The kidnapping case is actually very difficult to handle because the hostage's safety must be monitored at all times. In most cases, there won't be a scene like in a TV series where the kidnapper is confronting the police with a hostage. Such confrontational scenarios usually occur in crimes of passion, where someone randomly takes a hostage on the street. In premeditated kidnapping cases, most kidnappers choose to hide the hostage.
Or rather, if there isn't a foolproof place to hide the hostage, they wouldn't choose this method of crime. After all, a living person isn't necessarily easier to handle than the door to a vault, let alone multiple people. Even if the children are small in stature and have limited ability to resist, they're not easy to hide.
In cases like this, using violence to counter violence, as in past cases, is ineffective or, even if the criminal is found, they can't be immediately killed because it's crucial to locate the hostage.
Barry had previously seen a case where a couple kidnapped a backpacker and demanded ransom from his family. The family refused and even reported it to the police, who then shot the couple outside their house.
It was initially thought that the hostage was hidden in the house, but even after tearing the house apart, they couldn't find him. About two months later, they discovered the body in an abandoned water tower in the community. The couple had locked him in the tower and sporadically provided some water and food.
The most despairing part was that the couple left him roughly a week's supply of water and food, and during that week, he had to eat, drink, and excrete in that cramped water tower. When he was eventually found, half of his body was submerged in excrement, and the victim ultimately died from dehydration.
Thus, Barry deeply understands that in such cases, the perpetrator must be of secondary priority, and one cannot rely on dealing with evil by using evil means. Killing them might be satisfying, but if the hostage can't be found, it could be a huge problem.
Ironically, this guy insists on venturing into danger knowingly. There aren't many people in this area, so the chance of running into Shiller is too high. If Shiller doesn't realize it's a kidnapping case and ends up killing someone, not only might the victim never be found, but also any leads on the criminal organization behind this could be lost.
Thinking of this, Barry felt he should visit the professor, even though the person might be dead, as long as Shiller had contact with the criminal before their death, there must be a way to find out where the victim is being held.
With some reluctance, he knocked on the door, only to open it and see two identical people sitting on the sofa. Barry felt as if the sky was falling. The criminal seemed to have diligently consulted the almanac to pick a perfect day for their own funeral, after carefully choosing a picturesque gravesite.
"Good evening, professor, doctor. How have you been?"
"Not bad, come in, Barry. It seems you're not here about the natural forest preservation issues."
"Indeed. To ensure people have enough firewood, Brainiac has relaxed the regulations on tree protection. Cutting down a few trees shouldn't be an issue. However, a suspect in a possible child kidnapping case may be active in this area. The police should have informed you, but I just wanted to know if there are any other clues."
"Come over and sit down." Arrogant went to pour Barry a cup of hot tea and then said, "A case that even Brainiac can't solve must be quite challenging. You've been having a tough time, haven't you?"
"Not too bad, after all, I'm half a Gothamite, and it's much better than the West Coast." Barry propped his elbow on his knee and said, "This kidnapper has taken three children under the age of 10, and so far, there's been no news. We're all very anxious."
Upon hearing there were three victims, Arrogant frowned. He said, "We did observe some suspicious activities in the forest but didn't encounter any suspicious individuals. If this perpetrator is moving with three kids, hiding should be quite difficult."
"That's the issue. The perpetrators of the three abductions are not the same person, meaning this isn't a serial kidnapping, but organized crime."
Arrogant frowned even more. There's a big difference between one person kidnapping three kids and three people kidnapping three kids. So, he asked, "Were they kidnapped at the same time?"
"The time difference isn't significant, with just less than 48 hours between the incidents."
Arrogant understood. In the past, these three cases might not have been linked, but after Brainiac took over Earth, such heinous crimes ceased to occur. Therefore, with three similar incidents happening so close together, it's quite conspicuous and easy to determine it's the work of the same group.
Arrogant then detailed the flashlight lights he saw in the forest, after which Barry asked, "Are you saying Principal Xi Wana also went into the forest with a flashlight to cut wood, and he spent over an hour doing it?"
Arrogant nodded. He knew something was amiss, but Xi Wana was a magician, and unlike ordinary people, he might not carry an axe to cut small trees. With his magic abilities, he could easily chop down large trees or even split them into firewood right there, although this would take more time, so lingering over an hour made sense.
Arrogant shared his thoughts, but Barry frowned and said, "The police didn't find any signs of large trees being felled in the forest. It might be necessary to confirm the specifics with the principal. I won't disturb you further, I'll be going now."
As he opened the door, a gust of wind swept through the room. Greed ushered Barry out, closing the door behind him, standing at the gate, and said to Barry, "Are you familiar with the Northern Cardinal?"
