Grace instantly hugged Caspian the moment he was in her grasp. She then patted Caspian's head as she said, "Are you okay? Are you still hurt?"
"I'm alright, mom. They already got the bullet out of my leg," Caspian replied with a smile. He felt warm and fuzzy at the sight of his mom worrying about him. It made him feel nostalgic and made him remember the past somewhat.
Grace just sighed as she said, "Didn't I tell you to take care of yourself? *Sigh*"
She shot a slight glare at Abby, but it was so fast that Caspian didn't even notice it.
After a short moment, Grace then asked Caspian, "If you don't mind me asking, why were you in the abandoned factory at that time?"
Caspian instantly knew his mom was onto him. After all, he inherited his intuition from his mom. Caspian looked calm, but on the inside, he was sweating profusely. He just answered, "We were just roaming around the city after you took the case."
Just as he said that, Grace just sized Caspian up and down. As if she knew everything that Caspian was hiding, she pulled his coat and instantly grabbed ahold of the zip-lock bag that he had hidden within it.
Caspian knew he was finished. He didn't think his mom would find the evidence that he got that quickly. Grace couldn't help but sigh in exasperation as she exclaimed, "Didn't I tell you not to get involved!? The person we are trying to find is incredibly dangerous, and he will not hesitate to kill!"
Caspian felt somewhat angry as he replied, "I know! That's why I'm trying my best to find where the culprit is!"
Grace calmed herself down as she said, "That person is tricky. They are not someone you can find by simply tying up clues you managed to scavenge. We've been trying to find them for years, but we still haven't caught him. We don't even know his identity! I just want you safe!"
"Well, guess what? In the criminal den that me and Abby found, I found documents relating to the recent victims' information. They even put it in a folder labeled 'eliminated'! My guess is that you're chasing someone completely different!"
"What!?" Grace couldn't help but exclaim.
"Here, let me show you pictures," Caspian said as he pulled out his phone and browsed for the photos that he had taken.
He then gave the phone to Grace, who immediately observed the photo. Her brows furrowed as she said, "The possibility of them being involved in a criminal organization is scarce…. But why do they have this information…?"
Grace couldn't help but massage her forehead as she leaned her side on the car while looking at the photos. A tired expression surfaced on her face.
Caspian, who saw this, couldn't help but feel bad for shouting as he said, "Mom, I'm sorry for shouting. I got too worked up. I know that you're just concerned for my safety."
"No, Caspian, it's alright. I'm just trying to process the information you gave me," Grace said as she sighed. After that, she just shook her head as she smiled while putting her hand on Caspian's shoulder.
Caspian just sighed as recently he was easily irritated and was always grumpy. He just opened his arms and hugged his mother. Grace was somewhat surprised, but she happily hugged her son back.
Caspian then looked at Abby as if communicating with her, and both of them nodded. "Mom, I'll give you all the information I learned when investigating. It's not like I can use it since I'm suspended from work. I just hope you catch that son of a bitch."
With a tinge of surprise on her face, Grace smiled as she said, "You got it."
Just then, Abby interrupted, "Sorry to interrupt, but if we're gonna talk about that, let's go somewhere private."
Grace and Caspian both had serious faces as they nodded. Grace then entered the back seat and said, "Well, how about Caspian's apartment?"
"That would work," Caspian replied.
After all of them agreed, Abby drove the car straight to Caspian's apartment. Caspian didn't know why, but he felt he had not spent that much time in his house. They then left the car, where Caspian struggled somewhat because of his injury, and headed inside immediately.
They then sat down on the chairs in the kitchen as Caspian asked, "Do you guys want coffee?"
He was about to stand up, but Abby stopped him as she said, "I'll brew the coffee, just sit down and say what you need to say."
Caspian nodded as he looked at his mom seriously.
"First off, all of the victims had one similarity. They all have the Rh-null blood type, most commonly known as the golden blood," Hearing what Caspian said, Grace's face paled as if she knew something.
Caspian noticed Grace's pale demeanor, so he immediately asked, "Are you okay, mom?"
"Yeah, I'm fine; continue."
Caspian obliged as he added, "Scarlet Bell, the new forensic pathologist in my department, talked with me about this. Although we have this information, we couldn't go to the hospital and ask them to give us a copy of the blood records of all the people in the city since we didn't have permission to do so. Oh, and please don't get Doctor Scarlet in trouble. I already got Abby punished, after all."
Grace just nodded as she let Caspian continue.
"Next are these pictures," Caspian said as he pulled out the multiple zip-lock bags that Scarlet had given him. "This one was from the first victim. It was put in her mouth, probably by the murderer."
Caspian handed it over to Grace, and she looked at it intently. Caspian just leaned against the chair as he said, "Unfortunately, I didn't get anything there aside from tripping and lightly tearing my skin."
"You seem just to get hurt every time you go out," Grace said with a giggle, but that giggle stopped as she put the pictures down.
"How about the information on your encounter with that criminal organization?"
"*Sigh* that one was unexpected. Remember the zip-lock bag you took? Those were photos of the abandoned factory where the criminal den was located. At first, we couldn't find anything, but we managed to catch a glimpse of an awfully clean door. Then when we entered it, we stumbled unto the criminal den."
"Fortunately, there was no one there, and it gave us a chance to investigate, and I found those documents in the office room desk in a folder labeled 'eliminated.' Earlier I thought that them getting caught would end the murders, but I have a feeling that it won't." Caspian said with a tired expression.
"Although the victims' information was stored there, it doesn't mean that they're the ones who did it. I mean, why would they deliberately try to get themselves caught by leaving random photos?"
After hearing everything that Caspian said, Grace went into deep thought as she rubbed her chin. Abby, who had finished brewing the coffee, gave them all a cup, including herself, and sat down.
Caspian then said one more time, "That's all we know, nothing more, nothing less."
After contemplating a bit, Grace grabbed the mug and drank a sip of coffee while replying, "Thank you, Caspian. Although it wasn't much, it certainly helped me reconsider some tactics that we were trying to do."
"You're welcome. I just hope that you find them and put an end to all these murders…." Caspian then slowly sipped his coffee as fatigue started to become apparent in his eyes. After he finished his coffee, he then said, "Just make yourself at home… I'm tired, and I want to rest."
Grace and Abby said their goodbyes as Caspian entered his room and fell asleep immediately. Grace then turned her head toward Abby as she said, "Well, you need to explain yourself on why you helped my son get in trouble."
"I'm sorry… It was an impulse, and I'm sure that Caspian's stubbornness won't let me stop him, so I figured that joining him would be safer as I can look after him properly," Abby said as she traced the lip of the mug.
"Well, that's certainly true. You did well, Abby," Grace smiled as she sipped her coffee. "It seems that bastard is not only targeting the half-bloods but even those innocent people. I just can't understand what they're trying to do… mixing blood from the purebloods to people with that blood type…."
With a sigh, Grace tapped her hand on the table. After a while, she continued, "I need you to stay with Caspian and keep him safe. If he still tried to uncover the secrets, guard him. He might get targeted."
Grace then stood up, and she tugged on her clothes. "After all, he's also one of those half-bloods."
Abby stood up with her as she said, "Affirmative, captain. I'll keep him safe."
"Good," Grace said as she left the apartment. Abby then turned to Caspian's room, entered it, and looked at his face with a hint of affection. "Caspian… I won't let you get hurt by them, no matter what."