Chapter 50: Clues
"Hmm!" Lisbon nodded gently and said, "Beckett, can you give me the victim's information? I keep feeling that something isn't right here."
"Okay, no problem!" Beckett readily agreed, but then she apologetically added, "However, we don't have many clues regarding the victim's identity, only his driver's license. We'll need to investigate further."
"It's fine, a driver's license is enough!" Lisbon nodded indifferently, scanned the room, and then said, "You all get back to work then. I won't bother you. If you find anything, keep in touch at any time."
"Alright, goodbye, Agent Lisbon." Beckett had Esposito escort Lisbon out, while she herself rested her chin in her hand, deep in thought.
"What is it, Beckett? Do you also think there's a connection between these two cases?" Esposito asked in a low voice when he returned, looking at Beckett.
"Aren't you the same?" Beckett looked up at Esposito and said, "Otherwise, why would you have brought her here?"
"Hehe!" Esposito chuckled triumphantly and said, "After all, the locations where these two cases occurred are close, and the timings also seem to follow each other, making it hard not to think along those lines."
"Yes!" Beckett's gaze fell on the safe nearby, her eyes thoughtful. She said in a low voice, "Someone broke in there just before, stealing a batch of jewelry, and then a thief tried to break into this house. If the items involved in both cases were the same piece of jewelry, then everything would make sense."
"Exactly." Esposito nodded and said, "Our victim only returned home around two in the morning, wearing the same clothes he had on when the museum robbery happened, and went out for a run. It can't help but raise suspicion."
"Yes, and we're not the only ones who thought of this. Agent Lisbon, just now, probably also thought of it, which is why she came here with you to take a look." Beckett sighed slightly. Everyone is smart, and they haven't been handling cases for just a year or two. The connections are obvious once you think about them. The problem is that no one has any evidence to link these two cases, which is why Agent Lisbon left directly after a brief look.
Beckett turned to Esposito and sternly instructed, "We must quickly confirm the victim's identity. As for the thief, I'm afraid we'll have very few clues. No fingerprints were found at the scene. All we can hope for now are those few drops of blood on the ground. If they belong to the thief, we can continue investigating, but if they belong to the victim, then there's no hope on the thief's side."
"Hmm!" Esposito nodded slightly. He knew Beckett was right; this case would likely be difficult to investigate. He said with a serious smile, "Beckett, I'm going back to investigate the victim's information. Alright, Renee, let's go back together. Maybe I'll have to rely on you for some clues!"
"Let's go then." Renee rolled her eyes at Esposito, said goodbye to Beckett, and then left.
The forensic personnel in the room also finished their work and left, with only two patrol officers remaining at the door. Beckett rummaged around the room by herself, feeling that something was amiss in this house.
If her deduction was correct, and the homeowner was the suspect in the museum case, then there couldn't be no arrangements in this carefully planned hiding place of his.
Putting herself in his shoes, if she had committed such a shocking major crime, upon returning here, the first thing she would do is hide her spoils.
At this thought, Beckett's gaze fell on the safe nearby. The forensic personnel had already told her that it was a high-Rank safe, with not only a complex password System but also a fingerprint verification procedure.
This thief was also a formidable character, managing to open such a high-Rank safe in such a short time. Not many people in all of Los Angeles could do that!
Thinking of this, Beckett's heart stirred slightly. This aspect could certainly be investigated thoroughly.
After scanning the entire living room and finding nothing, Beckett entered the bedroom, though she didn't expect to find anything. Her colleagues from the forensic department had already thoroughly searched the room before her, and if those professionals hadn't found anything, Beckett didn't expect to make any special discoveries. She was just holding onto a shred of luck.
The result was disappointing; Beckett searched for a good while in both the bedroom and living room but found nothing.
Just as Beckett was about to continue searching, Kevin Ryan hurried in from outside, found Beckett, waved to her, and said in a low voice, "Hey, Beckett, some discoveries."
"Oh!" Beckett put down what she was holding and walked out with Kevin Ryan, asking, "What did you find?"
Kevin Ryan walked into the elevator and told Beckett, "We found two bullets downstairs. They are .44 caliber bullets and should belong to the desert eagle in the victim's hand."
As he spoke, Beckett had already followed Kevin Ryan down to the ground floor by elevator. The bullets Kevin Ryan mentioned were actually embedded in the outer wall of the second floor of another apartment building about fifty meters away, directly opposite the victim's apartment window.
Beckett shook her head slightly. It was truly difficult for Kevin Ryan and his team to have found such a well-concealed spot.
Looking at the bullet hole on the second floor, Beckett frowned and looked at Kevin Ryan in confusion, saying, "So, the victim once shot out the window? But why would he shoot out the window? If he broke the glass, the glass shards should be on the outside, right?"
As more and more was discovered, Beckett felt the entire case was enveloped in a fog.
"That's because there was a third person present at the scene." Kevin Ryan looked at Beckett, smiling very proudly, and said, "This is my second discovery. Beckett, do you know that surveillance cameras are installed outside these apartment buildings? We retrieved the footage and found something very interesting. Come with me."
With that, Kevin Ryan led Beckett to the community's surveillance room. He had already been there before and set up the screen. This time, after bringing Beckett in, he immediately had the community security guard play the surveillance video.
On the large screen, endless mist pervaded the night, and as time progressed, a black figure streaked across a corner of the surveillance video.
"Yes, there, rewind, zoom in!" Kevin Ryan pointed at the black figure, having the security guard carefully manipulate the video, rewinding it little by little to the moment the black figure appeared, and then zooming in.
Even though the resolution of the community surveillance video was not low, there was only so much clarity that could be achieved for a distant black figure in the mist.
"What is that, a pair of wings?" Seeing the black figure formed by the black person's outstretched arms connected, Beckett's heart couldn't help but be startled.
"Those aren't wings; it's just a wingsuit." Kevin Ryan stood to the side and couldn't help but laugh. He was startled at first too, but after careful distinction, he gradually confirmed it was a wingsuit. He pointed at a protruding mass below the black figure in the video and said to Beckett, "Beckett, look here. Doesn't this look like one figure, just tucked into the arms of another?"
Modified