To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 59

“First, have a seat.”

The man who introduced himself as Detective Russell seemed to have an intimidating appearance.

“Anita Rodel, right?”

“Yes.”

He nodded as if checking if her response matched the information in the statement.

“Let’s see. The perpetrator suddenly caused a disturbance, and…”

While the detective read through the statement, Anita, feeling impatient, stared down at her fingertips. Why was he reading so slowly when time was of the essence? She pondered whether she should rudely offer to read it for him.

“Miss Rodel. According to this statement…”

“Yes.”

“So, Miss Rodel, it is mentioned that you hit the suspect with a tray a couple of times, but it also states that the suspect attacked you first…”

Detective Russell glanced back and forth between Anita and the statement, raising an eyebrow. Anita was getting irritated. If he had any questions or concerns, he should ask directly instead of repeatedly looking puzzled.

“Miss Rodel.”

Adjusting his sitting position, Russell, who had been reading the statement with a somewhat laid-back posture, suddenly sat up straight. He rested his arm on the table and pulled the chair closer.

It seemed like they were finally getting to the point.

“Yes?”

“Please be honest with me.”

“…….”

“Are you trying to cover up someone else’s crime?”

“…Yes?”

It was an unexpected question that Anita struggled to respond to appropriately.

“According to the statement written by Miss Rodel here, Charles Bennett didn’t actually initiate the attack. The first sight you witnessed was him being helplessly assaulted.”

She bit her lip in response.

“But….”

“Hmm.”

Detective Russell, now with a self-assured smile, stroked his chin as if he had finally figure it out.

“Rutger Baylan.”

As Rutger’s name left his lips, Anita tensed up.

“So, this person attacked Charles Bennett, and it seems like Charles Bennett, while defending himself, counterattacked him with a piece of glass. Am I mistaken?”

Anita clenched her mouth shut. Certainly, the statement as it stood had the potential to be misunderstood by a third party unfamiliar with the actual events.

“Miss Rodel, keeping your mouth shut won’t solve anything.”

At least she could prevent further harm here.

She stared at the man before her with a mixture of resentment in her eyes. Rutger had tried to help her and ended up getting injured in the process. She didn’t want to make things worse by foolishly opening her mouth and putting him in a difficult situation.

“If Rutger Baylan did hit him, it would be challenging to get an acquittal. So, there’s a hypothesis that Miss Rodel covered for him. While I understand the desire to protect someone close, hiding the truth won’t…”

In stark contrast to his passionate explanation, Anita remained silent. His voice seemed unheard, as if underwater. The movement of his lips and the slow motion of the hand holding her statement were the only things perceptible.

Seeing that Anita appeared oblivious, the detective, with a furrowed brow, waved his hand in front of her face, trying to regain her attention.

She couldn’t fathom the current situation. She couldn’t understand why there was an insistence on pushing things in a certain direction.

“Isn’t that right, Miss Rodel? Answer…”

Thunk.

As the detective continued speaking, the police station door suddenly swung open. All eyes turned towards the source of the sound.

“You! Is the treatment done?”

As soon as Anita confirmed the person entering, she pushed her chair back and stood up. She paid no attention to the toppled chair behind her, and the detective’s scolding voice seemed inaudible.

“I heard the treatment is finished.”

Anita’s gaze involuntarily went to his hands, wrapped in bandages. In the middle of the bandages, there was a stain of dark red blood.

Surprised horror crossed Anita’s face as Rutger defended himself as if making excuses.

“This is just the blood I spilled earlier. I’m fine now.”

“Oh, really?”

However, when Anita briefly looked away and then glanced back at the bandage, the redness had spread even more.

“Are you crazy? Did you really stitch up the wound?”

“…….”

Anita’s eyes persistently questioned him, but Rutger refused to meet her gaze.

“Rutger Baylan.”

As Anita’s voice lowered to an almost ominous tone, he finally admitted the truth.

“I disinfected it.”

“Just that?”

“I also took painkillers….”

“So what? The wound is still open.”

As if realizing he was getting into trouble, Rutger decided to escape and went inside the police station. Seeing that Rutger had wrapped the bandage himself and blood was still seeping out, Anita tried to pull out a chair for him. However, Rutger kicked away the chair nearby and pushed it to the side of Anita’s chair as he passed, entering the police station.