Chapter Index





    Ch.62Suspicious Aircraft! (2)

    #062

    Judy’s face was serene as she sipped tea in the guard office.

    “How are you feeling?”

    Dexter was leaning against the wall beside Judy’s desk, watching her from behind.

    “Much better.”

    Judy turned around, giving Dexter a thumbs up.

    Dexter, who had been worried that Judy might still be suffering from the effects of the ionized gaborium, felt relieved seeing her bright response.

    “You’ll probably need to stay at that motel for a while. I heard the investigation isn’t completely finished yet.”

    “Thanks to you, Dexter, I already packed enough clothes for a few days. I’ll be fine.”

    Dexter nodded as he watched Judy smiling sweetly.

    “That’s good then. Are you going to exercise today too?”

    “I’m thinking of just doing some light jogging and bodyweight exercises. It wouldn’t be appropriate to run around in the motel…”

    “I understand. Please call me anytime if you feel unwell.”

    “Yes, I will. Have a good day, Dexter.”

    “Haha, you too. Let’s both do our best today, Judy.”

    Dexter made a fist, showing Judy an encouraging gesture before heading out of the guard office.

    As Dexter stepped outside the building, Nevada’s afternoon sun was blazing hot.

    “True to its desert reputation, it’s already getting hot.”

    Dexter walked toward the watchtower east of the guard office and looked in the direction of the external vocational training area.

    Despite the scorching sun, he could see inmates busily working on something in front of cars.

    Although they were quite far away, it was clearly noticeable that they were moving busily.

    “Jesse must be there too.”

    Thinking that Jesse, whom he hadn’t seen all day, was working there, Dexter wanted to encourage him just as he had encouraged Judy.

    ‘That’s not possible.’

    Dexter could only send silent encouragement toward the busy inmates.

    And so, without seeing Jesse even once, Dexter finished his shift for the day.

    “Phew.”

    This lingering, uncomfortable, and tired feeling in his chest.

    Dexter had never smoked before, but somehow he wished he had a cigarette in his hand right now.

    ‘Maybe it’s because things are tough.’

    Though he had no intention of buying cigarettes he wouldn’t properly smoke anyway, just as Dexter was about to leave the prison, he felt his phone vibrate.

    At this hour, there was only one person who would message Dexter.

    -Just found it!!!

    Sure enough, it was a message from Himena.

    >Found what?

    -The ionized gaborium!! It was discovered in a house in Summerlin. I’ll send you the address, please come!!

    ‘Reading just the text, it sounds more like an invitation to a party than an investigation.’

    Dexter chuckled at the message and drove his pickup truck to the address Himena had provided. There, agents in black suits along with LVMPD officers had set up barricades.

    Like Judy’s house, the home surrounded by agents and police was an ordinary family house no different from any other in Summerlin.

    The only difference was that there was a large container placed in front of the garage.

    “Ah, Dexter.”

    Himena waved lightly as soon as she spotted Dexter’s pickup truck.

    As Dexter approached the barricade, a police officer blocked his way.

    “Access restricted to authorized personnel only.”

    Just as Dexter was about to say something, an agent standing nearby approached the officer and whispered something, causing the officer to nod and step back from the barricade as if he hadn’t realized something.

    Dexter wasn’t sure exactly what the agent had told the police officer, but seeing how quickly the officer moved aside made the situation feel a bit strange to him.

    This was because Dexter was seeing the agent who had whispered to the officer for the first time today.

    ‘I don’t know that person, but they know me.’

    In any case, he was grateful that he could pass through the barricade without needing to make excuses or tell lies.

    Dexter passed through the barricade and approached Himena, who was standing in front of the tightly closed container.

    Himena, who had been watching Dexter the whole time, tucked her hair behind her ear and said:

    “You came much faster than I expected?”

    “I just happened to arrive a bit early.”

    Dexter turned his head to look at the police officers and agents around, then pointed at the large container in front of him and asked:

    “What is this?”

    “It’s the culprit that brought us here.”

    “The ionized gaborium? Inside this container?”

    Himena nodded in response to Dexter’s question, which he had asked in a lowered voice because of the police officers nearby.

    “Isn’t it toxic? Aren’t you wearing protective gear or anything?”

    Just as Dexter was about to hurriedly cover his mouth with his hand, Himena raised her index finger and shook it side to side, saying:

    “No, it’s safe. There’s a storage tank inside that contains the ionized gaborium. However, when it was discovered, both the container door and the tank were open, but now they’re both closed.”

    “Ah, that’s a relief then.”

    As Dexter showed a relieved expression, Himena also smiled and said:

    “Did you really think I would bring you to a dangerous place without any precautions?”

