Before Dirk Carter spoke.

Sherman Summers had already made up his mind.

He thought Dirk Carter would certainly propose various conditions, and was contemplating ways to counter them.

However, he had no idea.

The question Dirk Carter asked was actually about Dylan Tate.

"What did you say?"

Sherman Summers pretended not to hear clearly and asked again.

Dirk Carter took a deep breath.

He came from Sunglow Town to the vortex-filled County Committee, with the purpose of this day.

Now, he could finally face Sherman Summers and ask this question.

"For the last time, the day Dylan Tate died, at 7:52 PM, you made a call to him. This call lasted less than a minute, and after that, he went to Bridlewood River. I want to know, what was said in your last call?"

Dirk Carter's words shocked Sherman Summers so much that his eyeballs almost fell out.

The fact that he confirmed the time of the call means he already has detailed evidence of this matter.

He paused and said, "Uh... it was just ordinary work reporting, nothing else."

Dirk Carter sneered coldly.

He said, "Ordinary work reporting, does it warrant deleting your call records?"

This question made Sherman Summers even more nervous.

Fine beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.

Dirk Carter noticed.

His hands, placed on the table, were entangled, fiddling aimlessly.

This was a sign of panic.

"Magistrate Summers, I only want the truth. You should know that the contents of that USB drive are enough to put you in prison as magistrate. I hope you think carefully and answer my question seriously."

This was considered Dirk Carter's warning.

Sherman Summers was silent for a long time.

He took a deep breath, raised his head, and said, "Dirk Carter, Dylan Tate's death is in the past. I hope you won't investigate it anymore. Whatever you want, I can give it to you."

"I want nothing but the truth, no matter what that truth is."

Dirk Carter said resolutely.

Sherman Summers fell into silence again.

After a long contemplation.

He raised his head again.

He said, "Fine, you want the truth, I'll give it to you. Do you remember the 419 mining accident?"

"The 419 mining accident?"

Dirk Carter was taken aback.

Then he nodded.

The 419 mining accident happened at 4 AM on April 19th of last year, at a copper mine in Oakhaven Village, East-edge Town, Stillwater County, where a flooding accident occurred.

Magistrate Dylan Tate rushed to the scene immediately after the accident occurred, organizing the police, armed police, firefighters, and emergency response for rescue. Because of the timely rescue, this mining accident did not result in casualties.

"The official report stated that the 419 mining accident didn't cause casualties. Do you know what the real situation was?"

Sherman Summers asked.

Dirk Carter shook his head.

Sherman Summers said, "The reality is, this mining accident caused 14 deaths, and an additional person was missing."

"What did you say?"

Dirk Carter couldn't hold back and stood up in surprise.

Keep in mind, concealing death tolls in a mining accident is a very serious dereliction of duty. An accident involving 15 casualties being covered up as having no casualties is very egregious in nature.

"Oakhaven Mine has never met safety production standards, and there is also the illegal use of disabled persons. This is known throughout the county. Dylan Tate has always paid special attention to this mine. After the accident, Dylan Tate ordered the death toll to be concealed. At the time, no one opposed it. After all, if such a big matter were to be exposed, our Stillwater County would inevitably experience a political earthquake. So, in this matter, everyone had an unspoken understanding for self-preservation."

Sherman Summers said.

Dirk Carter hurriedly asked, "What about the families of the deceased? Didn't they make any trouble?"

Sherman Summers shook his head.

He said, "After the accident, Dylan Tate secretly formed a consolation team, which negotiated compensation matters with the families of the deceased. As long as the families agreed not to make trouble, they could receive 1.6 million yuan in compensation. If they insisted on making trouble, they would not only lose the money but also face legal consequences."

In this way, the families of the 14 deceased took the money.

And there was no more trouble from them.

In theory, this way of handling things would pose no problem as long as there was no investigation from above.

But no one expected that there was still a mishap.

This mishap came from the missing miner.

According to Dylan Tate's policy at the time, as long as things could be settled quietly, anything would go. The family of the missing person also received compensation of 1.6 million yuan.

The family received the money immediately.

Then, seven or eight days later.

The missing miner suddenly returned home. After learning about it, the consolation team personnel immediately visited to understand the situation. It turned out that the worker was supposed to work at the mine that day, but he was slacking off, went outside for prostitution, and was caught by the police, spending the missing days in detention.

Since he wasn't dead.

The consolation team wanted to take back the 1.6 million yuan.

At this point, the miner and his family disagreed.

An argument erupted with the consolation team.

The consolation team didn't go soft on them; since the money was still in the bank card and untouched, they simply had the bank freeze it.

The miner found out and caused a ruckus, but in the end, was given another 100,000 yuan as compensation to keep quiet.

The matter rested for an entire year.

A while before Dylan Tate died.

The miner sneaked into the County Committee compound during the County Magistrate's Open Day, and saw Dylan Tate. He told Dylan Tate that he was in financial difficulty recently and hoped Dylan would give him some money to help. If not, he would expose the mining accident truth in the city.

Dylan Tate just dealt with him perfunctorily at the time.

An investigation then revealed that the miner was lazy by nature, squandered the 100,000 yuan in a year, and was now so poor that he could barely afford food, prompting his rash idea.

With Dylan Tate's temper, he would not tolerate such a person, so he sent someone to warn him, saying that if he stirred up trouble, he would not let him off.

The miner was just a rogue.

He wasn't afraid of threats at all.

He directly went to the city to petition.

Sherman Summers sighed at this point.

He said, "The day I called Dylan Tate, I was reporting this incident to him, after I found out. I never thought that right after receiving the call, Dylan Tate would jump to his death. He was truly afraid the matter couldn't be kept hidden and committed suicide out of guilt."

After hearing what Sherman Summers had to say.

Dirk Carter felt a heavy weight on his chest.

He paused and asked, "Who was in charge of the consolation team at the time?"

"Rardin Grant, Dylan Tate's driver, was fully in charge."

Sherman Summers said.

Rardin Grant?

Rardin Grant died mysteriously in a bizarre car accident a year ago. Could it also be related to this mining accident?

"Did Donal Lewis know about this?"

Dirk Carter continued to ask.

Sherman Summers thought for a moment, and said, "He probably wasn't aware. When the mining accident happened, Donal Lewis was out on an inspection. By the time he returned, the mining accident had already been dealt with. Since there were no casualties, I remember the City Committee even issued a commendation notice."

Dirk Carter nodded slightly.

Then suddenly raised his head.

He looked at Sherman Summers and said, "Magistrate Summers, that miner going to the city to report, was it instigated by you?"

Sherman Summers panicked upon hearing this.

He explained, "What are you talking about? I was aware of the 419 mining accident; if I had sent him to report, wouldn't I be pushing myself into a fire pit?"

Dirk Carter sneered.

He said, "I guess your intention at the time wasn't to expose the 419 mining accident again, but to use the miner to force Dylan Tate to resign, right? That way, you could move one step forward, but you didn't expect Dylan to commit suicide..."

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