"Rust, please take a leave for me and inform Gretchen that Holden and I are going to Santa Monica today...um..." Dean held the phone under his left neck and held a plate of Italian tomato and meatballs in his left hand. Noodles, holding a fork in his right hand and putting it into his mouth.
Dean put down the phone, quickly destroyed the remaining half of the pot of food, changed out of his T-shirt, and put on a simple and elegant black notch lapel suit, which he bought not long ago.
He looked in the mirror. He had broad shoulders and a slim waist, a tall and straight figure, well-defined facial features, big eyes and a high nose bridge, thick eyebrows like swords, sunny and handsome. Although there was not much stubble on his chin, he looked like a high school boy than before. The mature temperament makes people more trustworthy.
Dean combed his short hair again and straightened his collar.
"Set off!"
At seven o'clock sharp, he drove the Bronco to the police station to pick up Holden, and soon he was on the I-15 interstate highway.
"Yes, this suit looks much more pleasing to the eye," Holden, who was in the passenger seat, turned to look at him and commented unceremoniously, "It's not a shame to take you out to handle cases now."
"I have a girlfriend, so of course I can't dress too casually." Dean turned the steering wheel, "But I remember you have been in Las Vegas for almost half a year, right? You stay in the bureau all day and never go home, so I don't I’ve never seen you with a woman.”
"Holden, you must be thirty-five this year. Don't you have a wife yet?"
The FBI shook his head and looked at him with squinted eyes.
"Why do you talk so much today?"
"Isn't it okay to care about your partner? By the way, Thomas Allen once told me something, and I will give it to you - if a man does not marry a wife and have children after a certain age, he will become very terrible."
"You are young and don't understand anything. Let me give you a few words. Marriage is a man's prison. A person is most comfortable. Women will only bring troubles and are far less interesting than the case." Holden looked back happily. Leaning on the seat, "And no matter how much you tease me, you can't hide your inner nervousness. What are you worried about?"
The relaxed smile on Dean's face suddenly disappeared, and the car suddenly accelerated.
"What if this investigation goes nowhere?"
"It means your assumption yesterday led to a dead end. But it doesn't matter, you are still young and there are many opportunities to make mistakes." Holden's eyes softened.
Dean took a deep breath and drove intently, following the same road he took during his summer vacation, from Las Vegas to Santa Monica.
But this time I was not in the mood to appreciate the vast scenery along the way, and the atmosphere in the car was dull.
Holden took the initiative to educate him about the relationship between the district attorney's office, courts, and police stations that he was concerned about last time.
After a long journey of five hours, at twelve o'clock at noon, the sun was strong.
Blanco drove into the commercial street in downtown Santa Monica, and the two first visited the mall selling Adidas three stripes.
But the store clerk had no memory of a purchase nearly half a month ago, and there was no surveillance inside or near the store.
The coat thread is temporarily discontinued.
The car turned around, drove past Santa Monica College, one of the best community colleges in the United States, and drove into the local police station.
Compared with the high-rise buildings of the LVPD, this police station is compact and exquisite, with a decoration style full of sunshine and beach style, open, bright, airy and breathable.
Although it is daytime, there are not many police officers in the Santa Monica Police Department, and most of them are out on duty to maintain law and order in tourist resorts.
Holden led Dean to find Cole Carter, a middle-aged police officer with a bloated figure and round cheeks, and introduced him to each other.
"Holden Ford, when will you give a lecture on criminal psychology to the bureau again?" the fat man stretched out his hand to shake hands with the two of them, and said excitedly,
"What you talked about last time was very practical. Several guys in the bureau caught the real culprit of a murder case by relying on their newly acquired psychological profiling!"
Holden said happily,
"I also hope to come to Santa Monica to enjoy beer, seafood dinners and bikini beauties, and reminisce about old times with my brothers. But I am busy with work and cannot escape. If you are in urgent need of guidance in this regard, you may wish to follow Professor Wendy Carr of Boston University and Mental Conversation, co-authored by Bill Tench.”