    Dexter answered without a moment’s hesitation:

    “Yes. That’s entirely possible.”

    “Hey!”

    Slightly offended, Himena tried to elbow Dexter in the solar plexus, but he quickly turned his body to avoid it.

    “Just take the hit!”

    “Who would willingly get hit when you’re putting so much force into it?”

    At Dexter’s words, Himena pouted her lower lip.

    “Who owns this house?”

    “It’s vacant. Has been empty for quite a while.”

    For a vacant house, it was kept surprisingly clean, so Dexter had assumed someone lived there.

    “Apparently, neighbors saw the container at the empty house but didn’t suspect anything. They thought it might have been left by a remodeling company.”

    After hearing Himena’s explanation, Dexter looked at the side of the container.

    There was what appeared to be a remodeling company name, a phone number, and a large photo of a trustworthy-looking man in work clothes giving a thumbs up with a smile.

    The man in the photo was also set against a background of a happy-looking family and home, making it obvious to anyone that it was a home-related business.

    “It does look like a remodeling company container. Is it a real company?”

    “Yes. But they said it was a container they had lost a while back. They even complained, wondering why anyone would steal an empty container.”

    Not only was the remodeling company’s container stolen property, but they had deliberately targeted a clean, vacant house.

    Even someone unfamiliar with investigations could tell that what had happened was a planned crime.

    “What happens with prolonged exposure to ionized gaborium again?”

    In response to Dexter’s question, Himena began counting on her fingers one by one:

    “At first, it just causes fatigue and anxiety, then temporary delusional disorders like what Mr. Goswell experienced. With more exposure, it can lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder, and in severe cases, it can cause brain damage and brain-related diseases.”

    Dexter let out a sigh of relief at the thought that things could have gotten worse but were prevented in time.

    “Do you know how long the container has been there?”

    “According to the dashcam footage from a neighbor’s car, it was delivered a week ago.”

    Himena held up her phone and showed him a video.

    The timestamp on the video showed early morning a week ago.

    A large forklift had already arrived at the empty house, and a few minutes later, a trailer truck arrived.

    The trailer driver and the forklift operator got out of their vehicles, exchanged a few words, and shook hands.

    “They seem like they’ve met before.”

    “Yes, they appear to be acquainted.”

    Afterward, following the trailer driver’s instructions, the forklift operator skillfully moved the container from the truck to the front of the garage, then got out of the vehicle again, shook hands, and disappeared—that was the end of the video.

    “There’s not much content itself. Nothing special.”

    “Right. But the trailer driver’s truck license plate was captured.”

    Himena pointed at her phone screen.

    Anticipating what Himena was about to say, Dexter spoke first:

    “I assume you’ve already investigated the trailer driver’s address based on the license plate?”

    Himena responded with a confident voice:

    “Of course. I was saving that for when you arrived so we could investigate together.”

    Himena looked at Dexter with her chin raised, as if asking for praise.

    “You don’t need me. You’ve already done all the investigating, Himena.”

    Dexter shrugged as he spoke, and Himena shook her head as if his words made her feel disappointed.

    “No way! The investigation couldn’t have even started without you, Dexter. We should go meet the trailer driver right away.”

    Himena pointed her thumb at the black Cruze behind her.

    “There’s an FBI jacket in the car too, so you can put it on as we go.”

    “You’re always well-prepared, as expected.”

    Dexter gave Himena a thumbs up.

    Normally, he would have patted her head, but since it was clear she disliked that, he just gave her a thumbs up instead.

    “Hehe.”

    Pleased with the praise she wanted, Himena smiled happily as she and Dexter headed to the outskirts of North Las Vegas where the trailer driver was located.

    “I’ve been on this road before.”

    “Yes. It’s not too far from the motel where we went to help Officer Lawrence.”

    Himena gestured around the area as she spoke.

    Once you leave the center of Las Vegas, buildings become noticeably sparse, and you’re more likely to see ranches or warehouses than residential homes.

    The place where the trailer driver was located was also a trailer truck depot near a warehouse.

    When the two arrived at the spacious truck depot, despite the late hour, the lights were brightly lit, and many trucks were either waiting or moving around.

    On one side of the depot was a small building where truck drivers were likely waiting.

    “That must be it.”

    As the two got out of the car and entered the small building on the side of the depot, truck drivers were having a boisterous conversation.

    “That’s impossible!”

    “Hey, I’m telling you I did it myself, and you don’t believe me?”

    “Ah, I don’t care! Do whatever you want!”

    Just as they were pointing fingers and loudly arguing with each other, one of the truck drivers looked toward the doorway where Dexter and Himena were standing.

    “…Who are you?”

    “Are you from the company up front?”

