Chapter 109: Number 3 Is Not Stupid

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Number 3 Is Not Stupid

Zoe Sawyer, who had been taking notes on the information the old lady was providing, stopped. She looked at the woman, asking in surprise, "The child has been missing for so long. Why didn’t they call the police?"

’Normally, if a child goes missing, shouldn’t you call the police?’

"They wouldn’t dare," the old lady said, her expression conspiratorial. She glanced left and right, and after making sure no one from that family was around, she whispered to Zoe Sawyer, "Officer, let me tell you, those people are blinded by greed. They promised someone they’d marry their daughter off to an idiot.

"That girl might seem gentle and sweet most of the time, but she’s stubborn as a mule! The moment she heard her parents had accepted a 500,000-yuan bride price, she jumped from the second-floor window that very night and ran away."

Everyone in the village knew she’d run away. They just didn’t say anything to save the family’s face.

Having taken such a huge bride price, the family didn’t dare call the police. They were afraid of being lectured and losing face, so they could only search for her on their own.

Zoe Sawyer’s heart stirred. She reached a hand back toward Heath Hale.

Heath Hale handed over Zoe Sawyer’s phone. On the screen was the victim’s ID photo that Zoe had taken.

"Ma’am, take a look. Is this the girl?" Zoe Sawyer turned the phone to face the old lady.

At first glance, the old lady nodded firmly. "Yes, that’s her!"

’We found her!’

They had followed the victim’s information here, initially thinking something had happened to her on her way back.

They never expected there would be such a backstory.

Zoe Sawyer and the others wasted no time. They questioned a few more people who had seen Number Three and his brother, and by following their trail, they pieced together a rough idea of Number Three’s movements after he arrived.

"Alright, that should be enough. Let’s head back," Heath Hale said, checking the time. It was already getting dark, the perfect time to go back and interrogate Number Three again.

With the new information they’d uncovered, they might be able to get something more out of him.

When they returned to the station, they arrived just in time to hear the medical examiner reporting his findings to the chief.

"The bones excavated from the cellar belong to three individuals: two males and one female. One set shows a significant decrease in bone mass and density, suggesting an age of around fifty.

"Based on the testimony, we’ve extracted DNA from these bones to run a maternity/paternity test against the two in the interrogation room. The results will take some time."

The chief sat in the center, reading Evan Keller and Heath Hale’s interrogation reports while listening to the medical examiner.

Several other investigative files were laid out beside him.

"Understood. Good work. Bring me the results the moment they’re in," the chief said, nodding at the medical examiner. He then turned his gaze to Zoe Sawyer and the others standing in the doorway.

Zoe Sawyer clutched the files from her investigation, walked over to the chief, and recounted what they had found.

The chief gripped the report in his hand, the veins on his knuckles bulging.

He hadn’t expected such a heinous incident to occur on his watch, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

"Now that we’ve confirmed their time of arrival, check all vehicles that passed through the area during that period. Ask if any drivers picked up hitchhikers," the chief said, his eyes on the interrogation report in front of him. His finger stopped on the word "livestreaming."

Heath Hale noticed his movement and said meaningfully, "Domestic platforms aren’t lax enough to let them get away with this kind of thing."

Barry Quinn and Monkey, having spent a long time dealing with international criminal groups on the border, immediately understood what Heath Hale meant.

’If not domestic, then it must be foreign!’

Zoe Sawyer wasn’t a complete fool. The internet was so pervasive these days that she had at least some awareness of its gray areas.

"That stuff really exists? They use a VPN just for this? That seems like way too much trouble. Aren’t they afraid of getting caught?" Zoe Sawyer found it hard to understand.

Before anyone else could speak, Sean Hughes, who was standing nearby, explained, "There’s a huge audience for this kind of morbid curiosity, especially on the dark web. People there throw money at this stuff without a second thought. They probably saw how profitable it was, and that’s why they created so many of these ’freaks’."

’As for how to launder the money back into domestic accounts?’

Those people wouldn’t be worried about that. If you want to, there are always ways.

"Checking financial records isn’t a great option. The scope is too broad, and we won’t find anything quickly," Evan Keller said, running a hand through his hair. "We can’t stay here forever. We’ve still got a mountain of work to deal with back in Varden!"

The chief glanced at the testimony and said with the calm of an old hand, "You young people are too impatient. You have a ready-made breakthrough right in front of you.

"You have to learn to use all available resources to solve a case in the quickest way possible."

’A ready-made breakthrough?’

Zoe Sawyer followed the chief’s hand and saw it was pointing to the photo of Number Five.

"You mean, we should ask Number Three directly?" Zoe Sawyer’s voice was laced with doubt. ’Would he really talk?’

"This ’Number Three’ is no fool. Haven’t you noticed that everything he’s told you is exactly what he *wants* you to know?" The chief picked up one of the interrogation transcripts and pushed it in front of Zoe Sawyer.

Whether it was the way his parents treated them, his pretense of innocence, or the hardship of running away with his brother.

Number Three deliberately revealed all of it to gain everyone’s sympathy.

After all, the police had already found the cellar and brought Number Five in.

That meant they must have discovered what was inside.

Given the circumstances, confessing to the other crime wouldn’t cost him anything.

"Someone who knows how to use a smartphone, understands livestreaming, and has a strong sense of self-preservation—how could he possibly be a fool?" the chief said.

Number Five wasn’t in good condition, which meant Number Three was the one who subdued all three victims.

A ’freak’ who wasn’t a fool and possessed a certain degree of physical strength was the most terrifying kind.

They know how to exploit the sympathy of others to gain the greatest advantage for themselves.

Zoe Sawyer sucked in a sharp breath.

’It was true. The moment she saw Number Three’s hands, she’d felt sympathy for him. While listening to the interrogation from outside, she had subconsciously defended him in her mind, telling herself he must have had his reasons.’

’So she had fallen into his trap from the very beginning?’

Zoe Sawyer slapped her own cheeks. ’No, I can’t think like this!’

’What if I run into another killer like this and my soft heart gets another colleague hurt?!’

’I have to change. I absolutely have to change.’

Evan Keller and the others remained silent, watching Zoe Sawyer work things out for herself and reflect.

Sometimes, being told something by others was useless. It wouldn’t leave a deep enough impression. She needed to understand it on her own.

Today was a perfect opportunity.

As long as it didn’t hinder the investigation, it was good to let Zoe Sawyer figure some things out for herself.

"Figured it out?" the chief asked. "Then the next interrogation is yours. Do your best to get the specific location out of Number Three."