Demons Beside You
chapter-147

“So the owner of the chemical factory wants the account book.”

“That’s very possible. The chemical factory has always wanted to take the winery’s original location, so it’s not surprising that they wanted the winery’s account book,” Fali said.

This was a widely known fact in the town. It was therefore also unsurprising that Fali knew about it.

“And then the winery caught on fire. Could it be the chemical factory’s owner?” Chen Zhao started suspecting the owner too.

Everyone looked at David. “David, can you bring the factory’s owner back to the station for interrogation?”

“No, this area’s not in my charge. We don’t even have enough evidence, so I have no right to bring him back, I’m afraid.” David shook his head.

“How about we capture him, beat him up real bad, and then question him?” Chris suggested. She was a truly lawless woman…

“…” Chen Zhao was speechless.

“Great plan! Let’s do this.”

Apart from Chen Zhao, everyone seemed to think that it was a good idea, including David. He even appeared to be fully ready for the strategy.

“Are you sure it’s good?” Chen Zhao really wanted to stop them, but everyone was already enchanted and filled with excitement.

“Chen, don’t you feel like we’re the protagonists in a movie? Charging into the face of danger just to find out the truth!”

“…”

“Chen, the two of us will go and get the owner.”

“Me? Am I part of it?”

“We can’t let three women do it, can we?”

“What’s your plan?” Chen Zhao realized that calling them here was a grave mistake.

“I know where the owner of Demington Chemical Factory lives.”

“It’s a crime to break into someone’s house.”

“We don’t have to. We can intercept him on his way home. There’s a path that he has to take.”

“How do we intercept him?”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

…

Pierce South was driving home. He would have to pass a narrow road which was surrounded by a tall forest.

However, when he reached the forest road, a tree was lying in his way.

Seeing the tree, Pierce South could only leave his car to check the situation.

The tree was not big. If he had another person with him, they would be able to move it away, but it would be too difficult to do so alone.

Suddenly, however, two masked men charged out from the side of the road.

They were extremely fast and managed to subdue Pierce South before he could even react.

“Let me go… Do you know who I am?”

The two masked men were of course Chen Zhao and David. Ignoring Pierce’s roaring, they dragged him into the small forest right away.

“How much money do you want? How much?” Pierce shouted in horror.

“We don’t want money.” David and Chen Zhao both had voice changers with them. They even wore two more layers in their coats to prevent Pierce from recognizing their sizes and voices.

“Then what do you want?”

“You killed Deppler, right?” David pretended to be furious. “Deppler’s our brother. He told us everything. You asked him to burn the winery, but you didn’t give him the money as promised and were worried that he would leak your secret, so you killed him.”

Pierce South was momentarily stunned, but he quickly came to his senses. “No, I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t even know that Deppler’s dead.”

Pierce was not a resident of Mountain Town. Instead, he lived in a nearby town.

“Maybe it’s not you, but it’s definitely related to you. You must have used your wealth to ask someone else to do it, you murderer!”

‘No, no, you’re mistaken! I admit that I was happy about the winery’s fire, but I wouldn’t have taken such a huge risk. It doesn’t benefit me. Deppler and I were only partners. I only wanted to know the winery’s operating conditions and how much my factory needs to buy that piece of land.”

“How do I know if you’re telling the truth?”

“You better investigate the winery’s owner. He’s much more suspicious.”

“Trede Pemton? Why is that so?”

“Many people in town thought that the winery’s going to close down soon, but I saw the winery’s accounts. In fact, the winery’s been in a good condition and earning profits all along, but he kept claiming that the winery’s suffering a great loss.”

“Why would he do that?”

“How would I know?”

Pierce looked at the two before him. “You’re not Deppler’s friends, right? I know Deppler too well. He doesn’t have a friend who’s willing to avenge him. You know that I’m not the murderer. You only wanted to gain some information from me.”

Pierce lifted his head and stared at Chen Zhao. “Although you’ve been masked and silent, I know who you are. You’re the hero who saved a few people from the burning winery that day. You didn’t speak because you’re afraid that I can recognize your accent.”

Indeed, Chen Zhao had been quiet because he still had an accent whenever he spoke English.

“As for you… I don’t know.” Pierce glanced at David. He was not a god and could not possibly know David’s identity. “If you want to investigate Deppler’s death, I think that the most suspicious person is Trede, the winery’s owner.”

“Do you think that your words can make you innocent? Who knows if you’re just trying to blame Trede for everything? After all, everyone in town knows that you want to buy the winery’s land and turn it into a chemical factory. The winery’s fire clearly benefits you more.”

“I said I’m a legal businessman. Turning the winery into a chemical factory is a good business opportunity for me, but it’s neither the only choice nor the best choice. The residents of Mountain Town have always been against having a chemical factory in town, so we still have a few other choices. I don’t have to kill someone or burn the winery down just to get that piece of land. They’re way too risky for my company.”

“Then why did you say that Trede is much more suspicious?”

“First of all, as the winery’s owner, he deliberately held the winery’s real accounts back. It’s already suspicious as to why he wanted everyone to think that his winery was making a loss. Perhaps Deppler found the secret out. Deppler being Deppler, once he found someone’s secret, he would surely blackmail the person. Thus I think it’s more likely that he was killed by Trede.”

“Your suspicion against Trede can similarly be used on yourself. You hired Deppler to burn the winery down and then Deppler used it to blackmail you.”

“I said, my interests are clear. Before I burn something or kill someone, I need to have a sufficiently promising gain. A few millions is definitely not enough for me to take such a huge risk. On the other hand, Trede’s motives are unclear, so he’s more suspicious. Perhaps he even created the fire himself to hide something or achieve something.”

Hearing Pierce’s words, Chen Zhao felt his heart skip a beat. He suddenly realized a problem.