Chapter 1820 Something Bad Happened
Susan and the others returned home right after their meal. Zaylynn, too, got home after calling her chauffeur to pick her up.
Ring, ring, ring…
The Neal residence’s landline rang, breaking the silence of the night. The sharp ringing jolted the housemaid who was on night duty.
Why would someone call at this hour?
The housemaid opened her eyes and ran downstairs to answer the phone. “Hello?”
“Bad news. There has been a homicide case at the university, and the victim is a student. It is said that she ate something Ms. Neal had bought for her before she died. The cops are heading to the Neal residence right now.”
“Wait, what?” The housemaid was thunderstruck.
The cops arrived a dozen minutes later. Zaylynn’s father, Feynman Neal, got downstairs in haste before he could even button up his shirt neatly. When he arrived at the door, he saw a police patrol car parked right in front of his house.
“Sorry to disturb you at this hour, Mr. Neal. There has been a homicide at the University of Pollerton. According to reports, the deceased consumed something your daughter brought for her. We came to take your daughter to the police station to assist in the investigation.”
One of the cops presented his ID and told Feynman they would have to take Zaylynn away.
Homicide?
Feynman’s expression darkened as he had never encountered an incident like that before. “Sorry, sir, what do you mean? What do you mean someone consumed my daughter’s food and died? Are you trying to say my daughter poisoned the person?”
“Calm down, Mr. Neal. We’ll know what happened once the investigation is complete,” the cop consoled him.
Meanwhile, Zaylynn also came downstairs after hearing a commotion. She staggered and nearly fell after seeing all the unsmiling cops in the living room.
“Mom—”
The cops eventually took Zaylynn away.
Meanwhile, the coroner performed an autopsy on the deceased and found out she died from exsanguination after a stomach rupture.
Stomach rupture? How did it happen?
The Neal family could not believe their ears when they received the update.
“We found a chemical component called diethyl phthalate, known as DEP, in the deceased’s stomach. The deep-fried food she ate reacted with the chemical component, causing her stomach to rupture.”
The coroner then took out a piece of burnt item, which he had retrieved from the deceased’s body, and placed it before the cops and Feynman.
Diethyl phthalate? DEP?
Feynman had no clue what that chemical component was. Zaylynn looked even more confused.
The coroner then glanced at her manicured nails. Upon noticing the glitter on her nails, he broke a tiny piece of it with a tweezer.
“Hey, my nails!” Zaylynn shrieked in dismay.
A few minutes later, the coroner returned with another update—he found DEP in Zaylynn’s nails.
“Many nail salons in the market use unsafe and non-compliant products that contain excessive chemical components. I tested your daughter’s nail polish and discovered excessive organophosphates on it. Do you know what that is?”
Feynman and Zaylynn kept mum, as they did not know the answer to his question.
“It’s a combustible substance that can cause explosions!” the coroner concluded firmly.
Upon hearing that, Feynman staggered and fell to the ground. Zaylynn’s mind went blank when she saw the cops walking in her direction with a pair of handcuffs.
No! I’m innocent. I didn’t kill her. I didn’t kill her!
The next day, Susan, Ian, and Timothy only learned about Zaylynn’s arrest after reading the messages their coursemates sent to their group chat.
Timothy was the first to come across that piece of news in the group chat.
“Zaylynn killed someone? How is that possible?” Timothy read the message while brushing his teeth in the bathroom.
Upon reading the message, he was so stunned that he spewed a mouthful of water.
Susan heard some commotion and walked to the bathroom to check on him. “Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
“Quick! Read the messages in our group chat. Someone from our university died last night, and the cops think Zaylynn is the murderer!” Timothy urged Susan to check her phone right away.
Susan returned to her room and checked the messages immediately. She was just as shocked as Timothy when she found out that Zaylynn had been accused of the murder.
She turned to Ian and asked in disbelief, “What do you think?”
“Let’s try to get more information about the case first.”
Ian, who had changed into clean clothes, replied calmly, and he was not going to sit idly by. Upon dropping his words, he carried his backpack and walked to the door to change into another pair of shoes.
Susan urged Timothy to keep up with Ian while she walked behind the two boys.
Zaylynn is not the murderer. I’m sure about that! Though she can be a little spoiled and arrogant, she’s not an evil person! Besides, what can she gain from killing that student? It’s not like she held any grudges against the deceased anyway!
The three of them soon arrived at campus.
“Let’s divide and conquer. I’ll head to the female dorm. It’ll be more convenient that way,” Susan proposed.
“All right. I’ll talk to the school authority then.” Ian nodded, volunteering to handle the most important task. Reaching out to the official source might give them more accurate details.
Timothy decided to approach students around the campus to gather more information. He would primarily focus on the few students who had spread the news in the WhatsApp group.
Susan arrived at the female dorm a few minutes later. “Hi, I’m Susan Jadeson from the Faculty of Business Administration. I heard that a homicide happened here. Is it true?”
