Chapter 171: Locked On

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Locked On

This wasn’t a multiple-choice test; the only options seemed to be ’go’ or ’don’t go’.

They could have a few colleagues change into plain clothes and lie in wait around Lynn Grant.

If the killer really made a move, they could just arrest him on the spot.

Evan Keller and the others were so worried their judgment was clouded; they’d completely forgotten about this option.

The group, who had been arguing just moments before, fell silent.

"Exactly. We’ll just do what Zoe Sawyer suggested. Have a few colleagues stick with me, and they can provide backup if anything happens." Amid the silence, Lynn Grant couldn’t help but laugh, breaking the quiet in the room.

With Zoe Sawyer’s warning, Lynn Grant was confident she could avoid the worst-case scenario.

Evan Keller cleared his throat in embarrassment, eager to move on. "That could definitely work. Chief, we’ll have to trouble you to oversee things tonight."

The Chief was also a little sheepish. He had gotten swept up in Evan Keller’s emotions and hadn’t thought of it either. "It’s my duty, of course."

They discussed it a bit more, then briefed the Chief on the clues they had gathered.

"Understood. Bring the killer to justice as soon as possible!" The Chief issued the order and then hung up.

He had other work to deal with and needed to arrange for the officers to tail Lynn Grant, so he was short on time.

Zoe Sawyer’s group didn’t waste any time either. After hanging up, the five of them returned to the office.

A group in the middle of a discussion stopped what they were doing when they saw them return, watching as Zoe Sawyer and the others approached.

Although Captain Scott disliked their approach to the case, he figured that if the Chief had gone out of his way to ask them for help, they must have their own unique methods.

After a moment’s thought, he decided to ask, "Did you find any clues?"

Captain Scott, who hadn’t been expecting anything, was stunned to hear Zoe Sawyer’s affirmative reply a second later: "We did."

In an instant, all eyes turned to Zoe Sawyer, who stood in the center of the room. Their expressions were a mixture of doubt, elation, and sheer disbelief.

Captain Scott shot to his feet, his tone urgent. "Really?"

Zoe Sawyer wasn’t one to build suspense. She handed the printout to Captain Scott and his team.

Then she briefly explained what she had seen.

Heath Hale chimed in at the right moment. "This uniform looks a bit like a foreign airline pilot’s. I think we should check the long-haul international flights from that time."

A flash of understanding crossed Captain Scott’s eyes. He was thinking the exact same thing Evan Keller and Heath Hale had when they first learned the killer was a foreigner.

The others wasted no time, either. They all started calling their superiors, asking them to investigate local flight information for the period in question.

They had no other leads, so they certainly weren’t going to let a rare breakthrough like this slip away.

"Can foreign pilots have layovers here?" Zoe Sawyer tugged on Heath Hale’s sleeve and asked in a low voice.

"On long-haul routes, yes. They can have layovers for one to three days. During that time, the airline can’t assign them any work or disturb their rest. A lot of crew members use the time to go sightseeing or shopping," Heath Hale explained briefly to Zoe Sawyer. "On short-haul routes, they’d only be on the ground for about an hour."

Zoe Sawyer nodded in understanding. ’So the targets are clear: the crew members from long-haul flights.’

"The last hint from the ’door’ was related to the case. Is it possible this one is, too?" Zoe Sawyer thought again of Lynn Grant’s situation. After a moment’s hesitation, she voiced her thought.

Heath Hale nodded. Without a word, he quickly composed a text message and sent it to the Chief.

「An hour later.」

Captain Scott’s team was the first to receive a list. It contained not only the flight details but also information and photos of the crew members.

This would undoubtedly save them a lot of time.

Soon, the other four teams also received responses from the police. Comparing the photos, they quickly eliminated the short-haul flights and individuals who didn’t match the profile.

In the end, after cross-referencing the five sets of data, they were all left with a single name: John Kirk.

However, he wasn’t a pilot. He was a flight attendant.

"So this is the son of a bitch committing crimes on our turf?" one of the more hot-tempered captains muttered, cracking his knuckles.

The bulging muscles on his arms flexed with the movement, drawing the eye.

Zoe Sawyer had no doubt that if the suspect were standing in front of them right now, he’d be greeted by the iron fist of this hot-headed captain.

"The problem is, he’s just a suspect for now. We don’t have concrete evidence to bring him in for a comparison with the traces left on the first victim," Captain Scott said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

They had their man, but no evidence and no pretext to act.

What to do next was another question.

Just then, Heath Hale received a file from the Chief. A great weight lifted from his shoulders as he finished reading it.

"We’ll just have to wait a little while. We might get our results tonight," Heath Hale said, gesturing with his phone.

Captain Scott strode over to Heath Hale and, with a permissive nod, took the phone.

He quickly scanned the data and zeroed in on the suspect’s name.

"Do you have another source of information?" Captain Scott asked, looking at Zoe Sawyer’s group with a puzzled expression.

Evan Keller nodded. "We received a tip that someone was planning to target our medical examiner tonight. Then this flight landed this afternoon... It’s all too much of a coincidence."

Taken separately, neither event seemed like much. But with them happening so close together, at such a critical time, you couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Captain Scott nodded in understanding and didn’t press them further about their source.

Waiting around wasn’t getting them anywhere. Captain Scott went to find the chief of this police station and asked him to pull the official flight records for the period.

Sure enough, the same name appeared on the records.

The timing and everything else matched up. They were almost certain it was him.

But they still needed concrete evidence. Everything now depended on catching the guy with Lynn Grant tonight.

By the time Captain Morgan returned with his team, it was already past seven in the evening.

He came over hoping for a breakthrough, but was surprised to walk into the office and find everyone staring at a projection screen.

The woman on the screen was packing up her things, getting ready to leave work.

Judging by the surroundings, she seemed to be inside the police station.

’What the hell are these people doing?’

Before Captain Morgan could ask, he spotted his own chief standing in the crowd.

The Chief noticed Captain Morgan and beckoned him over.

"Chief, what’s all this?" Captain Morgan asked, his face a mask of confusion.

"We’re confirming the killer’s identity. You should watch, too."