Chapter 175: Wolfe Carries On, Bones Detective
"Then let's go find him right away!"
the middle-aged white woman said excitedly. "It's been two years, and there's finally hope."
"Alright."
The middle-aged Black man was also moved by his wife's excitement. Thinking of his commanding officer's unwavering reliability, he felt hopeful about Chuck too. "Honey, I'll go get ready first, and we'll leave right away."
"Yes, yes!"
the middle-aged white woman nodded eagerly.
The middle-aged Black man glanced at his wife, who was tearing up again, and suppressed the urge to comfort her. He got up and went to the study. After closing the door, he took a deep breath and dialed a number: "General, it's me..."
New Jersey
Princeton University
"Dr. Wolfe."
"Mr. Cooper."
Chuck approached and met little Sheldon again, greeting him as usual.
"She lied to me!"
little Sheldon said to Chuck, clearly agitated.
"You'll get used to it."
Chuck remained indifferent, not even asking who "she" was.
"Amazing Amy lied to me,"
Sheldon insisted, unsatisfied. "That night, she said she was going back to her house in New Jersey, but obviously she wasn't."
"So?"
Chuck stopped and looked at him.
"..."
Sheldon froze. He used to believe in honesty and not lying, but then a thought struck him: wouldn't it be better for Amazing Amy to be willing to lie to Chuck than for Chuck to just dismiss his concerns entirely?
"Hi, Chuck."
Just then, Cheryl and Trish came over and greeted Chuck with smiles, though something seemed off about their expressions.
"Hi, Sheldon."
"Hi,"
Sheldon snapped back to reality, shook his head, said hello, and turned away. He always told himself to avoid Chuck, but it seemed inevitable. Habit became second nature—even when he didn't want to, he always had to greet Chuck whenever they met.
"Hi, Chuck,"
Trish said with a forced smile. "Congratulations on saving another girl who needed your help."
"The girl should be congratulated,"
Chuck said bluntly.
"Indeed!"
Trish muttered. "That girl should be congratulated."
"So, you and Amazing Amy?"
Cheryl, seeing her sister's bitter mood and fearing an awkward scene, quickly took over the conversation, asking tentatively.
"What about her and me?"
Chuck looked at her.
"Aren't you two dating now?"
Cheryl's eyes lit up hopefully.
"Why would we be dating?"
Chuck asked back.
"The news says..."
Trish looked at Chuck expectantly. "So it's fake news again?"
"Like most news, the majority is fabricated,"
Chuck said.
"Then what's real?"
Cheryl pressed.
"The experiment is real,"
Chuck said calmly.
"..."
Cheryl and Trish's smiles froze.
This was the last thing they wanted to hear.
Justine, as always, stayed in the background, wanting no part in the drama between Chuck and his admirers.
"Hi, Chuck."
At that moment, Professor Alicia Harper approached with a spring in her step and greeted everyone with a bright smile: "You saved another innocent girl—well done! Cheryl, Trish, you're looking more beautiful every day, and Justine, your poise keeps improving."
Then, without waiting for responses, she gave instructions while walking away in her heels: "Class is starting soon, hurry along."
Chuck stopped and watched Professor Alicia Harper's retreating figure.
"The professor's been in a really good mood lately,"
Cheryl explained. "Trish heard she's made a pen pal who's an art expert."
"Yeah,"
Trish said, momentarily setting aside her bitterness to smile and share what she knew. "The professor is already passionate about art, and this pen pal has deep insights. Everything he says really resonates with her, and she's thrilled to correspond with him."
She was also at Princeton studying art. Since Cheryl and Professor Alicia Harper had a student-teacher relationship, Trish also communicated quite a bit with the professor, so she knew about her recent developments.
Chuck nodded, saying nothing.
"The professor's home situation... it's actually pretty difficult,"
Justine said quietly.
Cheryl and Trish exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Professor Alicia Harper's husband, Professor John Harper, was known for his issues. Many lamented the waste of such a beautiful woman being stuck with him, and some arrogant types had openly pursued her. However, Professor Alicia Harper always firmly rejected them, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
As for those who, despite knowing there was no chance, still tried to force their own interpretation, they quickly learned she had the backbone to back up her rejections. After being rebuffed, they all backed down, ultimately creating the current situation where, despite everyone knowing there was a problematic husband at home, no one dared interfere with this Princeton beauty.
Students like Cheryl and Justine, while puzzled about Professor Alicia Harper's decision not to divorce, knew she was unhappy. Naturally, they were happy for her newfound joy through this pen pal relationship.
Everyone headed to the classroom, with Trish joining to audit.
After class.
Cheryl was about to pull Chuck aside to continue chatting about something they were all interested in when Chuck's phone rang. He nodded at Cheryl and the others, answered the call, and walked out.
