Chapter 28: Credit Card!

"What? Virenis demands we catch the killer within twenty-four hours?"
In the office area of Investigation Team Five, upon hearing Roan's words, the eyes of the two beauties, Lacey and Mona, widened in disbelief, their hands covering their mouths.
"And if we fail, we'll be suspended?"
"Not suspended—dismissed," Roan waved at Lacey, signaling her to hand over the investigation reports from both crime scenes. He yawned with an air of indifference and said, "Don't worry, Mona. If anyone is dismissed, it'll only be me. The rest of you at most will be suspended or have your salaries withheld for a few months."
"Salaries withheld?"
At those words, Mona jumped up on the spot, startling everyone present. Before Roan or Lacey could react, she grabbed Roan's shoulder, her voice anxious.
"What about the reward for catching the shooter? The bonus?"
Roan blinked, teasing, "That probably won’t be issued either."
Hearing this, Mona immediately closed her eyes and collapsed backward onto her chair in despair.
Everyone: "..."
Roan almost burst out laughing and reached out to wake Mona, but in the next moment, she opened her eyes herself, her face filled with fury. She spun her chair around and her fingers began to fly over the keyboard.
"Serial killer, ****!"
A string of curses tumbled from Mona’s mouth. Roan, seated nearby, was taken aback. Lacey, seeing this, drew a sheet of paper from her desk and handed it to Roan, explaining helplessly, "Mona just took out a loan to buy a small apartment. She signed the contract this morning."
Seeing the apartment information, Roan was speechless.
He’d seen Mona typing away at her computer earlier that morning; he’d assumed she was hacking some program, but she was actually researching apartment details.
Shaking his head and tossing the paper aside, Roan and Lacey began to carefully examine the forensic reports from the two locations where the bodies were found.
Agent Nyle from the Trace Examination Division noted in the report that, judging by the degree of freezing of the body parts, Roan’s victim was labeled Victim Two, with an estimated time of death within two to three days.
The victim found by Ryder was designated Victim One, and their time of death was believed to be over a month ago.
In both crime scenes, the killer dismembered the bodies in the kitchen. After briefly washing away traces with water, they smashed the victim's perfume on the kitchen floor, attempting to mask the scent of blood.
Beyond that, Nyle’s colleagues discovered numerous toys, clothing, and binding ropes in the bedrooms of both victims.
Initial assessments suggest that, prior to their deaths, both victims had been tortured by the killer using those items.
Additionally, Nyle’s colleague found half a fingerprint in the bathroom of Victim Two’s home, which was now being searched in the fingerprint database...

After reading the report, Roan tossed it aside and closed his eyes to rest and think.
"I checked the surveillance around both victims’ homes," Mona said, her fingers rattling the keyboard in annoyance. "Nothing comes up, nothing’s online. Someone needs to visit in person and see if any cameras are around, then bring back the footage."
Lacey nodded, but just as she reached for her phone, Roan waved her off and then opened his eyes to look at Mona.
"Mona, check the credit card usage records for both victims immediately."
"Okay."
Mona turned back to her keyboard, Lacey tilted her head, suddenly thoughtful.
"You think the killer might have used their cards to buy something?"
Roan nodded. "It's possible. You saw the crime scene report: both victims’ bedrooms contained many toys. Those were likely not bought by the victims themselves."
"Why not?"
Lacey was still confused. "In Sabina's apartment, didn’t she have lots of toys under the bed? The killer even went there to retrieve some."
"That’s because Sabina has money, Lacey," Roan explained as he picked up the report and pointed at its contents. "The two victims had average financial means, but those toys were all well-known brands and quite expensive."
"This..."
Lacey was momentarily speechless. She wanted to say it was normal for women to treat themselves well, but some of the toys pictured cost nearly four figures. She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn’t come.
"Found it!"
Suddenly, Mona’s fingers stopped. She pointed excitedly at the data on her screen.
"During the period when the victims were reportedly held captive, their credit cards were used to buy many toys."
Lacey leaned in and indeed saw purchase records for toys on the credit cards, marveling at Roan’s quick thinking. She turned to look for him, only to find Roan heading toward the conference room.

Inside, Augustus was trying to calm the agitated Mr. Darrin.
Roan pushed open the door and got straight to the point, looking at the flushed Darrin.
"Mr. Darrin, I’ve found clues regarding your wife. I hope you’ll cooperate."

"Okay!"
Compared to Augustus’s stern face, Roan’s unremarkably handsome one was much more comforting. Darrin didn’t hesitate, immediately stepping out and asking,
"What do you need me to do? Sabina has been missing for thirteen hours! I don’t want to wait any longer!"
Roan offered brief reassurance, expressing his understanding, then asked which bank Sabina used for her credit card, thus obtaining her usage records.
Nothing.
"The most recent record is from three days ago," Mona said, pointing to the screen. "Sabina bought a dress, then nothing else."
Seeing the five-figure price tag on the dress, Mona gritted her teeth.
Augustus and Darrin, having heard the backstory from Lacey, now looked grim after Mona spoke.
They turned to Roan, who wore a look of confirmation, and both felt reassured.
Augustus’s confidence required no explanation—he knew Roan’s capabilities.
Darrin’s was more complicated.
From the start, he’d been questioned by Roan, arrested, locked in the interrogation room, then heard from Roan about his wife Sabina’s colorful private life, and finally had to ask Roan to help find her... Perhaps this was what people called “CPU.”
Seeing everyone’s gaze on him, Roan’s expression twitched. He drew Darrin into the conference room and spoke quietly.
"Mr. Darrin, I now suspect your wife has a credit card you don’t know about. I hope you’ll call the bank you suspect immediately and ask for information about that card."
Darrin: "....."
How many times now? How much has Sabina hidden from him?
Then again, he’d hidden things himself. Darrin took a deep breath, suppressing his agitation, and replied stiffly,
"Give me a few minutes. Thank you."
"Okay."
Roan nodded and stepped out of the conference room, only to see Augustus and the others all looking up at the television at the front.
Team supervisor Virenis’s press conference was officially beginning.