CHAPTER 405: CHAPTER 405: MONITORING, CLUES, SUSPECT

Special Investigation Team, office area.

On Mona’s computer, the synchronized backup of the warehouse surveillance system is being played, showing the moments before the group broke into the warehouse.

A black MPV swiftly drove from a distance and stopped in front of the warehouse gate. Two sentries immediately pulled out their weapons and asked for identities.

As soon as the sentry finished speaking, the sliding door and window of the MPV’s rear seat opened, and two rifles equipped with silencers extended out, instantly killing the two sentries.

Seeing the sentries fall, five individuals in jeans and jacket coats with black gloves and black hoods obscuring their faces, stepped out of the MPV together.

The leader walked directly to the warehouse door equipped with a passcode lock, entered the code, and easily opened the door. Meanwhile, two other sentries noticed the commotion and came over to investigate. Two hooded men behind the leader raised their guns and killed the newly arrived sentries.

After entering the warehouse, the five individuals had clear roles; three headed deep into the warehouse to find weapons while two headed to the surveillance room.

When the surveillance video didn’t show the scene where the weapons were taken, the surveillance footage went black, suggesting those two had entered the surveillance room and cut off the system during this time.

"A group with a plan and organization."

After watching the surveillance footage, Luo An straightened up, stood, patted Mona on the shoulder, and asked:

"Can we trace the owner of this MPV?"

"Unfortunately, this car was also stolen by this group."

Mona explained that she had just checked the license plate of the car. The plate was real, the owner being a female florist who had reported her car stolen before the incident, even arguing with LAPD patrol officers about it.

"Congratulations to this florist, we found her car... just don’t know where it is now."

Luo An made an offhand remark. The surveillance video wasn’t entirely void of information; at least they now had a rough profile of this group:

Five men, well-built, each between 175-180 cm tall.

At that moment, Michelle suddenly raised her hand, covering the desk phone, and spoke to Luo An:

"The Trace Examination Department just mentioned they’ve found some clues. The report isn’t written yet, but if it’s urgent, you can go downstairs to see them."

"Good."

Luo An nodded to this news and signaled Mona to keep tracing the MPV, with Chenier, Winslow, and Michelle assisting. Then he and Reesi walked out of the Special Investigation Team office and into the elevator downstairs.

————

Trace Examination Department.

Ahmed, an investigator in the Trace Examination Department with long hair and Caucasian features, holding a forensic doctor’s hastily written autopsy notes, introduced to Luo An and Reesi:

"The cause of death for Petduo Osan was this wound on his neck; his trachea was cut open, and blood flooded in."

"OK."

Luo An was not surprised by this, as he suspected as much when he saw the body in the lumberyard. His current goal was to identify the gang of robbers, so he asked directly:

"Any clues inside that van?"

"In the van, we only found fingerprints from the original owner and his family."

Ahmed put the autopsy notes aside, walking with Luo An and Reesi toward another office, and continued:

"However, we found some fresh dirt on the car floor mats, mixed with fresh petals from Ranunculus and barbecue sauce.

We checked, and the only place that would have both items is a barbecue restaurant in Southern Los Angeles. The driver definitely visited that restaurant just before kidnapping Petduo Osan."

Luo An remained expressionless upon hearing this, and Reesi then asked:

"Any other clues?"

"And that toothpick."

In an office filled with various instruments, Ahmed picked up a transparent evidence bag containing the toothpick that Luo An had found at the scene, Ahmed explained with a smile:

"This toothpick had probably been in someone’s mouth for a long time; we found a bit of oral mucosa on it and obtained their DNA.

The FBI’s internal database doesn’t have this person’s DNA sequence, so we can’t find them directly through DNA.

However, if you find the suspect, you can use DNA testing to confirm their identity."

Upon hearing this, Reesi’s face lit up with a smile, and Luo An also smiled as he took the handwritten report outline handed to him, saying:

"Thank you, you’ve been a great help."

"You’re welcome."

Ahmed gestured with his hands and suddenly remembered something, hurriedly picking up the autopsy report written by the forensic doctor, adding:

"By the way, the forensic doctor said that judging from the two wounds on the legs of the victim Petduo Osan, the torturer likely used an SOG-S37 military dagger.

Also, there are numerous traces of beating on Petduo Osan’s face. The forensic doctor deduced from these marks that the assailant’s right finger bones are damaged, probably injured, and recessed compared to normal."

Luo An nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this and thanked him again before returning with Reesi to the Special Investigation Team.

After obtaining the address of the barbecue restaurant from the trace examination department, Mona quickly pulled up the surveillance video from the barbecue restaurant.

Then Mona rewound the footage to before the time when Petduo Osan was kidnapped, which was before 11:30 last night. With the assistance of Michelle, Reesi, and Chenier, they quickly spotted a suspicious Caucasian male.

Half an hour before the incident, this guy was having dinner with a Caucasian woman in her forties, enjoying the conversation until the Caucasian man suddenly received a call. He exchanged a few pleasantries over the phone, apologized to the woman across the table, and then got up and left the restaurant.

"This guy is Kelly Hunter, 37 years old, the woman opposite him is his cousin."

Mona typed quickly on the keyboard and soon identified both individuals:

"Kelly Hunter served in the federal army for a long time, had been on foreign battlefields, and eventually left the army due to conflicts with superiors.

Records show that Kelly Hunter has excellent shooting skills, having served as a sniper or spotter in multiple operations."

Looking at the photos and information of Kelly Hunter displayed on Mona’s computer, Luo An then asked:

"What’s his financial situation like? Any unusual occurrences lately?"

"Not recently, rather Kelly Hunter’s financial situation has always been abnormal."

Michelle pulled up Kelly Hunter’s bank records and said:

"This guy owns a used car worth a few thousand US dollars, has no property, and hasn’t filed a tax return in four years.

Over these four years, he has had no recorded employment, and his bank savings have consistently been around 2000 US dollars.

Yet he seems to be living well, unremarkably but certainly not like someone with only 2000 US dollars in savings."

"Either Kelly Hunter has a bank account that we don’t know about yet, or he gets a sum of cash every once in a while through ’work’."

Luo An chuckled, sharing his guess, then patted Michelle on the shoulder and asked:

"Where is this guy now?"

Michelle didn’t answer, but Mona spoke:

"Surveillance shows that ten minutes ago, Kelly Hunter returned to his cousin’s house and hasn’t come out since."

Luo An looked at Mona, then at Michelle, a hint of exasperation in his eyes, then turned and quickly walked towards the equipment room, saying:

"Chenier, Winslow, Reesi, let’s go have a talk with this sniper gentleman about his tax evasion problem."