Chapter 32

"Are you okay?"

Of course, it was Randy who stepped in to help.

He had just been standing nearby watching the commotion, not expecting that these families would almost start a fight.

"No, no issue."

Beverly smoothed her hair, panting from the shock, her face on one side already swollen and red from the slap.

Jackson finally realized what was happening and rushed forward to stop Robert's mother.

"What are you doing? Mrs. Smith, hitting people is wrong! Your son is dead, and he can't be brought back!"

Randy frowned, Jackson was truly a skilled mediator.

Robert's mother, with red eyes, shouted, "That woman killed my son! I raised him for eighteen long years! He was just about to give back to the family!"

"The dead can't be brought back to life."

Jackson tried to block her, but he couldn't really hold back someone so big.

"Mr. Smith, come and help stop her!"

Smith quickly waved his hands, "This has nothing to do with me, I can't stop her."

She was like a rampaging gorilla, her every move causing waves of flesh to ripple, looking far from pleasant.

"I'll kill that bitch! My son died because of Carl!"

Randy thought if Robert had a body like his mother's, even a knife might not be able to reach his heart, probably just getting stuck in the fat.

Then he looked at Beverly, who didn't seem like someone to be easily messed with either.

With a fierce look in her eyes, Beverly steadied herself after smoothing her hair, leaving behind the scent of perfume and a faint hint of tobacco.

Facing Mrs. Smith's vicious threats, she remained silent, picking up a rock from the ground and charging forward at an alarming speed.

"Die, you fat pig!"

Jackson had been focused on Mrs. Smith and didn't notice Beverly quietly sneaking up with the rock, smashing it into Mrs. Smith's head.

"Argh!"

Mrs. Smith cried out in pain, clutching her head as she fell to the ground.

Jackson turned around, shocked.

One hit wasn't enough for Beverly. She tried to finish the job, throwing the rock at Mrs. Smith's head again.

Unfortunately, her aim was a bit off and it didn't hit.

Mrs. Smith opened her eyes just in time to see the rock coming straight at her, almost cracking her skull.

"Oh! Damn you, crazy woman!"

Her arrogance had vanished from her voice as she spoke.

The Elson family was so scared by the scene that they quickly backed away several steps.

"Beverly, don't do this."

Jackson rushed to stop her from continuing.

Mrs. Smith started complaining from behind, "That crazy woman just tried to kill me! Officer, you saw it with your own eyes! Arrest her, arrest her!"

Jackson turned around, serious, "I just saw you make the first move. Are you sure you want to file a complaint? Because if you do, I'll have to arrest all of you."

"What?"

Mrs. Smith looked furious, clearly feeling the bias.

But when she turned to Smith, he averted his eyes, unwilling to help, probably thinking that if she went to jail, he'd be the first to run off, leaving the kids behind.

Seeing the murderous look in Beverly's eyes, she didn't dare make another move.

"We're going to sue her. Her son is responsible for our son's death! We'll take her to court and get a million dollars in compensation!"

As she spoke, she backed away from Beverly, pulling Billy's parents into the conversation.

Billy's parents, hearing this, found it reasonable. Their son was dead, so a little compensation for their grief wouldn't be so bad.

"And you, officer! I think you're showing signs of racial discrimination."

"How could you say that? My best friend is Black."

Jackson had no choice but to explain.

Beverly didn't care at all about their accusations, simply watching them coldly. She rubbed her reddened face—still throbbing from that slap.

Pulling a cigarette from her bag, she lit it and took a deep drag, turning to look at Randy.

"Thanks for earlier."

"No problem."

Randy didn't mind, though he had to admit, Carl's mom was pretty attractive. She was petite, but that fiery red hair made her look particularly sexy.

Seeing Randy wasn't that old, Beverly asked, "Are you... Carl's classmate?"

"Yeah, I'm Randy Schorr, Carl's friend. He helped me out a lot. When I heard the news today, I came to the river."

Randy, noticing Jackson wasn't paying attention, made up a story on the spot.

Carl and his group had sacrificed themselves for others—they were heroes.

Randy loved befriending people like that.

"Nice to meet you, Randy. I'm Carl's mother, Beverly Marsh."

"Don't be sad, Mrs. Beverly. Carl cared about you more than anything, so he definitely wouldn't want to see you in pain."

Just one casual comment had triggered such a strong reaction from her. Clearly, Beverly held an important place in Carl's heart.

"Thank you for the kind words."

Beverly clenched her fists, her eyes full of determination.

"Carl's death was no accident! I'm going to find out the truth. There has to be something the police missed."

Randy didn't mind her persistence, even nodding in agreement, "Yeah, it did seem like they wrapped it up a bit too quickly."

Go ahead and investigate. With the efficiency of the American police, they'd never find anything.

There wouldn't be any clues in the car—it had been submerged for too long to find anything unusual.

As the machine roared, the modified car was finally pulled out of the water.

The Smith and Elson families rushed over, leaving Beverly standing still.

Jackson thought she was still grieving, so he stepped up and gently advised, "Beverly, you need to face reality. It's unlikely we'll find the bodies of the three kids."

"Also, Mike asked me to apologize on his behalf. He's handling more important matters and couldn't be here right away to console you."

Beverly remained silent.

"Mrs. Beverly, you need to stay strong. Look at this boy—his parents died just a month ago, and now he's all alone. Yet, he's still optimistic and moving forward."

Jackson then patted Randy's shoulder, using him as an example.

"..."

Randy turned and shot him a cold look. This guy could really say the most outrageous things.

Beverly, also shocked, then looked furious. "Jackson, how could you say that? That's like rubbing salt in the wound!"

After scolding Jackson, she sympathetically looked at Randy and offered him a hug.

"You poor child, I had no idea you were so strong."