Chapter 15: Outstanding Land

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

On the first day he joined Investigation Team No. 5, Roan did nothing but sit at his desk and use his computer for the whole day before he got off work.

The next day at 9.00 AM, Roan, who had nothing to do, shook his head. He tilted his head and saw Mona chatting online. Ryder was not in the office, and he did not know where he was. Only Lacey had just woken up and was eating. Roan moved his chair to Lacey’s side and asked, “Lacey, are we going to be like this all week?”

“What do you mean?”

Lacey had just woken up and was still in a daze. After hearing Roan’s question, she took a while to react before she understood what he meant. She tilted her head and replied, “Are you saying that you have no work this week? Of course not.”

Then, Lacey changed the topic and mumbled as she ate, “We haven’t worked for the past two months.”

“What?”

Roan was stunned by Lacey’s panting. He hurriedly asked, “Why?”

“Our Investigation Team No. 5 has just been established, so no one handed the case over to us.”

Lacey finished a small bag of doughnuts and started to eat the second bag.

“That’s not right. Three months ago, the New York Police Department did hand over a few cases to Investigation Team No. 5, but we didn’t successfully solve them within the stipulated time…Therefore, the team supervisor, Veronica, withdrew the case and handed it over to another investigation team.”

“…”

Roan fell silent, then raised his head and asked, “Have the other investigation teams solved those cases?”

Lacey nodded matter-of-factly and said, “They have.”

Roan was speechless.

‘Where the hell am I?’

Seeing the twisted expression on Roan’s face, Lacey patted his shoulder comfortingly and asked, “Why do you think Augustus transferred you to the No. 5 Investigation Team?”

Roan already had an answer in his heart.

“It’s not only because you’re handsome, but also because you can solve cases.”

‘I knew it!’ Roan thought.

Lacey finished the second bag of donuts and opened the third bag. At the same time, she introduced the members of Investigation Team No. 5 to Roan.

“Ryder came from the SWAT operation team. His marksmanship, fighting, search and rescue, and weapons are all top-notch… But he can’t solve cases.”

“…”

” I, Lacey, am from the Intelligence Branch. I’m good at scouting for information and undercover tracking… But I’m not good at solving cases either.”

“…”

“The technicians sitting behind you are all old people who have worked in the FBI’s data room for several years. If you ask them to find relevant information on the suspect, they will definitely be faster than any investigation team.”

“But they can’t solve the case.” Roan’s expression became more and more strange.”

“Yeah.”

Lacey patted Roan’s shoulder with a serious expression.

“So we need someone who can help us solve cases.”

Roan almost choked to death. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

‘On the bright side, at the very least, this team needed me, and I was an indispensable member of this team.’

On second thought, Roan asked Lacey, “What about the leader, Augustus? Do you know what he used to do?”

“Of course I know.”

Lacey nodded and introduced, “Augustus used to be an administrator in the Criminal Justice Information Services.”

“So Augustus can’t solve cases.”

“Yes.”

After, he found out everything and asked, “If there are any cases handed to our investigation team in the future, I’ll have to lead you all to solve the case, right?”

Lacey pondered for two seconds and nodded.

“Since I’m the one who’s helping the team to solve the case, what’s the use of Augustus as the team leader? Wait for the case to be solved and then claim the credit?”Roan asked.

“Of course not.”

Upon hearing Roan’s words, Lacey’s eyes immediately widened. She sternly said to him, “Augustus is responsible for taking the blame and dealing with the higher-ups!”

“… Lacey, why were you transferred here?”

“Because I insulted the supervisor.”

“As expected of you.”

Returning to his desk, Roan looked around and saw Mona’s hands tapping on the computer as if she was hacking into some program. He could not help but sigh. “Investigation Team No. 5 is really an outstanding team.”

Just as Roan was thinking about whether he should leave Investigation Team No. 5 for a few days and do some private work to earn money, Team Leader Augustus walked to the front of the office area with a big belly and said loudly, “Everyone, pay attention! This time, two cases have been handed over to our Investigation Team No. 5! A missing person kidnapping case and a serial murder case!”

In 2005, the big screens in America had not yet been popularized, so there were a few large whiteboards standing at the front of the office. Augustus casually picked one and began to write the tentative names of the two cases on it.

“The missing and kidnapping of a rich woman.”

“The female corpses in the lake.”

Ryder returned to the office and distributed the information to everyone. Among them, the information that Roan was given was the most detailed.

Roan was speechless.

Since there was a case, he had to read it. According to the urgency of the case, Roan began to look at the first missing kidnapping case. The bear-like Ryder also began to introduce it to everyone.

“The victim is Sabrina Cade, 36 years old. She went missing from her villa in California. The time of the crime was probably between 8.00 AM and when she returned home last night. This morning, her husband, Darren, came back from a business trip and found that someone had broken into his house. His wife was missing, but her phone and wallet were still at the entrance.”

Seeing that everyone had finished reading the information in their hands, Augustus tapped on the whiteboard to attract everyone’s attention. His expression was serious.

“Before we have any further evidence, we have to assume that she is still alive! The Greenwich police think it’s a kidnapping, but it’s not common in their area, so they chose to ask for our help.”

Greenwich Village was located on Long Island Sound. It was a satellite town of New York City and one of the most wealthy areas near New York. The standard of living was extremely high, and many celebrities, artists, and musicians were born here.

Before anyone could raise their doubts, Augustus took out a few photos of the crime scene from a folder and pasted them on another whiteboard.

At the same time, he said, “A serial murder is when one or more criminals illegally kill two or more victims in different incidents. At 5.00 AM today, an angler accidentally found a female body in a lake at the junction of New York and New Jersey. After the divers checked the bottom of the lake, they found three other female bodies.”

“The first victim victim, Linda Chibo, was married and 28 years old. Eight months ago, her husband reported her missing. After a forensic examination, it was confirmed that she was killed shortly after she disappeared.”

“The second victim, Beatrice Leon, was married and 34 years old. She disappeared two months ago.”

“The third victim, Natalie Carlyle, married, 25 years old, disappeared a month ago.”

“The fourth victim, Tamara Terry, married, 30 years old, disappeared two weeks ago…”