[Chapter 426: Russia's Retaliation?]
Dressed in a black suit, Campos entered the Coastal Building and took the elevator straight to the 16th floor, heading into Hawke's office.
Hawke had already received his call earlier and asked, "Did your people just get back from New York?"
So ti ago, Erica, working with the Special Operations Bureau, had received a package containing a video of a brutal murder, which had since been handed over to the detective bureau.
Based on the postmark location, Hawke asked Campos to send soone to check it out.
Campos opened his briefcase and pulled out several photos, placing them on the desk. He said, "There was a hotel near the mailbox where the package was dropped off. The hotel's front entrance had caras, but by the ti our people got there, the footage had already been overwritten. Luckily, because of a recent equipnt upgrade, the hard drive from the surveillance system had been taken down, covering only one layer of footage. We paid a high price to buy that storage disk, attempted data recovery, and managed to restore most of it."
Hawke picked up the photos and looked through them one by one. They showed nine different people -- three won and six n.
Campos explained, "The mailbox is in a relatively remote area. The post office said on average only about a dozen pieces of mail were sent each day. These photos probably captured most of the people from that day. Unfortunately, the lost data cannot be recovered."
Hawke selected one photo showing a very ordinary-looking middle-aged man holding a black parcel -- the sa as the black package Erica had brought ho.
Campos continued without pause, "This man has beco our primary suspect. We've shown the photo around local businesses and apartnts. Two employees at a McDonald's recognized him."
At that mont, Edward brought over so water.
Campos thanked him and resud, "On that day, the man accidentally knocked over a large soda, spilling it all over the table and floor. The two employees happened to be on shift and cleaned it up together. They said he kept apologizing and even tipped them $20."
Hawke frowned slightly, scrutinizing the photo more closely. He interrupted, "Are you sure it's the sa person?"
"They are certain," Campos replied. "One key clue from the employees: he spoke with a strong accent that sounded like it was from Ukraine."
Hawke looked up at the ntion of Ukraine. "Forr Soviet bloc?"
Campos nodded, "One of the two employees is a Romanian immigrant who used to live near the Romania-Ukraine border and occasionally heard Ukrainian spoken in English."
Edward suddenly interjected, "Could it be the Russians?"
With all the recent social dia connections to Russia -- sotis direct, sotis indirect -- and even an actual spy case, it was natural to associate this with Russia.
"We can't be sure about that," Campos said seriously. "This is just what we have so far."
Hawke looked through the other photos. None of the other packages were black.
The middle-aged man, aside from the parcel, looked ordinary, wearing common clothes and shoes available on the market.
Hawke remarked, "There was a huge wave of Slavic and Eastern European immigrants to North Arica after the fall of the Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union's collapse. How many Russian spies slipped in? Nobody really knows."
The KGB sent so many spies to North Arica that even the Russian intelligence probably hasn't fully accounted for them.
Hawke paused, then asked Campos, "Did your investigation encounter any unexpected situations or issues?"
Campos shook his head, "No. Our people tracked down the mailbox, quickly found the hotel's surveillance caras, recovered data, and quietly made inquiries around. We got the lead at the McDonald's. Our team split into three groups; one inquired, and two stayed in the shadows to protect and be ready to act, but nothing happened."
Hawke pondered, "If this is the work of Russian spies, what was the purpose of sending the video disc?"
Edward chid in, "Could it have sothing to do with a cult?"
Hawke had been considering that as well. The inverted pentagram featured in the video matches the markings on victims in two previous cases Erica investigated with the detective bureau -- both young won killed and marked with that sa symbol.
The inverted pentagram is a standard emblem of Satanism. This isn't hard to verify, but Satanism is a legally recognized religion in the U.S., mainly active on the East Coast.
Erica had hit roadblocks during her investigation due to pressure from higher-ups. Her faction used this to promote her to the Special Operations Bureau.
But Hawke knew many secrets not from Erica or LAPD investigations but from mories of his past life.
Satanism's influence far surpasses Scientology, which mainly focuses on Hollywood, with Tom Cruise and John Travolta as representatives.
Though Satanism has prominent figures like Lady Gaga in entertainnt, its influence has been expanding into politics, and so believe it's connected directly to Lolita Island.
Another link is with Hillary.
Around the ti the mail scandal broke, photos appeared online showing Hillary and others attending Satanist gatherings, participating in soul-thed rituals.
Initially, Hawke thought the photos were fake, considering the critical election period at the ti.
But multiple confirmations proved the photos were genuine.
Hillary has deep ties with Satanism.
Now, how strong their current relationship is, Hawke thought, it couldn't have just begun suddenly -- it was likely an established alliance.
That woman Hillary...
Hawke suddenly sensed soone was trying to provoke him and his side into a conflict with the Satanists.
If Satanism involved Lolita Island and had allied with soone like the unscrupulous Hillary, it wouldn't just be Satanism anymore.
This made Hawke think further. If Erica had more justice and detective spirit, and if she were dissatisfied with being forced out of the detective bureau, insisting on pursuing this video case, it might have escalated into a full-blown war.
LAPD's PR painted Erica as a righteous angel, cri fighter, fierce detective, and protector of the public.
So of that was true, but beyond being fierce, the rest was less so.
Only those who truly knew Erica understood this.
Edward spoke up, "Boss, is this a Russian retaliation?"
"Quite possible," Hawke said cautiously. So details didn't sit right. He looked at Campos, "How close is the mailbox to the hotel?"
Campos answered, "Less than 20 ters. It's a three-star hotel."
Hawke picked up the photos again, thinking aloud, "Usually, at that level of hotel, the front entrance is always under surveillance."
He looked at Campos, "When I had you send items to Fox TV in Las Vegas before, did you pick a similar location?"
Campos shook his head. "I would never pick such a place."
Hawke added, "A Romanian immigrant coincidentally ets a Ukrainian immigrant at his McDonald's workplace. Such a coincidence isn't impossible, given Arica is a nation of immigrants."
Campos understood, "Could soone be leading us astray?"
Edward thought simply, "But we do have conflicts with Russia. Wouldn't retaliation be reasonable?"
Hawke couldn't be sure. After thinking a mont, he told Campos, "Send soone back to that McDonald's to see if those two employees are still working there. If not, find out when they started and left."
Campos hurriedly left the office and made a call in the elevator, ordering soone to rush to New York and the McDonald's.
...
Hawke picked up his phone and called Erica, "Do you rember the black package you received that had the disc inside?"
Erica said, "I handed the disc to my superior. The Special Operations Bureau forwarded it to the detective bureau."
Hawke relayed the information from Campos and shared the speculation about the Russians.
Erica responded, "On the surface, it all looks like the Russians. They have enough reasons -- after being embarrassed by social dia, they can make a move against us without direct involvent."
She reflected, "Once your people check that McDonald's, it'll be clear."
If nothing was fishy at the McDonald's, and the descriptions were accurate, the two employees would likely still be working there.
Otherwise, they would have left.
Erica asked, "I'll check with the detective bureau about the disc's analysis."
Hawke said, "Go ahead."
...
Since Erica had handed it in, it was normal to inquire. She ended the call and contacted the detective bureau to ask.
The answer was no surprise.
The disc forwarded from Special Operations Bureau was logged and archived.
It contained only the video, no bodies of victims, no family mbers or security, no location information at all. The video appeared to be a homade film by enthusiasts mimicking so religious ritual.
Moreover, the disc was mailed from New York.
Even if a murder happened, if it was in New York, it was none of LAPD's business.
Erica's handover did not qualify as a formal report.
Sa with Special Operations forwarding it to detectives.
This case simply did not exist.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
Reviews
All reviews (0)