Chapter 101: This Shouldn't Be a Question
"We don't target anyone."
Chuck said calmly, "I mean, if the difference in IQ can make people feel bullied and seek revenge, then everyone here is a suspect."
The detectives who were watching the show and laughing suddenly stopped laughing.
"So you're saying you're smarter than us?"
The handsome young detective Jake Peralta looked around at his colleagues and playfully asked the question everyone was thinking.
"This shouldn't be a question."
Chuck corrected matter-of-factly.
"..."
Detective Jake Peralta looked at Chuck's calm expression and was genuinely confused.
If it were an ordinary person, he would ask this question to make them panic and make excuses under the pressure of everyone's stares, especially from seasoned detectives, but Chuck obviously wasn't buying it.
"Okay, Detective Peralta, Captain Holt asked us to bring in Dr. Wolfe as a consultant. It's important to solve the case."
The beautiful Latina detective next to him smiled and continued, "Dr. Wolfe, I'm Amy Santiago, assigned to this case. Because the victim's daily life involved a lot of mathematics, we're bringing you in to help us analyze the victim's belongings to see if we can find any leads."
"Sure."
Since Jake wasn't bothering him anymore, Chuck stopped the banter and got down to business.
As the largest law enforcement agency in New York City, the NYPD, as one seasoned bureaucrat put it, has strength in numbers. Naturally, this wasn't Chuck's first time working with them.
Even the Nine-Nine's Jake Peralta was an acquaintance.
While Jake might be a bit of a goofball, he was certainly capable of solving cases. Even within the massive NYPD, he was top-tier, and if you counted rule-breaking, he was among the absolute best.
Chuck looked through the evidence the NYPD had collected and asked, "Have you questioned his colleagues, family, and friends?"
"Of course,"
Goofball detective Jake Peralta grinned. "His work and life are all about math, math, and, oh yeah, lottery tickets and treasure hunting. You mathematicians with super high IQs are also obsessed with making money."
"Treasure hunting?"
Chuck glanced over. "You mean he also participated in the Math Treasure Hunt?"
"Yep."
The beautiful Latina detective Amy Santiago nodded. "Dr. Wolfe, you know about this Math Treasure Hunt?"
"Yeah, I've been playing it recently,"
Chuck nodded, continuing to examine the evidence the NYPD had collected.
"What's the prize?"
Detective Amy Santiago asked curiously.
"One million dollars,"
Chuck said.
"One million dollars?"
Amy Santiago was stunned. "Are all you mathematicians playing games this high-stakes? I think we've found our motive."
"That's not it,"
Chuck shook his head.
"Why not?"
Jake laughed, "Because you're involved, so you don't want us to investigate this lead and ruin your fun?"
"Yes, and no."
Chuck deployed a classic debate technique.
"...What's yes and what's no?"
Jake pressed.
"Because I'm involved, that's correct,"
Chuck said calmly. "Not wanting you to ruin our fun by investigating this lead is incorrect. It's not that I'm afraid of ruining our fun, but pursuing this lead is pointless."
"Why is it pointless?"
Jake countered. "It's a million bucks. On the street, that's enough motive to kill a dozen people. Or are you mathematicians all loaded and don't care about a million dollars?"
"It's only a million dollars if you can actually win it."
Chuck looked at him. "How can money you're destined never to get be a motive for murder?"
"How do you know he couldn't win it?"
Jake slapped his forehead. "Oh, I get it. Because you're involved too. With you, the most brilliant mathematician, the prize money has to be yours, not someone else's. So even if someone had to kill for the prize, they should kill you first."
"Again, this shouldn't be a question,"
Chuck said bluntly.
"Dr. Wolfe, do you have any other leads?"
Detective Amy Santiago was also somewhat speechless at Chuck's confidence and directness, but unlike the confrontational Jake, her attitude was much more professional. The consultant specifically requested by Captain Holt must be quite capable. The case involved a mathematician, and they were stumped and needed professional help to sort through the evidence.
"Yes!"
Chuck had already examined the items collected by the NYPD from the victim: "Lottery tickets. The victim's colleagues said he was into lotteries, but there are no related research records here."
"Lottery tickets?"
Jake couldn't help but laugh. "Are you saying that the victim figured out how to beat the lottery, and then got murdered for it, and the killer took his research? I may not be college-educated, but don't try to pull one over on me. The odds of winning the lottery are like one in tens of millions. It's completely random. How could you win through mathematical calculations?"
"Major, well-established lotteries like Powerball and Mega Millions have wide distribution and are designed by professionals, leaving few exploitable weaknesses,"
Chuck said calmly. "But there are tons of different lotteries in the US, and smaller state and local lotteries all have different formats. Not all are mathematically sound, especially newer ones, which often have mathematical vulnerabilities.
By studying patterns and performing calculations, the theoretical win rate can be increased from something like 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000, significantly improving your odds. Then, based on those calculations, buying thousands of tickets could theoretically guarantee a jackpot.
This assumes, of course, that the lottery isn't rigged, like using pre-recorded drawings to announce predetermined results.
Otherwise, even perfect math won't help you.
As a mathematically sophisticated lottery player, the victim would have kept detailed records of his calculations for various lotteries.
But there are none here.
If it wasn't your oversight in not collecting all of the victim's belongings, then the killer must have taken them."
"That's gotta be it!"
Detective Amy Santiago's eyes lit up. "Everything we collected from the victim's home and workplace is right here. There aren't any old lottery tickets at either location. The killer wouldn't have been so thorough as to take worthless, expired lottery tickets. But they did it anyway. They must have been worried the ticket stubs would surface, make us suspicious, and lead us down that path."
At this point, she looked teasingly at Jake, who had gone quiet. "Detective Peralta, what do you think?"
"Makes sense, but we still can't rule out the math treasure hunt,"
Jake shrugged.
"I'm going to investigate any suspicious winning patterns in the local lotteries,"
Detective Amy Santiago excitedly prepared to start her investigation.
(End of Chapter)
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