"Amazing Amy,"
Trish sighed.
"It might not be her,"
Cheryl tried to console her sister. Seeing she showed no signs of comfort, she thought for a moment and said, "I hope it is her. Chuck likes peace and quiet. If she keeps bothering him, he'll just keep his distance."
Trish's eyes lit up.
Ever since her fiancé was murdered and she was nearly trafficked by corrupt FBI agents, her once cheerful personality had become somewhat melancholy and withdrawn.
She could wait quietly for long periods.
But Amazing Amy couldn't.
Over there,
"What's the situation?"
Chuck asked calmly.
"I have a subordinate, Colonel Ted Eller."
A gruff voice came through the line. "He'll be contacting you. His daughter's been missing for two years. Please help him."
"How does he know me?"
Chuck asked.
"He held you when you were a newborn."
The harsh voice softened. "You should call him Uncle Ted. You've been so high-profile lately. His wife saw you on TV and reminded him. Since he's not a stranger, he naturally recognized you."
Chuck remained silent.
"That Amazing Amy looks pretty good."
The gruff voice on the other end was quiet for a moment, then spoke again: "You're grown up now—you could consider starting a family."
"That's not your concern."
Chuck said calmly: "If you really want grandchildren, pay more attention to Frank. You might have a chance for grandkids in the future."
"...Take this case."
The person on the other end paused, no longer pursuing the topics of marriage and grandchildren, emphasized his point, and was about to hang up.
"Why?"
Chuck didn't agree but simply asked for the reason: "He's a Colonel in the U.S. Army, and you're a General. With your influence, you could help him if you wanted to. Why come to me? Who's involved in this?"
"You're getting smarter."
The gruff voice on the other end sounded somewhat relieved: "Ted's daughter was working as an aide to Senator Bethlehem before she disappeared."
"I understand."
Chuck nodded. "When a general faces a senator, he has no choice but to step back."
"It's not stepping back!"
the gruff voice protested unhappily. "Without evidence, it's inappropriate to engage in unnecessary conflict. We are the guardians of freedom and democracy."
"Indeed,"
Chuck said bluntly. "You harm other people's wives and daughters overseas, and senators harm yours at home. Very free and democratic indeed."
"Christian Wolfe!"
the gruff voice shouted angrily.
"Isn't what I said true?"
Chuck said calmly.
"Whatever others have done... I have a clear conscience!"
The gruff voice took a deep breath. "Toward you and your mother, I have a clear conscience!"
With that, he hung up.
Chuck listened to the dial tone, paused, and put the phone away. The sarcasm just now was merely a complaint from his past life. The father on the other end of the phone truly did have a clear conscience toward his wife and child.
Not everyone would be as resolute about their clearly abnormal son. Even fewer would, after his wife left him, refrain from spending time with other women or men, but instead personally nurture his exceptional son.
Soon,
Chuck received a call from an unknown number. Without hesitation, he arranged a meeting place and went directly there.
"Detective Chuck!"
Colonel Eller's wife, a middle-aged white woman, exclaimed excitedly upon their arrival.
"Call me Dr. Chuck Wolfe,"
Chuck corrected, glancing at the middle-aged Black man who had opened his mouth to speak.
"Dr. Wolfe, I'm Colonel Ted Eller."
Seeing this, Ted Eller addressed Chuck by his current name, omitting his birth name.
After seeing Chuck on television and confirming with his old commanding officer that he was correct, he had used his connections to learn about Chuck's current situation. Learning that Chuck had been targeted for assassination several times due to his work, he felt both understanding and confusion about Chuck's concealment of his identity.
He thought that revealing Chuck's father's identity might make others more considerate. But then he reflected: what good was having a general for a father? His own father was a colonel, yet he was helplessly listening to rumors that "Senator Bethlehem murdered his daughter."
"Dr. Wolfe, my daughter Coriole has been missing for two years. She was working as an aide to Senator Bethlehem on Capitol Hill. There are rumors that the Senator murdered my daughter,"
Mrs. Eller said excitedly. "You investigated that case with the female senator and her father. You can definitely help us uncover the truth and rescue our daughter this time! Please!"
"Please."
Colonel Ted Eller said nothing more, only looking at Chuck hopefully.
"Alright,"
Chuck nodded. "I'll take the case."
"Really?"
Mrs. Eller was stunned for a moment, looking at Chuck uncertainly.
Though they had hired countless "super detectives" over the past two years, most were frauds with empty credentials. The capable ones were intimidated by Senator Bethlehem's reputation and didn't dare investigate further.
Now that Chuck, such a famous and capable detective, had agreed so readily, she found it almost unbelievable.
"Do you really want me to investigate?"
Chuck asked.
