Amid the noisy scene, Alex's frustration was obvious.
Ethan, however, kept watching him closely and couldn't help remembering what Jenny had told him the other night.
Previously, Proctor had made a verbal agreement with the former boss. In exchange for helping him expropriate land for the new casino and dealing with the farmers, Proctor would receive a share as an invisible partner in the casino.
But sometime later, Dan Kendall and Alex had secretly worked together to push Proctor out of the game.
Apparently, they had underestimated him.
And the mayor had paid the price.
After connecting a few dots, everything was now more than obvious.
Ethan shook his head.
Mayor Kendall had tried to get rid of Proctor, but he had not expected Proctor to get rid of him first.
Alex quickly snapped back to his senses, regained his composure, and, in the end, said nothing. He led his people away from the construction site of the new Kinaho tribe casino in a hurry. This was surely going to cause him many problems within his tribe.
Looking at Kendall lying on the ground, Ethan also felt a sense of crisis in his heart.
He and Proctor were not without conflict.
They had already clashed that morning because of Rebecca. Now, at the very least, he needed to improve the security level of his residence. Until now, there had been nothing to worry about, but after this, he was more alert.
Maybe Job could help him.
After all, if Job could hack into a CIA satellite, installing a security system on his property shouldn't be difficult.
The earlier investigation produced no results. There were no suspects, and as for why Mayor Kendall had gone alone to the construction site of the new Kinaho tribe casino, that had become a whispered mystery among some people in town.
The news of Dan Kendall's death was like a sudden gust of wind: it blew through town quickly, then quietly disappeared.
A few days later, on the Banshee High School football field, a solemn ceremony had been arranged in the middle of the stadium.
On one side of the wooden platform set up at the front was a portrait of Dan Kendall.
On the other side, Gordon Hopewell, unshaven and worn down, looked at Carrie in the crowd with a complicated expression and slowly said:
—It is difficult to put into words what we feel at this moment. A few days ago, we lost a promising young mayor in an explosion that left us shocked and filled with grief. His leadership inspired us, and his vision for our community gave us hope. Today, as we face this tragedy, we must remember his legacy and commit ourselves to moving forward with the same dedication and strength he showed. Let us honor his memory by working together to build the future he dreamed of for all of us.
Ethan was wearing his uniform and sitting in the crowd with his colleagues from the police department.
As Gordon spoke, Ethan looked ahead and unexpectedly saw Proctor arrive at the memorial.
In the crowd below, everyone was sitting close together. Interestingly, the seats around Proctor were empty.
However, he did not seem pressured at all. Proctor sat quietly and listened attentively to Gordon's speech.
Beside Ethan, Hood, who had recovered from his injury, nudged his arm. Ethan followed Hood's reminder and looked over.
On the other side, the head of the Kinaho tribe, Alex Longshadow, was paying no attention to Gordon. He was staring at Proctor with a dark expression, his eyes looking as if they could spit fire.
Alex had been going through very difficult days.
The casino he had built with a large amount of tribal funds had been blown to pieces, and the partner he had found to finish off Proctor was dead as well.
At the moment, there was no estimated date for the casino's construction to resume, and he was tired of resisting questions from members of the tribal council.
Carrie had her arms crossed as she looked at Gordon standing above them. Her eyes were completely hidden behind oversized sunglasses, so outsiders could not tell what she was thinking.
After watching Gordon for a while, she turned her head.
Hood could feel Carrie's gaze fall on him. Their eyes met only briefly before separating.
Hood looked up at the blue sky and the white clouds behind the wooden platform, his thoughts unreadable.
Gordon noticed Carrie's movement, paused slightly in his speech, and then continued.
—How are you now?
Beside him, Siobhan grabbed Ethan's arm and whispered in his ear.
The warmth of her breath tickled Ethan's ear, and he couldn't help rubbing his earlobe with his hand. Hood's hearing was amazing, and after glancing sideways, Siobhan immediately sat upright.
—Janie, on behalf of myself, on behalf of my office, and on behalf of all the citizens of Banshee, I join you in mourning the death of Dan Kendall.
Gordon finished his speech. After a sigh, he stepped down from the podium with heavy steps.
