A Bumpy Road to Power

Chapter 798:

Three days later.

News came from Penny Sullivan.

The deliberately created chaos indeed worked.

Brett Summers met her last night and asked her to take over the business Louisa Wagner was responsible for.

Of course.

Louisa Wagner's commission was also transferred under Penny Sullivan's name.

By this point.

Dirk Carter's first step plan had been more than half completed.

That afternoon.

Arlo Yarbrough ran breathlessly into the office.

He threw a file in front of Dirk Carter, gulped down a large bottle of water, and said, "I finished the task you asked me to do. Here is Dallon Lewis's detailed information."

The night three days ago, after parting from Penny Sullivan.

Dirk Carter had asked Arlo Yarbrough to investigate Dallon Lewis.

Penny Sullivan had mentioned.

Dallon Lewis was supported step by step by Brett Summers to become the police chief from being a small police officer.

Such a person must have something "extraordinary" about him.

Dallon Lewis is 47 years old this year.

He hails from Carter Creek Town in Helios County.

At 23, he joined the Carter Creek Town Police Station, initially just a small police officer.

Public records show he has no substantial background.

His father was a barefoot doctor in Carter Creek Town.

His mother was just an ordinary farmer.

This data also contains information about his close relatives.

Based on the investigation so far, he does not seem to have any significant backing.

When he was 25, Dallon Lewis reached a turning point in his career.

After just two years of work, he began serving as the deputy director at the Carter Creek Town Police Station, becoming the youngest deputy director in Helios County at the time.

At 29, he was transferred to the County Criminal Investigation Division to serve as deputy captain.

In the following ten years, he remained in the Criminal Investigation Division, rising from deputy captain to instructor and then to team leader. During these ten years, he earned several second and third-class honors.

At 32.

He began serving as deputy director of the Helios County Police Department and head of the public security brigade.

He then served a short term as director of the political department and political commissar until, at 42, he was appointed deputy county governor and police chief of Helios County.

From his resume, there seems to be nothing particularly special.

It looks like the life of an exceptional police officer.

Dirk Carter examined the record from every angle but couldn't find anything fishy.

He asked, "You spent three days working on just this record?"

Arlo Yarbrough wiped his forehead's sweat and said, "No way, you underestimate me; this is public information you can find online. I spent these three days on the cases he'd handled..."

Arlo Yarbrough had studied this resume meticulously.

Like Dirk Carter, he had found no anomalies.

So, he shifted his focus to study the relationship between Dallon Lewis and Brett Summers.

He also found no clues in this area.

He changed his direction again, investigating the cases Dallon Lewis had personally handled one by one.

It was here that he discovered an issue.

"Dallon Lewis started as a police officer in Carter Creek Town at 23. I originally intended to check from the beginning but unexpectedly found an anomaly. The Carter Creek Town Police Station was once engulfed by a fire, burning all the case materials stored in the archives. This means that the cases Dallon dealt with before being transferred to the County Criminal Investigation Division had no records."

Upon hearing this.

Dirk Carter frowned.

He asked, "What's so odd about a fire?"

Arlo Yarbrough chuckled.

He said, "At first, I didn't think much of it either, but after finding nothing else, I decided to dig into this fire. Thus, I tracked down a police officer who was at the station; he's retired now..."

The police officer's name was Caelan Thompson.

He was transferred from a detention center to the Carter Creek Town Police Station.

He was over fifty at the time.

He arrived at the station a year earlier than Dallon Lewis.

And the night the fire occurred, it happened to be his shift.

He told Arlo Yarbrough that the archives room was strictly against open flames and had special locks; if you weren't a police officer at the station, you couldn't get a key.

That night, the fire suddenly broke out.

The cause of the fire was never determined.

This incident led Caelan Thompson to an early retirement, and he still holds a grudge about it.

"Could it be that something special was stored in the archives room?"

Dirk Carter asked instinctively.

Arlo Yarbrough snapped his fingers and said, "Smart, you're halfway to my level of cleverness. Yes, there was a case back then involving someone you know..."

"Someone I know? Who?"

"Hawkeye Henrik Sullivan!" said Arlo Yarbrough.

Dirk Carter jolted.

A sudden realization hit him.

He said, "Right, now I remember. Hawkeye is from Southbridge Village, which is under Carter Creek Town's jurisdiction. At the time, Hawkeye was 16, in the same year Dallon Lewis was 24."

"Precisely."

Arlo Yarbrough said.

Carter Creek Town is just an ordinary township.

Criminal cases weren't that common.

If anything stood out, it would be the case involving Hawkeye back then, which was quite unusual.

Today, the original records regarding Hawkeye's case can no longer be found. Without electronic archives back then, the burning of these materials meant that the case had been completely wiped out.

Recalling that Penny Sullivan said Dallon Lewis's career path was significantly linked to Brett Summers.

Dirk Carter was startled.

He asked, "Are you suggesting that the fire back then might have been started by Dallon Lewis?"

Arlo Yarbrough nodded.

He said, "That's my thought too."

"But, why would he start the fire? And how is this connected to Brett Summers?"

Dirk Carter asked with a frown.

Arlo Yarbrough laughed loudly.

He said, "I like seeing you stumped like this. Now it's my turn to be smug, right?"

"You know the reason? Hurry up and tell me!"

Dirk Carter urged, hitting him on the shoulder.

Arlo Yarbrough grinned mischievously, "Heh, you always like to keep things secret; now I'm letting you have a taste of my own medicine."

"Alright, brother, my bad. Hurry up and tell me what's going on."

Dirk Carter inquired impatiently.

Arlo Yarbrough's expression became serious.

He stopped joking.

He said, "Though the archives were completely burned, Caelan Thompson could still recall the names of people involved back then. Hawkeye wasn't the one who hit a middle-aged man; this man was called Zolan Summers. Does that name ring a bell?"

Hearing this name.

Dirk Carter took a cold breath.

He asked, "Is it Zolan Summers, deputy secretary of Veridia City's municipal committee?"

Arlo Yarbrough nodded.

He said, "Yes, and he has another identity; he's Brett Summers' cousin."