Chapter 93: An Actor?

"Hmm?" Hearing these words, Roan tilted his head in surprise. Mona patted his shoulder and smiled, saying, "Freddy is deeply regretting his actions now. After learning we’re investigating the bank robbery, he claims to have some clues and hopes we’ll speak for him before the judge..."

Seeing the smile at the corner of Mona’s lips and her hands spread in a gesture, Roan’s face broke into a sunny grin. "Let’s hear what he has to say first."

Since the matter concerns the bank robbery, regardless of whether the information is true or not, it’s worth listening to. Without hesitation, Roan rose and returned to the interrogation room with Mona.

Inside, Freddy sat handcuffed, his expression unusually complex. After the bank robbery, Freddy had nearly lost his job. Though he managed to keep it afterwards, his wages were docked. Driven to desperation by the pay cut, Freddy had agreed to help those people with the bomb. When he saw the FBI, thinking they were there to arrest him for the bomb incident, he’d fled without thinking...

Yet during the interrogation, Freddy suddenly learned that these FBI agents were actually here because of the recent bank robbery!

"Son of a bitch!" "Damn it!" Freddy sat in his chair, his face twisted, and unleashed a constant stream of traditional American invective, cursing the bank robbers and their families.

Now Freddy’s desire to see those two robbers caught was even greater than Roan’s and Mona’s. He even wanted to ask Roan which prison the robbers would be sent to after their capture, and whether he might have a chance to meet them.

The interrogation room door swung open. As Roan and Mona entered, Freddy immediately spoke with urgency, "How far have you gotten in your investigation? Have you identified any suspects?"

Roan was momentarily taken aback by Freddy’s question, but upon realizing the reason, he felt both amused and exasperated. He didn’t show it, however, and calmly opened his folder, asking, "Freddy, right now I’m the one asking the questions, not you. OK?"

"OK! OK!" Freddy nodded fervently, then said outright, "There are definitely more than two robbers involved in the bank heist!"

Freddy only knew there had been six incidents in total and didn’t realize the fifth and sixth were committed by others. He happened to be the security guard during the first robbery. So everything he said was based on his direct observations at the scene.

"More than two?" Roan frowned and looked up. "What do you mean?"

"On the day of the robbery, after the two thieves wiped the surveillance in the bank lobby, they kept checking their phones!" Freddy shifted to a more comfortable position and spoke in a low voice, "The robber holding the gun threatened me with a voice message from his phone, and in the mirror beside him, I saw his phone receive two texts. I couldn’t see the exact content, but when he replied, the sequence he typed was ‘Everything’s going smoothly.’"

Listening to Freddy’s account, Roan frowned, and Mona tilted her head, puzzled. "That detail wasn’t in your statement at the scene, was it?"

"No, I mentioned it," Freddy shook his head. It was a rookie from the NYPD who took his statement that day, and the officer didn’t believe him. Freddy had planned to argue, but the bank manager called him over at that moment. Not daring to offend the manager, Freddy gave up on the argument, glared at the rookie, and left.

Mona turned to Roan. Seeing him deep in thought, she tapped her pen on the desk and asked gravely, "Do you have any other evidence?"

"No." Freddy shook his head but insisted he was telling the truth—those robbers definitely had accomplices.

"Alright." Roan recorded the information in his notebook, paused, and didn’t comment further. Instead, he asked casually, "Freddy, do you suspect anyone in particular for these two robbers?"

"Yes!" Freddy replied firmly. "Before the robbery, the bank fired a manager. I strongly suspect him!"

According to Freddy, the first bank robbed had, until recently, a white manager with a build similar to the robber, named Owen. "That Owen acted like a performer every day, showing photos to the staff and talking about his family, always claiming his home was so happy, his wife so loving..."

Freddy became bitter as he spoke of the manager. "But everyone knew Owen went to bars every night, chasing women and never going home..."

"OK." Roan jotted down Owen’s name and questioned Freddy further until he could provide nothing more. Then Roan turned and left the interrogation room with Mona.

"Freddy really has it out for Owen," Mona remarked dryly as they exited.

During Roan’s other questions, Freddy kept steering the conversation back to Owen.

"Maybe it’s jealousy, or perhaps some workplace conflict," Roan replied offhandedly. Back at his desk, he stretched and said to Mona, "Still, we should check out Owen. There is some suspicion there. Let’s see where he was during the six incidents—whether he has an alibi."

"No problem." Mona tossed her notebook aside, nodded, and began typing rapidly.

Lacey nearby leaned in, picked up Mona’s interrogation notes, glanced at them, and looked at Roan, her lips twitching. "This Owen..."

Roan stared at his notebook, chin in hand, deep in thought.

"Looking into him won’t hurt," Mona said as she tapped at the keyboard. "Who knows, maybe Owen really is the robber."

"Alright." Lacey nodded. Luck was unpredictable; Mona’s suggestion wasn’t impossible.

A few minutes later, Mona pushed the keyboard away and spread her hands. "Well, I was wrong. Looks like our luck isn’t great. Owen was fired for business reasons and caught a flight out of the country, staying in Europe ever since."

Looking at the flight records on the screen, Lacey shrugged, picked up the suspect list compiled by the tech staff, and waved it. "There are still a dozen names here. Are we going to check them one by one?"

Mona was about to respond when Roan, who had been pondering for a long time, drew another circle in his notebook.

"Roan, did you notice something?"

Both Mona and Lacey turned their eyes to Roan. Roan nodded and said solemnly, "Freddy’s description of Owen reminded me—what if those copycat robbers from the fifth and sixth incidents were actually actors by profession?"

"Actors?" Mona and Lacey were both stunned.

(End of chapter)