Monday, 7 PM, Southern Los Angeles, an upscale community, inside an apartnt.
With the arrival of Supervisor Potante Byrne, John imdiately ceased his speech, and after agreeing to talk to Luo An next ti, he left behind folders and a check and departed from the office area of the Special Investigation Team.
Seeing this, Luo An pulled Reesi along with him and headed to the cri scene together with Supervisor Potante Byrne.
By this ti, the two-story apartnt was brightly lit, a dozen LAPD officers struggled to maintain order at the scene, with a large crowd of noisy reporters outside and incessant flashes from their caras.
"The victim's na is Hisman."
Potante Byrne stepped out of the car, with a face so gloomy it seed water might drip from it, and paced briskly toward the apartnt with Luo An and Reesi, lifting up the barrier tape.
"He was 55 years old, the most popular among Los Angeles counciln, and the Los Angeles City Council Chairman."
"I know him."
Luo An was not very familiar with these events. Reesi, on the other hand, nodded seriously and said:
"Hisman had spoken out for the lower-class citizens of Los Angeles multiple tis and proposed nurous asures for their well-being."
Luo An kept a composed expression, listening it seed that Chairman Hisman was a good person. Stepping onto the lawn outside the apartnt, he asked:
"What was the cause of Chairman Hisman's death?"
Upon hearing the question, Potante Byrne's expression turned even colder and did not directly answer Luo An:
"You will find out shortly."
"Hm?"
Luo An's brow furrowed, wondering if the murderer had subjected Chairman Hisman to torture or humiliation before killing him.
As he stepped inside the apartnt, Luo An realized he had underestimated his own imagination.
The living room was impossible to stand in at the mont – the floor was covered with coagulated dark red fluid.
In the center of the living room, the fifty-sothing-year-old Council Chairman Hisman was completely naked, with a white towel stuffed in his mouth and tied to the back of his head, his eyes bulging and his face twisted in a grimace.
Furthermore, from top to bottom, Chairman Hisman was literally split in half at the waist, both halves a jumbled ss that defied description.
"Fu-k!"
"Son of a bitch!"
Upon seeing the disheveled state of the living room, Reesi's face contorted in shock, her expression turning exceedingly unsightly as she instinctively covered her mouth.
Luo An, too, was slightly startled and cursed under his breath.
Such a scene was quite shocking for Luo An as well, mainly because of the heavy stench of blood, and with his sensitive sense of sll, he felt almost unable to breathe in the living room.
Glancing at Potante Byrne, Luo An finally understood why his face was so somber.
Leaving the living room, making way for the forensic agents with equally horrified expressions, Luo An, Reesi, and Potante Byrne entered the adjacent kitchen. They turned their attention to a middle-aged Caucasian man who was by the sink, pale with fear as he vomited.
The middle-aged Caucasian man was nad Aiden, Chairman Hisman's secretary, and the first to discover the scene and call the police.
After a brief exchange, Potante Byrne left the apartnt to deal with the dia outside.
Luo An and Reesi approached Aiden, who was now unable to vomit anything more. Reesi handed him a glass of water and patted his shoulder, whispering:
"Let's talk outside."
The kitchen was not far from the living room, and such a scene was still profoundly shocking for the average person.
"Thanks, but there's no need, I can manage."
Trembling as he took the water from Reesi, Aiden thanked her and then tenaciously shook his head, refusing the suggestion.
Reesi was sowhat speechless seeing Aiden's noodle-like helplessness while trying to appear tough, as Luo An couldn't be bothered to waste more words, he physically escorted Aiden out of the apartnt and into the Special Investigation Team's new SUV...
On the adjacent road.
Mainly because Luo An had a particularly sensitive sense of sll, he detected a faint urine odor on Aiden. Since the SUV was new, it wouldn't be good to get it dirty.
The CIA's Wan De was quick; before Luo An and Mona had even made their way to Washington, Wan De had already sent three SUVs and so new equipnt to the Special Investigation Team.
Neither Luo An nor Reesi looked down on Aiden, after all, he was an ordinary person, and it was comndable that he didn't faint at the sight of such a scene.
"How did you know I passed out?"
Aiden looked up in surprise, indicating that he fainted the mont he opened the apartnt door and saw the scene in the living room.
If it wasn't for the pain of his head hitting the stairs that jolted him awake, it's uncertain how much later Aiden would have called the police.
"..."x2
Reesi rolled her eyes, and Luo An didn't waste any more ti, directly asking:
"What exactly happened between you and Chairman Hisman today? What did you go through?"
"Chairman Hisman called this morning, saying he was feeling unwell and needed to rest at ho for a few hours."
Taking a deep breath, Aiden began to recount the details of his day:
"Chairman Hisman's health has always been poor; this kind of thing is normal, so I didn't pay much attention. I just postponed the conference and other events to after three p.m. as per Chairman Hisman's request.
At two-thirty in the afternoon, I called Chairman Hisman again, but he didn't answer.
Taking into account the past instances when Chairman Hisman would not wake up after taking dication, I drove here with the docunts and then..."
Upon hearing this, Luo An's expression beca grave. There were hardly any useful clues from Aiden's end, and noticing that Chairman Hisman's family hadn't appeared at the scene despite the ti that had passed, Luo An asked again:
"What is the situation with Chairman Hisman's family?"
"Chairman Hisman has been separated from his wife for several years."
Aiden let out a long sigh and explained:
"Chairman Hisman and his wife have secretly completed divorce proceedings, but it has not been made public yet. They have a daughter who works outside of the federal jurisdiction and has only t Chairman Hisman a handful of tis."
After a few seconds of silence, Luo An asked in a low voice:
"Does Chairman Hisman have any other won?"
The culprit's thods were so brutal, it was likely that there was so enmity with Chairman Hisman, and a cri of passion was one of the possibilities.
"...There is indeed one."
After a long silence, Aiden looked up at the reporters in the distance. Seeing that there were only Luo An and Reesi near the SUV, he lowered his voice and said:
"The woman's na is Corina, 21 years old, a student at a university in Los Angeles."
"..."
Luo An and Reesi exchanged glances, each seeing an inexplicable look in the other's eyes.
Without saying much more, after Reesi had asked for Corina's basic information, an agent from the forensic team ca over.
The agent from the forensic team had a very normal complexion. Aiden was taken away by other agents. He told Luo An and Reesi:
"We found that the victim's tongue was cut off and not found at the scene, which ans it was probably taken by the murderer."
"Is there any other discovery?"
"We'll have to wait for the autopsy results."
"OK, thanks."
The forensic agent turned and left, and Reesi imdiately analyzed:
"A removed tongue in many cases signifies the outco of an informant. Could Chairman Hisman's case be similar?"
"Perhaps."
Luo An stood beside the SUV, arms folded, attentively observing the brightly lit, bustling scene for a mont, then took out his cellphone to call Mona:
"Mona, the surveillance in this community, have you found any clues?"
"There are clues, but not entirely."
"?"
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