Marvel: Awakening the Universe.

Chapter 254 The Reporter Burned to a Cross (Fourth Update!)

Hawke and Gwen went straight to the apartment without leaving the hospital.

The two went home first, and then drove the Audi A8 parked at the garage entrance toward Stacy's apartment.

Gwen has recovered by now.

Gwen, sitting in the passenger seat, patted her chest: "Phew, thank goodness, Dad's alright, that scared me to death."

Hawke, who was driving, glanced at Gwen.

"How about I die once?"

"what?"

Gwen's eyes widened, as if she doubted she had heard correctly.

Hawke laughed and said, "After being reborn, you'll be fully recovered, unlike now, where George will need to stay in bed for at least half a month before he can get up."

Well known.

Each time the phoenix undergoes a rebirth, its strength increases dramatically.

The same is true!

If George dies once and is resurrected, he will be fully healed.

It wouldn't be like now, where I have to stay in a hospital bed for at least several days.

Gwen listened to Hawke's explanation, opened her mouth, then realized what he meant and rolled her eyes at him.

"Hawk."

"Ok?"

"I don't want to talk to you anymore, you're so mean."

"I was wrong."

Hawke quickly admitted his mistake.

soon.

We've arrived at Stacy's apartment complex.

into the eye.

A police car was parked downstairs in the apartment building, with two patrol officers inside.

"It's from the 21st Precinct."

"Yeah, they're probably worried about gunmen coming to their house."

After all, the gunman who shot George has not yet been found, and the reason for the shooting is still unknown. Just in case, it is normal for the precinct to send officers to the doorstep to prevent the still-unapprehended gunman from coming here.

However, Hawke's Audi A8 was registered in the police system, and Gwen was also an acquaintance of the officers at the 21st Precinct. Therefore, after Hawke and Gwen got out of the car, the two officers in the patrol car did not appear.

Hawke and Gwen didn't go out of their way to say hello.

Penthouse apartment.

Howard and Simon, who were usually very mischievous, were now sitting obediently on the sofa watching TV, no longer fighting like before.

Even the takeout boxes that had been delivered earlier on the dining table had been neatly put away.

Howard, who was already twelve years old, and Simon, who was eleven, already knew what had happened.

My father was shot and is in the hospital.

Mom went to the hospital to be with Dad, and all they could do was stay home and wait for news, without causing Mom any trouble.

After Hawke and Gwen opened the door and walked in, Howard and Simon, who were sitting on the sofa somewhat absentmindedly, suddenly brightened up and stood up.

"elder sister!"

"Brother-in-law, how is Dad?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious."

Hawke looked up at Simon, who was gazing up at him, and smiled as he gently patted Simon's head.

Howard also quickly looked at his sister Gwen.

Gwen nodded.

"Dad is fine."

"call!"

Howard breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Gwen: "Can Simon and I go to the hospital to see Dad? We promise we won't run around, do anything, or say anything out of line."

Gwen chuckled. "After you finish dinner, when we go to deliver food to Mom, you can come with us and then come back."

Howard and Simon smiled happily upon hearing this, finally believing Gwen and Hawke's words that their father was alright.

They are young, not stupid. They may not be as talented in learning as their sister Gwen, but they are still the sheriff's sons and have basic judgment.

soon.

Completely relieved, the two little ones sat back down on the sofa, glancing at the clock on the wall every now and then, looking forward to the evening.

Hawke and Gwen went up to George's study, intending to search there to see if they could find any useful clues.

but……

"what?"

"Is the door locked?"

As usual, Gwen pressed the doorknob, but as she pushed the door open, she suddenly paused, blinked at the unmoving study door, and turned to Hawke: "Dad locked the door."

Hawke raised an eyebrow.

"Is this strange?"

"Of course, Dad never locks the study door."

Although George often worked overtime in his study after returning home, he never locked the study door.

Even Howard and Simon knew that George was not allowed to enter the study without permission.

So George never locked the study door.

As Hawke listened to Gwen's explanation, a thought crossed his mind, and he vanished right before her eyes.

next second.

Hawke opened the study door from the inside.

Gwen went in, turned on the light, and looked around the study before asking, "There are no photos on the walls, so why did Dad lock the door?"

Hawke also looked around the study.

The study is simply furnished.

A desk, a computer, and a bookcase make up the entire study.

As Gwen spoke, she walked straight to George's computer and turned it on.

Hawke's gaze fell on a piece of paper on the desk.

into the eye.

There was a timestamp on the paper, showing that it was 9:30 a.m. today, followed by the abbreviations BU.

