The next morning, Larry arrived early at the center. All the test results and comparisons he had sent in had already come back.
A sample of greenish fluid had been extracted from the tissue found in the rented apartment of the deceased, Amber, and indeed, male DNA had been detected.
However, due to the large amount of tissue remaining, the extraction had not yet been completed.
He rushed back to the office with the report, which listed every known lead.
It was like a puzzle: everything had to be pieced together with the few fragments available.
The two victims, A and B, shared the same occupation and had similar backgrounds.
In Anna's rented apartment, the killer had used a kitchen knife belonging to the deceased.
This suggested a lack of preparation—a crime of passion. Yet the subsequent dismemberment and transport of the body revealed the killer's extreme composure and a skillset resembling that of a butcher.
As for the deceased, Anna, the location of the initial crime scene was still unknown. Could the investigation begin by looking into the clients of both women?
Relying only on memory, Larry wrote down on a whiteboard the information the hairdresser had mentioned about Anna's regular clients.
He also added the list of Amber's regular clients that had been sent to him in the email the day before.
When he compared them, he found four overlaps—a fact Larry found remarkable.
The suspects were few. One was named Brett Talbot, head chef at an Italian restaurant. Another caught Larry's attention as well—Ryan Kalley, a restaurant manager.
Then there was Cody Hewitt, who sold burritos.
Larry remembered two rows of common food stalls on the west side of the pedestrian street. They had bought snacks there the previous day, and the two owners had seemed to know each other, chatting with a British accent.
None of them had displayed any distinctive personality traits that stood out, which made it strange.
Just as he was pondering this, the office door opened, and in walked Jack, followed by Jane—but there was someone else in the group whom Larry immediately recognized.
"Thinking of replacing me?" Larry joked, looking directly at Jack.
"Just reinforcements. Let me introduce you to Will Graham. He'll help with the minor cases so you can focus on just one." Jack's main concern was finding the killer who had abducted his assistant.
Will Graham was his second option, so Jack would use him until Larry could once again handle the larger cases.
"Doctor Luk, good to see you."
"Likewise. You'll receive a full report on the case later."
"I'll help however I can," Will replied without issue.
Larry nodded at Jane, who smiled a bit sheepishly, still embarrassed about her mistake the day before.
"How's the investigation going?" Jack asked, interested in this particular case.
"We're stuck in another vicious circle. The other teams haven't made progress. Want to see if you spot anything new?" Larry stepped aside, revealing the entire whiteboard.
"Teams Two and Three won't get far. In the end, it's like searching for a needle in a haystack. The chances of detection are very slim."
"I just compared the regular clients of both victims, A and B—Amber and Anna—and found four matches."
"Four suspects?"
"Yes! Maybe we can conduct external checks on their addresses and family situations, and also retrieve their civil records."
"But don't alert the suspects. Try to use the census pretense and have local police and investigators handle it."
Jane studied the four names, thought for a moment, and then pointed. "We ate at their stalls yesterday, didn't we?"
Max nodded, his expression puzzled.
"Regular clients? Larry, I remember you said during the autopsy that two of Victim B's organs had been operated on many times, and her body was still badly damaged. That wouldn't make sense for regular clients, right?"
Larry looked at Max with a trace of admiration. "Exactly! Victim B, Anna's autopsy confirmed that. At first, I thought we might be chasing a false lead, but it seems that's not the case."
"Let's send the teams who haven't found anything yet to keep watch on these people. It'll be more useful than having them waste time on dead-end leads." Larry didn't want agents squandering effort on meaningless investigations.
"Are we looking for something specific?"
"See if they appear within the surveillance zone or approach the sewer."
Jane's eyes lit up—she was glad to finally have a direction.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Team Two calling, and Jane answered quickly.
"Who is this?"
"Agent Jane Banner. What's going on?"
"Guys, we're in the middle of an informal meeting. Is it urgent?"
"Chief, come quickly. We're on the pedestrian street. There's blood around a manhole cover—we're sending you the location!"