The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 328 A Good Team

That night.

21 points.

Eric leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, his gaze fixed through the one-way glass on Burroughs Thorne, who sat in front of Costa and Peña in the interrogation room.

A slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He thought about many possibilities.

I had considered that Burroughs Thorne had gotten information from his mother and was trying to escape, and I had also considered what kind of trouble Burroughs Thorne might cause in desperation.

I even considered that he might not be the murderer.

I considered all sorts of possibilities, but I never expected that Burroughs Thorne would turn himself in before the DNA comparison results were available.

Eric looked at Burroughs Thorne and instinctively frowned; the man's expression was unlike any of the ruthless killers he had ever imagined.

There was no arrogance, no fear, not even any obvious emotional fluctuation, only a stagnant calm, as if he hadn't killed any people, but merely crushed a few insects.

"I had helped them, so when I went over that night, they were very happy to welcome me."

“I took control of Liam and blackmailed his mother.”

"Lindsay loved her son more than anything because she felt he was her salvation and her hope for the future, so she offered absolutely no resistance."

Throughout the entire process, she just looked at her son and kept crying. Even when I hurt her, she didn't make a sound or resist at all.

That's good.

"."

Hearing Burroughs Thorne's most horrifying words, spoken in the most ordinary tone, coming through the loudspeaker, Eric closed his eyes and slowly walked out of the observation area.

Inside, Joyna and White watched Eric's retreating figure disappear through the doorway, exchanging a glance.

"He should be alright, right?" Joyna asked hesitantly.

"I've only been here a short time, and I haven't even encountered a regular murder case yet, and I've already run into this kind of extremely twisted case and heard these things."

White stared at Burroughs Thorne in the interrogation room with a grim face, who was describing his crimes in a calm and even tone, and couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.

"Damn it, I've been a detective for over a decade and handled so many cases, and hearing this kind of testimony makes me want to vomit!"

At this point, White glanced at the closed door.

"That kid is too quiet. He hasn't said a word since just now. He's just been listening. Something feels off."

Joyna nodded in agreement.

They all knew that Eric was a highly capable patrolman, but they also felt that the world faced by patrolmen and detectives was completely different.

They are basically two different sets of rules and different systems.

A patrolman is a patrolman, and a detective is a detective.

For example, when Eric first arrived at the scene, White would say "Don't vomit," because patrol officers, unlike detectives, don't need to be physically present at the scene the whole time.

Regardless of smell or anything else, the situations faced by patrol officers and detectives are not on the same level.

“Any normal person would have an emotional reaction if they saw and heard such a pervert’s remarks firsthand,” White said.

“Anger, disgust, disbelief, whatever, but that kid was as calm as the madman inside.”

"Could he be confused?" Joyna guessed, her tone somewhat uncertain.

"There's too much information to process all at once, which is why you seem so calm?"

“I’m more afraid that he’s swallowing everything.” White frowned, his years of experience having seen all sorts of reactions.

"Some people, especially those with strong self-esteem, will feel uncomfortable and weak when they show it. Others keep everything bottled up inside. They may seem fine now, but they might break down at any time."

The marks left by such cases can never be erased in a lifetime.

Burroughs Thorne is a beast. He will shatter your conventional understanding of evil.

“I’ll go check on him,” Joyna said, standing up. “We can’t let him digest this alone. You stay here and keep an eye on things.”

"Got it." White waved his hand.

-

[]
[Task Completed]
[Reward: +0.5 points]

[]
The notification sound of mission completion echoed in Eric's mind. He shook his head inwardly. This was the first time he had received a reward, but he didn't feel much about it.

There was no joy, nor any sense of accomplishment.

He felt that the reward was, in some way, given to him by that poor mother and child.

If he could, he would rather exchange that 0.5 reward for the mother and child to live.

He regretted not shooting that beast; if he had been in charge of keeping watch, he might have had a chance...

"How pretentious!" Eric scoffed at himself, dismissing the pointless feeling, and casually grabbed a drink from a vending machine in the hallway, leaning against the wall to take a big gulp.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Joyna's voice came from behind.

Eric turned around, looked at Joyna and could sense her worry, and smiled, "Just came out for some fresh air, is it all over inside?"

Joyna scrutinized Eric's face but couldn't discern anything.

"Not yet, Penia and the boss are finishing up."

Joyna took a few steps closer, leaned against the wall beside her, and stood side by side with Eric, looking down into the empty corridor.

"are you alright?"

As she spoke, Joyna didn't give Eric a chance to answer:

"When I first encountered this kind of case, I had already handled several cases, but I still couldn't sleep well for three days afterward."

Joyna turned to look at Eric: "Seriously, are you okay?"

Eric felt a warmth in his heart, gaining a deeper understanding of this capable team; they were all good people and very united.

“I’m fine, Joyna. I’m not that fragile,” Eric said with a smile.

"It just needs some time to digest."

"It's normal."

Joyna nodded and said, "Remember, feeling disgusted means you're still a normal person. If one day you don't feel anything when you hear these kinds of things anymore, then you should really worry."

“I understand,” Eric said.

Seeing that Eric didn't seem affected, Joyna glanced at her watch and said naturally.

"Alright, that's all for you. Go back and get some rest."

Eric raised an eyebrow and said, "Follow-up report?"

“We don’t need a newbie like you to write the follow-up reports,” Joyna interrupted Eric.

"The finishing touches inside, the transfer of evidence, and the communication with the prosecutor's office are all trivial matters. You don't need to waste your time here."

Joyna smiled and patted Eric on the shoulder: "Come back tomorrow morning, just be energetic. This is a little perk for new recruits in our fourth squadron."

"Since this is your first time handling such a major case, you're allowed to leave early. Go back and get a good night's sleep; Costa won't mind."

“Okay, then I’ll go home.” Eric smiled and didn’t refuse. He knew in his heart that this was not a perk, but simply a way of showing concern for his mental state and letting him go home to rest and adjust.

"Let's go." Joyna waved her hand, as if shooing someone away, and then returned to the observation room.

"What a great team," Eric muttered to himself, a slight smile unconsciously creeping onto his lips.

He didn't linger and turned to walk out along the empty corridor.

(End of this chapter)