Thursday morning, New York Long Island, a temporarily borrowed office.
Mona finished speaking, and everyone present imdiately gathered around, Luo An asked:
"What's going on?"
Mona placed her laptop on the table, pulled up a surveillance video, and explained:
"This is the surveillance footage from the restaurant that Marins ntioned."
In the surveillance video, everyone clearly saw Hannah and Bloom standing together talking, and then Hannah getting into Bloom's car.
Next, Bloom started the car and left the restaurant, and as soon as his car was gone, a black sedan parked diagonally opposite the restaurant entrance imdiately started and left.
"I didn't pay attention to this black sedan at first."
Mona tapped the keyboard a few tis and pulled up another piece of surveillance footage, saying:
"This second video is from a surveillance cara at an intersection not far from that restaurant.
Bloom driving Hannah passed this intersection, and this black sedan followed again."
"Soone is actually tracking a violent offender."
Reesi squinted her eyes and speculated:
"Looking for revenge on Bloom?"
"That's possible."
Winslow nodded solemnly, and Luo An asked:
"Can we find out who the owner of the black sedan is?"
"Of course, I've already found out."
Mona made it sound trivial, scrolled down on her computer screen, and a photo of a middle-aged white woman appeared in front of everyone, she introduced:
"Josephine, 41 this year, unemployed, no criminal record, no tax records either."
Looking at the photo of the white woman with ssy brown hair, slightly protruding eyes, a blank stare, and a thin physique, everyone frowned.
Everyone present had seen the look of addicts before, and it was imdiately clear that Josephine had indeed tasted 'flour'.
Luo An fell silent for a mont before continuing to ask:
"Does this Josephine have any connections with Bloom?"
"Of course."
Mona nodded firmly, saying:
"In fact, according to the records, Josephine's car was one that Bloom sold to her for a low price.
Moreover, so patrol records from NYPD showed that Bloom had filed a complaint that soone stole from his ho.
When the patrol officer arrived at Bloom's residence, they found the suspicious Josephine, but Bloom later canceled the alarm saying that it was a misunderstanding, that he had lost nothing, just mislooked."
"How strange."
Reesi scratched her head, saying:
"This whole thing feels so questionable everywhere.
If the killer was Josephine, why would she kill Hannah? An accident?"
"Bring her in and we'll know after asking."
Luo An patted Mona's shoulder, saying:
"Where is this Josephine living now?"
"Her valid information is so scarce that it's impossible to find out where she lives."
Mona frowned slightly, tapping the keyboard for a mont, saying:
"However, this black sedan just filled up with gas a few days ago, and maybe we can get Josephine's address from that gas station."
"Good."
Luo An nodded in satisfaction, commanded:
"Mona, Winslow, Michelle, stay in the office to help Miss Annie analyze the suspect of the second serial murder case.
Reesi, Chenier, co with . Let's visit that gas station and fuel up the SUV."
"Understood!"
————
An hour later, Luo An and the two others arrived at the gas station without issues.
While the staff was filling up the SUV, Luo An learned from him that the owner of the black sedan lived nearby.
But he didn't know the exact location and suggested Luo An and the others ask at the nearby laundry shop, where there was the most foot traffic, and perhaps they would find so information.
After the SUV was filled with gas, the staff put the nozzle back and casually asked:
"What did that girl do?"
"Girl?"
Hearing this word, Reesi and Chenier were montarily startled. Luo An's eyes narrowed:
"Are you saying the owner of that black sedan is a girl?"
"Right."
The gas station attendant nodded and said,
"She looked to be in her twenties, with short black hair and very beautiful, with two little dimples when she smiled."
Reesi and Chenier exchanged glances, both seeing the doubt in each other's eyes. Luo An continued to ask,
"Do you know the na of that girl?"
"Sorry, I never asked."
"OK, thank you."
"Emotional Perception" confird that the other party was telling the truth. Luo An thanked them briefly, led Reesi and Chenier back to the SUV, and drove away from the gas station.
"This girl..."
Chenier frowned slightly and said,
"Is she the one who stole the car?"
"The records Mona found did not show that Josephine had any history of childbirth."
Luo An's expression remained unchanged. He turned the steering wheel to enter another road and said,
"Let's go to that laundromat and ask around. We might be able to figure out who she is."
A few minutes later, the three arrived at the self-service laundromat by the crossroads.
After a brief inquiry, the laundromat's manager stated she didn't know the girl's na, but she knew where she lived, in the community building just diagonally across.
"Thank you."
With a brief thank you, the three walked towards a very ordinary-looking community nearby and soon reached the floor ntioned by the laundromat manager.
As the elevator doors opened, Luo An's expression shifted slightly as he pulled out a Glock 18 from behind his back.
Seeing this, Chenier and Reesi's expressions changed, and they quickly took out their weapons, whispering,
"What's wrong?"
"There's a sll of blood."
Luo An's nostrils flared; as soon as the elevator doors had opened, a faint odor of blood had invaded his nose.
The farther they walked, the heavier the scent beca. Reaching a door, Luo An confird that the sll was emanating from this room.
Reesi, with a slight frown, said,
"How co I don't sll anything?"
Luo An patted Reesi's shoulder. Chenier, who had glanced at the room number, looked perturbed and whispered,
"Luo An, this is the girl's apartnt the laundromat manager was talking about."
The three of them, holding their weapons, got ready on each side of the door, knocked a few tis, found no response, didn't waste words, and kicked the door in, rushing into the apartnt.
Once inside the room, the three of them imdiately dispersed left and right, carefully checking every room with their weapons at the ready.
Chenier was the first to call out,
"Left bedroom is secure!"
Right after ca Reesi's voice,
"Kitchen is safe... Oh my god!"
"What's the matter?"
Hearing Reesi's shocked yell, Chenier's face changed, and she hurried out of the bedroom to the kitchen, only to find Reesi standing, stunned, at the refrigerator door.
Following Reesi's gaze, inside the open fridge, there was a human head frozen inside a large block of ice.
The face of the head belonged to a woman, frozen within ice, maintaining an expression of shock and rage, with wide-open eyes and a gaping mouth, staring dead straight at Reesi and Chenier outside the fridge.
Luo An also heard the commotion and ca over. Looking at the head in the ice, his expression unchanged, he observed for a few seconds and then frowned and said,
"It's Josephine."
Then Luo An turned to Reesi, took her arm to the side, and whispered,
"Take a break."
"… I'm sorry."
Reesi raised her hand to her forehead, moved to one side, and said in a low voice,
"I need a mont."
Reesi wasn't afraid of corpses, nor was she fearful of life-and-death fights with gun-toting enemies.
But when it ca to dismbered bodies, especially when she unexpectedly encountered them, Reesi was easily startled.
Back when they were still part of Investigation Team 5, the first ti Luo An and Reesi dealt with a series of serial killings and found dismbered bodies in a fridge, Reesi was significantly startled (Chapter 24) and took a long ti to recover.
Luo An rembered this and understood Reesi, so he let her take a mont to the side. Then he looked at Chenier and asked,
"How are you?"
"I'm fine."
Chenier swallowed hard and shook her head; prepared ntally owing to Reesi's reaction, although she too was startled by the head in the ice, she quickly composed herself.
Once Luo An was assured that Chenier was indeed fine, he closed the fridge door with slight relief. Chenier, with furrowed brows, asked,
"What exactly is the relationship between that girl and Josephine?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)