Chapter 25: The Case Appeared on Television

"Fu-k!" August cursed under his breath, though it was unclear whether the expletive was aimed at Roan or the serial killer.

"Lexi, step outside for a moment."

"Alright."

Once Lexi had left the team leader’s office, August’s large, dark face grew stern as he questioned Roan.

"Roan, you do understand that a kidnapping case is not the same as a serial murder case, don’t you?"

"I understand," Roan nodded.

In truth, solving a serial murder case and catching the real culprit—aside from the surge in fame—didn't bring the lead investigator much money, since the reward for solving such cases was fixed. Most of the time, the families of the victims in serial murders were left devastated and penniless after their loss, so generous rewards were rare.

Kidnapping cases, however, were a different matter. The criminal’s motive was money, and the victims’ families understood this well. So, when an agent helped rescue their loved one, they were generally not stingy with their gratitude. After all, if they weren’t giving the money to the kidnapper, they’d rather give it—albeit a smaller sum—to the agent who returned their family member. The notion that you need to feed the horse if you want it to run was well-understood by Americans. This, in a way, had become an unspoken rule.

Seeing Roan’s understanding nod, August was satisfied; he appreciated subordinates who caught on quickly. He continued, "Our Unit Five is newly formed. Serial murder cases aren’t really suitable for us. The only reason I took on the 'Lakeside Dismemberment Serial Case' was because the case spanned a long period. If we crack it, great; if not, the team leader won’t blame us—he’ll just reassign the case. I mainly took it to give you all some experience.

"But kidnappings are different. Sometimes they’re tough, other times straightforward. I took the 'Missing Heiress Kidnapping Case' mainly for training purposes—if we solve it, excellent; if not, as I told you before, Ryder will take over and you’ll gain experience for future opportunities..."

Listening to August’s prolonged discourse, Roan couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

Good grief, I’m thinking about making money, and you’re thinking about politics!

Their motivations could not have been more opposed.

After speaking at length, August’s mouth grew dry. Roan got up to pour him a cup of coffee. August was pleased, and after finishing the coffee, he asked, "So, given the current situation, do you actually have confidence in catching the killer? If not, I’ll hand the case over to another team immediately. Fourteen hours have already passed since the 24-hour golden window began."

"Uh..." Roan lowered his head in thought.

Earlier, in the Queens apartment, Niall from the forensics team had briefly described the state of the body parts as he was organizing them. Judging from the thickness of the frost and the degree of freezing, Niall had roughly estimated that the body parts had not been frozen for long—about two to three days.

If Niall’s assessment was accurate, it meant that after kidnapping Serena, the killer tortured her for more than two weeks before finally killing her.

From this perspective, the wealthy woman Sabina was probably still alive, not yet murdered by the killer.

Of course, nothing was certain—who could predict the mind of a psychopath?

Next, the three most pressing questions were: Who was the killer? Where did the killer live? And, after kidnapping Sabina, where was the killer hiding now?

They had yet to determine the killer’s identity. Forensics had indeed found fingerprints in the Queens apartment that didn’t belong to the victim, but there was no certainty these belonged to the culprit.

Moreover, matching fingerprints took time, and the 24-hour window now had only 11 hours left. The forensics team could only compare prints against the FBI's criminal database. In other words, if the killer had no prior record and had never been fingerprinted by local police, the FBI's system wouldn’t be able to identify him.

Without knowing who the killer was, finding his address was impossible.

"Right now, the only lead is: after kidnapping Sabina, where did the killer hide her?"

Roan closed his eyes tightly, racking his brain as he went over every detail from that day, trying to analyze the killer’s behavior and deduce his current hideout.

But serial killers were a breed apart, and Roan couldn’t easily fathom the mind of such a madman. Just as he was about to give up, a flash of insight struck him—he suddenly thought of something.

Could it be that the killer...

Seeing Roan’s contemplative expression, August realized he was analyzing clues, so he didn’t hurry him. He picked up his coffee for another sip.

Bang!

The team leader’s office door was thrown open with a loud crash. The sudden noise startled August so badly that he spilled coffee down his front.

"Fu-k! I’m burning up!"

August leapt from his chair, grabbing a file folder and instinctively preparing to hurl it at whoever barged in without knocking.

But upon seeing that it was Darren, the husband of missing heiress Sabina, August quickly restrained himself, forgetting even to wipe his shirt.

"Agent Roan, is it true that Sabina’s been kidnapped by a serial killer?" Darren’s voice was filled with anxiety.

Roan, also startled by the crashing door, was just about to punch the intruder when Darren’s urgent question snapped him back. Roan immediately asked, "Where did you hear that?"

He had only discussed this with August, Lexi, and Mona. Could Mona or Lexi have let it slip?

Darren’s face was frantic. "The TV said so!"

"W T F?!"

Hearing this, August’s face turned stormy. He rushed from the office to the front of the operations area, where a massive television broadcast the news around the clock.

In the open office, every agent’s eyes were glued to the blonde anchorwoman reporting the news.

"Around 7:30 this evening, an appalling homicide occurred in an apartment in Queens. The perpetrator not only dismembered the victim but also stored the remains in a freezer. According to reliable sources, this is a serial murder case. The apartment contained only one of the victims. The FBI is now involved, but they currently have no effective leads. We urge all residents to remain vigilant..."

"Fu-k! Damn it! Son of a bitch!"

After watching the broadcast, August’s already dark face seemed to turn even blacker. He spun around to glare at everyone in the office, demanding, "Who leaked this case?!"

Darren, his expression grim, shouted at August, "Was my wife Sabina really kidnapped by this psycho murderer?! What’s happened to her?"

The agents in the office looked at one another in confusion, having no idea what was going on. Mona and Lexi, who knew the inside story, exchanged puzzled glances.

Given the American way of doing things, once the media got hold of a case, the subsequent investigation and its outcome would be heavily affected.