Chapter 272: New Clues for the Case

Chapter 272: Chapter 272: New Clues for the Case

Monkey gave Zoe Sawyer and the others a brief summary of his surveillance.

Although Director Lennox had his own theories about the disappearance of the madman’s mother, he couldn’t stop a surge of anger from rising within him when he heard the truth from Monkey.

Looking at the people standing before him, Director Lennox rubbed the bridge of his nose, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "Captain Keller, I’ll follow up on this. As for the body, do you have any leads?"

"Not yet. The clues are too fragmented to connect.

We need to wait for word from Beau. If she can sketch a portrait, that would solve a lot of our problems." Evan Keller shook his head, a hint of resignation in his voice.

They’d uncovered a fair bit, but the pieces were too scattered. They lacked a crucial clue to connect them all.

Director Lennox was familiar with the case and knew how thorny it was, so he didn’t press the matter.

Evan Keller asked him for an unused room.

Zoe Sawyer sat in a chair, her eyes fixed on the door in front of her, her mind replaying the day’s events.

The madman’s murdered mother, the mountain shrouded in terrifying legends, Daisy Lawson on the run.

’Each piece seemed to fit the puzzle, yet at the same time, none of them did.’

"Based on the ticket information bought with Daisy Lawson’s ID, we’ve contacted the local police and asked them to investigate her whereabouts. It might be a while before we hear back." Evan Keller waved his phone at Zoe Sawyer and the others.

In modern society, you need an ID for everything from starting a job to renting an apartment or checking into a hotel. As long as they gave the local police some time, they should be able to dig up something on Daisy Lawson.

As for Daisy Lawson’s phone number, they had tried calling it right at the start, but the number had long since been disconnected. There was no point in trying it again.

"I want to try something. Evan Keller, do we have a specific time of departure for Daisy Lawson? I could see if the door can follow her. Or... I could try starting with the body." Zoe Sawyer patted her cheeks, forcing herself to rally.

She had identified another flaw in her ability.

’Without a name or a face, I’m at a loss for where to even start.’

’This won’t do. I’m being too passive.’

Zoe Sawyer wanted to break free from this passivity. Ever since this case began, she’d been filled with a constant sense of helplessness.

Heath Hale glanced at Zoe Sawyer, who was clearly lost in thought. His eyes held a flicker of pained sympathy, but he said nothing.

It was Zoe Sawyer’s job to use her ability to help solve difficult and perplexing cases.

When she hit a wall, it was also up to her to find a way to break through it.

"Go ahead and try, but don’t push yourself too hard. It’s normal for a case like this not to be solved right away." Evan Keller had guessed what Zoe Sawyer was thinking. He didn’t try to stop her, only reminding her not to overexert herself.

Zoe Sawyer ran through the case in her mind one more time, then pulled two photographs from her pocket.

One was of the crime scene. The latitude and longitude were written on the back, which would help Zoe Sawyer pinpoint its exact location.

The other was a photo of the corpse.

After memorizing the information on the back, Zoe Sawyer reached out, gripped the doorknob, and began to concentrate.

After a dozen or so minutes, just when Zoe Sawyer thought she had failed, that familiar sensation washed over her.

’It’s working!’

Zoe Sawyer straightened up and, with a serious expression, pushed the door open.

Evan Keller and Heath Hale, who had been talking in low voices, noticed the change in Zoe Sawyer. They immediately fell silent, their eyes fixed on her in anticipation.

Zoe Sawyer pushed the door open to reveal a dense forest, its floor carpeted with a thick layer of fallen leaves.

Although it was night and pitch-black all around, in Zoe Sawyer’s eyes, everything was still perfectly clear.

This was one of the advantages her door provided.

She took out the photo to compare and quickly confirmed that the spot in front of her was indeed where the killer had dumped the body.

Looking at it now, however, the patch of ground where the body had been hidden wasn’t as mounded. At a glance, it looked no different from its surroundings, certainly not like it could conceal a person.

Soon, the sound of footsteps crunching on fallen leaves echoed through the silent forest.

A beam from a flashlight shone on the ground, growing closer and closer.

Even though she knew this was a playback and the killer couldn’t possibly see her, Zoe Sawyer still instinctively held her breath, her eyes glued to the spot before her.

In less than two minutes, a figure dressed in black, wearing a black face mask and a baseball cap, appeared in her line of sight.

He carried a large burlap sack over his shoulder, holding a flashlight in his mouth, and quickly walked to the spot right in front of Zoe Sawyer.

The killer looked left and right before settling on the spot right there.

He threw the burlap sack on the ground, then used his hands to scrape away the fallen leaves, revealing the earth beneath.

The killer grabbed a corner of the sack and gave it a hard shake. The body inside rolled out, landing facedown in the pile of leaves.

"Ptooey! This is what you get for rejecting my demands. You deserved to die!" The killer spat on the corpse and kicked it several times to vent his rage.

Once he had seemingly let out his anger, the killer walked over, flipped the body over, and then carefully re-covered it with the surrounding leaves.

In the middle of his work, perhaps because he was getting hot from the exertion, the killer took off his baseball cap, revealing the upper half of his face.

Only after confirming he had left no tell-tale signs behind did he carefully fold up the burlap sack and stumble away from the burial site.

Zoe Sawyer waited a while longer. Once she was sure there was no more information to be gleaned, she closed the door.

Locating a scene without knowing the victim’s identity for the first time had taken a significant toll on Zoe Sawyer’s mental energy. But thanks to her recent training, after standing and catching her breath for a moment, she felt mostly recovered.

"How did it go? Any new clues?" The moment Zoe Sawyer closed the door, Evan Keller, who had been waiting anxiously, rushed over to ask.

"Yes. I saw half the victim’s face and the upper half of the killer’s." Zoe Sawyer nodded. She relayed her findings to the other four, even mimicking the murderer’s actions and words.

After explaining, Zoe Sawyer took a sip of water and added, "The killer is very familiar with that area. He either scouted it out beforehand, or he’s a frequent visitor."

Evan Keller and Heath Hale excitedly clenched their fists. "This is great! We’re not just fumbling in the dark anymore!"

Knowing what the victim looked like and half of the killer’s face at least gave them a direction for their search.

"If only Beau were here," Evan Keller remarked wistfully. "She could quickly sketch the victim and the killer, and we could start a search based on the portraits."

Just then, Evan Keller’s phone suddenly rang.