Legendary FBI Detective

Trace Evidence Department, Autopsy Room.

This autopsy room is not very large, and there are not many forensic doctors; on ordinary days, a maximum of 2-5 bodies are processed at the same time.

Today the situation is quite exceptional, not only are several people busy in the autopsy room, but there are also people coming and going in the adjoining morgue, and from time to time, one can hear a few greetings starting with "F".

Luo An walked into the Trace Evidence Department with Mona, Michelle, and Reesi, and soon met a tall, but skinny Caucasian male in his fifties, with a pale complexion.

He is the old forensic doctor of the Trace Evidence Department, Forensic Doctor Kovard.

Seeing him approach, Luo An quickly extended his hand with a smile:

"Hello, Mr. Kovard, I am Luo An Greenwood."

"I have heard of you, Group Leader Greenwood."

Forensic Doctor Kovard took off his gloves, squeezed out a smile, and shook hands with Luo An:

"I never expected that our first meeting would involve you bringing us such a big 'gift'."

In addition to the 9 skeletons newly uncovered by Luo An and Mona on the beach, Reesi and Michelle also brought back 5 existing victim bodies from the Long Island police.

Considering the passage of time and some other reasons, 6 of the 11 bodies had been cremated or otherwise disposed of by the Long Island police, leaving only photographs and other physical evidence as clues.

That makes a total of 14 bodies delivered to the Trace Evidence Department in one day.

Plus the 2 bodies that Winslow had just retrieved from the seabed and brought here, it meant that the Trace Evidence Department needed to process a staggering 16 bodies in a short period of time.

Trace Evidence Department: "..."

Luo An understood the pressure on Forensic Doctor Kovard and the other staff members was tremendous, so he had specially instructed Reesi to deliver them some small gifts like coffee beans earlier.

For this reason, although the staff, including Forensic Doctor Kovard, were quite upset, they still treated Luo An and the others quite well. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they led the three to the nearby morgue.

Stepping into the chilly morgue, turning on the lights, in the spacious room, there were two rows of metal gurneys, all topped with white-shrouded victims.

"These are all the bodies you've brought in."

Forensic Doctor Kovard was the first to walk into the morgue, complaining:

"I've been working here for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen, like what Group Leader Greenwood did, almost filling the morgue floor with bodies at once, with the metal gurneys nearly running out."

Luo An smiled wryly and shook his head. He had encountered serial killer cases before, and cases with multiple victims and bodies.

But this time the victim count was 11+9+2, totaling 22 people.

And with the first victim's death dating back to 1992, and the case spanning over a decade to the present, it was also Luo An's first encounter with such a case.

"I haven't asked about these bodies' identities, my students are handling it; you can go find them later."

Forensic Doctor Kovard walked to the first gurney in the first row, lifted the white cloth to reveal the somewhat grimaced body underneath, and calmly explained:

"The specific results of the autopsy report for the bodies you've brought in can't be completed in a short time.

But during the autopsy process, I found there were some issues with their causes of death, so I had that girl call you over."

The girl that Forensic Doctor Kovard referred to was Chenier standing behind.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Kovard."

Luo An nodded and asked:

"Could you introduce the issue you mentioned?"

"The cause of death varies."

Forensic Doctor Kovard did not beat around the bush and directly introduced:

"The 12 bodies on the left-hand side in the first row all have damage to their throat bones, indicating their causes of death are the same, that is, they all suffocated to death due to compression of the neck area prior to death."

"The first row?"

Hearing the words of Forensic Doctor Kovard, Luo An's eyes flickered, and he looked towards the second row of metal gurneys on the right-hand side, with a slight frown:

"Is the cause of death of the victims in the second row different?"

"Indeed it is different."

Forensic Doctor Kovard nodded his head, covered the body in the first row with the white cloth again, and walked over to the second row of gurneys, lifting the white cloth from one of the bodies to reveal it, and introduced without expression:

"All eight individuals had a bullet hole in the back of their skulls, indicating they were all shot from behind.

Additionally, among these eight individuals, three had bodies in relatively good condition. Examination revealed that they had wrist binding marks, and their bodies were positioned in a kneeling, worshipping posture at the time of death.

Therefore, my student speculated that these eight individuals must have been tied up with their hands behind their backs, kneeling on the ground, as someone executed them with a gun from behind."

After Forensic Doctor Kovard finished his briefing, Mona, Reesi, and Michelle all looked visibly disturbed, a disturbing thought and guess emerging in their minds.

Luo An remained expressionless, pondering for a few seconds before asking:

"What about the last two individuals? What were their causes of death?"

"The causes of death for these two individuals are different from the previous ones."

Forensic Doctor Kovard chuckled, walked over to the last two bodies in the second row, and lifting the white cloth, he introduced:

"These two individuals had no damage to their throat bones, nor were their skulls shot.

However, there are signs of blunt force trauma at the back of their skulls caused by being struck with a rod-like object."

Luo An's eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded, continuing to speak:

"What you're saying is, someone killed these two individuals with a rod-like object from behind."

"The autopsy results are not yet complete, and I don't know if they were poisoned or not before they died."

Forensic Doctor Kovard covered the bodies with the white cloth again and said in a very cautious manner:

"I can only say that based on the traces on the bodies, your conclusion is currently without problem."

"OK, thank you very much for your help."

Luo An shook hands with Forensic Doctor Kovard, exchanged a few words of pleasantries, and led the team out of the Trace Examination Department.

Entering the elevator and pressing the floor button, Luo An pondered for a few seconds, then asked:

"What are all your thoughts?"

Mona, Michelle, Reesi, and Chenier exchanged glances, then after a long silence, Reesi spoke first:

"I have a rather unsettling speculation."

"What speculation?"

Reesi swallowed and said:

"Could it be that we are dealing with two serial killings this time?"

"..." xN

The elevator was very quiet. Reesi looked left and right at the expressions on Mona, Michelle, and Chenier's faces and asked:

"Do you all have the same thought?"

Mona, Michelle, and Chenier looked at each other and nodded, Chenier folding her arms in front of her chest and frowning:

"Most serial killers have their own unique ways of killing, and over time, develop habits unique to themselves – some serial killers even take pride in it.

The corpses in the morgue earlier, with some dying from asphyxiation and some from gunshot wounds to the back of the head, were clearly not the handiwork of the same individual."

Without waiting for Reesi to speak, Luo An added:

"Furthermore, don't forget those two victims who were killed with a rod-like object."

The elevator doors opened, and the group filed out. Mona, with a troubled expression, said:

"So, we are looking at actually three serial killings?"

As everyone walked into the office area, as Luo An was contemplating the case, Reesi suddenly spoke with a peculiar expression:

"Winslow hasn't returned yet, right? What do you think about having him continue the search at the beach?

He only searched a small area earlier and found two new bodies.

With the beach being so long, a thorough search might reveal new findings."

"..." xN

Hearing this, everyone gave Reesi a speechless look. Luo An tossed her a bag of snacks to keep her quiet, then looked at Chenier and asked:

"You mentioned earlier that the killer was very arrogant, what exactly did you find out?"