Chapter 89: Before Entering the Bank

Hearing the questions from Lacey and Mona, Roan cleared his throat and continued his explanation:

“Secondly, the surveillance footage allows us to observe the robbers’ most genuine physical expressions and actions, rather than relying on the secondary accounts of eyewitnesses at the scene.

This is truly the most relevant and authentic information we can depend on when searching for the robbers.

Of course, for now, we’re focusing all our attention on the surveillance videos to see if we can uncover any clues that the Fourteenth Investigative Team may have overlooked.

We won’t abandon other evidence; we’ll review it all in due course. It’s just a matter of the order of investigation.”

“OK.”

After Roan finished speaking, everyone nodded in understanding. Augustus wasted no words, waving his large hand and sending everyone back to their workstations to begin reviewing the surveillance recordings.

There had been a total of six bank robberies. Two robbers dressed in black stormed in—from opening the bank doors to entering the lobby, and then with one of them pulling out black paint to obscure the cameras—the entire process took less than ten seconds, with the fastest instance lasting only seven seconds.

Witnessing this scene, Mona’s eyelids twitched, and the others wore complicated expressions, casting their gaze toward Roan.

Their attention didn’t faze Roan in the slightest. He carefully reviewed the footage of the robbers entering the banks in all six cases, then, after a silent pause, tilted his head toward Mona:

“Mona, can you place the six videos on the same screen and play them simultaneously?”

“It’s possible, but if we do that, the videos will be completely unclear.”

Mona shook her head. It was 2005; computer screens were only so large. With six videos together, the images would be extremely crowded.

Moreover, the surveillance footage from these banks was rather mediocre in quality, nowhere near the clarity of later years. Any enlargement would render the figures blurry and indistinct.

“Alright then.”

Roan nodded, not dwelling further on the issue, and began slowly playing each video frame by frame.

At the same time, Roan took out a notebook, jotting down notes as he watched.

Seeing Roan immersed in the footage, Augustus patted his large belly and casually picked up a folder.

“Lacey.”

Augustus flipped through it briefly, then turned to Lacey with a question:

“Besides the hostages taken by the robbers, the bank employees who were frightened by the information in the transparent folder also had close contact with the robbers. Did any of them mention the robbers’ faces or eye color?”

Hearing Augustus’s question, Lacey extracted the folder containing testimonies, leafed through it, and after careful examination, shook her head:

“A few employees did mention the robbers’ eye color, but their accounts were inconsistent—brown, black, deep chestnut, all were mentioned.

As for their faces, several employees said that, through the eye holes in the black hoods, they saw that the robbers had fair skin.”

“It seems the threat from our white robber gentlemen truly terrified these ladies.”

Augustus shook his head at Lacey’s words, saying no more.

Those bank employees were ordinary people without professional training. It was perfectly normal for their memories to be confused after such a fright—especially since the robbers had threatened their families.

“Hmm?”

Recalling the transparent folder containing information about the employees’ families, Augustus suddenly had a thought and tilted his head to ask:

“Did anyone investigate how the robbers learned the identities of the employees’ family members?”

“The Fourteenth Investigative Team has already looked into it.”

Hearing Augustus’s question, William, sitting nearby, pulled out a folder and spread his hands:

“When threatening bank employees, the robbers provided simple information—names, contact details, and home addresses.

Such information can be obtained through many channels—hospitals, post offices, schools, restaurants—the scope is so broad that we have no way of knowing where the robbers got it.”

America always boasts of valuing citizens’ privacy and protecting personal information.

But in reality, it’s one of the worst countries in the world for personal data leaks.

“OK.”

After hearing William’s report, Augustus frowned deeply, patting his belly. He realized that any direction he could think of had already been explored by the Fourteenth Investigative Team, but nothing conclusive had been found.

Ultimately, the lack of surveillance around the banks made it so that once the robbers left, they vanished without a trace.

“I wonder if this counts as a clue.”

After a long time, Mona suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of the others:

“I noticed that in the six robberies, the way the robbers opened the bank doors differed—sometimes they pushed inward, sometimes they pulled outward.”

Augustus and William exchanged glances, both puzzled, but Lacey nodded:

“You mean in cases one, two, and four, the robbers pushed the doors inward, while in cases three, five, and six, they pulled the doors outward, right?”

“Exactly.”

Mona nodded, then explained to Augustus, William, and the others:

“Roan previously suspected that these six bank robberies were not committed by the same group.”

Seeing the doubt in Augustus’s and Lacey’s eyes, Mona briefly described their earlier investigation of the laundromat owner.

“Ah…”

After Mona’s explanation, William was astonished by Elken’s audacity, while Augustus appeared thoughtful, tilting his head as he spoke:

“If these six cases truly weren’t committed by the same group, that would explain why Broson failed to crack the case.

If the direction is off, no amount of effort will yield the desired answer.”

Augustus’s words reached Lacey, who raised her brows and pulled up the surveillance videos, her expression grave:

“In the six cases, the robbers opened the bank doors differently each time—sometimes pulling, sometimes pushing. Based solely on this, cases one, two, and four seem to be one group, while three, five, and six seem another.

But if we focus on the act of painting over the cameras, cases one, four, and six all go left then right, while two, three, and five go right then left…”

Setting aside clothing and other details, purely from their actions, the robbers’ methods were generally the same, but the nuances differed—a new permutation and combination appeared each time.

A multitude of movements led to countless combinations, making it impossible to deduce which group committed which crime.

“This…”

After hearing Lacey’s analysis, Mona and Augustus both furrowed their brows.

Beside them, Roan hadn’t uttered a word, but his notebook pages were already filled with writing.

The videos on the computer screen continued to play slowly. Suddenly, Roan’s pupils contracted, and he forcefully circled one line in his notebook.

Mona noticed Roan’s action and hurriedly asked:

“Roan, did you find something?”

“I’ve spotted a few minor details.”

Seeing everyone’s attention shift to him, Roan didn’t conceal anything. He adjusted the videos to the relevant spots as he spoke:

“Watch closely.”

(To be continued)