Chapter 110: Dr. Wolfe, Let's Talk About the Fact That You're a Serial Killer
"Get dressed."
Detective Amy Santiago, once again sensing the hint of mischief beneath Chuck's composure, addressed the tall young man and petite girl wrapped in sheets, embracing each other with an adorable height difference.
She politely closed the door and looked at Chuck, unsure what to say. "Dr. Wolfe, you..."
"What's wrong?"
Chuck looked at her calmly.
"Nothing."
Detective Amy Santiago knew that whatever she said would likely be ineffective and probably only irritate her further. So she wisely shook her head and whispered, "They seem fine."
Chuck looked at her with surprise.
"What's wrong?"
Detective Amy Santiago felt uncomfortable under Chuck's gaze and couldn't help asking the same question Chuck had posed.
"You're really capable of such elaborate mental gymnastics," Chuck said bluntly. "What a waste."
"..."
Detective Amy Santiago suddenly recalled Chuck's earlier consultation with Jake. She hadn't wanted to discuss the subject, but this time she couldn't help herself: "How am I doing mental gymnastics?"
"Didn't you see?"
Chuck gestured toward Ted's dorm room.
"...You're thinking of that!"
Amy Santiago, assuming she'd caught Chuck's drift, snapped. "This is a university dorm. College students generally don't have much money for private rooms, so they economize wherever possible... This is a practical compromise. Didn't you see the other guy was fully dressed? It's not what you think!"
She had secretly reviewed Chuck's file and learned he'd been in college since age 15. With such a young age and eccentric personality, he probably hadn't experienced normal college life.
"You know what I'm thinking?"
Chuck asked.
Detective Amy Santiago was about to respond when the door opened. Three people, neatly dressed, stood there looking at them awkwardly and anxiously.
"NYPD!"
Detective Amy Santiago flashed her badge and walked in, addressing the three students. "This is Dr. Chuck Wolfe, the department's consultant..."
At this point, she suddenly noticed Chuck hadn't moved and tilted her head to signal him to enter. "Let's talk inside."
"I don't think so," Chuck shook his head.
"Why?"
Detective Amy Santiago was puzzled.
"Residual activity," Chuck said succinctly.
Everyone immediately looked embarrassed.
Unlike Detective Amy Santiago, who was confused by the euphemism and had to deduce the meaning using her detective skills, the tall young man and petite girl involved, as well as Ted, the tormented upper bunk occupant, understood almost instantly.
"Oh, this is mortifying," the petite girl muttered, blushing and lowering her head, though she kept stealing glances at the striking Detective Amy Santiago.
The tall young man rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.
Hmm.
Although he couldn't detect any particular scent, he was still rather proud.
"You're Ted Mosby, right?"
Detective Amy Santiago took a deep breath, realizing she'd have to handle this herself.
"Yes," Ted nodded anxiously. "What's going on, officer?"
Detective Amy Santiago explained the situation.
"Oh my God!"
Ted was stunned.
He never could have imagined his professor was a serial killer, preparing to commit murder the moment he'd hung up their phone call.
After questioning him extensively and finding nothing suspicious, Detective Amy Santiago turned to Chuck. "Dr. Wolfe, do you have anything to add?"
"Yes," Chuck nodded. Looking at Ted, the seemingly innocent protagonist from his past life's knowledge of this story about finding true love, he said seriously, "Stay away from strangers, especially if they approach you in public restrooms. You never know what kind of predator they might be."
"Okay."
Ted was bewildered but nodded in agreement.
After the professor incident, he had a deeper understanding of the world's dangers. It truly was terrifying. He definitely needed to be more cautious around strangers.
"One final question—tell Dr. Wolfe that you are not..." Detective Amy Santiago finally broached the subject, asking Ted and the others to confirm for Chuck that the disturbing scenarios he'd imagined weren't actually happening in the dormitory.
Chuck and Amy left.
"Oh my God, this is awful," the petite girl sat on the bed in shock.
"Yeah." The honest young man nodded, walked over and sat beside her, pulling her into a comforting embrace. "But Lily, don't worry—I'll protect you!"
"Really?"
The petite girl Lily looked up at her boyfriend, eyes shining. When her boyfriend nodded emphatically, her eyes suddenly misted over, and she bit her lip and murmured, "Marshall, you're so wonderful."
"..."
Ted, genuinely shocked and horrified, watched the couple become increasingly absorbed in each other and was once again amazed. Were there actually couples in this world who were this affectionate? Could this be true love?
Outside the dorm.
"Did you hear that?"