The memorial service ended, and after the officials dispersed, Ethan moved forward with the rest of the police department.
Janie was already tired of dealing with everyone's condolences. Dressed in a black dress, she looked particularly lonely.
—Mrs. Kendall, I'm very sorry.
—Thank you.
Ethan shook Jenny's hand.
In her eyes, there was not much sadness. There was more exhaustion, and even a little relief.
After the memorial service ended, they had barely returned to the police station when the special agents dispatched from FBI headquarters arrived in Banshee to investigate the previous series of incidents.
Inside the courthouse, everyone was scattered around.
Gordon and Carrie also arrived at the scene. Feeling the strange atmosphere directly between them and Hood, they all remained silent.
Not long after, the wooden door opened.
An FBI agent with gray hair and a thin face entered with a stack of documents, followed by Dean Xavier.
The thin-faced FBI agent looked at the documents in his hand, called out the names written inside, and walked up to each corresponding person, studying them for a second or two.
In his slightly cloudy eyes, a sharp glint flashed from time to time.
As he approached, a thick cloud of smoke came with him. He was clearly an old smoker who had been smoking for decades.
He continued flipping through the documents until his hands suddenly stopped.
—Lucas Hood.
Hood turned around and nodded.
After looking at the photo in the file for two seconds, the agent looked at Hood and continued scrolling down.
—Carrie Hopewell.
Hearing her name, Carrie stepped forward.
The agent looked at Carrie and gave her a meaningful smile.
—Ladies and gentlemen, I am Special Agent Jim Racine, and everyone here has already seen the man behind me.
Racine pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Then he turned around and said:
—By the way, what was your name again?
—Dean Xavier.
Dean Xavier clasped his hands in front of him, showing a trace of embarrassment, then leaned forward and whispered.
—Yes, everyone knows Agent Xavier. Let me explain the next step. This is a closed-door hearing. Everyone must take an oath and give testimony.
Racine shrugged casually and flicked ash from his cigarette.
—After all, everyone knows that anything you say after swearing on the Bible is true and trustworthy.
Seeing the expressionless faces around him, he smiled and continued:
—You all have the right to request an attorney's presence, and I should also warn you that if anyone does, they will immediately earn my obvious and lasting suspicion.
Racine looked around, but no one spoke.
—I know your mayor recently suffered an unfortunate explosion, so I called the District Attorney here today to serve as a witness during the hearing process.
—Regarding his relationship with Carrie Hopewell, the person involved in this case…
Racine tossed away the cigarette butt, crushed it against the wooden floor, and then took out another cigarette.
—Since this is a small town and everyone knows each other, I won't worry about it.
—If there are no problems, let's start our little party.
Ethan walked to the water dispenser, took a disposable cup, and filled it with a little water.
Brock came in after a while. Siobhan looked around nervously, but Ethan was extremely relaxed at the time, because he remembered Jim Racine.
This FBI special agent, Jim Racine, had once arranged for an informant to infiltrate Rabbit's criminal organization in order to capture him. With the informant's help, he had managed to catch Rabbit, but because of Racine's mistakes, which compromised the evidence, he had been unable to make the case stick.
After Rabbit was acquitted, Racine soon learned that the informant's entire family had been killed.
Since then, he had carried deep guilt and sworn to avenge that family's death. However, he had failed to capture Rabbit all these years. Now, he was suffering from advanced lung cancer, with little time left.
When he learned of the connection between Carrie and Rabbit, Racine took full responsibility for the case.
He decided to use his authority to suppress the earlier cases of kidnapping, attacks on the police station, and the shooting at the abandoned metal factory, keeping Dean Xavier under control.
His goal was to keep Banshee under control and set a trap to lure Rabbit in during his final days.
When Ethan's turn for questioning came, he already knew what Racine's true purpose was. So he did not panic and answered the questions one by one, according to what he had previously discussed with the others.
At the end of the interrogation, Ethan nodded at Racine, stood up, and left.
Gordon, who was sitting behind Racine, looked distracted and paid little attention to what Carrie had been asked. Although her relationship with Hood could be hidden, her past as a member of a criminal organization and her connection to Rabbit could not be kept secret.
