American Justice - Chapter 10

“David, it’s me.”

“How much do you know about Kriman Paul?”

Brooklyn asked.

Yesterday, he made the rounds at E.D.N.Y and most people saw him, but he couldn’t find Kriman.

“Kriman Paul? Your chief justice?”

David’s voice was mixed in with noise on the other end, making it hard to hear him clearly.

“Yeah. That’s him. I didn’t see him yesterday, and he didn’t come to work today either.”

David didn’t answer immediately. He seemed to be saying something to the people around him.

Brooklyn waited patiently for a while, and David’s voice came again. He seemed to have found a quiet place, and his voice was much clearer.

“You might not be able to find him anymore.”

“We just arrived at the scene, and he died of a sudden heart attack at home.”

“Do you need anything from him?”

He’s dead?

Brooklyn was stunned, finding it somewhat unbelievable.

The suspected mastermind behind the scenes died like this?

“Hello? Are you still there?”

“David, can you tell me what happened at the scene?”

“Sorry, it’s just a preliminary determination of an accident. Further investigation is needed.”

“Do you have time to come to my place tonight?”

The call fell silent, and just as Brooklyn suspected David had hung up, David’s voice rang out.

“Maybe. But it might be very late.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

…..

…..

Returning home, Brooklyn opened his computer.

Sure enough, the news of the Chief Judge of the E.D.N.Y’s death had already been posted on major news websites. This news even overshadowed Brooklyn’s afternoon trial.

Now everyone was discussing Kriman’s death, rather than paying much attention to Brooklyn’s trial in the afternoon.

Brooklyn continued to browse the news and was soon attracted to a seemingly inconspicuous piece of news.

This was a news piece from A, hidden in a corner of the website, with only one line of text and not even a picture. The space it occupied was even less than one-tenth of the space taken up by the news of Kriman’s death.

But it gave Brooklyn a new idea.

“…The FBI’s New York sub-group mishandled the case in twists and turns. In the early stages of the case, its presiding judge was the rising star of the New York judicial circle, Brooklyn Lee. Now, Brooklyn Lee is trapped in a murder case and cannot attend to it.

Subsequently, this case was transferred to Chief Judge Kriman Paul of E.D.N.Y. Forty-five hours before the trial, Kriman Paul died of a sudden heart attack at home.

This case seemed to be cursed, and we are waiting to see which unfortunate judge will take it next.”

Brooklyn stared at the short news briefing and fell into deep thought.

In his memory, the deceased Selena had committed suicide to retaliate against Brooklyn, but he still didn’t know what he was being retaliated for.

He was arrested on the spot by the patrol officer, and the case process quickly entered the express lane, concluding at an unbelievable speed. It was transferred to the District Attorney’s Office, which submitted the indictment at an unbelievable speed, and the court held the trial at an unbelievable speed.

Before this, Brooklyn suspected that someone was framing him—not framing him for Selena’s suicide, but someone who wanted to immediately send him to prison, correctly following the legal procedures and concluding the case as soon as possible.

Now, it seems that he has found the motive.

The FBI’s New York sub-group mishandled the case!

Brooklyn stared at these words and was one hundred percent sure that the abnormal progress of the case must be related to this case!

Someone didn’t want him to preside over it.

A ringing sound interrupted Brooklyn’s thoughts. He closed his computer, got up, and opened the door, looking surprised when he saw who was there.

“Weren’t you supposed to come later? Why are you here so soon?”

Brooklyn stepped aside to let David in and asked, puzzled.

“FBI has taken over the case. We’re not needed.”

“Your place has changed a lot.”

David opened the fridge for himself, took a quick glance, and then closed it, making a face.

‘The layout of the private space reflects the owner’s personality, and I don’t want David to notice anything,’ Brooklyn thought to himself.

“Who knows. It was an order from above. Anyway, we can take it easy now.”

David shrugged, sat down on the sofa, and complained to Brooklyn.

“If not for this, I would have attended your trial today.”

“What’s up?”

Brooklyn handed him a glass of water and sat opposite David.

“Take a look at this.”

He brought out his computer and showed David A’s news.

After reading the news, David looked at Brooklyn with confusion, not understanding what he meant.

“My case went from filing to trial in just three days. Although the entire process complied with the procedural notarization law, don’t you think it was too fast?”

“Case filing is handled by Group 2. They have always been this fast.”

David changed to a more comfortable sitting position and further explained, “Although both Group 1 and Group 2 are in charge of criminal cases, usually when a case is filed, a preliminary judgment is made by higher-ups. Cases like yours, which are relatively simple, are handed over to Group 2.”

With David’s explanation, Brooklyn understood.

In short, although they are both in charge of criminal cases, they have different responsibilities. Group 1 handles more difficult cases, while Group 2 handles simpler cases. Brooklyn’s case seemed to be relatively simple, so it was assigned to Group 2. Since Group 2 frequently deals with these types of cases, they usually prepare a pile of procedural documents in advance, waiting for the case to occur, then they investigate and fill in the blanks and hand it over. It’s not like Group 1, which handles procedural documents in a step-by-step manner. This is also why Brooklyn’s case was completed so quickly.

“Don’t be suspicious. You should focus on the trial now,” David persuaded.

He hesitated for a moment and asked carefully, “Did you see a doctor?”

This question caught Brooklyn off guard.

“A doctor? What doctor?”

David sighed and said earnestly, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Brooklyn. You’re just sick.”

Brooklyn realized that something was off, and he chose to remain silent in response. Despite David’s efforts to persuade him, he just sat there in silence.

After talking for a while, David finally asked, “How’s the trial going? Are you confident?”

Brooklyn nodded, still not saying anything.

He suddenly realized that he may have been too hasty in inviting this “friend”. He thought he had unearthed all the memories between the two of them, but apparently he hadn’t. David suggested he see a doctor, is he really sick? He didn’t find any medical records or medicine during yesterday’s big cleaning, and his body didn’t feel uncomfortable. This illness doesn’t seem to be serious.