Half an hour later.

Susan arrived at the scene with the investigation team.

The investigation team entered the house to collect evidence.

Susan asked, "Give me a detailed account of the investigation."

Luke said, "We visited Carus Boel's auto repair shop and spoke with the owner Carus Boel.

We gathered some information from him.

According to Carus Boel, the homeowner Benjamin Nasi had a conflict with the Mexican victim Santos Mending.

So we came to investigate.

David smelled blood and, considering the urgency, we entered the house to search."

Susan nodded, "Good job."

David said, "The homeowner has a motive for the crime, and there is a lot of blood in the house, this place is very likely the primary crime scene where Santos Mending was killed."

The deputy frowned, "Isn't this going too smoothly?"

Susan countered, "What are your thoughts?"

The deputy was silent for a moment before saying, "You've talked with the auto shop owner Carus Boel, what do you think of him?"

David countered, "Are you suspecting him?"

The deputy shrugged, "I have suspicions about everyone involved in the case."

David thought for a moment, "He was kind to Santos Mending, at least for now we haven't found any motive for him to commit the crime."

The deputy said, "Criminals won't show their evil side."

Susan said, "Deputy, if you have suspicions about Carus Boel, why don't you go talk to him directly?"

"Are you sure you don't need me here at the scene?"

"I'm enough."

"OK, you're the boss," the deputy said somewhat dejectedly, and left with Marcus by car.

Susan pointed at Luke and David, "You two stop standing around."

Through the surveillance cameras, Matthew discovered the movements of Santos Mending's car.

Around 7 PM on the 28th, Santos Mending left the garage where he worked.

But he didn't head towards his home; instead, he drove to the city center.

Around 7:20 PM, the car disappeared near Keeway Plaza.

When it appeared again, it was already 12:35 AM on the 29th, he was missing for a full five hours, go check what he was doing."

"Raymond, you investigate Benjamin Nasi's background."

"Yes, captain."

...

Half an hour later, Luke and the others drove to the vicinity of Keeway Plaza.

David drove the car while observing the surroundings, "This place is huge, where do we start looking?"

Luke countered, "What do you think Santos Mending was doing here after work instead of going home?"

David thought for a bit, "Santos Mending's wife left him; could he have been looking for her?"

Luke laughed, "I don't know, but the city isn't like the suburbs, the roads are too narrow for easy parking.

We just made a round nearby and only found one parking lot.

Let's go ask."

"Good idea." David drove into the parking lot.

Luke got out of the car and said to the middle-aged black parking attendant, "Hey, are you in charge here?"

The black guard glanced at Luke, "On workdays, one US dollar per hour. On non-working days, one US dollar for two hours."

"Thanks for the heads up," Luke flashed his badge, "but I want to ask you about something."

The black guard was slightly taken aback, "What about? I only take care of parking and collecting fees, everything else doesn't concern me."

"On the evening of March 28th, did you see a Nissan Altima, license plate number 8CEB383?"

"Yes, I've seen it."

Seeing his quick response, Luke was taken aback, "How do you remember it so clearly?"

"He works around here, comes almost every evening to park, even has a monthly pass, so I have no reason not to recognize him."

"Where does he work?"

"Keeway Bar, just up ahead, ask there, and they'll tell you."

"Thank you." Getting out of the car, Luke and the others walked to Keeway Bar.

The bar was already open, though sparsely populated at this time, which made it convenient for questioning.

Luke approached the bar.

The white bartender inside asked proactively, "What would you like?"

Luke showed his badge directly, "I need to ask about a person."

"This is a bar, a lot of people come every day, I might not remember everyone. Don't get your hopes up."

Luke took out his phone and brought up a photo of Santos Mending, "Do you recognize this man?"

"Santos Mending, he's also a bartender here, but he hasn't been in for a few days."

"How long has he been working here?"

"Three or four months, I guess, what happened?"

Luke didn't answer but continued to ask, "What are his usual work hours?"

"Between 7:30 PM and 12:30 AM."

"Is it like this every day?"

