Chapter 15 Twisting the Truth

When Paul heard the officers’ response, he quipped, “That’s right; wait till you get to the police’s tiger bench! I’ll bet you’ll be blurting out the truth in no time!” The infamous tiger bench? The villagers shivered in fear as they glanced at each other, whispering among themselves. “Bradley’s in big trouble this time! Of all the people he could have picked a fight with, he picked Paul Hudson!” “Lower your voice or the next ‘Bradley’ that Julia takes revenge on will be you!” While Bradley was in prison, he had developed a secret power—his hearing had gotten sharper. Therefore, he could hear the murmurs of the villagers very clearly. It was then he was sure that Julia and her family had been cracking down on the villagers for the past few years. Solemnly, he turned around to face Paul. “The laws are set by the country. Whatever you say will never count.” “In Riverdale District, Captain Lawrence is the law.” Paul snickered. “The words of a mere country bumpkin like you mean nothing to me.” At this moment, Paul had completely forgotten that he used to be a country bumpkin too. The uniformed policeman gestured to his men. “Arrest this hooligan immediately! Only countryside thugs would disrespect the law of this country.” “Yes, Captain Lawrence!” In an instant, the other policemen had surrounded Bradley and dragged him roughly into the police car. Craig and Janice watched their son get in the police car and they cried anxiously, “My son is innocent! Why are you arresting him?” “Whether he has broken the law or not is not up to you to decide. The law is fair, so naturally we will investigate this thoroughly,” Captain Lawrence replied viciously as he shoved Janice away from him. Julia sneered. “Janice, in my opinion, you’re better off smashing your head into the wall than worrying about a son like Bradley. Look at my son—he and Captain Lawrence are sworn brothers.” Unable to stand Julia’s self-righteousness, Kate threw her suitcase aside and went up to Julia, shouting angrily, “So what if they’re sworn brothers? So what if he’s the captain of the police station? Does that mean that he can cover up the truth in Riverdale District?” Julia scoffed at Kate as she walked closer to her. “Tsk! Oh my—look at the lascivious way you’re dressed; are you actually working in a bar somewhere?” While the two of them were arguing, the police car had slowly driven out of the village. Truth was, all the villagers were concerned for Bradley’s safety. Emily glanced at the police car and pulled Kate aside. “Doctor Nicholson, you don’t have to try and talk sense into this shrewd woman. Let’s go into town together and think of a way to save my brother.” Upon hearing that, Craig cried out desperately, “Doctor Nicholson, you have some contacts in town; you have to help Bradley, please!” “Don’t worry, Mr. Jackson! Bradley will be fine. I’ll go there now.” Kate reassured him as she grabbed Emily and ran toward the gate of the village. At that moment, the only person she could think of to get help from was her father. Once the police had left, most of the crowd had already dispersed, but there were some curious villagers that followed the police car to Riverdale District. Julia looked at the helpless Craig and Janice and sneered, “Didn’t I say so? Being able to pay off the debt wasn’t the main concern; it’s about where the money came from.” Janice ignored her as she dragged Craig into their house and slammed the door shut. It was then that she remembered when Kate arrived earlier, she called their son ‘hubby’. Walking toward Craig, she asked, “Craig, do you think that maybe Doctor Nicholson has feelings for our son?” Craig sat down deep in thought and replied, “Stop daydreaming. She’s just there to help him get out of trouble. You really think it was real?” Meanwhile, Bradley was taken to the police station in Riverdale District and was interrogated by Captain Lawrence himself. He lit up a cigarette and puffed as he slowly asked, “Bradley Jackson, are you going to come clean and tell us where the money came from? If you do not wish to suffer then you should come clean now; otherwise…” He trailed off ominously; after all, he knew that thugs like Bradley would know what he meant. “Or else? Are you planning on torturing me into confessing?” Bradley countered fearlessly. Captain Lawrence was taken aback by Bradley’s words because he was planning on doing exactly that. After a while, he retorted, “This is the police station, so there will be no tortured confession here. But if you’re unable to explain where this hundred thousand came from, then I’m afraid something like that might happen.” Upon hearing that, Bradley scoffed coldly. “I got that money from selling the medicinal wine that I made from an ancestral recipe.” “Oh! Looks like your family’s pretty good at brewing stuff! Do you really think I would believe you?” Captain Lawrence sneered. “Captain Lawrence, I have a witness so you’ll have to believe me even if you don’t want to,” Bradley said coolly. However, Captain Lawrence was fuming with rage. “I think your witness is probably your accomplice as well, but I’m more interested in where they are right now.” Bradley didn’t want Samuel and Henry to testify for him, but it seemed like there was no other choice. After carefully considering his options, Bradley replied, “You know President Newton from Evergreen Clubhouse? They were the ones I sold my medicinal wine to. Go and check it out if you don’t believe me.” Captain Lawrence burst out laughing. “Ha! That’s the biggest joke of the century! President Newton buying medicine from you? Stop making up stories.” Bradley sighed as he looked up at the ceiling with a nonchalant expression on his face. Meanwhile, the police station was surrounded by the villagers. Kate and Emily were also waiting outside anxiously. After a fruitless half an hour interrogation, Captain Lawrence called out to Paul, “Paul, that idiot has his mouth sealed tightly! I’ve been going hard on him for the last half an hour, yet he still won’t budge. Can you believe that he even brought up President Newton?” “President Newton? He mentioned President Newton to you? He sure can spin his web!” Paul snickered. “I’ll say! People who are failures always want to butter up to the big and powerful. However, I will not believe anything he says! I’ll give it a rest and continue the interrogation later.” ”Captain Lawrence, you know what my goal is. Since Bradley is already here, I don’t want him to walk out of that door,” Paul said cruelly as he took out a paper bag from his pocket and shoved it into Captain Lawrence’s hands.