Chapter 244: Mysterious Figure

Chapter 244: Chapter 244: Mysterious Figure

They’d taken everyone into custody, and no traps were set.

Just as the group was being arrested, the stronghold "coincidentally" caught fire.

It was a no-brainer. Someone had definitely set the fire on purpose.

They had been watching the skinny man’s group’s every move. The moment they saw them get arrested, they immediately torched the entire room.

"Were there important files inside? Or intel?" Zoe Sawyer looked puzzled. ’With Keith Garrison around, why would their "big sister boss" entrust important files to this bunch?’

Zoe Sawyer couldn’t quite figure it out.

Heath Hale shook his head. ’It’s hard to say. The two men themselves don’t even know if there was anything important inside.’

When he spoke about it, the skinny man had looked bewildered. "The assistant always just calls to tell us what to do. There aren’t any physical documents."

The apartment was just full of their personal belongings; there was nothing in there worth burning.

The skinny man couldn’t figure it out, and neither could Evan Keller or Heath Hale.

But fearing there might be some crucial information inside that even the occupants were unaware of, they could only turn their hopeful eyes to Zoe Sawyer, who was sitting off to the side.

"Zoe, that’s why we still need your help with this," Heath Hale said, lowering his voice as he explained the situation.

"I understand. Do you have a specific address and time?" Zoe Sawyer nodded. ’Just a backtracking,’ she thought. ’Nothing difficult.’

Heath Hale had already prepared this information and quickly handed it to her.

Chief Miller’s team had deduced the time of the fire from footage they could find on nearby surveillance cameras.

It might not be exact, but it should be close.

The two of them then arrived at the apartment door.

Zoe Sawyer gripped the doorknob, silently reciting the address and time in her mind.

The familiar feeling came quickly.

Zoe Sawyer pushed open the door and saw an exceptionally messy living room.

Takeout containers were piled high on the dining table, with a stack of empty beer bottles underneath. In another corner lay a heap of discarded dirty clothes.

The living room curtains were drawn, blocking the outside light and making the room exceptionally dim.

But what most attracted Zoe Sawyer’s gaze was the figure standing in the middle of the living room.

The person wore a full-face helmet, a bulky jacket, and a pair of motorcycle gloves.

The figure’s face and build were completely hidden. You couldn’t make out a single detail.

Zoe Sawyer drew a sharp breath. She reached out, took Heath Hale’s hand, and said, "This is... well, just watch."

The figure walked to the corner and kicked the pile of clothes into the middle of the room.

Then they pulled a bottle of gasoline from their sleeve and, while walking, poured it all over the floor.

Once preparations were complete, the figure faced Zoe Sawyer and Heath Hale and took out their phone.

An exquisite charm hanging from the phone caught Zoe and Heath’s attention.

Before they could get a clear look, the figure answered a call. In less than three seconds, they hung up and lit the entire room on fire.

After setting the fire, the figure wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, they stood in the middle of the living room, coldly watching the surrounding raging flames.

Once they were sure everything had caught fire, the figure turned and walked into the adjacent bathroom, not emerging again.

After that, the fire grew large enough to be spotted by a passerby, who then called the fire department.

Zoe Sawyer and the others already knew the rest.

"This doesn’t look like they were destroying documents. It’s more like a warning," Zoe Sawyer mused, rubbing her chin as she replayed the scene in her mind.

’If you wanted to destroy important files, wouldn’t you find them and burn them specifically?’

’Burning down the entire apartment like this is too conspicuous. It’s bound to attract attention.’

"You’re right. This is a warning—a warning to the police." Heath Hale’s expression was grim.

The figure hadn’t said a word, but he could still sense the contempt in their actions.

Contempt for the police.

It was as if they were saying, ’So what if you arrested our men? If we want to destroy something, it’s child’s play.’

Besides, the mysterious figure was so completely covered it was impossible to tell if they were a man or a woman.

There was no way to identify them by their build, either.

Seeing Heath Hale’s grim expression, Zoe Sawyer patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It’s not like we came away with nothing. We did find something, right?"

The exquisite charm on the mysterious figure’s phone didn’t look like some mass-produced trinket.

They could start there. They might uncover a new lead.

"You’re right!" Heath Hale slapped his own cheeks. This was much better than having no leads at all!

At least they now had a direction!

Then, Zoe Sawyer recalled the mysterious figure’s final action. Her tone was puzzled. "The figure didn’t leave through the front door or the balcony. Were they trying to avoid the security cameras?"

Her question cut through Heath Hale’s thoughts like a sword.

’That’s right!’

’How could I have forgotten that!’

"Evan, see if you can find the blueprints for the building that caught fire, and an overhead map of the surrounding area. Get me a copy!" Ignoring Zoe Sawyer, who was standing nearby, Heath Hale strode over to Evan Keller, his voice tinged with excitement.

"Their apartment is on the 15th floor, and the hallway cameras didn’t pick anyone up. So how did they get into the room?" Heath Hale’s voice was filled with excitement.

Evan Keller immediately understood what Heath was getting at. He quickly dialed Director Miller’s number and asked for all the surveillance footage from the vicinity.

The two of them focused on the surveillance footage covering the balcony of the apartment belonging to the skinny man and his bald partner.

Unfortunately, the footage only showed when the fire started; it wasn’t clear enough to show if anyone had climbed in through the balcony.

Zoe Sawyer watched the two men’s intense discussion, shrugged, and walked over to Beau.

She described the charm she had seen on the mysterious person’s phone to him.

Soon, Beau had sketched the charm based on Zoe Sawyer’s description.

After a few revisions and some coloring, he soon had a perfect replica of the charm.

She handed the sketch to Vivian Dunn, asking her to search online for anything similar and look into it.

Zoe Sawyer thought for a moment, then also described the mysterious figure she saw to Beau.

’Even though the build was unclear, at least they’d have a sketch. It might lead to a clue later on.’

Just as Zoe Sawyer and Beau were revising the sketch, Evan Keller and Heath Hale, who were looking at the blueprints on a computer not far away, suddenly shot to their feet.

A voice rang out, filled with excitement.

"That’s right! This is it! They’re actually connected!"