"They are the masters of this field, and this work describes the rules and methods of psychological profiling in more detail than my lectures."
"This book is not currently available for public sale. It is only available for trial reading on a small scale within the system. You can apply to have a look."
“Highly recommended, I’ll remember it.”
The fat man nodded seriously, and Dean also took it seriously.
Holden asked again, "What I told you on the phone last night..."
"Don't worry, the case materials related to children in the past three years, right?" The fat man led the two people to the maze-like spacious archives filled with rows of shelves. After walking around a few times, they retrieved the files from a glass cabinet. He took out a pile of folders and stacked them on the desk in the corner.
"It's all here."
Dean gritted his teeth as he looked at the mountain of information. He missed the computer office in later generations where he could just enter a few lines of text into the search bar and find what he wanted.
But now, it will take more than ten years for computers to be used for office work.
"The place is left to you, and I won't interfere with your work." Cole turned around and suddenly paused, "The FBI will not be dispatched easily. What is so special about these children's cases that it makes you come to California from Nevada?"
Holden turned and glanced at Dean,
"We are looking for a possible serial killer. Well, he is extremely cruel and good at disguise."
The fat man sighed, "What's going on in this world? In the past ten years, there have been more and more terrible cases, and the murderers' motives and methods have become more and more perverted."
"There is at least one reason for this," Holden thought seriously. "The more society develops, the more people have mental problems. Some of them make big mistakes because of mental illness."
The fat man stood for a moment, then turned and left.
…
"Boy, start working!"
With the sunlight pouring in from the window, the two of them began to read the information, one on the left and the other on the right.
The whole process opened Dean's eyes and gave him a deeper understanding of the lower limits of human nature.
He saw a man who had hallucinations after smoking grass, mistook his three-year-old daughter for a cat or dog, strangled her alive and threw her into the yard. It was not until a neighbor walking his dog discovered the body two days later.
A highly respected university professor, an old white man in his sixties, hurt his own grandson many times out of selfish desire. It was not until his family took the child to see a doctor that they discovered the cruel truth.
A pair of five-year-old twin sisters were left in a private car in the extremely hot summer by their careless mother. They were found too late and both lost their lives due to heatstroke.
But the files that record the most are cases of missing children. The United States is a big country, and most of the missing children will never return home. Their whereabouts are unknown, and their life and death cannot be determined.
…
Exactly two hours later.
The files were reduced to the bottom, and Dean's heart suddenly lifted.
He couldn't find a case similar to Bucky Fran's death.
His investigation is getting closer and closer to an absurd and ridiculous ending.
But when he looked at Holden next to him, he saw that the other person was staring at a file in trance, his expression was dull, his mouth was slightly open, showing a rare loss of composure.
has a problem!
Dean leaned his head in front of the opened documents.
At the top of the first page is a photo of a pretty little white girl, with a description below.
Deceased: Kelly Scott
Age: 7
Gender: Female
Time of death: 4 to 5 pm on July 22, 1980.
Place of death: Park next to Santa Monica University
Cause of death: Death from multiple trauma to the body.
…
July 22 was the day Dean and the others traveled to Santa Monica Beach.
Dean's head moved, and he opened the second page without daring to breathe. Suddenly, a shocking photo came into view.
She was lying in the grass covered in blood, her petite princess dress was covered in blood, and her eyes were like black holes.
She was like a rag doll that had been torn into half pieces.
Dean closed his eyes.
The tragic situation of Bucky Fran came to mind, and then compared with Kelly Scott's, the similarity of the injuries was at least 90%.
"Breakthrough and huge progress!"
A strong excitement rose up along the tailbone like an electric current. Dean's face instantly turned red and goosebumps appeared all over his body!
"The system is not wrong! Our inference is not a joke. The real serial killer had already committed crimes in another state before framing Abby." Dean looked at the girl in the file, "Santa Monica is the last one The crime scene!”
…
Holden nodded silently and took out another document from the file. At the top was a mugshot of a tough-looking young Asian man.
