Dear sweetheart novel (Rayna and Julian) novel Chapter 739

Chapter 739 A Grand Office

After pondering over the matter, Rayna said slowly, “Curtis, contact Jasmine and request that she send us a few samples of the problematic products.”

Curtis asked darkly, “Are you suspecting that...”

“He is creating a line of skincare products, so he must understand the implications of the hormone on different skincare formulations. Glory is the only one in Norwal City with the financial resources to employ a large R&D team for such a venture,” Rayna said confidently as she gripped the file in her hands.

Behind her, James walked in and chimed in, “If we can prove that this hormone is present in Glory's products, then we can confirm that Mr. Zeller is behind this.” He showed his laptop to Rayna. “Look, Rayna. Theodore previously told us to gather the victims' skin conditions. It is clearly stated that they all suffered from different problems.”

Zita added, “Every person is unique, so their cells will respond differently to the same stimuli. As such, they will likely experience different problems.”

“Rayna, we just received some news. According to an anonymous tip from the town, Yuna's mansion is being used as a research base, with the townspeople volunteering to participate in the experiment for money. I think Ashley's father-in-law wanted to earn the money but ended up meeting his demise.” James showed a video to Rayna. “The tipper had their face covered in a sack to keep their identity a secret, but they claimed they chose to reveal the truth as they were afraid of dying one day.”

“Why didn't they call the police?” Zita asked.

“The townspeople were bribed, especially those working for the government,” J explained. “Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked for your help, Zita.”

Comprehension dawned on Zita. She quickly reached for her bag, rummaging through its contents until she found a name card. Giving it to J, she explained, “This is someone I know. Hopefully, he can be of help. If what you said was true, he is definitely powerful enough to suppress the officials here.”

J glanced at the name card. “Zita, why haven't you mentioned this to me previously?”

“There are many things you don't know. I can't tell you everything, can I?” Zita replied as she shot J a look.

After reading all the files, Rayna jotted down the important parts on her phone. She was so engrossed that Curtis couldn't bring himself to interrupt her.

“What are you going to do next?” Zita asked J and Vance, but her gaze kept flitting toward Rayna and Curtis.

“We need to solve the problem here first,” James replied. “After that, all subsequent steps will be made more transparent. Otherwise, the entire situation would remain muddled.”

“I agree.” Rayna closed the file and turned to Curtis. “We'll delay our return to Norwal City for a few days and solve the problem here first. I think James is right. It isn't a coincidence that we were led to Jayfort.”

Curtis' gaze turned dark as he stared at Rayna. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, it's just a few days. How is Faymon Group doing?” Rayna suddenly recalled the landslide involving Faymon Group's project.

“That issue is almost resolved,” Curtis replied matter-of-factly. “We'll focus on solving the problem here.”

“Mm.” Rayna returned the file to Zita. “I'll leave the report here with you as we might lose it.”

Zita took it from her and smiled. “Sure. Feel free to get it from me whenever you need it, as I'll be here for quite a while. You can depart after solving the issue.”

Rayna nodded and turned to Curtis. “Should we head to our next destination?”

Curtis' lips curled slightly. “Yes. We're going to meet the sheriff.”

Vance and James shared a look and shrugged while J pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. “I'll have you know that this sheriff is a difficult person.”

“Is he more difficult that Mr. Zeller?” Rayna questioned.

“No. They are different people,” J explained as he headed to the door.

Rayna then left with Curtis.

“By the way, I remember you've arranged for someone to be here. Why isn't he here yet?” Rayna asked. “Is he already at the sheriff's place?”

“No, he's still on the way.” Curtis glanced at his phone and added, “He's stuck in the traffic.”

“Oh, I see.” Rayna pursed her lips. “I hope the person you invited is influential enough to suppress the sheriff.”

Curtis chuckled out loud. “Of course.”

They left the forensic science center and headed to the sheriff's office.

Vance, who was seated in the passenger seat, cast a glance at Rayna and Curtis and spoke softly. “Our men managed to get Ashley's father-in-law's body to the mortuary and delayed his burial. Ashley's husband is quite emotional over this.”

“He alone reacted this way?” Rayna promptly got his point.

“Although Ashley's mother-in-law appeared to be quite composed, their son was really emotional,” Vance confirmed.

“That's certainly strange,” she said, resting her chin on her palm as she pondered over the matter. “Ashley's mother-in-law should be the most emotional person right now, considering her husband has just passed away.”

“Perhaps they weren't on good terms,” Curtis suggested. “Ashley's parents-in-law looked quite old, so I assume they were around the same age as my grandpa. Maybe they were arranged to be married.”

“I don't think so.” Rayna shook her head to refute Curtis' words. She then added, “There was Arachrede poison in Mr. Lambert's body. That was most probably injected by Mr. Zeller's men as an experiment.”

“Ashley is around our age, so it seems impossible that her in-laws are older than our parents,” Rayna commented. After thinking over the matter, she muttered under her breath, “Did the stuff Andrew developed have some sort of detrimental effect on a person's appearance, possibly even causing premature aging?”

Hearing that, Vance agreed, “Rayna, you might be right. That is highly plausible.”

“The most direct way to confirm our guess is to examine Ashley and her family,” Curtis said in a deep voice.

“We'll prepare for that after arriving at the sheriff's office,” Rayna told him. “It will be troublesome if our actions alerted the townspeople ahead of time.”

Robin, who had been silent the whole time as he was focused on driving, chimed in, “People in small towns are unbelievably united. If one family runs into trouble, the entire town pitches in to help.”

Slowly, the car exited the highway and drove into the streets.

Rayna glanced around and realized that the sheriff's office was located in a great location with a gorgeous landscape. It was as if she had been transported away to a luxurious holiday resort rather than to a law enforcement building.

“Are you sure we're at the sheriff's office?” Rayna glanced at the scenery outside before whirling around to look at Curtis. “Did we come to the wrong place?”

Curtis took in their surroundings and flashed a smile. “We're at the right place.”

Robin, Vance, and the rest gaped in disbelief.

“Is this a form of bribery?” Rayna asked softly with her brows arched.