"She's some kind of inspector sent by someone, right..." Lu Qi Zhen said. "Maybe the police still have to show her some respect."
"Because the Governor is here." Chloe glanced at her friends. "If the Governor weren't here, who would care what kind of inspector she was?"
"Our family came to stay near the royal residence because the Governor is here too." Chloe puffed out her chest. "My father is very familiar with the Governor. We used to attend the Governor's family dinners all the time—my sister and I have both been. When adults get things done, often all they need is to invoke the Governor's name. Hesta is just benefiting from that."
Jahadorei and Lu Qi Zhen both let out sighs of partial understanding.
"You were all intimidated by the front Hesta put on, but I wasn't," Chloe said, growing even smugger. "You've never been to the tea parties my mother hosted. Nobles from half of District 12 were regular guests at our house. There's nothing about District 12 that I don't know—"
"Then do you know when your mother plans to let you out?" Jahadorei asked.
Chloe clicked her tongue in annoyance, and Lu Qi Zhen could not help laughing beside her.
The police officer named Klar completed the search of several rooms alone. By then, the main force had already withdrawn, leaving only her and Detective Chief Ahman among all the police at the royal residence.
The Detective Chief was still chatting idly with Hesta. They discussed strange happenings in District 12, until Hesta suddenly brought up Madam Bronbo's widowhood all those years ago. Klar did not need to turn around to know that the Detective Chief's interest in the conversation had abruptly surged—back then, Detective Chief Ahman had only been a rookie officer, but he