Jimmy did not interrupt Christopher Lee's investigation, but just followed him. He also put on disposable gloves to prevent his fingerprints from contaminating the scene. But he didn't quite believe Li's reasoning. There should be something else going on here.
Judging from the current situation, there is nothing wrong with what Li just said. He broke into a house, fought with the security guard after being discovered, and after shooting, he blended in with the crowd and escaped from the villa.
But there is something wrong with thieves. It is normal for there to be responders outside. There should also be an intelligence monitoring officer who is responsible for monitoring the villa or keeping watch outside. Then one or two will enter the villa to look for what they want.
And normally, this kind of thing should not lead to a gunfight. There is a dinner party here, and there are celebrities, rich people, and politicians. A normal thief would definitely not open fire on such an occasion.
They must have other purposes, which can basically rule out the possibility of assassinating someone. If it was an assassination, it would be too rough.
Apart from anything else, the number of bullet holes that have been marked and numbered at the site is too dense. Just on the second floor where they are standing now, there are at least 25 bullet holes in the wall. It has not yet been determined how many shots were fired by the security guards and how many were fired by the thieves, but judging from the situation, there will definitely be no less.
Jimmy turned on his inner eye observation and just looked around briefly. He felt more and more that his idea was right. The villa looked normal, but as far as he could see, he had found two weapons depots in the room.
There was a room on the first floor, which seemed to be a security room. There were only two rifles in the rack, and some pistols hanging on it. The other one is on the second floor. It seems to be a mezzanine made of thickened walls. The same various weapons are hung on it. It looks the same style, except that the shelves in the first floor room are placed directly outside.
Jimmy has really never been exposed to rich people before, but he believes that no matter what kind of rich people he is, he should not have this kind of hobby.
Jimmy's biggest concern must be safety, so he saw various weapons at first glance. In fact, there are some abnormal spaces. For example, the wall between the study and the next room is double-layered, and there is a hidden room in the middle. See what it is. There is also a basement under this house, which is not too small, and there are some things piled in it.
This pattern reminded Jimmy of a person he had met before, Roman from Long Island, New York, the guy whose entire family was killed by a spirit of evil. His beachside villa also had various mezzanines.
However, these findings are basically useless to the case. Now we still rely on conventional methods to obtain fingerprints or evidence for investigation, and it is not his own investigation. Now he only needs to be eyes and ears.
Seeing Christopher Lee and the others investigating, Jimmy said hello to Lee and went downstairs to have a cigarette. This is the scene of a shooting. Smoking in the room is too much. Going outside is the best thing to do.
Jimmy went to the backyard, where police and detectives were also recording bullet holes and lines. Jimmy stood in the corner of the backyard and looked at the sea. The scenery of Palm Beach was really good, with bright sunshine, yellow sand beaches, green grass, and blue ocean. It was indeed better for the rich to see the beautiful scenery without leaving home.
Jimmy looked around, and also at the villa next door. There was a beautiful girl standing on the balcony looking at the sea and drinking coffee. With luck, Jimmy whistled lightly, but did not continue to look at the sea. After smoking, Jimmy took the cigarette butt and turned back to the villa, found an ashtray, put it out and put it out.
At noon, Jimmy asked Li to have lunch with him. There was no special request during the case. There was a supermarket a block away, and the food truck outside was the best and most convenient option.
The two of them were sitting in the rest area outside the supermarket, chatting while eating. Jimmy: "How was it? Did you gain anything?"
Li: "Not much has been gained. Some bullet casings and fingerprints have been collected. In addition, blood stains on the ground and walls have been collected. The results will be verified later."
Jimmy: "Has the on-site ballistics been confirmed? How many people are there?"
Li: "One, we basically determined the location where he escaped, but there were too many people yesterday and the traces couldn't be distinguished."
Jimmy: "Has the surveillance of surrounding villas been investigated?"
Li glanced at Jimmy and said, "Of course, someone in the bureau is investigating."
Jimmy finally realized what it was like when DHS people went to the FBI's Manhattan office to handle cases. At that time, the FBI was still very cooperative with them, but now the people in the Miami office don't look like they are cooperating with Jimmy. Li's words basically have no clues or conclusions. .