"Yes, any problem?"

"Who here was familiar with him?"

"You're asking the right person, he wasn't much of a talker, but we'd chat occasionally when we worked together."

"Has he been in any trouble lately?"

"He has been a bit down lately, seems to be about his wife, but I don't know the details. He wasn't someone who opened up easily, and he never drank.

Ever seen a bartender who doesn't drink?" the white bartender laughed and asked back, "What's wrong with him? He didn't strike me as the criminal type."

"He's dead."

"You're joking, right?"

Luke displayed his badge, "What do you think?"

"It's hard to accept, we were working together just a few days ago... It's so unfortunate. How did he die?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know."

"OK, then don't tell me."

"Can you get in touch with his wife?"

"He mentioned once where his wife works, but... I can't remember."

"Think carefully."

The white bartender thought for a while, "Still can't remember, sorry, I've got to work now."

Luke left a business card, "When you remember, call me anytime, thanks."

After leaving the bar, David commented, "This guy works harder than I do. He fixes cars from nine in the morning to six thirty in the evening.

Then bartends from seven thirty at night to twelve midnight. He works fifteen hours a day, plus commuting, the guy's practically working every waking moment except for eating and sleeping."

"That's why I don't get married." Luke had thought of many possibilities, but he never expected Santos Mending came here to work.

"Even if you wanted to get married, you'd need a woman willing to marry you. In my experience, that lawyer's a no-go."

"And what about Santos Mending? Why would his wife leave him when he worked so hard?"

Luke thought to himself, you don't have any experience, your wife ran off with someone else.

David snorted, "Who knows what these women are thinking."

...

The next morning.

Police Detective Bureau.

Nine o'clock in the morning, Luke arrived at the office on time.

David frowned, "Do you have to be so punctual? Don't you feel anything when you think about Santos Mending working fifteen hours every day?"

"I feel a lot, he's dead, I don't want to die," Luke said.

David "..."

Luke placed a cup of soy milk on the table, "This is for you."

David rubbed his hands, "A white drink made from beans, I like."

Luke raised his cup, "Drink more of this, it might help with your temper."

"Really?" David expressed skepticism.

"Absolutely."

"Why?"

"Just try it and you'll see." Luke wasn't about to tell him that too much soy milk could increase estrogen levels.

Susan walked in with some documents, "Let's meet in the conference room."

Everyone went into the conference room.

Susan turned on the projector and put up a document, "Yesterday's crime scene report is out.

The blood in the house is indeed human blood, but it does not belong to the victim Santos Mending, and the house is not the primary crime scene where Santos Mending was killed.

After DNA comparison, the blood on the floor matches the DNA of the third finger, originating from the fourth victim.

The amount of blood is enough to kill an adult."

This result was unexpected to Luke, "Who is the fourth victim?"

Susan pushed up her glasses and continued, "The survey team collected some DNA samples from combs and toothbrushes in the bathroom, which likely belong to the homeowner Benjamin Nasie. The biological samples match the blood DNA perfectly.

Of course, for the sake of rigorous identification, we will contact Benjamin Nasie's direct relatives for another DNA test.

But from what we currently have, the fourth victim is very likely the homeowner, Benjamin Nasie."

David took a sip of soy milk, "Santos Mending is dead, and Benjamin Nasie, who had issues with him, might also be a victim. Who could the killer be?"

The deputy chief said, "These two had connections, the suspect could very well be someone they knew."

Luke asked in return, "Deputy chief, do you suspect the garage owner, Carus Boel?"

The deputy chief shook his head, "I don't know. I talked to him yesterday and didn't find any issues. Of course, we can't completely rule out his suspicion."

Luke smiled, "That's as good as saying nothing."

"Kid, what's your suggestion?"

After thinking for a moment, Luke said, "We've identified the owners of all three fingers: Badman Pole, Santos Mending, Benjamin Nasie.

Apart from Badman Pole, the other two didn't have a direct connection with the first victim, Layli Harry.

But I found one thing they have in common.

They're married, but none of them had a good relationship with their wives."