Name: David Lee
Age: 30
Sex: Male
Occupation: Physics teacher at Santa Monica University
Description: At 4 pm on July 22, 1980, he lured Kelly Scott into the depths of the park and brutally murdered her.
Three witnesses identified David Lee from multiple photos in the park.
David Lee's blood, saliva, and epidermal cells were found on the murder knife and on the victim...
Afterwards, many shopping malls, beach amusement parks, and restaurants recorded images of David Lee after his murder.
August 12th.
David Lee was sentenced to life in prison and is currently incarcerated at San Quentin Prison in California.
…
The file ends here.
Dean suppressed the excitement and doubts in his heart and turned to Holden, who was looking at him with strange eyes.
"Surveillance video, DNA evidence, witnesses, do you think it looks like it?"
"I can't say they are alike, they are exactly the same, unbelievable!" A large amount of sweat broke out on the back of Holden's neck, and his eyes of amazement seemed to recognize the companion next to him again, "How on earth did you do it? I stayed up all night with Carl's guy After several days of research, I only found a lot of superficial evidence, and yet you used your incomprehensible reasoning to guess something unexpected?"
"I said this wasn't some bluff, it was my gut feeling."
Dean looked at his companion who was completely confused and reluctantly gave an explanation.
"Amazing intuition." Holden turned his head and looked into the air. The inherent impression in his heart was shattered. The murder case, which was obviously about to end, suddenly had huge variables.
But facts speak louder than words, and Dean's inference was proved here. Holden instantly threw away all previous complaints and doubts about him, "What are you going to do next?"
Dean held his chin with his right hand and looked out the window in concentration, with a lot of inspiration pouring out of his mind:
According to this crime file.
Nearly two months ago on July 22, David Lee killed Kelly Scott and then wandered around restaurants and amusement parks on Santa Monica Beach, leaving behind a large amount of surveillance video evidence.
On the same day, Dean and his group showed up at the Santa Monica beach to celebrate Britney's birthday. That night, Abby's wrist was scratched.
The two actually matched up!
David Lee and Abby Clark.
The two murderers had a close encounter on the night of July 22 at Santa Monica Beach.
There is no doubt that it was David Lee who left that mysterious scar on Abby!
What kind of phenomenon is this?
Mysterious power passes through the scar, like a plague, between the two chosen people?
Dean imagined wildly for a while, but he couldn't give a definite conclusion until he had a close communication with David Lee!
But this file is enough to prove that David and Abby are both innocent people who were wronged, and the real murderer is still hidden in the mist!
The progress jumped to fifty-five percent.
"Life sentence, is David Lee still alive?" Dean turned his eyes, "Man, make arrangements to visit him in San Quentin Prison and find out a few things."
"I have a feeling we are close to success."
Holden nodded heavily. From this moment on, his trust in Dean jumped to a huge level, but he thought about it,
"San Quentin is one of the oldest and most special prisons in California. To visit the prisoners inside, you must make an appointment in advance, and the FBI is no exception. I spent time making connections, and I won't be able to see David Lee until tomorrow at the earliest."
"Tomorrow," Dean thought, "are there Kelly Scott and David Lee's home addresses on file? Let's go visit their families."
…
After finding this almost impossible criminal file, the two of them were as excited as chicken blood. Holden's mentality also changed from coping with the matter at the beginning to going all out.
He had a strong impulse to figure out the truth behind this complicated and confusing case. When the time comes, maybe he will open the door to a new world!
Hall registered the two addresses in the document, made several calls to the Santa Monica Police Department, and printed out files on criminals and victims.
The two turned to the residential area next to Santa Monica University, No. 286 Arizona Street, a two-story red western-style building.
The person who opened the door was a young, beautiful and elegant woman wearing a floral dress.
The two explained their intentions and showed their FBI credentials.
The woman curled up her temples and explained patiently,
"David Lee's family is no longer here. After he was arrested, his parents seemed to have had an accident and died."