    As the truck drivers immediately quieted down upon seeing Himena and Dexter, Himena smiled warmly and said:

    “Sorry to interrupt your break. We’re from the FBI. Is there anyone here named Edwin Fisher? We heard he’s usually here at this time.”

    “Did, did Eddie do something wrong?”

    An elderly truck driver asked with indifferent eyes.

    As Himena was considering how to respond without mentioning the case, Dexter stepped in:

    “It’s nothing serious. We just have a few questions for the driver who moved a container to Summerlin. The truck is registered under Mr. Fisher’s name.”

    Dexter also smiled lightly as he spoke, and the elderly truck driver nodded and said:

    “It’s nothing serious, right?”

    “Yes, just a few questions and we’ll be done. No need to worry.”

    The elderly truck driver looked behind him and said:

    “Eddie! They say it’s nothing serious, so stop hiding!”

    Then, a middle-aged man who had been hidden behind a refrigerator peeked his head out.

    “You’re not going to arrest me or anything, right?”

    “No. As I said, this is just a witness interview, so there’s no reason for an arrest.”

    As Eddie cautiously emerged from near the refrigerator, the building became noisy again.

    “That guy needs to have his balls cut off. A real man would just step up and say, ‘I’m Fisher, who are you?'”

    “No matter how you look at it, that guy isn’t cut out for big things.”

    As the truck drivers around started snickering and putting Eddie down, Eddie raised his fist at them and shouted:

    “Shut up, you bastards!”

    “Look at that temper. That’s why there are rumors all over the Strip about him being impotent.”

    As absurd statements were being thrown around, Eddie looked at the truck driver and said:

    “Hey, how do you know that?”

    “Because I’m the one who spread the rumor, idiot!”

    The surrounding truck drivers started cackling with laughter.

    Himena, who had been quietly watching the non-stop laughter and insults, felt dizzy.

    “Do men usually joke like this?”

    “This is the mild version.”

    As they continued to bicker for several minutes with no sign of stopping, Dexter clapped his hands to refocus the atmosphere.

    -Clap, clap.

    “Alright, alright, everyone. We’ll just ask a few questions and be on our way, so please cooperate. I appreciate it.”

    Eddie, who had been snorting and fuming, finally calmed down after hearing Dexter’s words.

    “What’s your question?”

    “Ah, yes. Did you deliver a container to the front of a garage in the Summerlin area a week ago?”

    “Yes, I did.”

    “Could you tell us where you delivered it from and who requested it?”

    Eddie answered without hesitation:

    “There’s a place called West Wendover on the Utah border. About two weeks ago, a man who looked like a college student gave me a thick wad of cash and asked if I could make a delivery, so I agreed.”

    “What about the man’s height and build?”

    Eddie thought for a moment, then pointed at one of the truck drivers and said:

    “Greg, how tall are you?”

    “Me? About 6 feet 1 inch…”

    Even to Dexter, Greg didn’t look like he was 6 feet tall, and Eddie frowned as he said:

    “Bullshit, I can clearly see you’re shorter than me.”

    “You son of a bitch. Fine, I’m 5 feet 9 inches.”

    As Greg revealed his height with a sour expression, Eddie pointed at him with his thumb and said:

    “He was about that tall. As for his build, well, it was average. He looked like a typical good student.”

    With the information flowing in, Himena started writing in her notebook.

    “What about his ethnicity?”

    “He was white, but he looked a bit Italian, and he had black, very curly hair.”

    “Wow, you remember in such detail?”

    “I memorized it well in case he comes back with more money for another job.”

    After asking a few more questions, Himena shook hands with Eddie.

    “Thank you for your cooperation.”

    “Ah, it’s nothing…”

    Eddie maintained a nonchalant expression as he looked at Himena’s smiling face, but the tips of his ears turned bright red.

    Outside the building, the two looked at the notebook and said:

    “West Wendover. Should we go?”

    “We should probably go at some point, but the time…”

    West Wendover was a town located near the northeastern edge of Nevada, so going today was unrealistic.

    “Ugh…! I’ll have to ask another agent tomorrow morning. They can at least enjoy the salt flats while they’re there, I guess.”

    As Himena stretched and spoke as if it was a hassle, Dexter nodded in agreement.

    “That’s cool. I’ve been telling you to reduce your workload.”

    “That’s the plan. I’m not sure what might still be there after a week… but anyway, I want to rest today too.”

    “Should I drive?”

    “I’d appreciate that!”

    “Let’s head back. It’s getting late.”

    Dexter and Himena got into the black Cruze and headed back to the vacant house in Summerlin.


    0 Comments

    Heads up! Your comment will be invisible to other guests and subscribers (except for replies), including you after a grace period.
    Note
    // Script to navigate with arrow keys