Special Investigation Team, office area.
Hearing Michelle say she had a new discovery, Luo An hurried to her side:
"What did you find?"
Michelle pointed to the computer screen and said:
.c(o)(m)
"Linden Osborne is already retired, yet the FBI’s internal database shows that he has a new ’pending file’ from a while back."
The so-called "pending file" is a case file that each FBI investigation team must establish in the internal database as per the rules when preparing to handle a new case.
In other words, Linden Osborne, although officially retired, still currently holds a case under investigation.
However, when Michelle opened this "pending file," it was completely empty, which is why she previously wondered whether this was a "clue" or a "problem," possibly even a glitch in the FBI’s internal database.
"The likelihood of a glitch is not very high."
Hearing Michelle’s doubts, Mona, with her hands on her hips and full of pride, said:
"In the past, there were indeed many glitches in the FBI’s internal database programs, but since I joined the FBI, the programrs in the logistics departnt have been working overti continuously, and their skills have also gradually improved.
Nowadays, the possibility of glitches occurring in these basic programs is virtually impossible."
"..."x2
Luo An and Michelle gave Mona a speechless look, were silent for a mont, and then Luo An signaled Mona and Michelle to continue the investigation while he himself returned to Potante Byrne’s team leader’s office.
Seeing the new information brought by Luo An, Potante Byrne was also stunned for a mont and then frowned slightly:
"I’m not aware of this."
Luo An’s expression unchanged, he continued:
"The reason for this explosion incident may be sowhat related to Linden’s confidential investigation of this case before his death."
"I understand."
Potante Byrne nodded with a solemn expression.
Killing a forr FBI team leader is no small matter; the perpetrator daring to do so indicates that on the one hand, the killer or the mastermind behind the scenes is certainly not an ordinary person, and on the other hand, there must be a reason why they needed to kill Linden Osborne.
Beforehand, Potante Byrne’s thoughts were similar to Luo An’s guesses—they both suspected it was one of Linden Osborne’s enemies seeking revenge.
But the new clue discovered now has provided both of them with a new possibility:
It’s very likely that Linden Osborne stumbled upon sothing during a secret investigation, or that soone found out he was investigating, and thus he was silenced.
Potante Byrne pressed down on Luo An’s file folder and said with a stern face:
"I’ll handle this matter and will inform you as soon as I have clarity."
"Okay, Chief."
Luo An nodded and then briefly recounted a few points before turning to leave the team leader’s office.
Upon reaching the office door, Luo An glanced inconspicuously at Potante Byrne, who was frowning in contemplation behind the desk, and then closed the door and walked towards the nearby elevator.
Before coming to the team leader’s office, Luo An had asked Michelle to make a secret backup of the clue she had discovered.
One was simply to make a backup in case of the unexpected, and the other was because Luo An felt that Potante Byrne’s deanor seed sowhat off.
Potante Byrne had always given Luo An the impression of being scheming, steady, and thick-skinned yet cold-hearted.
After the explosion, Potante Byrne recklessly ran toward the ruins, seemingly desperate to find and rescue people.
But from another perspective, could it be that Potante Byrne wanted to look for and take sothing behind Luo An’s back?
Also, concerning the "pending file" that Michelle found, saying that he, the team leader, was unaware of this...
In the elevator, Luo An closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and his mind flickered from Plan-A to Plan-99, finally murmuring to himself:
"Hopefully, my suspicion is wrong."
Ding——
The elevator doors opened, Luo An opened his eyes and once again his face lit up with his usual gentle smile. He greeted the agents he passed with a nod. As soon as he walked into the Special Investigation Team’s office area, he saw Mona lifting her cell phone and shouting:
"Luo An, Chenier and Winslow have made a new discovery!"
Luo An quickly walked over to Mona:
"What’s the specific situation?"
Mona handed the phone to Luo An, and Chenier on the other side explained:
"We should thank the agents from the Anti-Improvised Explosive Device departnt for the clue they provided."
)
Not long ago, when dealing with the villa explosion scene, two agents from the Anti-Improvised Explosive Device departnt confird that the bomb at the scene was triggered by a radio frequency signal and indicated that the remote controller would not be too far from the bomb at the ti of the explosion.
Chenier and Winslow, while canvassing around the cordon of the explosion site, finished the investigation regarding the bomb’s remote-control detonation device administered by the Anti-Improvised Explosive Device departnt.
The test results showed that the maximum reception distance of the radio frequency signaling device on the bomb did not exceed 40 ters.
This ant that the person holding the remote control device was within a 40-ter radius circle centered around Linden Osborne’s villa at the ti of the explosion.
Upon receiving this sure ssage, Chenier and Winslow imdiately started to scrutinize the surveillance footage before and after the explosion within a 40-ter radius, looking carefully for any suspicious individuals.
After a ticulous investigation, the community manager assisting nearby did not find any strangers or new faces but did discover a vehicle that started and left the community imdiately after the explosion.
Chenier and Winslow imdiately began to investigate the identity of the car owner, and drove to the person’s ho.
According to the investigation, the owner of the suspicious vehicle was a physically fit male computer network after-sales service technician. The villa belonged to a second-generation rich kid, and at the ti of the explosion, this car owner was "fixing" the computer and network for the rich kid’s long-ti girlfriend.
However, this lie was quickly exposed by the experienced Chenier and Winslow because the tools in the car had not been used at all, and furthermore, there was a scent of perfu on his clothes that didn’t belong to him.
Under interrogation by Winslow and Chenier, the after-sales service technician finally told the truth. He was indeed not there to fix the computer. As the rich kid was not at ho, he had been having an affair with the woman for so ti, and today he took the opportunity to go to the villa to "play gas" with her.
"OK."
Having listened to Chenier’s narrative, Mona’s eyes flashed with disdain, Michelle’s lips curled down slightly, and Luo An, maintaining his composure, asked:
"So, this ho-intruding guy is not the remote bomb’s perpetrator, right?"
"That’s right."
The voice on the phone switched to Winslow’s tone, and he laughed, saying:
"It’s indeed not him. This guy is a scaredy-cat. As soon as he found out Chenier and I were FBI, his legs went soft."
"The reason for the soft legs might not necessarily be because he got scared by you guys."
Luo An casually remarked, and Michelle followed up by asking:
"What relation does the remote bomb’s perpetrator have with this repairman?"
Winslow faltered slightly upon hearing Luo An’s words, then his mouth curved up, answering Michelle’s question.
While inspecting the after-sales service technician’s vehicle, Winslow found an empty space in the midst of the chaotic tools in the car’s trunk.
When asked about it, the after-sales service technician claid he didn’t know why it was like that, stating that his old car would make noise everywhere except the horn and that he had not opened the trunk at all today.
Rembering that at the ti of the explosion, the car happened to be within a 50-ter range, the quick-thinking Chenier imdiately suspected that the person controlling the remote bomb explosion could very likely have sneaked into the community by hiding in this car’s trunk.
As the remote bomb exploded, the repairman got a huge scare because he worried that the rich kid would return, so he hurriedly stopped what he was doing, dressed, and drove off.
The perpetrator of the remote bomb explosion also took advantage of this mont to seamlessly exit the community.
"This is a strong possibility."
Having finished speaking, Winslow listened as Luo An’s eyes narrowed, turning to look at Mona, and saying:
"Mona, check the travel trajectory of this vehicle, with particular focus on when he stops at traffic lights!"
"What do you an?"
Neither Michelle nor Winslow caught on, but Mona’s eyes lit up as she nodded decidedly:
"I understand!"
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