14 Chapter 14: It was Stolen

Third Person POV:

"Detective, are you busy?"

"Yes, but ask anyway."

Caron had a bulk of files in her hands.

"I want you to look at this."

Caron sat in front of Detective Lersne and showed a photo that she pulled out from the file. It was the photos of a stitched scar, which seemed to be recent. There were some other wounds but mostly healed.

"Those were Emory's wounds. I did not shoot him there."

"How did you get this? didn't the hospital forbids any visit to him?"

"I... have my ways."

Detective Lersne instantly understand what Caron meant. She did something illegal to get access.

"You want me to make sure what this new scar meant? You can ask the doctor about it."

"I'm not sure. I felt like I might step on a landmine on this one."

Caron showed photos of some people. Detective Lersne felt like she recognized one of them. None of them looked at the camera, the photos might be taken secretly. 

"Who are these people? One of them seemed familiar..."

"This one?"

Caron pointed at one of the photos.

"Yes, that one. Where did I saw him before...?"

"He's their boss. He was the only one allowed to visit Emory, also paid all of his medical bills."

"That's very generous of him."

"I was going to thank him for that, but... he looked shadier than it seems..."

"Why is that?"

"I knew Emory for years, and those kinds of people were not his social circle."

"But, what does that have to do with the photos of the scars that you showed earlier?"

Caron looked uncomfortable as she tried to voice her concern.

"That new scar might be... the trace of illegal organ trafficking."

Detective Lersne almost spat her coffee. As bizarre as it sounds, organ trafficking was not rare in Livingstone.

"Emory is in a coma and has no registered relative. As for now, he is... a defenseless prey..."

It pained Caron to even think about it.

"I thought of many other possibilities, but it always boiled down to this conclusion... I hope you can prove me wrong, and it's just me being paranoid."

"So, you want me to infiltrate the hospital and dig some stuff? Sure, I had done it before. It won't be too difficult this time."

"...I'm sorry... As much as possible, I don't want to drag you into my problem..."

Caron felt guilty about requesting it. But time was essential, so however guilty she might feel, she decided to ask for help.

"This time, you're not dragging me into your problem. You're just being my client."

"This time? Then I'm sorry for whenever I did it before..."

"Easy, Caron. Let's just focus on the problem at hand, should we?"

"...You're right. But, when it gets dangerous, don't hesitate to retreat."

"Trust me, Caron. I had done many dangerous tasks before. This one is practically nothing... Besides, just like what you said, it might be wrong."

"If it turned out to be wrong, I just hope it's not something worse..."

"You don't have to worry about that. Not many things worse than organ trafficking."

"...You're right."

Caron picked up all the files and photos from the table. It didn't take long because the number of evidence she got was very limited.

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For the next few days, Detective Lersne infiltrated the hospital. She also kept up with her other detective works while at it. Caron worked intensely with all the assistant jobs and housework so Detective Lersne could focus on the more important matter. 

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Sometime later, Detective Lersne managed to get some incriminating evidence. It was documents of illegal organ transfer from Emory to the 'boss' of that mysterious group. He was one of the king's legal children. 

Emory and the king's family had a bad history with each other. They might try to kill Emory via organ trafficking and pass it off as death from worsening condition after being in a coma. With a bit of foul play behind the scene, the public would buy into that story.

Caron had anticipated the possibility of it happened, but the news still left her despaired. She stood up and headed towards the front door.

"Caron, where are you going?"

"I'll make them return what they stole!"

"Don't! Weren't you the one who said that we should be careful?!"

"It doesn't matter! Once I put a gun on his head, he will submit! I'll make him cry and beg for forgiveness!"

"Calm down, Caron! Remember why you went into hiding in the first place! If they find you, it's over!"

"I... I..."

BRAKK

Caron threw her head to the wall as hard as she could. 

"CARON, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Caron's head was searing with pain. The pain was bad enough that she slumped to the floor, trying to endure it. It was an attempt to warn herself of how foolish her action was.

"It was foolish of me to underestimate the weight of my situation... If they caught me, you might also be killed for hiding me... I'm sorry that I forgot to take your safety into account..."

Caron went back to the couch and sat down. She took out a bandage from her coat pocket and started to treat her head. It was hurting, but she tried to hide any signs of pain.

"Oh god... Why did you do that, Caron?!"

"...I shouldn't be angry like that, but... there's no way I could pretend everything was okay after knowing that."

"I was talking about why did you hurt yourself!"

"That... I need to direct my anger somewhere..."

"So, did it work?"

"...No."

Caron finished treating her head. The bandage was poorly attached. Normally, she wasn't bad at it, but for now, she couldn't bring herself to care about the pain anymore. It was hurt but bearable, therefore it was okay.

Detective Lersne noticing that Caron didn't do well at treating her wound.

"You need to redo your bandage. It was loose."

"It will be fine after a few days."

"It will heal faster if you treat it properly. You want to deal with your problem soon, right?"

"A minor injury won't stop me. Don't worry about it."

"Oh god... Just let me do it then..."

Detective Lersne sat beside Caron and undoing Caron's bandage.

"I said no need to."

"Just listen to me this time, Caron! Don't make it difficult for me."

"...I'm sorry."

Caron had no energy to argue, her head still spinning. Detective Lersne came back with a first aid kit and treated Caron's head properly this time. 

"Promise me not to do that anymore. Hurting yourself was not the answer."

"I know, it was stupid."

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A day after that, Caron started to make some plans. It would take some time to prepare for everything, so Caron decided to act fast.

It was impossible to attack the prince. A person in his standing would have good security. For now, Caron decided to do something that was more of in the realm of possibility.

While doing the infiltration, Detective Lersne also managed to get the data of the doctor that was responsible for Emory. His name was Doctor Larry Dawson.

This doctor must know about the illegal organ transplant. Caron decided to make him talk at whatever cost.