After outlining the general situation of the two cases, Augustus, with a grave look, patted the whiteboard beside him:
"The serial killing case spans too long, making it difficult to solve, so we'll put it off for now. The wealthy heiress kidnapping happened this morning; the first 24 hours of the disappearance are golden for rescuing the kidnapped victim. We must find and rescue her today."
Usually, the team leader would assign investigative tasks to each person next, and then... Augustus turned to Luo An and asked with a weighty voice:
"Luo An, what do you think?"
A bit speechless but recalling how such wealthy kidnap victims typically give a large sum of gratitude money to the agents who rescue them, Luo An didn't hesitate and pointed to the ID information in the folder:
"The kidnapping victim, Sabina Card, is a young heiress who inherited a full thirty million US Dollars after the deaths of her parents. That amount of money is enough to harbor evil intentions. When one half of a couple is in trouble, the other half can't be completely untangled from it. Therefore, I suggest we head to the crime scene immediately. We need to conduct trace surveillance and also interrogate her husband, Darren, in detail."
Augustus nodded, very satisfied with Luo An's analysis and proceeded to assign tasks:
"Luo An, Reesi, the two of you head to the crime scene now. Mona, you're in charge of searching the computer for information on Sabina Card's husband, Darren's, work situation. Everyone else, stay in the office and await any information inspection by Luo An."
At this point, Augustus glanced at the waiting Broson, paused for a moment, and said in a low voice:
"Broson, go liaison with the New Jersey police for the serial killings, request more data, and give the impression that we are thoroughly investigating."
What does "giving the impression" mean?
People started to get busy. Just as Luo An was about to head to the crime scene with Reesi, Augustus suddenly called him into his office. After they sat down, Augustus said:
"Luo An, this kidnapping case is very important for you."
Luo An nodded. The heiress was rich, and if he could save her, he would definitely be able to receive a significant reward. It was indeed important.
Augustus continued: "You're the first among the intern agents to become a full-fledged agent, and many are envious of you. But they can't voice it, because you've already caught the gunman in a previous shooting case just with the help of Mona."
Luo An looked up, understanding the underlying implications in Augustus's words.
"Group Leader Broson has gone to Washington Headquarters for a training conference. He has been in his investigative team leader position for many years, and there's a high chance he'll get promoted upon his return. Even though he won't be my direct superior, a superior from another department is still a superior."
Augustus took a sip of his coffee, then continued:
"You punched Fisher the day before yesterday, and Fisher is Broson's nephew. He's really upset with you now."
Hearing this, Luo An immediately implored for his boss's protection:
"Boss, you have to help me!"
Augustus nodded, smiling: "Don't worry. Broson definitely won't attack you directly, Vireness is still around."
Luo An understood what Augustus was implying.
A troop against a troop, a general against a general. To act directly against someone else's subordinate isn't just a slap on the subordinate's backside—it's a slap in the face of their superior!
It's not worth the price for just a nephew.
With this in mind, Luo An visibly relaxed, and Augustus continued:
"So you must do your utmost on this kidnapping case. It's best if you can solve it, and even if you can't, make sure there are no procedural issues during the investigation process so as not to give certain people any gripes."
Luo An nodded, indicating he understood.
Augustus liked dealing with someone smart like Luo An and gave one last piece of advice before Luo An left the office:
"If during the investigation you're certain you can't catch the real culprit, contact me immediately. I will transfer Broson to take over your case, understood?"
"Yes, thank you, boss."
Luo An suddenly realized the rationale behind sending Broson, who wasn't the most delicate, to handle the serial killings case—it was a backup plan!
Thinking this, Luo An saw Augustus in a new light, a true warhorse of the Criminal Justice Department's administrative management, with quite a few tricks up his sleeve.
Checking with Mona on a Nokia phone to make sure remote communication was okay, Luo An and Reesi nodded to each other and headed to the equipment room.
Like Mona, having picked up a bulletproof vest and a Glock 19, Reesi looked bewildered at Luo An:
Combat suit, tactical helmet, plate carrier vest, three smoke grenades, ten stun grenades, two Glock 18 subcompact pistols, five extended pistol magazines...
Reesi twitched the corners of her mouth, incredulously saying, "We're just going to investigate a kidnapping case, not heading into a warzone."
Luo An nodded, "Of course it's not a warzone. If it were, would I only bring pistols and not rifles?"
After organizing the gear, Luo An shook his legs and strode out of the armory, "New York City is not safe, I've always lacked a sense of security."
Inside a villa in the Greenwich District.
Seeing the fully armed Luo An, the Greenwich District police in charge of securing the scene were somewhat stunned, but hurried back to their senses under Reesi's urging and led the two into the crime scene.
"The kitchen door was forcefully pried open, and the door frame is severely damaged."
A middle-aged, balding Caucasian police officer walked into the kitchen and pointed to the ground while introducing to Luo An and Reesi:
"There's a pool of blood at the doorway, but it's not much. It doesn't seem to be fatal."
Luo An bent down and crouched on the kitchen floor, examining the two-palm-wide pool of blood, then turned to look at the nearby dining table. Seeing a faint scuff mark under the table's leg, he stood up and said to Reesi and the police officer:
"The victim must have been attacked from behind, hit on the head, and fell down on the spot, and during the process of transferring the victim, their shoes must have accidentally scraped against the dining table."
You can tell all that at a glance?
Reesi glanced at the foot of the dining table and said nothing. Seeing this, Luo An tilted his head towards the police officer and asked:
"The homeowners are so wealthy, don't they have surveillance or a security system installed?"
The balding police officer shrugged with a hint of envy in his voice:
"They just bought this house in Greenwich this week, planning to spend their wedding anniversary honeymoon here, so they haven't had time to install those things yet. According to the couple's friends, the two of them have a very good relationship. Although they don't have children, they spend their wedding anniversary honeymoon somewhere in the world every year."
Upon hearing this, Luo An fell silent for a moment and then asked in a low voice:
"Excuse me, officer, approximately how much does this villa cost?"
The balding police officer glanced at Luo An and, seeing the same envious look in his eyes, shrugged and spoke softly:
"The villa next door is listed for eight million US Dollars."
Luo An cursed softly under his breath, mentally raising the price estimate for the kidnapping victim.
"Got to make sure to get a sizeable gratitude fee later."
Hearing the villa's front door opened and a sedan drove in, Luo An and Reesi walked over, ready to question the missing person's husband, Darren.
Inside the villa's study, both parties took their seats.
"Please give us a brief description of today's events, Mr. Darren."
Reesi took out a notepad ready to take notes, while Luo An sat aside carefully observing Darren's demeanor as he spoke.
Darren was a neatly dressed, seemingly upright but charismatic middle-aged Caucasian. Hearing Reesi's request, he immediately said:
"I came back around six o'clock this morning, and as soon as I entered, I saw Sabina's shoes and handbag at the foyer. She never leaves her handbag by the door, so I knew something was wrong. When I went into the dining room and saw the bloodstain, I immediately called the police."
Reesi quickly wrote something in her notebook, then looked up and continued:
"The police say you weren't home last night because you were on a business trip. Can you tell us where you were on business and which hotel you stayed at?"
"What are you implying?"
Upon hearing Reesi's question, Darren's face instantly darkened:
"Do you think I did this?"