At night, a full moon hung in the sky, its bright moonlight illuminating the road.
On Kelm Street, a teenager wearing headphones was cycling from east to west.
The youth had dark skin and was carrying a heavy-looking brown backpack on his back.
The night wind was a bit chilly, and there were no pedestrians in sight, only the occasional car passed by.
Up ahead was a crossroad with no streetlights, the teenager looked left and right, saw no cars on the road, and proceeded to cross directly.
Suddenly, a black Volkswagen sedan ca up from behind and struck the cycling teenager from the side.
With a "bang!", the teenager was flung into the air and crashed heavily onto the ground.
...
The Robbery and Murder Departnt's first squad.
Luke held the morning eting as usual, standing beside the whiteboard, marking up the newly obtained clues.
At this mont, the whiteboard displayed two tree diagrams, each topped with the na and photo of a victim.
The first victim was Hashimoto Yumi.
The second victim was Ma Jiehui.
Several suspects were also marked,
These tree diagrams helped the police analyze the case and made the relationships between the suspects clear at a glance.
Seated next to the whiteboard, Luke said, "Everyone, tell about the clues you've gathered."
Jenny said, "We searched the car of the second victim, Ma Jiehui, and examined his dashcam. He spent most of his ti at the restaurant and didn't drive much.
He also hasn't visited the street or the vicinity of the apartnts where the first victim, Hashimoto Yumi, practiced prostitution."
Before, Luke had speculated that the second victim, Ma Jiehui, might have been a client of Hashimoto Yumi, which would link the two, but now it seed this conjecture was unlikely to stand.
"Does anyone else have any new investigative leads?"
Lil' Black said, "We've been looking into the victim Hashimoto Yumi's assistant, lanie Hickman. Recently, she had seen a psychologist."
This lined up with Luke's own deductions; during his earlier questioning, he noticed this woman seed sowhat paranoid.
She was Hashimoto Yumi's assistant and had failed to complete the tasks assigned by Hashimoto Yumi on ti. Normally, one would just inform their superior and face a possible scolding.
But lanie Hickman was different; to conceal this, she lied about the office being robbed, an approach which Luke found abnormal.
The deputy chief said, "If lanie Hickman really has ntal health issues, then we can't understand her behavior through the lens of a rational person.
Even if she doesn't have a strong motive for murder, she may still kill.
Looking at her previous false police report, she's the type to cover up a minor issue regardless of the consequences.
Suppose her ntal issues had worsened, becoming more paranoid.
And this ti, she again failed to complete a task given by Hashimoto Yumi, and she was unable to honestly tell Hashimoto Yumi, or even face her. To avoid such a situation, could she have killed Hashimoto Yumi?"
Luke frowned in thought. Murdering soone because of failing to face a leader over uncompleted work?
A normal person would never do such a thing, but was lanie Hickman still sane?
Probably only the psychologist would know.
"Marcus, look up lanie Hickman's psychologist."
"Yes, sir."
"Knock knock..."
The door to the office opened, and forensic doctor Hila entered, "Good morning, any progress on the case?"
Luke replied, "We've looked into the relationships surrounding the two victims and haven't found any direct link between them, nor a clear motive for any of the suspects.
We've just found that one of the suspects might have ntal health issues, which might be a direction worth investigating.
Have you found anything new on your end?"
Hila pulled up a chair and sat down, "The autopsy on the second body is done, but the report won't be ready until the afternoon. However, I did co across sothing new, or should I say, a new body."
"What do you an?"
"Last night, there was a hit-and-run on Kelm Street. The victim was a twelfth-grade student who was stabbed in the chest, and his face was carved with the letter 'M.'
Considering that the previous two victims also had letters inscribed on them, I think this new case might be related to the earlier ones.
Of course, that's just my speculation."
"Did the victim die from being hit, or from being stabbed?"
"I'm not sure; another forensic doctor is responsible for that autopsy. We just exchanged so 'informal' information."
Luke asked, "Who's handling this case?"
"Old Jeff."
Jeff Brandi, captain of the third squad of the Robbery and Murder Departnt.
"OK, I'll have a talk with him."
After sending off the forensic doctor Hila, Luke didn't go straight to Jeff Brandi.
The Robbery and Murder Departnt had four squads in total; the first and second squads were directly managed by Reid.
The third and fourth squads were overseen by the deputy chief of the departnt, Magna it.
According to the deputy chief, there seed to be so tension between Magna it and Reid.
Though the rumor was unconfird, Luke felt it had so rit.
After thinking, he decided to first talk to Reid to coordinate...
Close to noon.
A white man walked into the first squad's office.
He appeared to be around fifty, tall, with short stubble and slightly flushed cheeks, calling out loudly, "Ladies, your guests have arrived."
The deputy chief waved his right hand, "How long has it been since you brushed your teeth, you idiot? You sll like you've eaten dog shit."
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