Chapter 377 This Is Her Second Move

When Sean heard what Simone said, not only did he not oppose it, but he was also delighted.

He asked, “How about we meet up?” Simone smiled and said, “Sure!” Half an hour later, Simone got into Sean’s car.

Skyler was also sitting in the car.

Sean said to Simone, “Let’s go directly to the scene and take another look. We can also review the surveillance footage.”

In addition to the surveillance, he thought about taking Simone to see if they could find any new clues.

Simone had a similar idea. “That would be best.”

On the way, Sean extended another invitation to Simone.

“Simone, our superior has always had high hopes for you. He hopes you can join the special department. Since you have quit the geomancy association, why not consider joining us? If you join, you can also follow up on Jane’s case.”

Truthfully, Simone had the idea of joining the special department when she first tested whether all personnel in the special department were problematic.

This was her second move, using the special department to counter the geomancy association led by that mastermind.

Furthermore, she could expose all the personnel in the special department who colluded with that mastermind.

She wasn’t being coy. “Don’t you guys have non-staff personnel? Can I join that?”

Simone didn’t have much time to carry out missions if she were to become a direct member of the special department.

When Sean heard this, he smiled and said, “Yes, we do. Non-staff personnel also belong to the special department, but they have more freedom than we do. If there are important missions that require collaboration, we will consult your opinion first, and you can join the mission if you agree. We won’t force you if you don’t want to join the mission. However, non-staff personnel only receive rewards for completing missions. They also receive some resources every year. But there are differences in benefits compared to regular personnel. For example, we have a salary, rewards for completing missions, and monthly benefits. Of course, we don’t have the right to choose freely. We have to go when there are missions. There are pros and cons to both.”

Simone smiled and said, “In that case, I will join as a non-staff personnel.”

Sean knew that Simone didn’t lack money. As for the benefits and talismans gifted in rewards, she could draw them herself and didn’t have many needs.

“That’s great. Welcome aboard.”

With Simone’s joining, the strength of their faction would be significantly enhanced.

He said, “After returning to the department today, I will help you with the procedures and documents for your non-staff personnel’s employment. Once they’re ready, I’ll take you to meet our superior.”

Simone nodded. “Okay!” Then, she looked at Skyler and asked, “Are you two working together on Jane’s case again?”

When she was abroad, she learned that Sean was the captain of Team One while Skyler was the captain of Team Two.

Skyler smiled and replied, “Yes, we collaborated on this case. After Sean received your call, he investigated Jane’s case. I was rather interested, so I applied to join. Since we share the same superior, we often cooperate on missions.”

“Who is your superior?” Simone asked. Skyler replied, “The special department’s deputy chief. He’s responsible for managing Team One to Team Three. There are three other teams managed by another deputy chief.”

Then, he stressed intentionally. “We have a very ordinary relationship with the other three teams and rarely collaborate on missions. There are often conflicts and disagreements between the two superiors in many aspects.”

Simone understood roughly when she heard this.

The other deputy chief and the members of the other three teams are most likely inclined toward that mastermind.

Simone nodded. “I see.”

She asked again, “How many leaders are there in the special department?”

With that, Skyler elaborated, “One chief and two deputy chiefs. Then, there are six team captains. The chief is just a figurehead and rarely handles matters. Plus, he’s about to retire. So, the main responsibility and management falls on the two deputy chiefs.”

“So, it’s like dividing into two factions, right? Is there normally a lot of competition and conflicts between you and them?” Simone asked. Skyler nodded. “Quite a lot. But as a non-staff personnel, it won’t have much impact on you. Non-staff personnel have more freedom. So even if the other deputy chief wants to assign you missions, you can refuse. Moreover, you’re not under his management. With our superior around, he can’t do anything against you.”

Then, he added, “Originally, Jane’s case fell under the jurisdiction of one of their teams. But they also believed that Jane committed suicide. So, when Sean proposed to investigate, he faced strong opposition. The team captain even scolded him, saying he had crossed the line. Our superior did some work and argued with the other deputy chief. That’s why the investigation was approved in the end.”

He was clearly telling Simone that something was off with the other faction.

“That’s right. So, we must find the real killer this time. Otherwise, they will definitely ridicule us,” Sean added.

Simone nodded. “Let’s catch the killer then.”

We must catch a key figure. Otherwise, I would have been busy for nothing.

After arriving at the location, they first went to the house where Jane lived and looked around.

However, they didn’t find any problems.

“There’s nothing wrong in her room, not even a trace of negative energy fluctuation. So, she must have been taken away by someone before she died. Let’s head straight to the surveillance room,” Simone stated.

Sean nodded and took her to the surveillance room.

After showing their identification, the staff allowed them to watch by themselves.

Simone brought a laptop, so she copied the videos over to view them.

“As expected, there’s something wrong with the surveillance footage. Look, there are gaps in both these timestamps in the surveillance footage.”

As she spoke, she clicked on two video clips and played the point in time there was a gap in the timestamps to see.

After Sean finished watching, he was astonished. “Indeed, there is a time gap of over two minutes in these two video clips. The minute in the first clip shows 35, while in the second clip, it shows 37. Where did those two minutes go? Could it be that someone edited out those two minutes?” Puzzled, he continued, “But we had professionals examine the surveillance footage after we obtained them. There were no traces of editing.”