The Warden of The Witches

Chapter 5:

Doubts

"The victim was a 28 years old proprietress of a tavern in the Lower City District. The initial conflict with the perpetrator stemmed from a counterfeit sales case.

On March 26th, a guest reported to Officer Veronica, who was patrolling the streets at the time, that the tavern was selling fake wine.

After Veronica conducted a preliminary investigation of the tavern, she ordered it to be sealed and brought the owner of the tavern - the victim's husband - back to the police station.

The next day, upon learning of this, the victim came to the station to protest and directly insulted Officer Veronica, leading to a confrontation between the two."

In the warden's office, Franda read out information about Veronica to Aiden.

"Then, at 12:20 AM, someone heard gunshots coming from the tavern where the incident occurred.

Subsequently, the victim's body was discovered, with a gunshot wound to the back that pierced her heart, causing instant death.

Investigators on the scene found a shell casing that matched the caliber of the gun issued to the mounted police.

Officer Veronica, who had clashed with the victim earlier that day, was listed as a suspect.

The investigation team then retrieved Veronica's issued gun from the mounted police's armory and found one bullet missing from it..."

"Wait a moment, did she actually return the used gun to the armory?" Aiden raised his hand to interrupt.

"Yes, the person on duty at the armory that day testified that Veronica returned the gun in a hurry in the early hours. His testimony, along with the missing bullet from the gun, became crucial evidence for Veronica's conviction."

"But when returning an issued gun according to protocol, it should undergo inspection. If it had been fired, it would have been discovered on the spot, right?" Aiden raised a question.

Franda nodded. "That's also mentioned. The person on duty at the armory that day was a newcomer who had received guidance from Veronica before. He claimed that he didn't inspect Veronica's issued gun at the time."

"It does sound a bit strange," Aiden rubbed his chin.

"What's wrong?" Franda was puzzled.

"According to this, inmate 3308 killed the victim out of personal resentment. So, she should have been in an emotionally agitated state when she committed the crime, right?"

"Yes, that's how the courthouse also ruled. Werewolves are more prone to emotional instability compared to regular humans," Franda affirmed,

"After all, under normal circumstances, if she had a bit of rationality left when committing the murder, she wouldn't have used a police-issued gun.

If it wasn't for her using the issued gun to commit the murder, the investigation team wouldn't have found her so quickly."

"When I was in the Inquisition Bureau before, I handled some cases of werewolf assaults.

When a werewolf attacks someone, it's mostly with bare hands or by throwing nearby objects.

And When a werewolf gets angry, they unconsciously exhibit signs of transformation.

While the transformation of female werewolves isn't as pronounced as males, their fingers still thicken, and they grow claws,"

Aiden demonstrated the motion of firing a gun with his hand, "Wouldn't it be less convenient to use a gun in that state?"

He retained the memories of the previous Aiden, the former ace investigator of the Inquisition Bureau.

Comparing the violent werewolf cases in his memory with Veronica using a gun to kill, it indeed seemed unusual.

"But, Warden, suspect 3308 is a mounted police officer. She should be very proficient in using firearms. Even if it's a bit inconvenient, if she had an issued gun at hand, instinctively drawing and shooting wouldn't be impossible, right?"

"Then how do you explain her actively returning the issued gun after committing the murder, and not turning herself in?

If she planned to deny the crime, why voluntarily hand over the evidence that could convict her to the police?

Even if she couldn't figure out a way to replace the bullet, she should have at least disposed of the issued gun, and then claim that her gun was stolen,"

Aiden raised his hands, "After all, she's a police officer herself, and judging from her record, she's not the type to make such a foolish move, right?"

"Well, perhaps... it's because she was too flustered after committing the murder?"

Franda hesitated for a moment, then looked at Aiden with some confusion, "Sir, you don't really think she's been wrongfully accused, do you?"

"I'm just considering the possibility," Aiden shrugged.

Franda sighed, "Sir, over seventy percent of the inmates here will try to argue that they've been wrongfully accused, and many of them are caught red-handed. You have to understand, the most important thing in our line of work is..."

"Don't trust the criminals easily," Aiden finished her sentence with a smile,

"I know, I know. I don't actually believe her. It's just that there are indeed some strange aspects to this case. From the verdict being handed down to the execution of the death penalty in less than two months, it's quite mind-boggling."

Franda recalled, "I heard it's because the incident of a mounted police officer killing someone has tarnished the reputation of the police force, so the higher ups ordered to deal with it as soon as possible."

"A Pressure from higher-ups, I can understand. After all, this can be considered a major scandal for the mounted police force," Aiden nodded.

At that moment, someone suddenly barged in without even knocking.

"Warden!" a female prison guard shouted in a flustered manner towards Aiden, without having time to salute, "Just now... there's a fight among inmates in the bathhouse!"

"Don't panic. Take your time and explain. Which inmates were involved in the fight?" Aiden asked calmly.

"It's two inmates from Cell 6 in the Core Area, and two from Cell 13," the female prison guard reported nervously.

Aiden and Franda exchanged a glance. The two inmates from Cell 6 were the female thief Katherine and the pirate Anna, while the inmates from Cell 13 were Fei and Veronica. It was surprising that Veronica, the werewolf, had caused trouble so soon after being transferred.

"What's the current situation? Have the personnel been brought under control?" Aiden turned back to the female prison guard.

"They've all been subdued by the riot squad and have been transferred to the medical department. Inmate 3307 from Cell 13 suffered a head injury and is unconscious, but there's no immediate danger. The two inmates from Cell 6 also sustained some injuries."

"What about Inmate 3308, the one on death row?" Aiden inquired again.

"3308..." The female prison guard paused, then shook her head, "She doesn't seem to be injured."

"Why did the fight break out? Was anyone able to get information out of them?"

"Not... not yet. When I heard the commotion and went in, there was only the death row inmate standing in the changing room. She had her hand around someone's neck and looked quite fierce... so I called the riot squad to come and subdue her."

The female prison guard answered cautiously, clearly worried about facing reprimands from her superiors.

"Were there any other people present at the time?"

"No, the other inmates had already finished showering and were gathering outside. There were only the four of them in the changing room."

"So, the death row inmate gave the others a beating, right?" Franda sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Lead us to the scene," Aiden said after a moment of silence, gesturing for the female prison guard to lead the way.

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