CHAPTER 506: CHAPTER 298: THE PHOTO, TAKING THE BLAME_2

He was a seasoned old hand. Although curious about the new development in the case, he wouldn’t invite trouble for himself, especially since the sheriff was pressing for a quick resolution to Teacher Toddy’s murder.

Upon hearing Nellie’s inquiry, Fadili slowly raised his head. His bloodshot eyes, staring blankly into Dean’s, revealed a bitter smile. "Is that even a question?"

Nellie’s eyebrows shot up. "Mr. Fadili, please clarify."

Fadili lowered his head again, his voice somber. "It’s simple. I’ve always felt that Toddy’s overly gentle teaching methods would make my son’s already weak character even weaker, so I hated Toddy.

"I knew Teague had a bad character, but I kept hoping he would learn to fight back and become stronger through the bullying.

"But Toddy ruined it all.

"Teague now had protection and, when faced with problems, preferred to escape even more.

"He was like a sissy.

"All of this was Toddy’s doing, so I found an opportunity and killed Toddy!"

Fadili suddenly raised his head, his expression ferocious, spittle flying. "Do you hear me? It was me! I killed Toddy, but you idiots arrested my son!"

Nellie was startled by Fadili’s fierce expression.

She looked helplessly towards the expressionless Dean standing beside her.

Her colleague next to her also became serious, speaking for the first time, "Fadili, are you saying that you killed Toddy, and Teague just happened to be at the crime scene by chance?"

"Yes, it was me!"

Fadili licked his lips, scornfully eyeing the three people in front of him. "I didn’t expect Teague to turn up in that woman’s home after I left; that troubled me. Teague is, after all, my son. What I really didn’t expect was for you cops to be so useless as to take my son as the killer. Heh."

"You!"

Anger flashed in Nellie’s colleague’s eyes as he took out his phone and called the sheriff.

This matter was no longer within their capacity to handle.

If Teague had only been treated as a suspect, arresting the wrong person would have been a trivial matter.

But, pressured by the sheriff to file the report, Teague had already been identified as a first-degree murderer by the county prosecutor. If such an erroneous judgment were exposed, it would be a disgraceful case of dereliction of duty.

Infuriatingly, no matter how many times the male officer dialed, no one at the sheriff’s end answered.

He could only stand up and say to Nellie, "Nellie, you and Mr. Dean watch Fadili. I’ll go get the sheriff myself. Until then, don’t do anything unnecessary."

Nellie was just about to nod.

Just then.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!

Applause rang out from nearby.

Surprised, Nellie and her colleague turned to the sound, only to find the clapping came from Dean, who had remained motionless since the interrogation began.

Dean slowly stood up, shaking his head. "Fatherly love is indeed great. It can grant a fried chicken shop owner acting skills to rival an award-winning actor."

"What!?"

Nellie and her colleague looked at Dean, astonished, not quite understanding his words.

And Fadili, sitting in the interrogation chair, was filled with shock and anger.

He glared furiously at Dean, the detective he had hired. "Shut up, you damned, lousy, third-rate detective! I’ve already confessed. You can crawl back to Los Angeles and claim your filthy money!"

Dean shrugged. "Mr. Fadili, although you are the client, my commission was to investigate the truth behind Teacher Toddy’s murder and to clear Teague’s name. Therefore, I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you to take the fall for your son, because that is not the truth!"

Having said that, under the puzzled gazes of Nellie and her colleague, he pulled out a photo from the pile—one taken from behind—and pointed to the background. "The town is only so big, with just so many residents. Mr. Fadili, could you simultaneously be secretly photographing someone and appear in the shot yourself?"

Following Dean’s finger, Nellie and her colleague now saw that on the street in the photo, a man in an apron—indeed Mr. Fadili—was standing not far from Teacher Toddy’s car, looking towards the camera...

"Since Mr. Fadili wasn’t the one taking the photo, was it Teague?"

Nellie realized. Mr. Fadili must have heard what Detective Dean said earlier and worried that Dean would find these photos. That would further confirm a secret between Teague and Toddy, so he wanted to destroy them!

After all, Teague’s presence at the murder scene was already suspicious. If it was also revealed that he’d been secretly photographing and stalking Toddy for a long time, his situation would be even harder to explain.

Dean nodded. "Yes, that’s probably what Mr. Fadili thought. But he didn’t expect us to run into him and discover what he was doing. So, to save his son, Mr. Fadili simply decided to take the blame."

He looked disappointedly at the desperate Fadili.

"Do you think you’re so great?

"Mr. Fadili, honestly, your lack of cooperation and your concealment of facts are completely destroying Teague’s last chance.

"Forget it. I’m not taking this case anymore. I hope your son can get out of prison before you and your wife pass away."

With that, Dean turned to leave.

This bastard. Hiding things from me clearly shows he doesn’t trust me. Since that’s the case, I don’t mind letting him stew for a bit.

"Detective Dean..."

Nellie wanted to call out to Dean but felt unsure what reason to give.

After all, he was just a detective, not a town police officer like her; he had no obligation to seek the truth of a case.

Seeing Dean about to walk out of the interrogation room, Fadili broke down.

He wailed, "No, don’t leave! I was wrong, Detective Dean! Don’t go! Apart from the photos, I really haven’t hidden anything! Teague is truly not the murderer!"

But Dean paid him no mind and walked straight out.

Fadili had wanted to destroy the secretly taken photos of the deceased Teacher Toddy, and during the interrogation, he had even confessed to being her killer. Although Dean said it was false, Fadili was still taken into custody according to procedure.

Since they couldn’t contact the sheriff, Nellie and her colleague on duty decided to deal with the matter the next day. As for Nellie, she planned to go to Mr. Fadili’s house first and inform Mrs. Fadili of her husband’s detention.

Leaving the police station, Officer Nellie’s face was full of conflict.

One reason was Dean’s departure.

A man with such looks and talent held an almost drug-like allure for any young woman in a small town who hadn’t had much romantic experience.

Nellie felt that after this, she would probably never have a chance to see Dean again.

Another reason was that Nellie didn’t know how to tell Mrs. Fadili about her husband’s detention.

In Nellie’s impression, Mrs. Fadili was a meek woman who always wore a kind smile and was well-liked by the town’s children.

Her son had been arrested not long ago, and now her husband too. This would be a huge blow for a woman who wasn’t particularly strong-willed.

Nellie sighed and shook her head.

"Nellie."

A deep male voice came from the darkness.

Nellie paused, and her troubled face brightened. "Detective Dean?"

"HMM!"

Dean emerged from the darkness.

Nellie looked at Dean joyfully. "You didn’t leave?"

"Why would I leave if the case isn’t even solved yet?" Dean flashed a mischievous smile. "Fadili lied to me, so I just lied to him in return."

Nellie rolled her eyes at Dean.

What a petty man... No... one shouldn’t use ’petty’ for a handsome man like Detective Dean. It should be ’humorous.’ Yes, that’s it, humorous! Mr. Dean is such a humorous man!

"Detective Dean, I’m about to go to Mr. Fadili’s house now to tell his wife about Fadili’s detention. Do you want to come along?"

"Of course," Dean nodded. "You go back and get those photos, and we’ll go together."

He had a feeling that Mrs. Fadili might know more about her son Teague’s relationship with Toddy than Mr. Fadili did.