Racine was not someone easy to fool, and Carrie would not get out of this unscathed without giving an explanation.
Gordon, having been deceived for more than ten years by the person beside him, seemed to be in shock. It was not something many people could bear.
Going down the stairs, several people who had already been questioned were waiting in the hallway for the results.
Ethan greeted them, opened the side door, and pulled out his cigarette case. Racine had been smoking in front of him, and Ethan needed a break.
He exhaled a ring of smoke, and suddenly the door opened again.
Siobhan followed him.
—Give me one too.
—Huh? You don't smoke, do you?
Siobhan did not reply. She simply snatched the pack and lighter from him and skillfully lit the cigarette.
—I don't know what's going to happen to us. We won't lose our jobs, will we?
Seeing that Siobhan was about to put his things in her pocket, Ethan quickly took the lighter back. There was a lot of smoke in the air, but that was his only lighter.
—Don't worry. We're not his target. He doesn't care about us at all. As soon as he achieves his goal, he'll leave, and we can go back to normal.
Siobhan looked at him in confusion, but Ethan did not explain further.
He couldn't tell her that he knew Racine was using them to catch Rabbit.
After a short break, Gordon opened the door and called everyone except Carrie, who would be informed later.
All members of the Banshee Police Department sat upright in front of a long table.
Racine, arms crossed, watched them like an eagle on the hunt.
—Normally, reviewing these testimonies would take us weeks, but based on my experience, I can already say this is nonsense. It doesn't matter whether it's checked or not.
Racine gathered the testimony, threw it onto the table, lit a cigarette, and continued:
—You were so stupid you didn't even ask the FBI for help. Instead, you recruited civilians to face armed men. It was an idiotic move. You are all idiots, and that will not change.
He paused, looking at each of them.
—But an extremely dangerous group of gangsters came to your small town and kidnapped your police chief. I understand your intention to save your people, and I will deal with this immediately. Officer Lotus, as the commander that night, I designate you as idiot number one. I will impose a fifteen-month review period, plus supervision.
Ethan saw that Brock was about to protest and quickly tapped his foot against his. Brock restrained himself.
—As for the rest of you idiots, you will have a twelve-month review period. During that time, the Banshee Police Department will be under the direct supervision of the FBI. By that, I mean me. I will review every arrest, subpoena, and even traffic ticket, so be very careful with me.
Behind him, Dean Xavier seemed uncomfortable with such light punishments. He stepped forward, but Racine's gaze pushed him back.
—That's it. I have something to do, so I'm leaving first.
Racine looked at his watch, turned around, and left quickly, ignoring everyone else.
Dean, surprised by the sudden departure, followed him. Both disappeared into the hallway.
The local police officers looked at each other.
Ethan and Hood did not know how to react. It was the first time they had faced a situation like this.
Emmett sighed, Brock cursed quietly, and Siobhan smiled with relief.
Seeing the confusion in Ethan's eyes, Siobhan whispered:
—As we warned you, Special Agent Racine will be watching us closely from now on. And that will also be a problem.
Meanwhile, Gordon stood up, picked up the documents, and, after nodding to Brock, left the scene.
—The real problem will be Gordon —Siobhan murmured, watching his back as he walked away—. If the relationship between the local police department and the District Attorney's office doesn't improve, we're in trouble.
When they came out, Ethan noticed Hood winking at him and slowing down.
After everyone had left, Hood quickly approached and said:
—I'm going to the Davis Bar tonight. I need to talk to you.
With a mysterious look, Hood left.
Ethan, without thinking too much about it, continued his patrol.
Later that night, Ethan entered the bar.
There were only a few customers drinking. He greeted Sugar, took a bottle of beer, and settled into a corner.
He had barely taken two sips when Hood appeared.
Hood took a beer from the bartender and sat across from him.
They clinked their bottles together.
—Tell me, why did you want to see me?
Hood played with the bottle and replied:
—Do you remember what I told you here when I asked for your help?
—What do you mean?
—You earned our true friendship.
—Of course I remember.
—That means you're part of us now. If problems come up, we face them together. If there are rewards, we all benefit.
Ethan played with his lighter, his eyes shining in the dim light.
—So tell me, are you bringing me a problem or a benefit?