George even drew two horizontal lines under the letter.

This suggests it might be important information. After getting Gwen's phone, Hawke glanced at her, who had already turned on her computer and was expertly entering the password to log in, and raised an eyebrow: "You know the password to George's study computer?"

Gwen shrugged: "Of course, I know my dad's ATM PIN and my birthday."

Right.

Being a doting father to one's daughter is perfectly normal.

Hawke thought to himself and then called Detective Mahoney.

Having already met up with Detective Hale, Detective Mahoney, who had just found a store that might have filmed the entrance and exit of the multi-story parking garage, frowned as he reviewed the surveillance footage.

"BU?"

"Yes, it should be the initials of the informant George is meeting, or something like that."

Hawke and Detective Mahoney exchanged information, then looked at the timestamp on the paper: "By the way, when did the 12th Precinct report the shooting?"

"At 9:35 a.m., the call center received a shooting code."

"That's right."

Hawke's eyes lit up: "Whatever George is doing over there, it must be related to BU."

Detective Mahoney frowned. "BU, I can't figure it out right now. Did George leave any other clues?"

Hawke said, "Wait a moment," and looked at Gwen.

Gwen shook her head.

She just looked around the computer; there were many files, but they were mostly documents related to daily operations.

For example, the branch office's budget, the monthly crime data reports submitted to the General Administration, or reports on major incidents, as well as some meeting minutes.

Hawke understood: "No, what about your end?"

Mahoney said, "There were no security cameras on the third floor of the multi-story parking garage. Hale and I found a store that might have captured photos of the gunman and are retrieving the footage."

While talking.

Hale's voice came from behind.

Mahoney turned his head to look, then said into the phone, "Hale may have found something. I'll hang up now."

Hawke hummed.

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Hawke returned the phone to Gwen and then looked towards the study once more.

However, this time we won't be using our five senses to see.

Instead, use your six senses!
George, who had never locked his study before, did so this time, which could only mean one thing.

There must be a secret in this study that George doesn't want anyone to discover.

Even family members.

However, this might not be to guard against family members, but rather to protect them.

really.

Hawke raised an eyebrow and smiled when his gaze settled on the bookshelf against the wall.

next second.

Under Gwen's gaze, he walked to the bookshelf, opened it, glanced at the third shelf, found the "Constitution," and then snapped it open.

Instantly, a cracking sound came from the bottom of the bookcase, and the bookcase, which was originally flush against the wall, began to move to the other side.

Gwen, sitting in the chair with her mouth slightly open, walked to Hawke's side, looked at the moved bookshelf, and gasped: "Hiss, how come I didn't know this bookshelf could move?"

Hawke remained silent, watching as the bookshelf moved, revealing a safe in front of him.

He glanced sideways at Gwen beside him.

"This isn't using your birthday as the password either, is it?"

"Try it."

Gwen snapped out of her shock, walked to the safe, turned the old-fashioned safe dial, and entered her birthday password.

Click!

The safe opened with a click.

Hawke raised his eyebrows.

one more time.

Doting father to his daughter.

The contents of the safe were fine.

Several pieces of Stacy's family heirloom jewelry, a loaded Glock 17 pistol, and a fully loaded magazine next to it.

There was a file under the magazine.

Gwen expertly inspected the pistol, said "Haven't fired it recently," and then stood up next to Hawke, looking at the file Hawke had opened.

into the eye.

A photo of a charred corpse suddenly appeared.

Hawke's expression was calm.

Gwen, standing to the side, paused for a moment, but didn't react much; instead, she frowned.

"This corpse... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

“The New York Times, Ottos, that reporter.”

Hawke responded to Gwen's question.

Gwen remembered: "Was it that journalist who was found tied to a cross and burned to death on the banks of the Hudson River before Christmas last year?"

Hawke nodded.

It was this case that prevented George and Helen from returning to Fallstown with them for Christmas.

The body that was burned to death was named Ottos, a journalist who was quite well-known within the New York Police Department.

But Ottos is not famous because of his expertise.

Ok.

It's also his specialty, because his specialty is going against the police force. He especially likes to dig up dirt on the police force, particularly on corrupt officers.

This is why Detective Mahoney said that George was under a lot of pressure.

Because Ottos was unpopular.

At the very least, he had lost the hearts of the NYPD officers, so for most of the NYPD, the death of such a journalist who specifically opposed them was actually a good thing.

But George is different.

He's a detective, the pure kind.

This is not.

George was indeed secretly investigating the case.

……

(End of this chapter)