“I divorced the child’s mother, and she went to another city.”

“Can she make it back tonight? The robber specifically demanded that the child’s mother bring the money for the ransom,” Paul Bennett said.

“I’m trying to get in touch with old friends and relatives, but there’s no news yet.”

“Is there any problem with two hundred thousand yuan?” Emily Reed asked.

Helen Carter said without hesitation, “That’s not a big problem. Even if I have to borrow it, I’ll definitely be able to gather the money.”

“Then you find a way to get the money together. As for the rest, we police will handle it.”

……

5:00 p.m.

David Thompson, Brian Hall, Lily Turner, James Reed, and others returned one after another to Huacui Community.

“There are only three hours left until the ransom handover. Let’s have a summary meeting and see if there are any new leads,” Paul Bennett called everyone together.

“The nearby surveillance didn’t find any trace of the kidnapper or Thomas Carter,” said Lily Turner.

“The people in the area also didn’t notice anything unusual,” said David Thompson.

“I sent people to the suburbs, but there’s no surveillance near the base station, so we couldn’t find any trace of the suspect,” said Emily Reed.

“I visited several of Thomas Carter’s classmates. According to one close friend, Thomas Carter said a couple of days ago at school that he was about to see his mother. I suspect this might be related to the kidnapping,” said James Reed.

Paul Bennett reached out and pointed at James Reed: “This clue is very important. The kidnapper is 160 cm tall, and physically doesn’t have much of an advantage, so it’s more likely to be a case of luring.”

“In other words, the kidnapper might have used the child’s desire to see his mother to plan this kidnapping,” Emily Reed analyzed.

“The problem now is, the child’s mother can’t make it back in time. Who will deliver the ransom tonight?” said Lily Turner.

“I’ll go,” Emily Reed volunteered.

“You?”

“Other than me, is there anyone more suitable?”

Emily Reed is in her thirties, fitting the age of a mother, and she’s calm and experienced—indeed a good choice.

Paul Bennett felt like someone was missing. He turned his head and saw Brian Hall squatting by the shoe cabinet, studying something.

“Brian Hall.”

“Yes, Captain Bennett, you called me.”

“Everyone’s discussing the case. What are you doing over there?”

“Captain Bennett, I’ve found something.”

Paul Bennett waved him over: “Come here and tell us.”

Brian Hall walked over and sat on the sofa to the side: “I don’t recommend that Captain Reed deliver the ransom.”

Emily Reed frowned: “Why not?”

“If Captain Reed goes, she’ll definitely be recognized as a fake,” Brian Hall said confidently.

“That’s unlikely. After I divorced Thomas Carter’s mother, she never came back, and there are no photos of her at home,” said Helen Carter.

“I went back to the station and studied this all afternoon. Excluding the interference of small feet in big shoes, I determined that the kidnapper’s gender should be male—more precisely, a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old.”

Emily Reed looked skeptical: “That doesn’t seem possible.”

“When I got here, I found Thomas Carter’s old shoes in the shoe cabinet and compared the wear marks. I found that they matched the footprints of small feet in big shoes exactly.”

“You mean it was Thomas Carter wearing big shoes, faking the kidnapping scene!” Paul Bennett said in surprise.

“No way,” Helen Carter was even more shocked.

“So is this even a kidnapping?” said Lily Turner.

“Thomas Carter wrote and directed the whole thing himself, and the so-called kidnapping never happened?” said David Thompson.

“I can only confirm that the one with small feet in big shoes was Thomas Carter. As for whether he was lured away, that’s still uncertain,” said Brian Hall.

Everyone fell silent. The clue Brian Hall provided was too important.

“No wonder we’ve been investigating for so long and found no trace of the kidnapper. Turns out, the kidnapper never even came to Huacui Community,” Lily Turner suddenly realized.

“That’s impossible. My son has always been obedient. Why would he do this?” Helen Carter couldn’t believe it.

Paul Bennett paced as he analyzed: “According to the classmate’s clue, Thomas Carter did say he was going to see his mother.”

“Could it be that Thomas Carter has never seen his mother and misses her so much that he staged this kidnapping himself?” said Emily Reed.

“That would also explain why the messages specifically demanded that Thomas Carter’s mother pay the ransom,” said Brian Hall.

“Bzzz…”

“The kidnapper sent another message.”

Chapter 0012: Waiting for the Prey

“What did the kidnapper say?”

“At eight o’clock tonight, go to Taylor Square to hand over the ransom. Only Thomas Carter’s mother is allowed to come. If anyone else is present, you’ll never see the child again,” Helen Carter showed a nervous expression:

“They also sent a photo of Tianyou. He’s tied up with rope, his mouth is gagged, and there are bloodstains on him.”

“Officer, Tianyou didn’t stage this himself—he’s really been kidnapped,” Helen Carter said emotionally.

“Mr. Cao, please calm down,” Paul Bennett comforted him. “If Thomas Carter could fake the kidnapping scene, he could also fake the scene of being tied up.”

“You’re saying my son staged the whole thing just based on a footprint? If something really happens to my son, can you police take responsibility?” Helen Carter demanded loudly.

“Mr. Cao, let us handle the investigation. Your main task now is to contact the child’s mother,” said Emily Reed.