Recall what Deputy Director Dave said, understand as much as you can. Don’t believe the official conclusions. It seems that there is some discord between the Manhattan and Miami offices. However, although Jimmy has been in the Manhattan office for two or three years, the time is too short and the contact level cannot be reached.
Jimmy: "By the way, Deputy Director Hudson was shot in the right shoulder. He should return to New York after his injury stabilizes. Is that okay?"
Li nodded: "This case has nothing to do with the deputy director. He is just a victim and his whereabouts will not be restricted."
Jimmy: "Where are the others?"
Li: "After taking the confessions, we lifted their restrictions. We can't detain all of these people. The impact will be too great. Not too many people were injured this time, and no one died. It's very lucky."
Jimmy: "Okay, I'll go to the hospital in the afternoon. How about you? Will you go back to Miami after the investigation here is completed?"
Li: "It depends on the results of the investigation here. We are not sure yet."
Jimmy: "OK, then I'll contact you in the afternoon."
Jimmy and Li returned to the villa, Li went in to continue the investigation, and Jimmy drove out of the villa and returned to the hotel. He hasn't slept for more than a day. Although he can still hold on, it is better to take a rest.
Jimmy set the alarm for an hour and a half later. He couldn't sleep for too long. It would be good if he could sleep for an hour. At least he could regain a lot of energy.
In the afternoon, at the hospital, the police at the door had left, and now one of the two bodyguards in the morning, Jimmy showed his ID, knocked on the door and walked in.
Dave was the only one in the ward, and Jimmy came to the bed: "Mr. Hudson, how do you feel?"
Dave: "Okay, how was their investigation?"
Jimmy: "Confessions have been collected from people at the scene, but I haven't obtained them. Others are investigated at the scene, including blood stains, fingerprints, bullet casings, ballistics, etc. There is no detailed information yet."
Dave nodded: "Continue to follow up and focus on investigating Daniel Rivera."
Jimmy: "Rivera was shot twice. He was still in the hospital in the morning. I don't know his location. This will take some time to investigate. In addition, technical support may be needed. It may be troublesome for such a person to investigate intelligence."
Dave took the phone with his left hand, looked for a phone number and showed it to Jimmy, "Call him if you need it."
Jimmy wrote down the mobile phone number and nodded, "Then I'll go back to the scene to see if they will gain anything new."
Dave: "Go ahead."
Jimmy left the hospital and parked the car on the side of the road. It must be bad luck and trouble this time. I originally wanted to make a good impression, but Dave is somewhat difficult to deal with and is too thoughtful.
The fact that he and his wife were able to come to the dinner together at least meant that he and Daniel Rivera knew each other, or had a reliable relationship that allowed them to get the invitation, and they should have a common ground in some aspects.
But after this incident, he made it clear that he directly told Jimmy to investigate him. It seems that there are still many things going on here, and the identity or other aspects of this Daniel Rivera are not simple.
Dave said that Daniel owned a shipping company and a think tank, and he also had a weapons arsenal at home. Could it be smuggling? That's not right. Doing this kind of thing is not a big deal and it's impossible for Dave to care about it.
There was so little information that Jimmy couldn't judge at all. He started the car and headed to the villa.
The car was parked on the roadside in front of the villa. Jimmy looked left and right out of habit and suddenly discovered that there was something wrong with a station wagon. From the front, there was no one in the driver's seat or the co-pilot's seat, but in the back seat, one could see a person huddled in the corner, holding a camera and taking pictures, which happened to be in the direction of the villa where the shootout took place.
Jimmy didn't do anything. Under normal circumstances, he couldn't see the people behind the station wagon. Except for the front glass, the rear windows were all dark. It would be a big problem to directly ask.
Jimmy took out his cigarette case and lit a cigarette by the car to kill time. The man also turned the camera to take pictures of his car and people. If he were in New York, this must be a paparazzi, but here in Palm Beach, he was really unfamiliar. , unsure of the person’s identity.
Jimmy walked into the villa and found Li. He was sitting on a chair, staring at the ballistic simulation pulling the red line in a daze.
Jimmy: "Lee, there's something wrong out there."
Li turned to look at Jimmy: "What?"
Jimmy: "There was a station wagon outside. It was there in the morning. I just saw someone in the car. Something seemed wrong."
Li narrowed his eyes, stood up and came to the door. He hid behind the door and looked over. While looking, he said, "Don't alarm him, we will handle it."
