

He shook his head.

Then he called Chief Blue.

"Lance?"

"Yes, it's me. I have something for you to do."

"What is it?" Although Chief Blue has become the chief of the police station, he hasn't gotten arrogant.

At least he hasn't gotten arrogant here with Lance, and still looks like he can be dispatched by Lance anytime, anywhere.

"Charlie is missing. Get your people moving, find him, and don't startle him after you find him. Send the news back."

"You should know how to find him, right?"

Chief Blue quickly said, "Find his car..."

King's Harbor City is a big city. In such a big city, it would be very troublesome if you don't drive. Charlie has his own car, and the entire police force knows the license plate number.

Wherever he goes, as long as his car is found, then he must be nearby.

After hanging up the phone, Lance also asked Burton and Morris to look for him. Then he called the people outside back in.

"Where were we just now?" he asked.

One of the slightly fat gentlemen with a protruding belly said with a flattering smile, "You said we can expand our business..."

Lance recalled it and then nodded, "Yes, expand our business."

"This is the main reason I called you here today."

"You should all have heard that I have recently gotten into a conflict with the Coda family..."

The small bosses of these casinos in the room all nodded, and many people even flattered, "Mr. Lance, the Coda family is not your opponent at all. Their demise is only a matter of time."

Lance smiled, raised his hand and pressed down, letting them calm down, "The battle between gangs is like this. As long as I can weaken their strength a little, it is the best choice for me."

"Your business expands, and their business will be affected, and it can also weaken their influence."

"I can guarantee that their tentacles will not reach into my territory and guarantee that your business will not be affected."

"And you only need to pay 30% of your income..."