Reborn: The Rookie Detective Chapter 293 293: 293-The corpse

The old sheriff and the local hunter seed to want to ask sothing more when the door of the other bedroom opened, and Jane erged, bundled up warmly.

She was wearing a thick, sky-blue onesie snowsuit, a thick woolen hat, and cute pink gloves, even tied together with a string to hang around her neck to prevent loss.

This outfit made her look ten years younger, no longer the sophisticated FBI agent, but like a high school freshman. The elderly Native Arican woman behind her continued her nagging, "These are my granddaughter's clothes, not a free gift, did you hear ?"

Jane's expression remained awkward. "Yes, of course."

Corey Lambert, whose expression had softened slightly, froze, as if petrified, the mont he turned and saw Jane.

Jack had never seen such a rich array of emotions—surprise, mories, sadness, pain, and forbearance—appear in the eyes of a middle-aged man in a single mont.

"Okay, uh, okay, we can go now."

Corey Lambert vigorously wiped his face before squatting down to pick up the mixed-race boy. "Hey, buddy, I need to work for a few hours. Will you stay with your grandparents during this ti?"

"But today is our day, you promised to be with ." The little boy was a bit sullen.

"I promise I'll be back as soon as possible. These two officers need to show them the way."

Corey Lambert's smile held a hint of bitterness; the emotional shock from just monts before hadn't yet dissipated, and his eyes glistened with tears as he spoke.

"Okay, but you can't lie to ." The little boy's emotions ca and went quickly; after being teased a couple of tis, he happily climbed into his grandfather's arms.

Jack's gaze swept across the room, finally settling on the photo wall next to the refrigerator. There was a picture of a girl with a bright, sunny smile, wearing the exact sa clothes as Jane now, and the sa woolen hat.

This girl must be Corey Lambert's daughter. Could sothing terrible have happened? Jack thought to himself, remaining calm.

"You two knew each other before?" Sheriff Ben Shoyo walked ahead, opening the door. The snow outside had lessened, and visibility was much better.

"We were in the sa training class at the FBI Academy. After graduation, I was assigned to Vegas, and he went to the BAU."

Jane finished speaking, looking bewildered at the four snowmobiles lined up outside, and turned to Jack for help.

"I'll give you a ride." Snowmobiles were light ground vehicles, and Jack could easily handle them.

Hunter Corey Lambert led the way, and the four of them, on three snowmobiles, sped towards the location where the body was found.

Twenty minutes later, when they arrived, the snowstorm had subsided, and the dark clouds overhead had disappeared. Two local police officers, accompanied by a forensic assistant, had already set up a makeshift shelter and were busy beside the body.

Jane jumped off the motorcycle behind Jack, took off her goggles, pulled down the scarf covering her mouth and nose, looked up at the sky, and exclaid, "My God, it was a blizzard just now!"

"Yes, the storms here co in waves. It might be sunny an hour ago, and then suddenly it's snowing heavily." the old sheriff remarked.

Hunter Corey Lambert glanced at the distant clouds and said calmly, "Another storm is coming soon."

Jack jumped off the motorcycle and took a deep breath. The cold, thin air invigorated him. They were in the mountains, at an altitude of over 3,000 ters.

The peaks not far away were probably over 4,000 ters, their summits covered in snow that never lted. The scenery was magnificent, but it also ant an extrely harsh living environnt.

"Is your BAU planning to take on this case?" Jane asked as they walked.

Jack shook his head. "It's hard to say yet. I'm just doing this for a friend. I'm still on vacation, so everything is up to you."

Jane nodded noncommittally. She was still quite resentful of being sent to this godforsaken place by her superiors, and the locals' attitudes were intriguing, making her feel unmotivated.

Nevertheless, Jane maintained the professionalism expected of an FBI agent, slipping into the cordon and beginning to carefully examine the body.

"Has the dical examiner confird the deceased's identity?"

"Not officially confird yet." The old sheriff, who had just chatted with the dical examiner's assistant, accompanied Jane into the cordon.

"Her na is Natalie Hansen," a hunter resting against a snowmobile interjected sowhat irritably.

Jane shrugged, trying to smooth things over. "Okay, let's just say it's confird."

"Did she live nearby?"

"Fort Vokash, not far to the north." The old sheriff pointed in a direction.

Although the snow wasn't thick, just covering the upper part of their boots, the reflected sunlight was extrely dazzling. Prolonged direct sunlight could damage eyesight—that's how snow blindness occurs.

Jack squinted at the direction the old sheriff was pointing. There was nothing there but a vast expanse of snow.

He asked, puzzled, "How far is 'not far'?"

"About a 30-minute drive."

"..." Jack really couldn't understand this kind of humor.

"So she didn't run away from ho? Didn't her parents report her missing?" Jane continued.

"No." The old sheriff shook his head.

Jack walked around the snow near the body, then squatted down beside it with Jane, already having a rough idea of the cause of death.

The girl lying dead in the snow, although seemingly wrapped in a long, thick down jacket, was only wearing thin trousers, stained with blood. She had no gloves and no shoes.

On the side of the snow where the girl's face was, although covered by a thin layer of snow, a large pool of blood was shocking.

"What's the average nightti temperature here this ti of year?" he asked the hunter, who was theoretically the most familiar with the area.

Corey Lambert kept looking up at the sky, seemingly unconcerned about them. "It's about 20 degrees lower than now," he said.

Jack silently calculated in his mind that it was roughly -15 to -20 degrees Celsius, and was fairly certain of it.

Jane put on rubber gloves, trying to pull open her down jacket a little to check the bloodstains on the girl's pants, but she couldn't. The low temperature had already made the body, along with her clothing, blend seamlessly with the snow.

"That's why I notified the FBI." the old sheriff explained. This was clear evidence of suspected assault.

"So, what do you think?" Jane nudged Jack with her elbow and whispered.

"I know you got perfect scores on cri scene investigation and forensic tests at the academy."