"I do, I do!"
Mrs. Eller, steadied by her husband's hand, nodded quickly.
Washington, D.C.
The Maguire House
Study
"Look, when you asked me to use my connections to help you keep an eye out for more cases, this isn't what I had in mind."
The bald chief looked at Chuck with a headache and helplessness.
"No."
Chuck shook his head.
"That's good, that's good."
The bald chief said with self-deprecating relief, "As long as you're not deliberately targeting those big shots, I'm relieved."
Thinking back to when he'd moved from Texas to Washington, D.C., wanting to please his wife and his stepchildren, he had offered to help keep Chuck informed of interesting cases when the opportunity arose. Knowing Chuck enjoyed challenging cases, he would immediately ask his contacts to invite Chuck to consult, giving Chuck access to more intriguing investigations.
Chuck's actions in New York—taking down a female senator, a congressman and his daughter, and arresting a billionaire—had made his already thinning hair fall out even more.
Damn it!
He had meant for his contacts to prioritize Chuck as a consultant within their authority to help solve their problems, not for Chuck to go after those high-ranking contacts themselves.
Now that Chuck had said it wasn't intentional, he still felt no relief from the worst-case scenario. Whether intentional or not, Chuck was offending one powerful figure after another.
He knew they weren't easy targets.
In fact, he was deeply worried that an even more dangerous assassination attempt was looming over Chuck's head.
"Do you think he did it?"
the bald director asked, running his hand through his hair.
"What do you think?"
Chuck asked back.
"..."
The bald director paused, then smiled bitterly. "Though I've only been in Washington, D.C. for a short time, I've heard about him. Everyone knows Bethlehem is scum." He couldn't help but sigh at the end.
He had a feeling Senator Bethlehem was guilty, and Chuck, by taking this case, was likely to offend another powerful figure.
"If only Bethlehem were a Republican senator,"
the bald director complained.
Chuck understood what he meant.
Senators hold crucial positions in the United States, and their party affiliations determine the ultimate balance of power. The female senator Chuck had previously taken down was a Democrat, and this time, Senator Bethlehem was also a Democrat. If Chuck took down another one, he'd really anger the Democrats.
On the other hand, if Bethlehem were a Republican, Chuck eliminating both a Democrat and a Republican would create some balance.
The bald director could only naively hope this wouldn't just offend everyone at once, but rather balance everyone's anger, preventing them from targeting Chuck.
At the Airport
"Excuse me, has the flight from Guatemala arrived?"
a young mixed-race woman with Asian features asked the airport clerk anxiously. But the clerk, busy with other tasks, held up a finger, signaling her to wait. Seeing this, the young woman simply flashed her badge, causing the clerk to stare in amazement. Then, with a smug smile, she said, "There we go. Now can you answer my question?"
"This isn't Amsterdam, and it's not New York either."
A teasing female voice came from behind, "You should have just said 'excuse me.'"
"Oh my God!"
Turning around, the young woman saw her best friend standing there smiling. She immediately put her badge away, rushed over for a warm hug and started chattering non-stop. "Welcome back! How was Guatemala? Was it primitive there?"
"Not bad. At least I didn't have to flash anything to get information,"
her friend joked back.
"What a shame, otherwise you'd have no trouble getting through!"
The young woman glanced at her bestie's figure, more impressive than her own, and teased like a catty friend. "Bones, it's so poor down there, but you haven't lost any weight at all~"
"Angela, how have things been lately? Any news?"
her bestie, nicknamed "Bones," asked as they headed toward the exit.
"Too much to tell,"
Angela hurried to keep up, excitedly filling her in. "I'll tell you everything later, but unfortunately, your novel dropped one spot on the bestseller list."
"So?"
her bestie Bones maintained her brisk pace.
"Honey, it's not that you're not good enough—the competition just had better publicity."
Angela quickly made excuses for her friend: "They capitalized on their daughter being kidnapped by a billionaire and then rescued by Detective Chuck, then hyped up the whole hero-saves-beauty angle, with the beauty falling for her hero. With all that repeated coverage, naturally sales are booming."
"Detective Chuck?"
Her bestie Bones finally stopped at that name.
"Yes, his real name is Dr. Chuck Wolfe. Do you know him?"
Angela asked with gossip-hungry interest.
"When did Dr. Wolfe become a detective?"
her best friend Bones exclaimed in surprise. "He's the most famous living mathematician!"
"That doesn't matter,"
Angela's eyes lit up. "Bones, you're a scientist too. You're getting more involved in casework, and you'll definitely be a forensic detective in the future. If you get the chance, maybe you could collaborate with him. You'd definitely have a lot in common."
She added with a flirtatious grin, "And he's pretty easy on the eyes too."
(End of Chapter)
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