Detective Amy Santiago, seeing Chuck's lack of reaction to Ted and the others' explanation, couldn't help but remind him, "It's not what you think."
"This is exactly what I thought," Chuck said calmly.
"This is what you thought?"
Detective Amy Santiago was stunned. "Then why were you acting like that before, saying I was within your acceptable parameters, while you were imagining such wild scenarios..."
As she spoke, she seemed to understand something. She stared at Chuck's back, her face reddening as she protested, "Which one of us is imagining wild scenarios?"
"I don't think it's normal, you think it's normal," Chuck corrected, stopping and turning around.
"..."
Detective Amy Santiago froze.
Given the circumstances, she'd thought it was normal, but that was completely different from the bizarre experiment Chuck was apparently planning based on her responses!
The thought of herself as little Lily and Jake as Ted utterly destroyed her sense of normalcy.
But meeting Chuck's expectant gaze, she was speechless, unable to explain this vast difference between circumstance and intention, between accidental and deliberate.
In the end, she could only get into the car, feeling deflated.
Chuck's phone rang. He answered and said, "There's news. His name is John Douglas. He was exceptionally intelligent as a child, but as expected, he was sent to juvenile detention. While there, his cellmate was beaten to death by older inmates. Over the following six months, all three attackers died."
"Did this John Douglas kill them?"
Amy Santiago, seeing they were getting back to business, stopped sulking and asked, "Also, why would someone so intelligent as a child end up in juvenile detention?"
"Didn't you see the sketch I drew?"
Chuck glanced at her. "Juvenile detention couldn't prove he did it, so they transferred him to another facility. The deaths were ruled accidental, and he was released at 18. No record of him since then. He must have changed his identity."
Detective Amy Santiago was quiet.
She realized that John Douglas was African American. In both the US and UK, to fuel the profitable prison industry, Black Americans are systematically incarcerated at rates several times higher than whites.
"So how do we find him?"
"We already have," Chuck handed her an address. "He's registered under the name of his deceased cellmate."
"It seems that cellmate meant something special to him," Detective Amy Santiago started the car and drove toward John Douglas's hotel.
"It's a rather morbid way to honor your friend's memory," Chuck shook his head.
This reminded him of characters from cultivation novels who would assume their dead friends' identities. But that worked because information systems were primitive and evidence could be easily destroyed. Many details left no immediate traces.
But this is the world of American television, where technology is highly advanced. Everything leaves a digital footprint, and it's nearly impossible to completely erase records.
It seemed this John Douglas wasn't the real mastermind. While he might be intelligent and capable, his intelligence was still merely human—insufficient to support an organization of this scale.
"Should we call for backup?"
Detective Amy Santiago wasn't as composed as Chuck. The thought of confronting a dangerous criminal leader made her nervous, and she immediately followed standard protocol.
"No," Chuck shook his head. "I don't want to wait an hour for him to slip away while we're still trying to get through the red tape."
"..."
Detective Amy Santiago glanced at Chuck, seriously suspecting he was making another dig.
Yes!
Sometimes, for safety reasons, the NYPD would mobilize overwhelming force, surrounding a location without immediately moving in. But wasn't that for officer safety?
NYPD lives matter!
If everything proceeded smoothly without bureaucratic interference, the process would be much faster.
Besides, Chuck was an official department consultant, not some uninformed civilian or overeager amateur. He had the authority to make tactical decisions.
Seeing Chuck's impassive expression, she suddenly remembered his explanation of "I'm from Texas." Perhaps it wasn't professional bias, but regional prejudice!
Were Texans really that superior?
She refused to believe it!
Arriving at the hotel.
With NYPD badges clearing the way, Chuck and Detective Amy Santiago approached the door of an upscale suite.
"Come in," a deep male voice called from within.
Amy Santiago drew her weapon, made a tactical gesture to Chuck, and pushed open the door.
Inside the room, a tall, bald African American man in an expensive suit stood calmly, unmoved by the two armed individuals who'd entered. He displayed the confident smile of a successful businessman: "Detective Santiago, there's no danger here. You can lower your weapon."
Without waiting for her response, he turned his attention to Chuck: "Dr. Wolfe, we finally meet. I must say, you've truly surprised me."
"You knew we were coming?"
Detective Amy Santiago continued scanning the room for potential threats while asking suspiciously, "And you're admitting you hired the killer?"
"There's nothing to deny, and that's not the most important issue right now." The tall, bald African American smiled: "The most interesting topic we should discuss is the fact that Dr. Wolfe is a serial killer."
Detective Amy Santiago: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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