Chapter 150: The Importance of Incognito Browsing

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“A woman?”

Hearing Kermit’s words, Lacey froze for a moment before turning her gaze toward Roan.

Roan dispensed with pleasantries and said directly, “Give me every document related to this transaction, the phone records, and every other detail. Now.”

“That’s impossible, okay?” Kermit shook his head repeatedly. “I handle hundreds of stock trades every day. How could I find every detail about that particular transaction so quickly? How about this—I’ll bring everything to you after work today. Will that do?”

“No. If I say you can do it, then you can.”

Before Kermit could finish, Roan waved him off and cut him short. Fixing him with a stern gaze, he said, “Listen, Kermit. You’re only a junior trader at a small investment firm. I’m willing to bet that a twenty-million-dollar transaction was the biggest deal you’ve ever seen—and that the commission made you a very handsome profit.

“So don’t try feeding us lies that can be exposed with a single poke. Lying to the FBI is a serious felony.”

“…”

Kermit’s face darkened. After giving a cold snort, he strode out of the lounge.

“I’m going to find the files right now.”

“Good.”

Roan watched Kermit’s retreating figure and nodded in satisfaction.

—

A short while later, Lacey climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV with several sheets of paper in hand. Roan opened the driver’s door, took out his phone, and called Mona.

“Mona, I have a phone number here. Can you look it up for me?”

Unlike usual, Mona did not agree immediately. Instead, she asked Roan a question.

“Roan, do you remember Brent Hughes’s laptop that Ryder brought back from the Trace Evidence Unit?”

“Yeah.”

Roan settled into the driver’s seat, fastened his seat belt, and nodded.

“Of course I remember. What’s wrong? Did you find something on the computer?”

“Exactly! Once Brent Hughes’s computer came into my hands, I took a look through his browsing history. I found some very interesting things.”

Over in the offices of Investigation Team Five, Mona wore a grave expression. As Roan started the SUV, a look of exasperation crossed his face.

He suddenly remembered a news story from his previous life about someone who had still taken the trouble to wipe his phone before dying.

So incognito browsing really was necessary.

“Wait!”

At that thought, Roan’s brow twitched sharply.

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“Can incognito browsing actually fool a computer expert like Mona?”

Mona had no idea what was running through Roan’s mind. She continued speaking over the phone.

“A few days ago, Brent Hughes scanned his computer for viruses with the help of an expert from an online forum. And he really did find one.”

Roan’s expression immediately grew solemn.

“What kind of virus?”

If it had been an ordinary virus, Mona would not have gone out of her way to tell him about it.

“A very unusual one,” Mona explained. “The program itself wasn’t complicated. It simply scanned the files on Brent Hughes’s laptop for keywords. There were many of them, most related to stock trading.

“Once it found something matching its targets, the virus sent the information out by email.”

“Wow.”

Roan’s eyebrows rose at Mona’s description.

Now this was starting to feel like a movie.

After tilting his head and pondering for a few seconds, Roan asked, “Can you find out who received the emails?”

Mona’s expression darkened slightly in the offices of Investigation Team Five.

“The other party used a virtual machine and temporary email accounts. A thorough investigation will take a very long time.”

Mona estimated that it would take at least two nights.

“All right.”

Hearing that, Roan quickly told her to set aside the investigation into the email recipient for now and focus on checking the phone number he had just given her.

“Okay.”

Tracing the number was simple. Before long, Mona had uncovered the identity of the woman on the other end.

“Yuna Ramirez, forty-nine years old. She’s one of the agents at Dancer Modeling Agency and currently lives in Queens.”

“Dancer Modeling Agency?”

At Mona’s words, Lacey’s expression brightened immediately.

Seeing this, Roan turned his head toward her.

“What is it?”

“That modeling agency is extremely famous in New York’s underground circles.”

Lacey tilted her head toward Roan, a strange light shining in her eyes. Her tone was equally suggestive.

“Every model there has at least one particular skill that she’s practiced to perfection.”

“Uh…”

Seeing the expression on Lacey’s face and hearing her words, Roan fell silent.

Once the case was over, he intended to have Lacey take him there for a little firsthand experience.

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He was still young and had never seen much of the world when it came to such skills. He needed to broaden his horizons.

“Thanks for your help.”

After getting Yuna Ramirez’s address from Mona, Roan floored the accelerator. The SUV instantly sped toward the highway.

“Oh, right, Mona.”

Just as Mona was about to hang up, Roan suddenly thought of something. Raising his eyebrows, he asked疑疑ously, “Can you determine when that virus entered Brent Hughes’s computer?”

Mona paused.

“What do you mean?”

“If we can find out when the virus entered the computer,” Roan said with a smile as he drove, “and then check Brent Hughes’s schedule for that day, then…”

Mona, in the offices of Investigation Team Five, immediately understood. Her eyes lit up.

“Then I’ll know who transferred the virus onto Brent Hughes’s computer!”

“Exactly!”

Roan nodded in satisfaction, a broad smile on his face.

Mona was a computer expert. Whenever she encountered a difficult problem, she instinctively turned to hacking techniques to solve it.

Roan, on the other hand, had only a basic understanding of computers. But he knew how to reason, which made it easy for him to notice the things Mona had overlooked.

Not long afterward, Mona’s delighted cheer came through the phone.

“Thank you so much, Roan! You just saved me from an enormous headache—and from staying up all night!”

Roan raised an eyebrow.

“What did you find?”

“The virus was installed on Brent Hughes’s computer in the early hours of the morning, exactly two weeks ago.”

Mona spoke into the phone with a smile.

“According to Brent Hughes’s credit card records, he was resting at a hotel at the time. But the hotel’s security footage shows that Brent Hughes wasn’t alone.

“He was accompanied by a Western European model named Philomena.”

“I know Philomena.”

Lacey, who had remained silent until then, suddenly covered her mouth and cried out in surprise.

“As far as I know, she’s also a model signed with Dancer Modeling Agency! And she’s one of their very best!”

“Okay.”

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Roan’s face.

He had connected all the pieces of the case.

End of Chapter