The reason is simple: the local police stations are severely understaffed and simply can't allocate enough people. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Bajing Station is a large one with a dedicated criminal investigation team handling criminal cases—the jurisdiction is huge, the crime rate is high, and every detective is juggling several cases at once, running around in circles.

Usually, for this kind of questioning, at most they’ll call in a security team member to take notes, and that’s considered following the rules.

The reason Edward York called James Carter this time is mainly because he felt the case was serious and didn’t want to leave any room for criticism.

James Carter also knew he was just there as backup, so he sat there smoking, watching Grace Bennett with interest.

Grace Bennett, having changed into clean clothes and tidied herself up a bit, still looked pale, but it was clear she was quite good-looking, with well-defined features—a pretty girl.

“What’s your name?”

Following procedure, Edward York began the questioning.

“My name is Grace Bennett.”

“How old are you this year?”

“Twenty-one…”

She answered fluently, without the slightest hesitation, as if this wasn’t the first time Grace Bennett had faced such a situation.

“Where do you live?”

“Gantang Town…”

Gantang Town is also under the jurisdiction of Yangguan District, located to the west of the Bajing office, very remote, bordering another county. And that’s exactly where Henry Dawson’s influence is strongest—several of Henry Dawson’s coal mines are within Gantang Town’s jurisdiction.

“Grace Bennett, tell us, what exactly happened today? Why were those people chasing you?”

After clarifying the basic information, Edward York got to the point.

“They wanted to kill me!”

Grace Bennett’s voice suddenly shot up, sharp and piercing.

James Carter, who had been leisurely smoking, was startled, almost dropping the cigarette from his fingers. He glared at her and muttered under his breath, “What are you yelling for…”

But clearly, neither Edward York nor Grace Bennett paid any attention to his muttering.

“Why do they want to kill you?”

Edward York pressed, his eyes shining with intensity.

“Because they’re afraid I’ll report them, afraid I’ll expose the mining accident at Sanping Coal Mine. They want to kill me to silence me…”

Grace Bennett cried out, nervously glancing around, as if afraid someone might suddenly appear out of nowhere and kill her on the spot.

Chapter 9: The Covered-Up Mining Accident

“Sanping Coal Mine accident?”

James Carter, who had been slouching in his chair, suddenly sat up straight, exclaiming in surprise.

“When did this happen?”

“It’s been twenty days. It happened at the beginning of this month…”

Grace Bennett glanced at James Carter warily as she spoke. Although James Carter was in uniform and Edward York was in plain clothes, it was obvious that Grace Bennett trusted Edward York more.

Other than Edward York, Grace Bennett was extremely cautious and guarded toward everyone present.

Even the police were no exception.

She had reported to the police before, but ended up being chased all the way. If she hadn’t run into Edward York by chance tonight, she probably wouldn’t have survived.

“Tell us the details.”

Edward York keenly realized he had probably found the reason why Grace Bennett was being targeted.

Otherwise, why would Henry Dawson’s men chase after a girl?

No matter how arrogant Henry Dawson was, he wouldn’t send people to kill for no reason.

“There was an accident underground, the shaft collapsed, and people were crushed to death…”

As she spoke, Grace Bennett’s eyes reddened.

Clearly, this mining accident was likely connected to her.

Edward York pressed, “How many people died?”

“I’m not sure exactly how many, but at least six…”

James Carter interjected, “How do you know at least six died?”

“Because four of them were from our village. They went down the mine on May 2nd and never came back. My brother, my brother didn’t come back either…”

At this point, tears finally streamed down Grace Bennett’s face.

Edward York frowned and said, “That’s only four. You just said at least six died. What about the other two?”

“The other two were from Shuiyuan. I asked their wives and confirmed they also went down the mine that day, on the same shift as my brother and the others. None of them came back.”

“Six people on one shift?”

Edward York asked casually.

From what he knew about coal mine operations, usually there are more than six people on a shift. Of course, it depends on the specific situation.

“There should be more. I remember my brother saying there were about ten people on his shift…”

“What’s your brother’s name?”

“Samuel Bennett.”

Grace Bennett then explained a bit more.

“He used to be a full-time worker at Sanping Coal Mine, but after the mine was contracted out to Henry Dawson, they all became laborers.”

Edward York didn’t know much about the ownership changes at Sanping Coal Mine. But judging from recent years, the coal industry has been booming, the price of high-quality coal keeps soaring, and many private mines have made a fortune.