14 Chapter 14 You're Still Too Young_1

"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule, Officer Bruce Cain," Aiden said warmly to the young man sitting across the tea table in the police station's reception room, glancing at the badge on his shoulder, "Ah, that's right, congratulations on your promotion."

He reviewed the other party's information in his mind, Bruce Cain, nineteen years old, a mounted patrol officer, regularized half a year ago, promoted to a first-class officer last week, and it was he who was on duty at the storage room on the day Veronica's case happened.

"Th-thank you." The youngster known as Bruce placed his interlocked fingers on the table, rubbing his thumbs nervously, "You are… Aiden of the Inquisition Bureau, right? I've heard a lot about you."

"Ah-haha, I no longer work at the Inquisition, I now serve as the warden at Rose Iron Prison," Aiden said with a polite smile.

His title as warden of Rose Iron Prison notwithstanding, his former position as a Senior Investigator in the Inquisition seemed to carry more weight within the ranks of the mounted patrol. His smooth arrival to speak with Bruce was also thanks to the connections of his predecessor, Aiden, within the agency.

The Inquisition specifically dealt with cases and disasters caused by estranged creatures, and a good portion of the monsters in the Rose Iron Prison Core Zone were apprehended by the Inquisition. In order to deal with those dangerous magical creatures, Inquisition investigators were not only allowed to use military equipment but were also permitted to study forbidden dark magic in exceptional cases.

Within the system of this world, investigators of the Inquisition aligned more closely with most people's impression of the elite; as for prison guards, they were more akin to lethargic fish, the last resort for those wishing to coast through life until retirement.

However, Aiden was not the type to be troubled by this issue. Including his previous life's work experience, he had been in the prison service for over ten years and was long past caring about how others viewed his career.

"Then, Warden, you especially sought me out... is there something you need?" Bruce asked nervously.

Aiden took note of his reaction, surmising that the young man likely sensed the purpose of his visit, since the prison that held Veronica could only be Rose Iron Prison.

"It's like this; our prison recently took custody of a death row inmate, Veronica Wolfe. She was previously a member of your department; you must know her," Aiden said casually, starting the conversation.

"Um, um…" Bruce's expression visibly tensed at the mention of her name.

"Since she came to our prison, she's been causing a disturbance every day, claiming she's been wronged," Aiden sighed, feigning a hint of distress, "It's giving me quite the headache."

"But, her… hasn't her case already been judged?" Bruce lifted his face, forcing a smile.

"Exactly, and I told her the same; without new evidence or a defense argument, she shouldn't even think about a retrial," Aiden smoothly replied, "But she insisted that you could vouch for her innocence, claiming that she personally handed over her service pistol to you that day. I do think she's just being troublesome, but I can't deal with it anymore, so I had to come and confirm with you, to put an end to this notion. It's just part of the job, you know, just following procedure."

"Yes, yes," Bruce forced a laugh in agreement.

Young people are so easy to handle, Aiden thought.

With his authority, he actually had no investigative rights to question Bruce; if Bruce had outright refused to continue the conversation, there wouldn't have been much Aiden could do.

He deliberately spoke in vague terms, making it seem as though it was part of a prison guard's duties to help verify inmates' claims. Assuming the other party barely understood the scope of a prison guard's authority, he managed to coax Bruce into cooperating with his questioning.

"So I'll just ask a few simple questions," Aiden said with a smile, nodding, "At the trial, you stated that on the day of the incident, Veronica hurriedly returned her service pistol at half past twelve, and you did not check the bullets on the spot, is that true?"

Bruce hesitated for a moment before nodding vigorously, "Yes, it was raining that day; she, she said she needed to go home to get some laundry, so… I let her leave first."

Aiden noticed his stuttering and smiled amiably, "No need to be so nervous, I'm not here to arrest you."

"Yes, yes, yes." Bruce chuckled dryly.

"Are you two close?" Aiden continued to probe.

"It was... okay, Miss Veronica was in charge of mentoring me when I was an intern."

"Right, she always mentioned to me how she had done you a favor, is that true?" Aiden brought up the topic as if it were perfectly natural.

"Uh, that...," Bruce was caught off guard, "does this have something to do with the case?"

"It's mentioned in the file, so I'm just asking." Aiden replied unfazed, "Is there a problem with that?"

"Well, it's really nothing..." Bruce tried to sound casual in his response, but his eyes unconsciously drooped, "When I was an intern, due to my negligence, I let a criminal who had been caught escape. The criminal then took a hostage on the street, and it was Miss Veronica who recaptured the criminal and rescued the hostage, and then... she put in a good word for me in the report."

"Oh, I see. If she hadn't smoothed things over, you might have lost your job by now." Aiden smiled meaningfully and continued to inquire, "When did the investigation team retrieve her service gun?"

"It seems like, it was almost noon that day..."

"By that time, her gun was already missing bullets, right?" Aiden confirmed with him.

"At any rate, that's what the investigation team's results indicated." Bruce answered vaguely.

"You were on duty guarding the arsenal at the time, right?"

"Yes."

"Nothing unusual or strange happened while you were on duty, right?"

"No, it was just like any other day."

"Hmm, exactly as stated in the file." Aiden nodded thoughtfully, "But still... to kill someone and then return the gun missing bullets to the police as if nothing happened, what was that woman thinking?"

"That... who knows?" Bruce said, shifting his gaze away, uncomfortably raising his hand to scratch his brow.

"Probably just foolish. From what I see in the file, it was your testimony and evidence that sent her to prison, and she had no clue at all, even thinking that you would help overturn her case. She must be trying to coerce you with personal feelings." Aiden smirked sarcastically, then nodded at Bruce with a look of admiration, "Not bad at all, to be so impartial at such a young age, very impressive."

"Thank you..."

After being jeered at by Aiden, Bruce was entirely unable to meet his gaze, his forehead covered in cold sweat.