Chapter 76: Who had the authority?

Not one person moved. For a moment, it seemed like they were waiting for a bell to ring. The air was thick with cigarette smoke wafting from Xuanji’s desk and silence. When the detectives finally moved, it was to shift uncomfortably as they looked between Liwu and the chief. After that, their eyes would dart to Weijun.

Weijun broke the silence. “What are you all waiting for? Go and arrest this girl. Tonight. No delays. By tomorrow, this case should be put to rest.”

The words hung heavy, the weight of jurisdiction pressing down on them. The acting city master or mayor equivalent had some authority over the bureau in this city but his command was not the law.

Detective Xuanji cleared his throat. “With all due respect Sir, the Bureau does not answer to city hall. Also, look outside, it is already dark. We cannot bring a teenager in for questioning beyond 6 p.m unless we have evidence of their crime. And when we do have that evidence, we must get the proper warrants first.”

Weijun’s gaze hardened. “The SOB and their damn bureaucracy! Do you think paperwork will save lives? Nine children have been murdered. The tenth could be a victim or the killer. Doesn’t anyone care?”

The room bristled. Some detectives leaned forward, compelled by urgency. Others leaned back, wary of overreach. Liwu grabbed Weijun’s hand. “You want us to arrest a teenager at night without proof a crime? Have you been smoking some of the things in my drawer?”

The air was electric, charged with conflict.

She continued, her voice steady and low. “What we can do is find Nu Ying’s whereabouts and send Reaper or Majesty and two officers to keep an eye on her. This bureau does not move according to your orders. We move according to evidence and right now, we don’t have it. If we arrest that girl without it, we risk showing our hand and coming out with nothing.”

“But…” Weijun started.

Liwu covered his mouth. “No buts! Interrogating that child at night will make us risk becoming criminals ourselves. We will be accused of coercion.” She looked at her fellow detectives. “As your team leader, I am commanding you to follow protocol. If she is the killer, let us prove it.”

Her words cut through the tension but didn’t dissolve it. The detectives sat in uneasy silence, caught between Weijun’s authority, Liwu’s command and the boundaries of their duty.

“Go home, all of you.” Chief Abby ordered. “You will begin from here tomorrow.”

Liwu pulled Weijun to her office. Less than thirty seconds later, they walked out. She had her bag and trench coat, and she kept one hand in his all the way out of the precinct.

The rest of the team remained behind. No one moved, no one spoke, until Xuanji.

“This feels like mommy and daddy came to school with us.” He fumbled in his pocket, searching for another cigarette to calm his nerves.

Su Jin looked at Linlin. “How long is your partner’s husband going to stick around? He is worse than the chief.”

Behind her, Chief Abby cleared his throat. Suddenly, everyone decided to go home immediately.

***

The car was heading to the restaurant at the beach, because Liwu wanted to enjoy another one of their meals. Her head was throbbing from too much thinking all day. Her mood was not the best.

Still, she was glad because she was not the one driving. The only benefit of Weijun showing up to the precinct at night was car pooling.

Mo Xia turned around, with a calculated smile on her face. “It is such a lovely night.”

“What were you thinking?” Liwu smacked Weijun on the arm.

He winced, glared at her and rubbed his arm. Meanwhile, Mo Xia sighed and looked ahead. She did not forget to give the driver an apologetic smile.

“How often does your mother beat your father?” He asked her in an offended voice.

Liwu’s hand formed a claw and it came in, looking for a part of his body to pinch. But Weijun grabbed it and stopped her. “You pinch me and I will kiss you.” he threatened. His eyes lingered on her lips and he licked his bottom lip.

Liwu drew her hand back, looking more than flabbergasted. She even moved away from him as if he would lunge at her at any moment. “Ho! Not only are you annoying but you are also a pervert.”

Weijun smirked. “I may not be able to fight back in the same manner but I will not take your painful punishments sitting down. We are husband and wife, we should be able to converse like two civil people.”

“Then you should have conversed with me before ordering my team around.” She snapped at him. “If you are going to tag along on my cases, you should get used to not being in charge and following procedure.”

Weijun rolled his eyes. “Even if your paperwork delays us from catching a serial killer that preys on children!”

“Yes.” Liwu said strongly. “If we traumatize Nu Ying and it turns out that she is not the killer, the bureau is looking at a law suit or worse, public condemnation. We once questioned a sixteen year old boy at night without his parents or a lawyer. We knew he was good for the crime but we needed a confession. In the morning, after we released him, he jumped through the window of his bedroom.

He ended up injuring his brain and he was in a coma for a year. His father claimed we had abused the boy while he was in our custody. That we deprived him of sleep and showed him gruesome images of his dead desk mate over and over while forcing him to confess.

It did not help that a mind reader was brought in to read his thoughts during the questioning.

The kid’s system blocked the mind reader, we got nothing. We ended up with a mess on our hands.The Bureau spent a lot of money compensating his parents.

When the kid finally woke up, he claimed amnesia. His family moved abroad. That case is still cold to date. Since then, the law was made. We don’t question minors after 6 p.m, unless we have concrete proof that they are guilty of a crime.

And, a parent or guardian must always be present. Lastly, the interrogation cannot last more than two hours at a time.” She stopped and cleared her throat. Talking too much had left her mouth dry.

Mo Xia handed her a bottle of water and she took it with a small smile.

“It looks like I need to familiarize myself with Bureau laws.” Weijun muttered.

Liwu tapped her thigh. “And you need to recognize my position as your superior when you are shadowing me. If you cannot do that, stick to your company or city hall and stop coming to the precinct or else….”

Weijun was tempted to ask or else what.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep