To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 60

Anita, who was reaching out to help, withdrew her hand as if she couldn’t believe what she saw. Rutger, pulling the chair roughly in front of the detective, sat down abruptly. Anita, who had been standing idly for a while, belatedly took her seat.

Perhaps she thought she was helping with his movement difficulties. It seemed not to matter much.

“Here’s the statement too…”

Detective Russell, rubbing his tired face, said with a frown

“I’ll write it for you.”

Anita interrupted the detective, The furrow between Detective Russell’s forehead lines deepened.

“If Miss Rodel writes it, won’t it be the same as before?”

“Of course, I have to write it as he dictates. Moreover, I’ve already written one, why do you need another one?”

Anita, who had been trying to maintain composure, found it challenging as she looked at Rutger, who couldn’t even finish the treatment properly and was sitting there.

“Why did you come here, anyway? Go get the wound stitched up now.”

“You have to undergo an investigation.”

“Don’t act sincere now. You never do what you don’t like, even if you die. Just go …”

Rutger, who had been avoiding her gaze all along, finally met her eyes.

“Don’t want to go for treatment? Just as you said, I won’t do what I dislike, even if I die.”

Contrary to the thoughtless words spoken, his gaze was sincere. Faced with that gaze, Anita couldn’t bring herself to speak and just remained silent.

“Well, so…”

Anita and Rutger were staring at each other in silence, but Detective Russell interjected, extending his hand between them.

“Whether it’s treatment or something else, let’s finish it quickly…”

At that moment, the sound of the door opening echoed again. Without much thought, Anita turned around, and her mouth fell open.

Entering through the door was a man dressed in a brown suit. Scattered white hair among the jet-black strands hinted at his not-so-young age. The man, with a stern expression, walked into the police station.

Anita timidly called out to him, hunching her shoulders as if guilty.

“Dad?”

“…….”

Anita’s pupils shook. What on earth was her father doing here? While she stood there in confusion, Rutger turned to face the direction where he was sitting.

“Long time no see, Uncle Rodel.”

“…….”

“I’d like to offer a handshake, but as you can see, my hands are like this.”

He raised both hands, showing them in a pitiful manner. He glanced at Rutger for a moment and then turned his head.

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

Anita was still lost in thought. She stared at her father’s back as if trying to see through it.

“This is Nathan Rodel. That’s her father.”

He handed his business card to Russell, who had been giving him a guarded look from the moment he entered. Russell, now holding the card, had a peculiar expression.

“You’re a lawyer.”

“Yes.”

Russell’s expression changed subtly as he accepted the business card.

“You two, step outside.”

“What?”

Nathan Rodel spoke with authority, not even glancing at Anita and Rutger. Anita, feeling the need to protest as this case involved her, began to say something, but Rutger pulled her away.

“Let’s go.”

“But…”

In the end, Anita had to leave the police station with an uneasy expression.

When they entered, it was undoubtedly early evening with the sun setting, but by now, the night had fallen, revealing stars in the sky.

“Why on earth did he come all the way here?”

Unlike her travel-loving mother, Nathan was not someone who enjoyed traveling. He stubbornly stuck to a narrow living radius, shuttling between his law office and home. Occasionally going far away meant only going on business trips to investigate cases he was assigned.

“Well, there must have been a case to investigate.”

“But it’s more than that.”

As they lingered at the police station entrance, the sky had turned pitch black with stars visible.

“Why did you come all the way here?”

Unlike Anita, who nibbled her lips and looked uneasy, Rutger seemed relaxed.

“Sit down. Aren’t you tired?”

“…….”

“Anita?”

“It’s not the time to sit down right now.”

Anita roughly brushed her hair. Nothing had been going well lately. It seemed like everything was falling apart.

If things went wrong, both Rutger and she could end up facing consequences. If Charles Bennett didn’t wake up, the problem would only get worse.

“It’s ruined. Really, it’s all ruined. He’s not dead, is he?”

“You didn’t hit him that hard, urging him to die, did you?”

Anita’s head snapped around. Faced with her sharp gaze, Rutger immediately apologized.

“Sorry.”

“Do you make jokes even in this situation?”

Anita felt unjustly treated. She thought she had lived a fairly decent life, so why was she going through all this?

Creak.

The police station door opened. Anita and Rutger’s gazes both turned towards the door. The person who came out was Nathan Rodel.