"Both parents had accidents, are you sure?"
"Well, that's what everyone has been saying for a while."
Dean and Holden looked at each other, unable to hide their disappointment.
"So ma'am, do you know anything about David Lee?" Dean asked again, "Do you think he looks like the kind of murderer who would hurt a child?"
"David Li and I are colleagues. He usually has a good reputation, an approachable personality, and outstanding teaching ability." The woman's pleasant voice had a hint of melancholy, "He is also caring and often participates in various charity activities. When something like that happened, all the teachers in the school found it unbelievable."
The woman sighed and glanced at her watch.
"You two, I have to go to class. I have an ordinary relationship with David Lee and my knowledge is limited. Others don't want you to bring up that tragedy again. The school has classified it as a taboo topic for the sake of reputation."
"Okay, ma'am, let's leave now." Holden gave Dean a look and returned to the car on the side of the road. "David Lee's family is no longer here. Then go to the prison to question him face to face tomorrow. Next One stop, the home of victim Kelly Scott.”
…
Blanco shuttled through the spacious and clean roads of Santa Monica, and in less than a quarter of an hour, he arrived at another shabby residential area, a small building on the side of the road with no front or back yard.
"Bang, bang."
"Bang, bang!"
The knock on the door echoed down the long street.
For five minutes, there was no response.
Dean turned on his God's perspective and observed it. The room was dark, there was no one within ten meters, and the furniture was covered with a layer of dusty white cloth.
What's the situation? No one lives there?
Crunch——
The door of a neighboring house suddenly opened.
"who are you?"
A middle-aged man in a tank top and shorts, with hair dyed yellow and a decadent face like a gangster, appeared from behind the door.
Holden Ford showed his ID and introduced himself.
"Do you know Kelly Scott's family and know where they are? We are re-investigating her case and would like to talk to them."
"You two came too late." Huang Mao shook his head and said with regret, "Poor little Kelly's family was shrouded in misfortune. Not long after she was killed, her grandmother had a heart attack and died. Her mother was in grief. She was distracted while driving and died in a car accident. Her father..."
Huang Mao paused, with a faint fear flashing in his eyes, "Her father couldn't bear the torture of loneliness and committed suicide by drinking a bullet. Kelly Scott's whole family has passed away, and I can't help you."
"What? All the family members of the victim Kelly Scott are dead?" Although the sun was dazzling above his head, Dean couldn't help but feel a creepy shudder. "But it's only been two months since the crime happened. How is this possible? ?”
"You are so young, you are not married and have children. It is normal not to understand." Huang Mao explained in a tone of experience, "Children are the hope of a family. If the child is gone, the parents and elders will suffer unimaginable grief. If you don’t go there, you’ll just leave.”
"It's a pity, their family are all very good people." Huang Mao's face showed deep sadness.
"Sorry, we won't interrupt you for mentioning your sadness." Holden said, dragging the confused Dean and turning around to leave.
Huang Mao sighed and closed the door.
"It's not normal." Dean frowned deeply. "Within two months, all the victim's family members died. This is so weird. Could it be that death can spread like a plague?"
“Death cannot pass, but grief can.”
Holden pushed him into the passenger seat,
"What about the family of the murderer David Lee? Do you remember what the lady said before? David Lee's parents encountered an accident and are no longer alive."
"This means that the victim and the murderer, almost all the people in the two families are dead, leaving only one David Lee who is probably wrongly accused and is locked up in prison!"
"Compared to occult explanations, I believe this is a coincidence. You have never heard that bad luck only picks poor people." Holden turned his eyes and said uncertainly before starting the car, "You spent a lot of money driving today. I have spent too much energy, so go back to the hotel and rest early, we will have a chat with David Lee tomorrow."
"Just a coincidence?" Dean looked out the car window at the green trees receding at high speed, and felt a hazy feeling in his heart——
The murderer behind it was more evil than he imagined.
Thanks for the long and difficult reward support! Thank you all for your monthly and recommended support!
(End of chapter)
