CHAPTER 503: CHAPTER 297 THE PROBLEMATIC FADILI_2

Police Chief Luca was a white middle-aged man, about six feet tall, with a sturdy build. His face was rather elongated, his eye sockets deep, with mild dark circles under his eyes. His hair was somewhat sparse, and up close, one could catch a faint whiff of underarm odor.

Most white people have abundant body hair and strong body odor in general, and a not insignificant proportion also have distinct underarm odor.

Of course, they called it masculinity.

Luca was such a man. He confidently extended his hand toward Dean, unaware that Dean, with his acute senses, could smell a faint underarm odor emanating from his outstretched palm.

This guy definitely touched his armpit with his hand just moments ago! Dean realized. The crucial thing is, despite the grin on his face, his eyes hold a hostile glint. I certainly don’t want to shake his hand.

He stood still, not moving an inch, and said with a slight smile, "Hello, Chief Luca. Here’s the thing: I’m preparing to go to the school with Nellie to understand Teague’s situation, so I hope you can sign an investigation order."

Luca maintained his outstretched hand, his expression stiff, the passionate fake smile on his face morphing into an even more formulaic smirk. "That’s a bit difficult."

With an almost imperceptible movement, he withdrew his snubbed palm and said perfunctorily, "Detective Dean, the school principal is a stubborn old man. He doesn’t like anyone disrupting the peace of the school. Besides, we’ve already questioned Teague’s classmates and teachers. I..."

Dean interrupted Luca. "Chief Luca, forgive my bluntness, but I see no indication in your words that you’re taking this case seriously, nor do I want to waste time beating around the bush."

He stepped forward, looking down at Chief Luca, whose face had now turned cold. Dean quickly glanced at the wedding ring on the man’s left ring finger and smirked. "Don’t look at me like that, Chief Luca. If you don’t want your wife to find out about certain things, you’d better hurry up and give me what I want!"

From Dean’s gaze, Luca felt an almost tangible sense of oppression.

The undisguised threat made him inwardly jolt!

Luca involuntarily stepped back and touched his nose, as if to hide his inner shock. His voice, however, softened. "I just hope this town can return to its former peace as soon as possible. But you’re right; Teague is only fifteen, with a bright future ahead. We should indeed pay more attention to the young."

Saying this, he turned to the bewildered and concerned young policewoman, Nellie. "Nellie, why don’t you take Detective Dean to the school? I’ll give the principal a heads-up."

In a small town like this, the chief of police held real power and wielded substantial influence.

Nellie was completely baffled. What just happened?

She nodded, still somewhat puzzled. "Okay, Chief."

...

「After going downstairs.」

The young policewoman looked at Dean in amazement. "I almost thought Luca would throw a punch at you just now. He absolutely hates being ignored."

Dean shrugged. "If you get to know me better, you’ll realize I’m a friendly person. The way I treated Luca was solely to save time."

"So, what is it that Luca doesn’t want his wife to know?" Nellie’s face was alight with gossipy curiosity.

This Dean is incredible! she thought. He just arrived in this town, yet he seems to know everything. He managed to threaten and get the upper hand with Chief Luca from their very first meeting. What a mysterious man!

Dean, with a relaxed expression, said casually, "He’s in an intimate relationship with the lady he was just arguing with. She wants to end it, but Luca doesn’t. That’s what their argument was about."

Nellie was dumbfounded. "But you didn’t even know who they were before this!"

I clearly remember telling Dean who Chief Luca and the clerk were! Nellie thought. And what’s more, at the station, it’s common knowledge that Chief Luca and the clerk can’t stand each other. How could those two possibly be having an affair?

"Simple microexpression analysis," Dean said.

Seeing Nellie’s wide-eyed curiosity, Dean stopped walking and began to explain, "It’s a discipline that requires a lot of experience, but I can briefly explain it to you. Do you remember what Luca did when he was backing down?"

Nellie recalled the earlier scene and said, somewhat uncertainly, "Touched his nose?"

Dean nodded. "Yes. Inside our noses, we have a spongy plexus of veins. When we’re excited or emotionally agitated, this tissue expands and can become itchy.

"So, regardless of gender, when someone hasn’t prepared a psychological defense and is trying to conceal something, they will subconsciously touch their nose.

"Of course, this is just one part of the observation; it needs to be combined with other subtle expressions and reactions for a complete analysis.

"For example, if someone’s nostrils merely flare and they also happen to sneeze, it likely means they’re thinking about something stimulating or arousing, not necessarily trying to hide something."

He paused, then summarized, "Deducing someone’s mental state based on these subtle reactions is microexpression analysis. Of course, I prefer to call it the Mind Reading Technique."

Nellie had never met anyone so incredible! she thought. And he was handsome and talented, too!

She looked at Dean with admiration, exclaiming, "Detective Dean, you’re amazing!"

Dean gave a faint smile. "Keep a low profile. Let’s go to the school."

...

By the time they arrived at the school, it had already let out for the day. With no other option, they could only go and see the school principal first.