"You thought?" Chelsea asked, her tone full of scorn. "Where did you learn how to think?
The police academy? They clearly didn't do a very good job."
The two police officers were embarrassed. Chelsea was being quite harsh, but they had
made mistakes, so they hung their heads and silently accepted the criticism.
"So, what did you find out about the old lady?" Chelsea asked. "Do you know who she is?"
"We watched a lot of surveillance footage, but we're still not sure who she is," said one of
the officers.
Chelsea scowled at them. "So, not only did not discover the identity of the old lady, but you
also allowed Saul's body to be removed. Great work! So, tell me, what exactly have you
achieved today?"
"I'm sure they're sorry," said Layla, one of the officers Chelsea had brought with her.
Chelsea forced herself to calm down. There was no point wasting time finding someone to
blame. She needed to continue the investigation and find out the truth.
"I apologize for losing my temper," Chelsea said, taking a deep breath. "Keep looking into
the old lady. I want to know who she is and where she is."
She turned to look at Layla and the other officer. "See if you can find out who took Saul's body. I'll be with you shortly."
The four officers split up and went to do as they had been instructed.
Chelsea walked over to the exit to get some fresh air. She needed a minute to calm down,
and then she could devote herself to the investigation.
As she reached the door, her mobile phone rang. The ID displayed a strange number, so she took note of it before she answered. She had left her number with a lot of people, hoping they could help her with a variety of cases.
"Hello!" she said. "Who is this?"
"Officer Wood, how are you?" Chris asked.
Chelsea recognized his voice straight away, and she grew tense.
"You're behind everything that happened today, aren't you?" she asked. She just knew that Chris was responsible for Saul's death and the removal of his body.
"Officer Wood," Chris said, tutting at her. "Be careful about throwing around accusations
with no proof. Otherwise, I might decide to sue you for slander."
Chelsea gripped her phone so hard that her knuckles turned white. She knew Chris was right. He would have grounds to sue her.
Chris laughed when she went silent. "Don't be angry," he said. "Saul failed me, so he
outlived his usefulness."
Chelsea did not doubt that Chris had sent someone to kill Saul, but she couldn't prove it.
"I heard that Saul's friend collected his body from the morgue," Chris said, his tone casual.
"Saul worked with me for quite a while, so I made sure to tell his friend where to find him."
"Where is Saul now?" Chelsea asked. If she found the body, then maybe she could find some clues to solving the case.
"He's at the Shady Pines funeral parlor," Chris said.
Chelsea knew where that was. She began to walk out of the hospital, but then Chris spoke
again.
"Of course, I'm afraid it won't be possible to see Saul's body," he said. "He's scheduled for
cremation at any moment."
"What? No!" Chelsea said. "Saul is important to this case. I order you to stop this. Do not
cremate him!"
"I'm sorry, Officer Wood," Chris said, not sounding at all apologetic. "Saul's friends just want to lay him to rest as soon as possible. His coffin is just going into the furnace now, and the flames are already burning…"
"Stop it!" Chelsea shrieked into the phone. "Make them stop!"
"Oh, dear," Saul said. "I'm so sorry, Officer Wood. I'd like to help you, but I'm afraid it's too
late. Saul's body is already gone. But why don't you come and see his ashes? Maybe you can get some clues from them. Would that help?"
"Chris, you bastard!" Chelsea yelled, cursing him. "One day, I will arrest you and bring you to justice for every single crime you have ever committed!"
"Yes, my dear," Chris said, his tone patronizing. "I'll be waiting." It was clear he never expected that day to arrive.
"I do hope you remember what I said about slander.
You should be very careful what you say about me."
He ended the call.
Chris watched as Saul's body was pushed into the furnace, knowing there would be no evidence for Chelsea to find. He turned and walked outside.
Before he could deal with Chelsea, he needed to take care of the Cliftons. That was much
more important. Once the Steadman family seized control of the Baltimore underworld,
everything else would fall into place.
Chris got into his car and told the driver where to go. Then he sat back and started planning out how to approach Jessop Clifton. Just imagining it made him a little nervous. Throughout his life, he had often been told how powerful the Cliftons were.
I never expected to be in this position, he thought. When I was a child, the Cliftons were so strong, and now I will be the one to destroy them. It didn't seem real.
Over the past year, his father, Art, had discussed the matter with Chris many times. They were determined to seize the Clifton family's territory, and Chris had it all planned out.
But now that it was time to act, Chris wanted to speak with his father again, not wanting to
risk destroying their plans by making a mistake.
So, instead of going back home, Chris went to a private villa in the suburbs.
His father's villa was some distance away from any neighbouring property, and it was
reached via a simple dirt road. Art Steadman liked his privacy.
The car stopped in front of the villa and Chris got out. It was much cooler here than in the
city, so he hurried into the villa, where it was much warmer.
Art stood in front of the French windows, smoking his cigar while looking out at the
scenery. His wig lay discarded on a nearby table. He never allowed the public to see his
bald head, but at home, he could be himself.
"Dad, I've solved the problem of Saul," Chris said as he walked into the room.
"Good," Art said, not turning around. "Are you ready to deal with Jessop Clifton?"
"Yes, I've been looking forward to it," Chris said, not daring to show any lack of confidence.
His father would be angry if he thought Chris had doubts.
Art walked over to Chris and patted his shoulder in encouragement. Then he picked up the phone and called one of his men.
"What can I do for you?" the man asked, his tone respectful.
Usually, Chris was the who to call with his orders, so if Art was calling him, that meant
something big was going to happen.
"Take twenty men to Dukes Casino tonight," Art said. "Smash the place up.
And be ruthless about it. Make sure there's some real damage."
Dukes Casino was owned by the Clifton family. By attacking it, Art was sending Jessop Clifton a declaration of war.
"Yes, sir," the man said. "We'll take care of it."
Art hung up the phone and smiled at Chris, whose heart had started pounding. Once they
destroyed the Cliftons' casino, there was no going back. This war had been brewing for a long time, but now it was finally about to start. Whichever family lost would forfeit control
of the Baltimore underworld.
The stakes were high, and Chris felt nervous, but he forced himself to smile back at his
father.
With the help of the Blood Brothers Gang, they would win.