NOVEL NEXT Chapter 253: This Pot, Big and Round_2
Upon seeing this interface, Dean's pupils constricted slightly.
He had only sensed that something was off about this woman, but he hadn't imagined she was actually from the Lucifer Game Organization!
And if he wasn't mistaken, this woman was the very person he'd been told about—the one the Lucifer Game Organization had sent to Los Angeles to recruit newly discovered criminal masterminds!
Realizing this, Dean turned his head. "Harry, you and the others go stop the security guards rushing over. And while you're at it, have them calm the people in the building who've been frightened!"
Harry nodded, gestured to Carlo, and headed for the elevator.
Although Cheston En found this shooting incident somewhat baffling, he still followed Harry, intending to leave Dean alone at the scene. However, Dean called out, "Cheston En, stay here," signaling for him to come over.
Cheston En didn't know why, but a chill ran down his spine, as if something bad was about to happen.
He steeled himself and walked towards Dean. "Detective Dean, what is it?"
Dean lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, then waved the phone in his hand. "See this interface? You shadowed Anthony, so you should know what this is, right?"
A red interface met his eyes.
Cheston En gasped, stuttering, "The Lucifer Game Organization!"
Could the Miniature Model Serial Killer actually be a member of this game organization? If he had known this earlier... he would rather have dealt with a counterfeit money case than get involved in this one! Cheston En vividly remembered when Anthony had led them, the reserve detectives, to take over a case from Dean's team. After they captured a serial home-invasion killer involved in the games, they were nearly wiped out by a mysterious hitman—one of the Organization's key operatives from that time! The people in this organization were all lunatics. Cheston En wanted nothing to do with them!
Dean saw the fear in his eyes and didn't waste any words.
This particular hot potato, with its immense potential for glory, was just perfect for Cheston En. Dean, for one, wasn't touching it.
「」
While the two were talking, the woman on the ground, possessing incredibly strong willpower, had already somewhat adapted to the searing pain in her body. Her lips were pale. She managed to swing her dislocated right hand, slapping it against Dean's trouser leg, and demanded viciously, "How on earth did you realize something was wrong with me!"
Dean looked down and shrugged. "You really want to know?"
"I hid myself so well! I'm sure I didn't leave any openings! How on earth did you figure out something was wrong with me?" The woman knew she was done for, but she wanted to die with an answer.
"Alright. Actually, I just sensed that you were a bit off. As a security guard, when your supervisor suddenly appears before you with several strangers and asks for your assistance, any normal person, curious or not, would inevitably glance at us a few more times. But you didn't, not from beginning to end. It was as if our appearance was entirely within your expectations. Plus, a serial killer we were tracking had also appeared in this trade tower. So, I suspected you might be an accomplice, or even the killer. That's why I had my partner test you. I just didn't expect such a strong reaction—that you'd actually open fire."
"Just a test?" The woman lifted her head, eyes wide with disbelief.
She had indeed known Dean and his team would come and had made preparations. That was why, when Carlo pointed his gun at her, she assumed she'd been exposed and immediately drew her own weapon to retaliate.
Dean nodded innocently. "Yes, just a test. After all, some people are naturally slow on the uptake. It might have just been my imagination, so it was only a test."
"Haha... FUCK!" The woman gave a wretched laugh. Finally unable to bear her injuries any longer, her head slumped to the ground, and she fainted.
Given her injuries, interrogating her anytime soon would be difficult.
「」
Looking at the fainted woman, Dean quietly exhaled a plume of smoke.
He had lied. In truth, the moment he saw the woman's reaction, he'd guessed she might be from the Lucifer Game Organization. This was because before the Miniature Model Serial Killer had committed his crimes, he'd received a tip-off. The informant had said the Lucifer Game Organization had found a high-IQ criminal in Los Angeles and had sent someone to recruit them.
Who would know in advance that Dean and his team would investigate this trade tower? Only a member of the Lucifer Game Organization who knew the Miniature Model Serial Killer's true identity and knew that the killer had left a fatal flaw in the case—in other words, the person who had been in contact with the Miniature Model Serial Killer!
It had been mentioned before: years ago, the Miniature Model Serial Killer committed seven serial murders in New York. After the New York FBI took over the case, they had traced the IP information to a real-world location. However, the Miniature Model Serial Killer was cautious in his real life and stopped his activities in time, which was why he wasn't caught. This was also why Dean had previously concluded that the Miniature Model Serial Killer didn't have a deep understanding of hacking or even much computer knowledge. The Lucifer Game Organization had probably discovered his real identity through traces the Miniature Model Serial Killer left online.
So, as the woman who had been in contact with the Miniature Model Serial Killer, she must have known. She would have realized that after the Miniature Model Serial Killer killed the victim, Johnny Dennison, even the most incompetent police, with access to the old New York crime files, would eventually trace the case to this trade tower via the network IP information.
Perhaps she had intended to use the pressure from the police to somehow subdue or recruit the Miniature Model Serial Killer.
Or perhaps... it was precisely because she considered herself an uninvolved outsider that she let slip an almost imperceptible flaw in front of Dean. This, in turn, led to her downfall before the Miniature Model Serial Killer was even caught, right there in front of Dean.
「」
Seeing Dean silently smoking, Cheston En wiped the sweat from his forehead and finally couldn't resist asking, "Detective Dean, how should we handle this woman?"
"I'm just a lowly detective; I can't handle someone from the Lucifer Game Organization. Cheston En, this is your collar! Your credit! If you just want a small commendation and want to avoid trouble, then kill her. Hand over her body and phone. The Lucifer Game Organization, even when its members die, has no precedent for retaliating against law enforcement, as long as it doesn't cause a security leak or endanger other members. If you're not afraid of trouble and want major credit, take her back alive and hand her over to your headquarters. But before that..."
Dean snuffed out the cigarette, put the butt in his pocket, and smiled faintly. "We might be able to learn the Miniature Model Serial Killer's true identity from her!"
No matter what Cheston En chose, Dean had successfully passed the buck to him.
So, if the Lucifer Organization investigated the woman's death, they would come looking for Cheston En first.