After hearing the news, Ethan Brooks brought his men and, furious and humiliated, rushed over.

However, John Reed had already returned.

The only thing that comforted Ethan Brooks was that John Reed hadn’t caught the kidnappers—he had failed.

John Reed had indeed set up an ambush in Fenglin Village, but the kidnappers were also very alert. Once they realized there was an ambush, they escaped into the sorghum fields.

Not catching the culprits wasn’t just a matter of losing face. More importantly, the kidnappers now knew the Sun family had involved the police, and would surely take it out on Paul Mitchell.

It was possible they might even kill the hostage.

Originally, John Reed had the upper hand, getting the clue first through the postman—a beautiful move.

However, letting the kidnappers escape turned this chance to shine into a source of embarrassment.

Luke Mitchell had been waiting at the police station for news, but hadn’t expected such a result.

Upon learning that John Reed had failed, he simply said, “There’s no need to trouble the police any further with this,” and left.

After Luke Mitchell returned home, the detectives were “invited” out by the Sun family.

The Sun family no longer trusted the police and wanted to pay the ransom and settle privately with the kidnappers.

After hearing the news, Andrew Carter neither went to the Sun residence at No. 12 nor returned to the police station.

At this point, doing his own job well was most important—going anywhere else would just be asking for trouble.

Besides, at this time, John Reed probably wouldn’t have time for him anyway.

After work, Andrew Carter heard that Ethan Brooks and John Reed had a huge argument in the office of Deputy Director Steven Scott at the police station, almost coming to blows.

When Andrew Carter returned to the dormitory, intending to change clothes and go out, he unexpectedly ran into his rarely-seen roommate Brian Foster.

“I heard you went to Fenglin Village today too?” Andrew Carter asked curiously.

“Those guys were too slippery—they slipped away before even showing themselves.” Brian Foster stood next to Andrew Carter, not quite reaching his earlobe.

His voice was a bit shrill, making a screeching sound like a monkey—no wonder his nickname was Monkey Foster.

Brian Foster clearly didn’t want to talk more about it—after all, it was a failure. After speaking, he immediately left.

When Andrew Carter came out afterward, he ran into Harold Bennett, who told him about the big argument between Ethan Brooks and John Reed.

“You should’ve seen it—they almost started fighting right in front of Deputy Director Scott,” Harold Bennett said with a grin, as if it had nothing to do with him.

“If Inspector Reed had brought more men, maybe things wouldn’t have turned out this way,” Andrew Carter sighed softly.

“Who can say otherwise?” Harold Bennett replied.

After work, Andrew Carter went to the Guangfa Hotel at Ren’an Lane on Kangbo South Road. No matter what happened with the kidnapping case, his own mission was more important.

Although the organization required him to use his own name to take the opportunity to infiltrate the Military Statistics Bureau,

Andrew Carter felt he shouldn’t rush to join the bureau.

If he wanted to join, he could only advance by retreating, just like Liu Bei’s three visits to the thatched cottage.

That night, when Andrew Carter met David Bolton, he made his “attitude” clear: “I can do something for the country, but I don’t want to join the bureau.”

Andrew Carter hadn’t shown up for three days, so David Bolton was already very happy to see him return to the Guangfa Hotel.

He also supported Andrew Carter’s thinking—there’s no eating hot tofu in a hurry, you have to eat your meal one bite at a time, and joining the bureau should also be a step-by-step process.

Chapter 11: The Inevitable in the Accidental

Every time Andrew Carter returned to the dormitory from the Guangfa Hotel, he would take a different route.

The British Concession was only so big—all roads led to Rome. Changing routes not only made things safer, but also helped Andrew Carter get familiar with the area.

Of course, Andrew Carter also had a small wish: to run into the kidnappers from the Paul Mitchell case.

Before today, Andrew Carter spent a lot of time every day searching the streets.

Today, he was just habitually trying his luck. Since John Reed had already alarmed the kidnappers during the day, even if they had been living in the British Concession, they probably wouldn’t dare return.

However, as he was approaching Bax Road, Andrew Carter seemed to spot a familiar figure.

Andrew Carter didn’t know many people in the British Concession—most of his acquaintances were on 24th Road.

Without any hesitation, Andrew Carter immediately followed. The more he looked, the more he felt this figure resembled the suspect he’d seen that day.

These past few days, Andrew Carter had been obsessed with the image of the suspects in the Paul Mitchell case. Every day, he would recall their faces and the way they looked as they left, afraid he might forget.

Last time, those two had spotted Andrew Carter first and suddenly fled 24th Road.

Tonight, Andrew Carter had the initiative. He quietly followed.

The man walked quickly, holding a paper bag, glancing around as he went.

When he reached a utility pole, he suddenly slipped out of sight.

Andrew Carter, surprised, quickened his pace to follow, but by then, the man had disappeared.

However, the observant Andrew Carter noticed a faint scent of green onions in the air.

After watching the intersection for a while, Andrew Carter saw there was a lane here, with a few households inside.

From the outside, only two homes had lights on, but that didn’t necessarily mean the suspect had entered either of them.