"Yes, they're cute, why?"
"Their calls are very varied, sometimes like a stream, other times like a whistle, with over 20 different sounds. I even heard them singing just now."
Greed finished speaking and turned away. Barry remained where he was, somewhat baffled. But then the wind picked up even more, so he hurriedly got into the police car and took a sip of hot coffee to slowly regain his composure.
But he couldn't wait here, he had to join his colleagues in the forest to collect evidence. Holding his coffee, he headed toward the forest, first pausing by the lakeside, then entering the forest, constantly looking upwards.
"What's going on?" a police officer asked him. "Is there something up there?"
Barry shook his head and, after a moment of silence, said, "Are there animals in this forest?"
"Probably. There are pine trees here, so there might be pine cones, and thus small animals like squirrels."
"What about the bird?"
"Just the usual types, I suppose. Warblers, sparrows, crows, things like that," the police officer thought for a moment and said, "So you're looking for bird nests?"
Barry didn't deny it. He looked up and indeed found some bird nests, but they were all very small. They were too far to identify the specific bird.
Doctor Schiller wouldn't mention something for no reason; he must be hinting at something.
Barry sighed inwardly. He also didn't know why Schiller wouldn't say it directly. It was obvious that the professor was very averse to child kidnappers, but since they hadn't had direct contact with the kidnappers, they couldn't know what they were thinking and thus couldn't say it outright.
"Northern Cardinal..." Barry muttered softly.
"Oh, look here!" someone suddenly shouted. The shout snapped Barry out of his thoughts, and he ran over quickly, only to discover the partial footprint reported by the police officer as potentially belonging to a child.
It looked short and thin, and seemed to have the outline of a small bear, a pattern unique to children's shoes. Soon after, his colleague came over with a phone and said, "We've already confirmed with the parents. On the day seven-year-old Paul Austin disappeared, he was wearing children's shoes with a bear pattern."
"Then it's certain, the suspect is nearby."
"I'm a bit confused," said a police officer. "Kidnappers generally tend to hide the hostages, right? What are they doing wandering around the woods with a child? How is that helpful to them?"
This forest does not connect to any mountain range or cave and can be considered an isolated area. If one wanted to pass through this area, they could completely avoid the forest, so it couldn't be that the suspect was taking the child on a journey. It seemed more like they were just circling the victim around in here.
Barry recalled what they had discussed earlier and said, "The kidnapper might be enticed to do something rash to establish their own authority. I think that's it."
Everyone looked down at the partial footprint on the ground.
Half an hour later, in the BAU office, Barry was staring blankly at the plaster mold of the footprint. Some colleagues were analyzing soil samples, while others were inspecting photos of the trees one by one.
"Hey, Barry, what are you doing?" A blonde girl came over and patted his shoulder.
"Nothing, I'm just thinking that we might have missed some clues," Barry said with a frown.
They indeed found the footprint and many felled trees, and had Schiller's sighting report, but these clues couldn't be pieced together, with the most important link missing.
Thinking of this, Barry picked up his car keys and said, "I'm going for another spin; maybe I'll find something new. Don't wait for me for dinner."
Saying that, he hurried off, and his colleagues just glanced at him before returning to their own tasks.
But in reality, Barry didn't drive; for one, he could run there much faster, and on the other hand, he worried that the car engine noise might alert the suspect. With so many police officers having come during the day, the suspect definitely wouldn't show themselves, but going alone at night might lead to an unexpected discovery.
He quickly ran to the woods, focusing his gaze on the nests above, even climbing a tree to check inside, but found nothing.
He began to carefully consider what Greed had said. The emphasis was on bird calls, but what was special about bird calls?
Barry turned around but found no clues, yet he remained determined. He decided to expand the search area, going door-to-door from east to west in search of clues. Most houses were unoccupied, visible at a glance, and had nothing worth inspecting, soon reaching Schiller's house.
Just as Barry was about to head in that direction, he suddenly heard bird calls carried by the wind. He turned to see a giant chestnut tree, the ground littered with chestnuts blown off by the wind.
"Perhaps the birds calling are attracted by these chestnuts," Barry thought to himself, "Greed probably heard these birds singing."
Then, a sudden chill surged to the top of his head.
How could birds be singing in such strong wind?!
"Northern Cardinal's call..." Barry muttered as he sprinted toward the house beneath the chestnut tree.
Barry realized that Northern Cardinals have various calls, so places where they appear, those sharp, piercing sounds could be mistaken for birds singing.
Moreover, the chestnuts could attract rodents and various birds that would call out, which would be enough to mask the accidental cries of children coming from an enclosed room.