Chapter 28: Chapter 28 - Detective Jake Miller
BAM!
Roger dropped a file onto his partner’s desk.
Detective Jake Miller was sitting comfortably in his chair, his feet resting on the edge of the desk as he leaned back. He looked completely relaxed, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
"Oh, a magazine full of beautiful women," Jake said.
He immediately started flipping through the pages, his attention completely captured by what he was seeing.
After a few moments, he looked up and noticed that Roger Parker was still standing in front of him.
Apparently, Roger hadn’t brought him the magazine out of pure generosity.
"So... what can I do for you, buddy?" Jake asked.
"What do you think of this girl?" Roger asked in return.
After three years of working together, Roger knew his partner’s weakness well.
Jake had always had a soft spot for beautiful women.
"I think if she looked at me with those doe eyes while wearing that outfit, I’d lose control and give her exactly what she deserves, if you know what I mean," Jake replied with a laugh, clearly amused by his own suggestive comment.
Roger ignored the remark.
"Well... that’s Ashley. The girl I told you about."
Jake’s expression changed slightly.
A few days earlier, Roger had asked him to quietly investigate Ashley’s disappearance, but Jake had refused. The case had already been closed, and the woman who had supposedly disappeared had returned safe and unharmed.
"Listen, Roger. Normally, I’m always ready to help a damsel in distress. But I’m suspended. If the commissioner finds out I’m investigating a case while I’m suspended, I’ll be in serious trouble," Jake explained.
"He won’t find out if you’re careful. And even if he does, I’ll cover for you," Roger replied.
Jake stared at him for a moment before sighing.
"Fine. But you owe me one."
He shook his head with a small smile.
"And to think this suspension was supposed to be a vacation."
---
That evening, Jake sat alone with the case files spread out in front of him.
The room was quiet, illuminated only by the light coming from his desk lamp.
The file contained two major elements: the disappearance of ten million dollars from Clara Turner’s account and Ashley’s disappearance.
At first glance, Ashley had been the obvious suspect.
The money disappeared.
Then she disappeared as well.
It was the kind of coincidence that made investigators immediately point fingers.
But Jake wasn’t convinced.
Ashley had personally requested a discreet investigation to find the person responsible.
If she had actually stolen the money, why would she ask the police to search for the real culprit?
It didn’t make sense.
Jake leaned back and continued reviewing the evidence.
The biggest question remained:
How had someone managed to make Ashley disappear without leaving any trace?
He opened the surveillance footage.
The recording showed Ashley leaving in her car for what was supposedly a date with Clara.
And that was where the trail seemed to end.
But Jake noticed something important.
At no point in the footage did anyone appear to remove her belongings.
No suspicious person.
No obvious accomplice.
Nothing.
So Jake decided to watch every recording from that entire day.
Every camera.
Every angle.
Every movement.
Most people would have given up after hours of watching the same footage.
Jake didn’t.
Finally, he noticed something unusual.
The Turner family’s security team.
The family owned a private security company that protected them around the clock.
These people had access to the house.
They knew the family’s habits.
And they could move around without immediately attracting suspicion.
Potential suspects.
Jake pulled up the files of the six bodyguards assigned to Clara’s residence that day.
He studied each profile carefully.
They were all experienced professionals who had worked for the Turner family for years.
They had a reputation for loyalty.
Bribery seemed unlikely.
Unless...
They weren’t bribed at all.
What if they had simply received orders from someone inside the Turner family?
That possibility changed everything.
Ashley might not have been kidnapped by a stranger.
She might have been taken by someone close to Clara.
But who?
Jake looked back at the list of six names.
Finding the person responsible wouldn’t be enough.
He needed proof.
And he was going to find it.
Jake unlocked his phone and began searching for each bodyguard’s social media profiles.
Nowadays, social media was one of the fastest ways to learn about someone. Most people had no idea how much of their private lives they willingly shared online. Photos, comments, celebrations, complaints... Piece by piece, they painted a picture of who they really were.
Jake opened the first profile.
Nothing.
The second.
Nothing worth noting.
The third.
Still nothing.
Then he opened the fourth.
"Bingo," Jake muttered.
His eyes narrowed as he scrolled through several old Facebook posts.
