The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 410

"You guys are totally going to brainstorm the murder case, aren't you? Please tell me you're going to brainstorm! Let me tag along! I've never actually seen a real-life detective break down a case before."

Valerie practically vibrated with excitement. "Nathan is basically a legendary detective, and people would kill just to get a meeting with him. And here I am, about to get front-row seats to watch the ultimate power couple—a top-tier detective and a brilliant forensic doctor—crack a case together! Oh my god, I am the luckiest girl in the world!"

She grabbed Nora's arm, giving her the ultimate puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Nora, let me come! You have to let me come!"

Nora hadn't realized Valerie was such a true-crime junkie. Amused by her dramatic pleading, she chuckled and agreed. Since it wasn't a classified murder investigation anyway, she didn't see any harm in letting Valerie sit in.

After drying her hair and changing into a comfortable set of pajamas, Nora headed downstairs with Valerie practically skipping beside her.

When Nathan saw the two of them descend the staircase together, his dark eyes didn't show a flicker of surprise.

"What's the verdict?"

Knowing exactly what he was asking, Nora quickly laid out the autopsy results and her professional deductions.

"A team of officers is currently pulling CCTV footage from every street within a three-mile radius," Nathan informed her, leaning back into the leather sofa. "The suspect might have dodged the camera right above the dumpster, but they can't evade every camera in the city. If we can grab even one frame of their face, we'll have them in custody by morning."

Nathan nodded slowly. The timing was brutal. They were already neck-deep in a sprawling extortion conspiracy, and now a bizarre body-dumping case had landed on their doorstep. And worst of all, it was a body that had died of completely natural causes.

His long fingers fell into a rhythmic, calculating tap against his knee. "Has the victim been identified yet?"

Nora shook her head. "Not by the time I left."

"Want me to call the precinct and check?"

"I'll make the call."

As the Captain of the Major Crimes Unit, Nathan had immediate access to any active file. He dialed the precinct, and the line was picked up on the first ring. When the desk officer realized Captain Peyton was personally checking in on the case, his voice spiked with adrenaline.

"Captain! We just positively ID'd the victim. The deceased is Clara Caldwell. She's a resident of Hawthorne County."

Hawthorne County was a small, rural district located just a forty-minute drive outside of Luminport City.

Nora slowly dragged her gaze from the table and looked at Nathan. "What's your read?"

"I'm on the exact same page as you," Nathan said, his voice dropping an octave.

Nobody accidentally disposes of a body behind a police precinct. Whoever dumped her there did it to send a very loud, very deliberate message.

Nora's frown deepened as a strange feeling gnawed at the back of her mind. "I swear... the name Hawthorne County sounds so incredibly familiar..."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, his gaze turning razor-sharp. "Familiar? Have you worked a case out there recently?"

Nora started to shake her head, but then, like a lightning strike, a memory flashed in her mind. She scrambled to unlock her phone, her fingers flying across the screen as she pulled up a specific photograph from the extortion case files.

When her eyes landed on the three words printed on the document—*Hawthorne County*—she bolted upright, her heart slamming against her ribs.

"This is it!"