Chapter 82: Merely an Economic Transaction (Please Subscribe!)

Seeing the astonishment on Mona’s face, Robert grinned and asked, “You FBI folks don’t still believe these six bank robberies were committed by the same group, do you?”

Roan, expressionless, tapped the table with his pen. “You say the washing shop owner is behind these cases. Do you have any evidence?”

“Of course!” Robert nodded and went on, “Last time I visited his shop, I happened to see a set of black clothes and pants in a laundry basket.”

The Hyena Gang had some knowledge of this case, since one of the banks was on their turf, and they knew the robbers were dressed all in black.

Roan was a bit speechless at this. “Black clothes in a laundromat are perfectly normal. Are the black clothes you saw identical to what the robbers wore?”

Robert shrugged and leaned back, spreading his hands. “That’s your FBI problem, how should I know?”

Mona frowned at his attitude, about to speak, but Roan waved her off, smiling. “Very good, I like your style. Just keep talking like this—after all, I won’t be the one ending up in prison.”

Robert’s expression froze when he heard Roan’s words. After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat and sat upright, speaking seriously. “The laundromat owner’s name is Elkin. He has elderly parents to care for, a daughter about to start college, and a wife who had a car accident and now has a disabled right leg.”

Roan glanced at Mona’s computer and saw Elkin’s information matched Robert’s account exactly. He nodded and gestured for Robert to continue.

Robert folded his hands on the table. “There’s only the laundromat to support the family, and there’s always a need for money, so Elkin lives under financial strain. Recently, his daughter got into college. Though she can apply for a student loan, the high interest rates aren’t good news for them.”

“Through some introductions, Elkin later met our Hyena Gang and had some—uh—financial dealings with us.”

Everyone rolled their eyes at Robert describing high-interest loans as financial dealings, but he didn’t care and carried on.

“We thought after a while, Elkin wouldn’t be able to repay the money and the laundromat would be ours. But to our surprise, just a week later, Elkin came with a pile of small bills and paid us back, principal and interest.”

Roan and Mona exchanged looks, both sensing something amiss.

Robert crossed his legs again and said, “We’re an honest organization. Since Elkin paid us back, we didn’t trouble him. But we did drop by his laundromat that day, curious about how he managed to earn the money so quickly.”

At the time, Robert suspected Elkin had secretly bought flour, since only selling flour would generate money that fast. That area was Hyena Gang territory, and selling flour without permission was a direct challenge. Upon hearing about it, Robert took his men straight to the laundromat.

His tone shifted slightly. “When we entered, Elkin was taking out a set of black clothes from a washing machine. At that moment, the TV at the shop entrance was broadcasting news about the sixth bank robbery nearby.”

Everyone in the interrogation room was silent.

Roan’s mouth twitched. “What time was that?”

“Last Wednesday.”

That was indeed when the sixth bank robbery occurred. Roan looked at Mona, signaling her to check surveillance footage from Elkin’s home and laundromat.

“There’s no surveillance near Elkin’s home. The laundromat only has one camera above the entrance, facing the front door.”

Mona’s fingers danced across the keyboard. She said quietly, “According to the footage, on the day of the robbery, Elkin’s shop didn’t open as usual in the morning. He entered the laundromat four hours after the incident, carrying a brown satchel.”

Roan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Robert, about to ask further when Mona tugged his arm and whispered, pointing at her screen, “When Elkin’s daughter came to help, her expression was gloomy, but after about ten minutes, she suddenly dashed out of the shop looking elated.”

“Okay.”

After Mona’s account, Roan blinked and turned back to Robert. “Any other clues?”

“No clues, but I do have some ideas,” Robert replied, sitting up with a broad smile. “People who rob banks, for safety, rarely spend the money directly. So I suspect these bank robbers have some way to launder their money…”

Robert rambled on, his theories growing more outlandish, eventually speculating the robbers were KGB agents. Roan waved a hand to cut him off.

“That’s enough, Mr. Robert. Your clues are helpful, but let’s skip the guesswork. Any other evidence?”

“No more.”

“Good.”

Roan nodded, stood, and prepared to leave with Mona. Robert shouted after them, “Agent, my clues are all real! You must reduce my sentence! My wife’s about to give birth, I promised her I’d be at the hospital!”

Roan merely twitched his lips and strode out of the interrogation room. Mona shot Robert a glance as she left, and when he raised his eyebrow at her, she glared back fiercely and followed Roan without looking back.

Outside the interrogation room, Roan exchanged a few words with Norton, then left the organized crime division, heading to the elevator with Mona.

Inside, Mona tilted her head and asked, “Do you believe the laundromat owner is the bank robber?”

Roan shook his head. “Probably not, but it’s a lead worth checking. It won’t hurt to investigate further.”

Mona nodded and asked, “What should we do next?”

“Simple.” Roan rubbed his arm and grinned. “When there’s trouble, find the boss.”

——

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Hearing the cold voice from the conference room, Roan pushed open the door and entered.

When she saw it was Roan, Verinice didn’t waste words and kept writing her reports. “Sit.”

“Hello, Chief.”

Roan dropped into his chair, but before he could speak, Verinice tossed him a folder. “Read the information inside first.”

Roan opened the folder and raised his brows at its contents.

(End of chapter)