Three years earlier, the man had posted regularly about his young daughter. She suffered from a rare illness that required treatments costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every update carried the same desperate tone, asking friends to pray for her and hoping for a miracle.
Then...
The posts suddenly stopped.
Jake continued scrolling.
The next family photo had been uploaded nearly a year later.
The little girl looked perfectly healthy, smiling brightly beside her father.
No explanation.
No announcement.
No thank-you message.
Nothing.
Jake leaned back in his chair.
If his daughter had truly recovered from such a serious illness, any parent would have wanted to share the miracle with the people who had supported them.
Instead...
The man had become strangely quiet.
Almost as if he didn’t want anyone asking how he had suddenly been able to afford the treatment.
Jake closed the phone for a second.
"I think I found you."
---
"One beer, please," Jake said as he sat down at the counter.
It wasn’t his usual bar.
In fact, he’d never been there before.
The place was quiet for a weekday evening. Soft music played in the background while a handful of regulars chatted over drinks.
A few stools away sat the man Jake had come to see.
He appeared to be in his fifties, with a thick mustache and the tired expression of someone who had spent his entire life working.
Jake waited until the bartender served his beer before speaking.
"Long day, huh?"
The man let out a weary chuckle.
"You could say that."
Jake took a sip of his drink before pretending to study the man’s face.
"You know... I think I’ve seen you somewhere before."
The man frowned.
"I don’t remember meeting you."
Jake extended his hand.
"I’m detective Jake Miller."
The man’s expression froze.
Jake didn’t give him time to recover.
"I worked the investigation into your employer’s missing funds... and the disappearance of her fiancée."
The bodyguard hesitated for the briefest moment before shaking Jake’s hand.
It was barely noticeable.
But Jake caught it.
The nervous glance.
The stiff shoulders.
The forced smile.
Fear.
"You know," Jake continued casually, "Ashley... Clara Turner’s former fiancée... came back."
He watched the man’s face carefully.
"She told us she’d been held captive."
The bodyguard’s fingers tightened around his beer.
Jake kept talking as though everything he said was already confirmed.
"After taking another look at the case, we discovered the people responsible were close to the Turner family."
He paused just long enough to let the words sink in.
"We’re only missing one last piece of evidence."
Silence settled between them.
Jake deliberately took another sip of his beer, allowing the man’s imagination to do the work.
"A confession would really help us identify the person who planned everything," he said calmly.
"If we arrest the one at the top of the pyramid, we won’t be interested in the little guys who simply followed orders."
He finished the last of his beer, paid the bartender, and walked toward the exit.
It was all a bluff.
The case had been closed months ago.
He was suspended.
He couldn’t legally interrogate anyone.
All he could do was make the man believe the police already knew almost everything.
Jake had nearly reached his car when someone shouted behind him.
"Wait!"
A small smile appeared on his face.
He didn’t turn around immediately.
The bait had worked.
Jake slowly turned around.
The bodyguard had followed him out of the bar. His breathing was uneven, and his face had gone pale. He looked like a man who had been carrying the same secret for years and could no longer bear its weight.
"I... I didn’t know anything, okay?" the man blurted out before Jake could say a word. "I was only told to quietly pack Miss Ashley’s belongings and put Miss Turner’s jewelry in with them. I had no idea they were going to steal ten million dollars or kidnap someone."
Jake remained silent.
Years of police work had taught him that silence often encouraged people to keep talking.
The man lowered his head.
"If you decide to arrest me, I won’t resist. But... I don’t regret what I did."
His voice cracked.
"Because of that money... my daughter is still alive."
Jake studied him for a moment.
The guilt in the man’s eyes was unmistakable. Whatever role he had played, he clearly hadn’t expected the situation to escalate into kidnapping and embezzlement.
"Don’t worry," Jake said with a faint smile. "I’m not here to arrest you."
The bodyguard looked up in surprise.
Jake wasn’t lying.
He couldn’t arrest anyone.
Not tonight.
The investigation had been officially closed, and he was still serving his suspension. Without authorization, he didn’t have the authority to make an arrest or conduct a formal interrogation.
His bluff had been the only weapon he had.
And somehow...
It had worked.
In just one evening, Jake had uncovered more than the official investigation had in months. Everyone else had been convinced Ashley had disappeared with the money, so no one had seriously considered another possibility.
Jake took a step closer.
" So.....Who paid you?"
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