Chapter 303: Chapter 41

It was almost past 10 PM on the same night the banquet at the Skyline Shopping Center was going on. In another part of Zen City, in an interrogation room where the main suspect of Alvin Thompson’s murder was called, an intense interrogation was underway.

Liam’s name had been completely cleared, but the findings about the main killer left the authorities shocked and surprised.

In the interrogation room sat Milo Thompson and his mother, Ashley, who had been called on her way to the banquet to bring her son, who was now a crying mess.

Will Parker handed Milo Thompson a pen and a tablet. "Before you write it all down, let’s go over everything you told us one more time to make sure we’re all clear."

Ashley was standing behind Milo, her hands protectively on his shoulders. "Does he have to go through it all again? Can’t he just write it down?"

In response, Will Parker looked at the kid. "Do you have a problem with going over it again for us, Milo?"

The boy shook his head, rubbed his eyes with his palms, and said shakily, "No. I will go over it again for you guys. I met a guy on the internet and we became best friends. We shared everything with each other. So on the Saturday my dad and I planned to go see the property given to me by Uncle Liam. My internet friend advised me to take the gun from the house in case I encountered some wild animal there."

"He told me I never knew when I’d need the gun. I heeded his advice and took the gun without my father’s knowledge. While we were walking around the land, my dad told me he was going to build some boring hotel on the land. We started arguing. I told him he couldn’t do that, and then..."

"Why did you think he couldn’t do that?"

"Because the land is mine!" Milo said fiercely, his meek attitude vanishing. "My uncle promised to give it to me when I turned eighteen and did well in school!"

"Okay, and then what happened?"

"My dad and I were arguing, and I was so upset that I wasn’t looking where I was going. I tripped over a stone and the gun went off."

Reaching for a box of tissues on the table, he scrubbed at his eyes. "My dad was only a few feet in front of me when he fell. I tried to give him CPR, but there was a big hole in his head, and I got blood all over me, and I freaked out.

"I was scared my mom would never forgive me and I’d go to jail. The land was vast and there was a shovel in the caretaker’s house, so I ran to the house where the caretaker was on leave, and I grabbed the shovel...and I...you know what happened next."

"Tell me anyway."

"I dug a big hole for hours and dragged my dad over there, and pushed him into the hole. Then I threw the gun in after him and put the soil back over his body."

Ashley lifted one hand from his shoulder and briefly covered her eyes while a visible tremor shook her entire body.

"What about fingerprints on the gun?" Will prompted. "What did you do about those?"

"Oh, yeah. Remember my friend on the internet? He taught me how to wipe off my fingerprints before I threw the gun down in the hole."

"Have you ever seen this friend of yours in person or his pictures?"

The boy shrugged. "Nope. His profile is as blank as hell, and he’s never told me where he lived. We are just online buddies."

Will’s expression remained impassive as he asked the boy, "Then what happened next?"

"I went back to our car to change my clothes, but then I started thinking of ways to avoid jail time. So I contacted my friend again and asked him what I should do in such situations. He told me to remain calm and began to instruct me on what to do next."

"What did he tell you to do next?"

"He-He told me nothing could help my dad anymore and that we had to think about saving me. He said my dad wouldn’t want me to go to jail for an accident, and that my mom would never get over it if she knew how my dad died. He said I should go to one of my friend’s houses and spend the rest of my day. So I did that so my friend would vouch for me when I asked where I spent my Saturday."

"What about your father’s car? How did it end up being abandoned twenty-five miles away from the property?"

Milo paused to wipe his eyes again, but they looked dry to Will. "My friend said it would be better if the authorities thought my dad didn’t go to the land when he disappeared. That way, they wouldn’t search as hard up there and maybe find his grave. My friend said I should drive my dad’s car far away from there until I found a good place and leave it there."

"You’re only thirteen. Do you know how to drive?"

Milo shot him a disdainful look. "Bullshit! I’ve been driving since I was eleven. I’m a better driver and a shooter than my dad was!"

On the other side of the two-way glass, the two Thompson sisters grimaced at the boy’s words. "That kid is a total psychopath! I can’t believe he made us all believe all this while that brother Liam killed brother Alvin!" commented Ori as a shudder went down her spine.

"I hope brother Liam will find it in his heart to forgive us all. He’s not even picking any of my calls anymore. I feel ashamed to even attend the banquet tonight knowing he’d be there," said the other sister as they both stood watching everything unfold inside the interrogation room.

"We’re almost done, Milo," Will said encouragingly. "Now, let’s skip ahead a few months later. The search for your father has been called off, no one is looking around the land anymore, but you sent something to my assistant a few days ago, and told him you heard Liam Thompson telling your mom that he didn’t want anyone to ever step foot on that land because there is something that shouldn’t be uncovered.

"You knew that would make us suspect him, and it would also renew our interest in searching the land again. Why did you open up that can of worms when you’d gotten away with everything already?"

"I had my reasons. It’s personal. You wouldn’t want someone prying into your personal affairs, would you, Mr. Will Parker?"

"Yes, I wouldn’t want that. Whatever your personal reasons were, you were using your head," Will said as if that was a compliment. "You tore off your uncle’s coat button, drove up there yourself one day, and planted the button under the soil where it would be found."

Milo nodded, looking flattered by Will’s comments.

"But what made you decide to try to pin everything on Liam Thompson?"

"Because," Milo said, his face contorting with rage, "that fucking bastard was acting like he belonged in our family, like he was my father and he could tell me what to do. He is meticcio! A mixed Asian, who thinks he can act like my father.

"He was stepping into my father’s place, and my mom was letting him do it. He came to stay at our house with the pretense that he was looking after me and my sister and mom. I was supposed to be the man of the family, but my mom was always asking him for advice, not me. He even advised her to build a store on one of the lands that was in my father’s name and would be mine when I turned eighteen."

"That was bullshit! Everything that belongs to my father is supposed to be mine. Even my friend agreed with that. My fucker of an uncle had so much property and wealth more than my father, but yet he doesn’t know when to shut up and mind his business. He keeps meddling in our affairs and ruining my plans when I grow up!"

"Okay, Milo. I’m satisfied that you’re telling the whole truth and you’ve got all your facts straight. There’s a tablet and a pen. Go ahead and write everything down just the way you told it to me. You want a Coke or anything?"

"I want a Red Bull," Milo announced, reaching for the tablet.

Will Parker looked at the teenage boy in shocked disbelief before he quietly left the interrogation room to meet his assistant and other detectives, who looked as shocked and taken aback as him.

"Have you tracked this online friend of his yet?" Will asked his assistant as soon as he stepped outside.

"No. He blocked Milo and we’ve got the country’s most skilled hacker to track his whereabouts, but it’s all a dead end. We can’t seem to find him or anything about him. All we know is that he seemed to have something against Liam Thompson because he’s been stalking him for months."

Will sighed as he massaged his throbbing head. "Alright, just keep trying to track him, but for now, send Mr. Thompson’s passport back to him. He is free to leave the country."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read