Arriving at the ssy backyard, Tim tossed a shovel, pointing to several patches of darker soil overgrown with weeds.
"Carefully dig them up."
Jack took the shovel, already having a suspicion. He dug less than half a ter and sure enough, he found sothing amiss.
Carefully removing the surface soil, a highly decomposed corpse, accompanied by a stench, appeared before him.
"Damn it," Jack muttered, stopping his work.
Tim also stopped; he had found a corpse in the sa spot, but this one was already skeletal.
"Next up is the forensics departnt's work. There are at least four bodies buried here. Looks like they're in for a lot of work."
Jack couldn't read any emotion from Tim's poker face, but his angry eyes betrayed him.
"Jack, can I trust you?"
Tim asked, before turning off the body caras on both of their chests.
Jack felt relieved; this was the world of Arican TV shows he knew — nothing so clearly defined by procedural justice.
"Actually, I wanted asked you the sa question earlier."
"I don't like those clichés about letting him rot in jail. I only believe in God's judgnt."
Tim seed satisfied with Jack's answer and continued, "Then let's send him to et God. This bastard has tarnished the Marines' reputation!"
Clearly, as a Marine veteran, he was deeply enraged.
"Let's take Nolan along. This old rookie isn't so pedantic saint; he just needs a catalyst. I don't want to see him get killed by his own kindness," Jack suggested.
Tim hesitated. "Does he know when to shut up? I still have fifteen more years before I can collect my full pension."
"Why don't we go in and talk to him and find out?" Jack shrugged; he was getting more and more adept at this.
The two went back inside and saw the other three discussing a photograph in Hannah's hand.
Jack coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention: "We found at least four unidentified bodies buried in the backyard."
"Fuck!" Angela, the most hot-tempered of them all, blurted out a string of swear words.
Seeing the two rookies' bewildered looks, Tim gestured for everyone to turn off their body caras before explaining,
"This ans that even if we catch that bastard, those bastards at the District Attorney's office might make a deal with him to avoid the death penalty in order to get him to reveal the identities of these victims."
Jack noticed Nolan's eyes widen instantly, seemingly completely unable to understand what Tim was saying.
Well, actually, he himself didn't quite understand this bizarre prosecution deal.
Angela explained from the side, "Although California hasn't abolished the death penalty, the killer in the Green River Killer case was spared the death penalty in this way."
"The infamous 'Night Stalker,' Richard Ramirez, although sentenced to death, was never executed and eventually died in prison."
Tim seed to think everyone's temper wasn't high enough, adding,
"And that adored Richard Ramirez. He lived in prison from 1989 until 2013 after being sentenced to death, and during that ti, a fan even married him."
Hannah tossed the photo to Tim and turned to leave without a word, but Jack, quick as a flash, grabbed her. Angela and Tim were testing the two rookies' attitudes, not adding fuel to the fire for Hannah.
"So, we can only watch this happen?" Nolan looked utterly shocked.
Tim nodded: "As long as that beast is smart enough, he won't give us a chance to kill him."
Hannah struggled a few tis but couldn't break free, gritting her teeth and saying hatefully, "I will never let him surrender his weapon."
Tim clutched the photo Hannah had tossed him; it showed a small cabin against a backdrop of a low hill. He frowned, examining it closely but couldn't discern anything. He asked, puzzled,
"What did you guys find?"
Nolan wasn't stupid; he clearly understood their unspoken aning. Just as Jack had suspected, Nolan was a good guy, but not so morally bankrupt liberal.
He looked Tim straight in the eye: "This is the south side of Baldwin Hill, on the edge of Kenneth Hahn State Park."
He swallowed hard and continued, "I went to this area when I first arrived in Los Angeles, uh, with Lucy. It's a remote place, and we suspect the suspect might be using it as a hideout."
Angela confird, "I checked with command center; the suspect does indeed own a vacation ho."
Tim put away the photo, his gaze sweeping over the group again.
"That conversation didn't happen. Jack and Hannah, co with to check it out. You two stay here and wait for the forensics team."
"Hey!" Angela protested, looking annoyed. "Why are you leaving behind? Am I that untrustworthy in your eyes?"
"You'll be a detective soon. Don't get yourself into trouble."
As he spoke, Tim used a stern look to stop Lucy, who was also eager to go, causing her to retreat dejectedly.
Tsk, this was Tim's unique gentleness; even when caring for a colleague, he used the toughest approach. Jack released Hannah, but his eyes were constantly observing Nolan, who was deep in thought.
"Take with you. I rember the area a bit. Besides, I know what I'm doing."
Nolan stepped forward without hesitation.
"Then let's go."
As they left the suspect's residence, Tim reported to the command center via walkie-talkie.
"Patrol car 7-A-21, we are heading to Kenneth Hahn State Park to investigate the vacation lodge of suspect Angus Lucius. Please mark it."
"Patrol car 7-A-26, we will be going with you. Please mark it."
Thirty minutes later, the two police cars were about to arrive at their destination along the bumpy forest road.
Before getting out of the car, Jack was a little worried about Hannah's condition. If this girl's anger level were rated on a scale of 1 to 10, it would probably be around 6 after questioning Kara, but after discovering more victims, it had been at a peak of 10.
"Hannah, if you can't calm yourself down, I'll have to tell Tim and leave you in the car."
Jack looked seriously into those light blue eyes. If the anger in them could materialize, he would probably be a charred corpse by now.
He didn't want this girl to have an accident because of her excessive emotions; after all, not everyone can be like him, remaining calm when their emotions are running high.
Hannah sniffed, leaned forward from her seat, buried her head in Jack's lap, took a few deep breaths, and then sat back down, saying in a muffled voice, "I'm fine now. Tim wouldn't let do anything anyway. Keep an eye on him, make sure nothing goes wrong."
User Comments
0 comments from readers