NOVEL NEXT Chapter 255: The substitution of Lee for a Peach, Level Up_1
As Carlo walked into the community, he noticed many of the residents gathered near the gate—men, women, old, and young, all with dark hair and brown eyes, indistinguishable from one another.
However, the gazes that most of the residents cast toward the police were tinged with a mix of fear and disgust.
He clenched the handgun in his hand, worried that someone in the crowd might fire a shot in the dark.
Such small conflicts erupting over arrests in communities united by race were not uncommon in the United States.
Carlo tensed up, quickening his pace against the exiting crowd.
About a hundred meters into the community, a number of police cars came into view.
Several patrol officers were scrambling to lift their two groaning colleagues onto a police car; judging by the situation, they had been shot and were being rushed to the hospital.
But the two injured patrol officers didn't seem to have life-threatening injuries; otherwise, their cries wouldn't have been so spirited.
A few more patrol officers, still unsettled, cordoned off a house.
Around the lawn outside the house, one could see the small impact craters caused by semi-automatic rifles, and two large pools of fresh blood by the door, all proclaiming that the previous brief battle was far from easy.
The front door of the house was broken open and battered, with many bullet holes remaining.
Peering through the doorway, one could see a grim-faced man stepping over a body on the ground, holding a cellphone in one hand and a gun in the other, walking towards the outside.
That man was Dean!
A glimmer of suspicion flashed through Carlo's eyes.
It seemed, based on the situation, that the suspect was cornered at home by the patrol officers, tried to break out, and was ultimately killed by Boss Dean. But Boss Dean didn't seem to be happy?
Carlo's guess was correct.
Dean was indeed not pleased at the moment. Because after he killed the suspect Park Budong, the Detective Panel did not send any case-closing notification.
This means either there are still undiscovered culprits in the miniature murder case, or the hottie played me! This Park Budong is nothing but a decoy, a sacrificial pawn to help the real miniature murderer escape!
Both possibilities existed.
But Dean had examined the body he had shot in the head.
The deceased's appearance indeed matched Park Budong's as seen on the computer before.
But the guy had rough hands full of calluses, obviously someone who frequently visited a shooting range. His finger bones were bulky and seemed uncared for; it was unlikely that he was the real miniature modeler.
So, this guy was just a decoy! How could that possibly cheer him up?
"Boss Dean, are you alright?" Carlo approached.
Dean shook his head. "I'm fine. I saw a large number of model parts in the house. You stay here, take charge of these patrol officers, secure the scene, and wait for the Forensic Unit to arrive to catalog the items in the house and the suspect's body."
"Boss, you mean the case is closed?" Carlo was even more confused.
If the case was closed, why was Boss Dean still looking like someone owed him money?
Dean glared at Carlo. "Aren't you happy that it's closed?"
Carlo quickly shook his head. "No, I just feel lucky that you found out quickly, Boss. If it were any of us, even if we'd made it to the trade building, we would still have been misguided by surveillance. We would have let the killer hiding right outside Mrs. Kim's Foreign Trade Company go, and we would have even alarmed the suspect, letting them get away."
It was the truth.
One could tell by looking at the scene.
If the patrol officers had been any later, Park Budong, lying in a pool of blood, would have escaped.
Dean, however, had no interest in Carlo's hollow praise.
After inquiring about the condition of the injured patrol officers and making a call to confirm that the hottie's body had been taken back to the FBI office by Cheston En, he drove off alone to join Cheston En at the Los Angeles FBI office.
The FBI had offices in every major region of the United States.
These offices, similar to detective bureaus, were staffed by a varying number of employees, from a dozen to several dozen, depending on factors like the economic conditions of the state they were in.
Most of these employees were responsible for logistics, intelligence, and other functions, with only a few being field agents and senior field agents.
Due to the recent counterfeit money case, this once-unremarkable office was now left with only some clerical staff. Meanwhile, Cheston En, who had previously been unremarkable himself, had become the sole active field agent there.
Having brought back the hottie's body and laid it out, Cheston En waited anxiously in his office for news from Dean.
The office was understaffed at the moment.
If there really were an attack, this place was actually less secure than the detective bureau.
Fortunately, Dean had just called.
This matter should be coming to an end!
With that thought, Cheston En couldn't help but look toward the hottie's body in the room. Such a beautiful girl. I really don't know why she chose to join that mysterious Lucifer Game Organization!
He swept his gaze over her well-defined figure with some regret, pulled out a cigarette, took out a lighter, and prepared to alleviate his impatience with a hit of nicotine.
CLICK.
The sound of the lighter echoed in the spacious office.
WHOOSH.
Cheston En exhaled a puff of smoke. His body relaxed as he leaned back in the soft chair, his eyes half-closed, pondering the current desolation and quiet of the Los Angeles office...
Something's wrong!
The quiet!!!
There are at least ten clerical staff in the office; how could it suddenly become so quiet?
Cheston En abruptly opened his eyes.
The next moment, the cigarette in his hand slipped to the floor. His lips trembled for a long time, but fear prevented him from uttering a complete sentence.