Li watched for a while, but no one in the car came out. He called someone over, and the two walked out together.
Li came to the station wagon, stretched his head to look inside through the window, and then knocked on the roof. The person inside opened the door and walked out. It was unclear what they were talking about. Li also checked his camera. , and then returned it to him.
After a while, the man opened the door, started the car, and left the villa. Li and the others walked back slowly, "Just a paparazzi, no problem."
Jimmy nodded, and the afternoon ended with the on-site investigation. Jimmy asked about the surveillance videos of the surrounding villas. Li said that people in the office had checked and found nothing unusual, so he sent Jimmy away.
The villas on Palm Beach Island are not far away, and each villa must have external and internal surveillance. Jimmy really doesn't believe that there is nothing abnormal inside, but he has no way to ask Li to disclose the specific content, and there is no way to see it. With the surveillance video, we can only accept his version.
The burned rubber boat was also pulled back as evidence, and there were also inquiries about several villas around the rubber boat. These were all investigated by the police and people from the Miami office. Naturally, Jimmy did not get any useful information.
Li only said that there were no clues there, but did not let Jimmy participate in the investigation. Now Jimmy has really turned into eyes and ears, and the ears are not very easy to use.
Jimmy and the others drove away from the villa, with Li and his colleagues in front and Jimmy in the back. Just two blocks away, Jimmy saw a familiar station wagon in the rearview mirror.
The station wagon that had left was following them across a car. There was definitely something wrong with this. If it was really an ordinary paparazzi, he should be focusing on the injured people now, not the FBI agents like them. .
Jimmy turned in the opposite direction at the intersection ahead. The station wagon did not follow him, but continued forward on the same road as Li and the others. Jimmy turned around and followed the station wagon.
Tracking is a technical job. Jimmy can quickly discover the station wagon. This is the sequelae of the last time he was attacked continuously in Manhattan. Because his memory is relatively good, as long as the car he sees in the rearview mirror appears multiple times, he will Very caring.
The car being monitored this time happened to be the station wagon I had seen in the afternoon, and I was deeply impressed, so I naturally paid attention to him not long after he appeared.
But now Jimmy's tracking is more secure. He is two or three cars away and follows him from a distance. As long as the other party doesn't deliberately observe the cars behind him, he shouldn't be able to find Jimmy.
Finally, they stopped at a hotel in West Palm Beach. Li and his colleagues entered the hotel. The station wagon following them started to leave after waiting for half an hour without seeing them get out. Of course, the oriole behind him also Keep following.
As the station wagon continued westward, farther and farther away from Palm Beach, Jimmy became more and more interested in this man.
If he was an ordinary paparazzi, after getting photos and other things, he should find newspapers and TV stations and other media as soon as possible to share his gains. And if he left Palm Beach directly after tracking the FBI, it naturally means that he is not an ordinary person. Paparazzi are more like people monitoring the scene.
Jimmy was completely unfamiliar with the terrain here. When the car in front stopped in front of a villa, the man got out of the car with his bag and walked into the villa. Only then did Jimmy finally confirm that the watcher had nothing to do with the paparazzi. If the paparazzi can live in this kind of villa, then the people here must be too rich.
Jimmy did not stop to investigate, but after recording the current location, he continued to drive forward, found a gas station, and bought a map to confirm his location.
They have left West Palm Beach and are now in Wellington, which is just a little worse than Palm Beach and is still a city where the rich and famous gather.
What kind of paparazzi can afford to live in a villa here? Just kidding.
Jimmy drove back. The station wagon of the 'paparazzi' just now was still there, and the people should still be inside the villa. Jimmy parked not far away. Waiting for a little later, he went to the villa to do some reconnaissance. It was still early, and the cars on the road were There were a lot of people and it was really inconvenient.
It was understandable that Li and the others did not notice the car following them, but they let the paparazzi go after just asking a few questions. That was very inappropriate. They should have at least contacted the bureau to verify their identity. The whole process revealed something strange. The sense of disharmony made Jimmy very uncomfortable.
And he didn't trust this Li to a certain extent. He gave people the impression that he was just like a salary thief, completely dawdling. It seemed that there was no urgency in the investigation of this shooting case.
(End of chapter)
