Mr. Warner, Your Wife is Running Away Again!-Chapter 576: Tone Down Your Germophobia

The destination was a rather remote small town. By the time they arrived, it was nearly ten in the morning.

They contacted the local police, and with their help, they quickly found Gabriel Armstrong, who was working at a vehicle repair shop.

He was a man in his early forties, just over 5’7", with a buzz cut. His clothes were stained with grease due to his work.

The owner of the repair shop called out to him as he was working, "Old Man Armstrong, a few comrades are here to see you. Put your work aside for a moment."

Gabriel Armstrong looked at the visitors, his expression becoming slightly serious, as if it wasn’t a surprise that they would come looking for him.

He took off his gloves and walked over, addressing the man in the police uniform, "You’re looking for me?"

Franklin Sutton spoke, "We’d like to ask you about something."

Gabriel Armstrong paused and asked, "What is it?"

Franklin Sutton said, "About ten years ago, you worked at the LL Club, right?"

Gabriel Armstrong nodded, "Yes."

Franklin Sutton gave his junior a look, and the junior took out a photo of Sean Warner from a file, placing it in front of Gabriel Armstrong. Franklin Sutton asked, "Do you recognize this person?"

Gabriel Armstrong squinted at the photo for two seconds, then shook his head, "Don’t know him."

Franklin Sutton examined Gabriel Armstrong and then showed him a photo of Vincent Warner, "What about this one?"

Gabriel Armstrong again shook his head, "No impression. Back then, the club had a high turnover of people every day. I couldn’t possibly remember every customer’s appearance. Besides, it’s been so many years, even if I saw them, I wouldn’t remember."

Shane Warner seized the opportunity to ask, "If you have no impression, how do you know he’s a customer of the LL Club?"

Gabriel Armstrong was clearly taken aback, as if he realized he had slipped up, avoiding eye contact as he explained, "Because you mentioned the LL Club just now, so I linked it to the thought that these two must have been there, which is why you’re asking me."

Franklin Sutton exchanged a thoughtful glance with his junior and then asked, "Do you still have contact with any colleagues you worked with back then?"

Gabriel Armstrong shook his head, "After I went back to my hometown, I lost touch with those people. Plus, I lost my phone once, all the contacts were gone, so naturally, I lost contact."

Franklin Sutton asked, "Names? Do you remember any of them?"

Gabriel Armstrong thought for a moment and said, "I remember a few."

Franklin Sutton nodded toward his junior, who immediately handed Gabriel Armstrong a pen and paper, "Write down the names you remember."

...

After leaving the repair shop, Franklin Sutton headed straight to a small nearby restaurant.

He seemed quite familiar with such places, but Shane Warner appeared a bit uncomfortable.

Standing by the door, he looked at the dingy and old shop front, where the white walls had turned yellow, cobwebs hung in the corners, the tables were a bit worn, and had an oily sheen, with flies occasionally buzzing by.

Franklin Sutton and his junior sat down without hesitation. Seeing that Shane Warner hadn’t followed them in, Franklin turned to him and said, "I say, Young Master, put your cleanliness obsession aside."

Shane Warner glanced around, realizing that any other place nearby would likely be similar.

He had no choice but to frown as he walked into the shop, using a napkin to thoroughly wipe the chair before sitting down.

Franklin Sutton ordered the food: water-boiled fish, twice-cooked pork, and a plate of green vegetables.

The soup came from a large pot and was free to serve. The junior got up to serve each of them a bowl.

Franklin Sutton immediately took a big sip from the bowl, but Shane Warner stared at the soup bowl for a while. The bowl had a small chip, with some kind of stain that wouldn’t come off, and oil droplets were floating on the surface. Anyway, it didn’t look appetizing to him, so even though he was a bit thirsty, he didn’t reach for the bowl.

Franklin Sutton finished the soup in one go and then asked his junior, "Did you notice anything?"

The junior took a small sip of the soup, put the bowl down, and said, "Master, you don’t need to study psychology to see it, right? Clearly lying. Those two guys in the photos, he definitely recognizes them but is deliberately hiding something."

Franklin Sutton muttered to himself as he looked at the list Gabriel Armstrong left, "Should we check these people too?"

Shane Warner paused and said, "I don’t think it’s necessary. What’s Gabriel Armstrong’s job?"

The junior and Franklin Sutton exchanged a glance, then replied, "He’s a mechanic."

Shane Warner said, "That means he’s familiar with vehicle structures, knows about vehicles, and has opportunities to get vehicle keys. I think it’s him."

Franklin Sutton nodded thoughtfully, "Makes sense, but he shouldn’t have any reason to target your two brothers. Someone must be directing him to do it. The reason he’s hiding things might be because he’s covering for that person."

Shane Warner said, "Then that’s also a piece of good news. At least it means he knows the truth. We just need to find a way to pry his mouth open."

Franklin Sutton said, "Looks like we still need to make a trip to the police station later, to understand his current family situation so we can find his weaknesses and negotiate with him."

This meal didn’t go well for Shane Warner. He usually didn’t eat pork and preferred milder flavors. The dishes Franklin Sutton ordered, only the green vegetables were barely edible for him.

With his cleanliness obsession, it was his first time in such a small restaurant, and the surroundings didn’t satisfy him either. Naturally, he didn’t eat much, not even touching the tea. He got up and went to a nearby convenience store to buy three bottles of mineral water.

Franklin Sutton, burping as he came out of the restaurant, took the water Shane Warner handed over, yawned, and said, "Got up too early, feeling sleepy."

The junior immediately pointed to a rundown building across the road, "There’s a place to rest by the hour over there. How about we take a nap?"

Franklin Sutton looked at Shane Warner with a smile and said pointedly, "Just afraid some people won’t be able to sleep even if they went, so let’s not waste the money."

After leaving the restaurant, the three returned to the police station, finding out that Gabriel Armstrong had been married for nine years and has a son and a daughter, both in elementary school.

Having learned Gabriel Armstrong’s current address, the three went directly over there.

The destination was a seven-story walk-up building, slightly aged, with rust everywhere, and the corridors were damp and narrow, smelling musty.

Knocking on a door on the sixth floor, a woman in her thirties answered. She looked gentle and virtuous, likely Gabriel Armstrong’s wife.

Seeing the uniformed police outside the door, the woman seemed a bit tense, asking with some concern, "...Officer, is there something?"

"Does Gabriel Armstrong live here?"

The woman nodded sheepishly, "Yes, I’m his wife. Did something happen to him?"

Franklin Sutton smiled and said, "No, we’re just here to ask about some things."

"Oh..." The woman wiped her hands on her apron, stepped aside, and said, "Please come in and sit. It’s small, I hope you don’t mind."