Chapter 167: Random Killing

Chapter 167: Chapter 167: Random Killing

"Today’s case is critical. Evan, you’ll go too. Follow it from start to finish." The Bureau Chief glanced at the bound Six and his associates, then at Dexter Bishop and his men.

’There are so many of them. Just way too many.’

’Might as well send them all straight to the provincial bureau.’

’The interrogation expert who broke Ruby is at the provincial bureau, too. Kill two birds with one stone.’

’They’re from the same organization, so we can just hand them all over to him!’

Sending Evan Keller along was also a way to secure more credit for their own precinct.

Evan Keller glanced at the battered and bruised Six, then at Zoe Sawyer, who looked guilty and wouldn’t meet his eyes, and finally at Barry Quinn and Monkey, who seemed completely unfazed by the whole thing.

’Tsk. If you’re going to rough someone up, at least don’t hit them in the face!’

’One look and anyone can tell you three did it on purpose!’

However, Evan Keller glanced at the colleagues from the provincial bureau, then at the group from East Varden.

Everyone had an unspoken agreement to look the other way, and so the matter was dropped.

Evan Keller shot Zoe Sawyer a few glares, his meaning clear: ’I’ll deal with you when I get back!’

The Bureau Chief saw Six’s condition as well and gave Zoe Sawyer a resigned wave, gesturing for her to hurry and take her team away.

’They’re my own people. Am I really going to punish them? It’s normal for young officers to be hot-blooded and a little aggressive. She can just write a report and hand it in, and that’ll be the end of it.’

Zoe Sawyer gave the Bureau Chief a sheepish smile and led the escape.

Barry Quinn and Monkey naturally followed. When Heath Hale tried to slip away too, the Bureau Chief called him back.

’Are you kidding me? There’s a ton of loose ends to tie up. How could I possibly let you leave now?’

While things were heating up at the Varden West Precinct, a city in a neighboring province was far from quiet.

A few drunk punks stumbled through a dark, dilapidated alley, their arms slung over each other’s shoulders.

Every so often, one would kick a nearby door, and the whole group would erupt in raucous laughter.

The residents inside were frustrated, but figuring it was better to avoid trouble, they ignored it.

At the very end of the alley, the door to one of the houses was ajar, not properly locked.

Just as they’d done before, one of them gave the door a kick.

But this time, the door flew open, revealing a pair of wide, unblinking eyes staring straight out at them.

The room inside was a mess, with things strewn all over the floor. A pile of clothes lay not far away.

As the door swung open, an unidentifiable odor, distinct from the stench of garbage outside, assaulted their senses.

The alcohol-fueled haze instantly vanished. The punks sobered up in shock, stumbling back a few steps before collapsing onto the ground.

One of them pointed a trembling hand toward the doorway.

"H-Help! Someone’s dead!"

Their shrill screams drew neighbors out of their homes to see what the commotion was about.

Once they saw what was inside the room, some clamped their hands over their mouths and ran to the side to vomit. Others fumbled for their phones and called the police.

The police arrived quickly and cordoned off the scene.

Crime scene photographers got to work while the first to discover the body were pulled aside to give their statements.

"Captain, we’ve looked into the victim’s identity, social circle, and her daily routine," a young female officer said, placing a file on the desk.

The man she called Captain took the file and began flipping through it, page by page.

"The victim is Miss Miller. She worked at a foreign trade company. Her life was very routine, typically just going between work, her rented apartment, and the gym. Her social life was simple, and she had no known conflicts with anyone.

"We’ve checked her phone. There were no romantic entanglements, either online or off. We’ve ruled out a revenge killing or a crime of passion. None of her valuables were missing, which also rules out robbery.

"The only thing we can be sure of is the bruising on the victim’s neck. From the marks, we can determine the killer was an adult male," the female officer reported to her captain.

This case was a tough one.

They had found no suspicious persons whatsoever.

There were no surveillance cameras near where the body was found. The area was a melting pot of all sorts of people, with heavy foot traffic, and no one had noticed who the victim had arrived with.

"A random killing? The scope of that investigation would be huge," a male officer sitting to one side said, sucking in a sharp breath.

No enemies, no financial motive, no romantic disputes.

A case like this was a nightmare to investigate; they had no idea where to even begin.

"Alright, agonizing over it here won’t do any good. You, start by checking all the surveillance cameras near the scene for any leads. Also, check the guest registries at nearby hotels. Look for anyone suspicious or with a criminal record.

"Shea, go check on forensics. See how the examination of the marks on the victim is coming along and if they’ve found anything." The captain slapped the table, drawing their attention.

He then gave out the assignments.

The two officers who had just been speaking fell silent, grabbed their things, and headed out.

A case with no leads meant they would have to invest even more time and energy.

There wasn’t a moment to waste.

As they worked to find the killer, several more bodies turned up in other locations in less than two weeks.

Just like Miss Miller’s case, these new murders were completely without leads.

However, because the crime scenes were so far apart, no one immediately made a connection between them.

"Captain, the victim’s family is here again asking for an update on the case," Shea said, walking over with a heavy tone.

In just two weeks, she had watched the elderly couple’s hair turn from black to gray, their faces growing more haggard each day.

If it weren’t for their younger daughter, who was still in school, and their determination to see their older daughter’s killer brought to justice, she feared the old couple might do something drastic.

The captain rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a pang of frustration.

They wanted to catch the killer as soon as possible, too.

But they had already checked the surveillance footage and couldn’t find the man seen supporting the victim. Forensics had extracted male DNA from the body, but it didn’t match anyone in the national database.

The investigation had hit a dead end.

They had done everything they could. They even had the killer’s DNA, but there was no match.

It left them with nowhere to go.

Just as the captain was stewing in his frustration, there was a knock on his office door.

The captain looked up to see his Bureau Chief.

"The case from two weeks ago has been consolidated. The teams from the other jurisdictions are bringing their case files here," the Bureau Chief said, walking up to the captain’s desk.

Since theirs was the first case and had the most evidence, the other precincts had decided to join forces with them.

The captain rubbed his face, his voice heavy. "But we’re stuck, too. We’ve investigated everything we can think of. We have no other leads."

’We can’t even get a hit on the most critical piece of evidence—the DNA!’

Compared to the captain’s anxiety, the Bureau Chief seemed much more composed.

"Don’t worry," he said. "I’ve called in some outside help."