Chapter 27: Twenty-Four Hours

"Given the current situation, if this serial murder case isn't solved within twenty-four hours, the losses for Verinise will be extremely severe."
Roan stood at the door of the team leader's office. Inside, August was holding the phone, his expression grave as he nodded repeatedly. Roan mused silently to himself:

"She probably won't be dismissed outright, but the investigation teams One through Five will likely be handed over to the newly appointed Bruosen..."

That was precisely Bruosen's goal.

Roan had already guessed most of the story, though several details still eluded him. For instance, Bruosen had worked in Team One for many years, amassing extensive connections. Now that he had been promoted to team supervisor, there was no way he'd just be sidelined; he would certainly be assigned investigation teams.

If that was the case, why was Bruosen so eager to target Verinise?

...Was it simply to set up for a future move against Roan himself, to avenge that kick Roan had given his nephew?

The moment this thought surfaced, Roan tossed it into the mental wastebasket. Impossible. It was just a nephew—not worth that much trouble. In idle conversation, Lacey had once remarked that Bruosen resembled a politician far more than an investigation team leader.

To American politicians, everything is negotiable.

So what else could be the reason? Roan stroked his chin, thinking carefully. Could it be that Bruosen and Verinise had a previous grudge?

The idea made Roan's eyes light up. That must be it. Otherwise, why would Bruosen target only Verinise and not the other team supervisors?

"A serial murder case, and somehow it's turned into a game of high-level intrigue."

Roan felt a bit speechless, but then another thought occurred to him: was there any way he could benefit from all this?

"Verinise is a team supervisor; she can’t personally investigate the case."

The more Roan considered it, the brighter his eyes became, and the more he sensed opportunity.

If she wanted the case solved, Verinise would have to choose one of the five investigation teams.

Teams Two, Three, and Four had average case-solving records; expecting them to crack a high-difficulty serial murder case within the set time was simply unrealistic.

Team One was Bruosen's old turf—there was no way Verinise would hand the case to them; that would be like sticking her neck out for the executioner.

Which left only Team Five.

And the case itself had fallen into their hands anyway; passing the blame elsewhere wouldn't be appropriate.

As for Team Five... the only person capable of cracking the case was Roan himself.

"Roan, come in."

Just as he was deep in thought about what to do next, the team leader’s office door suddenly opened and August called him inside.

Seated in a chair, August's expression was extremely serious, the wrinkles on his forehead deep enough to crush a fly.

Before he could speak, Verinise's voice came through on the phone:

"Roan, in thirty minutes I will hold a press conference. I need you to tell me right now—can this serial murder case be solved and the real killer apprehended within twenty-four hours?"

If you ask like that, it's absolutely impossible.

Roan raised an eyebrow, about to offer an excuse, when Verinise's voice came through again:

"If the case is solved, I will contact our superiors and secure a year’s worth of special funding for your team."

In other words, for the next year, every member of Team Five would receive a considerable performance bonus each month.

The office fell quiet. Roan said nothing, instead looking at August.

The heavyset Black man remained expressionless.

August was in a tough spot—he sincerely wanted to hand the case off, but with the exception of Bruosen, he had good relationships with the other team leaders and didn’t want to jeopardize those over this. If he chose to pursue the case, though, Team Five was newly formed, and he knew everyone's capabilities well; the only one who might actually solve it was Roan.

But cracking a serial murder case in twenty-four hours... August was already contemplating how, when the case inevitably failed, he could minimize the punishment for himself, Roan, Lacey, and the others.

Roan didn't know what was going on in August's mind, but seeing the team leader's impassive face, he assumed August was unhappy with Verinise’s arrangement. As he hesitated to speak, Verinise’s voice rang out again from the phone:

"At the press conference in thirty minutes, I will issue a wanted notice for the serial killer, with a reward of one hundred thousand dollars."

One hundred thousand dollars?

Thinking of the clues in his mind, Roan’s eyes gleamed with excitement. With an air of righteous assurance, he declared:

"Don’t worry, ma’am. I will apprehend the real culprit within the allotted time!"

August: "..."

---

Elsewhere, on the highway from Washington back to New York, a pitch-black sedan sped beneath the bright streetlights.

After reviewing the documents in his hand, Bruosen, dressed in a black suit, curled his lips in a faint smile and looked up at his driver:

"Matthews, you've done well with this matter. By the way, how did you handle Joseph?"

Matthews, the driver, was Team Leader of Squad One within Investigation Team One and had followed Bruosen for ten years.

This also highlighted just how thinly staffed Team Five was—Team One even had several squads under it...

Now that Bruosen had been promoted to supervisor, unless things went awry, Matthews would soon become Team One’s leader.

At Bruosen’s question, Matthews replied with a smile:

"Joseph is a street reporter. Because he’s been beaten up quite a few times for secretly filming stories, I promised him a one-year temporary agent status after this job is done."

A temporary agent—if anything went wrong, he’d no longer be an agent, and it had nothing to do with the FBI. And given the nature of the work, disappearing for a while would hardly raise eyebrows.

"Good."

Bruosen nodded in satisfaction. He trusted Matthews to handle things, so he continued:

"What’s the status with Team Five? Any leads in the serial murder case?"

"None yet, sir."

At the mention of Team Five, Matthews' face showed open disdain. He elaborated:

"I heard from the Forensics Department that at the dismemberment scenes of the two victims, aside from half a fingerprint, there was no other evidence linked to the killer."

Bruosen nodded. In these circumstances, the difficulty of solving the case had increased several fold—especially since this was a serial murder.

After a moment’s thought, Bruosen cautioned:

"Have your people keep a close eye on Team Five, especially that Roan Greenwood."

Other than Roan, Bruosen didn’t believe anyone else in Team Five had the skills to solve the case.

"I’ve already sent someone, sir. If they make a move, I’ll know about it immediately."

A look of supreme confidence appeared on Matthews’ face as he said, "As long as I’m watching, there’s no way this case gets solved within twenty-four hours!"

"Excellent!"

Bruosen looked pleased, turned to stare out the window, and began to imagine what Verinise’s expression would be like after twenty-four hours, when the case remained unsolved and he took all five investigation teams from her.

"It will be a sight to behold..."

A cold glint flashed in Bruosen’s eyes as he murmured to himself.