Half an hour later.

Susan, along with the crime scene investigators, rushed to the scene.

Susan asked, "What's the situation at the scene?"

David, not one to show off, gestured for Luke to speak.

"We opened Lorne's private storage, which contained quite a few oil paintings and a large box. Upon opening the box, we found a dead body.

The body had been there for at least half a month, completely decomposed. We could only discern that it was a male, holding an oil painting in his hand. His identity remains unconfirmed for now."

Susan pressed, "Have you talked with the person in charge of the storage center?"

Luke pointed to a fat man on the side, "Boreet is the day shift manager. He helped us check the records, and there were two visits to Lorne's storage in the past three months.

One was on the evening of February 26th, and the other was the night before last."

Susan asked further, "Can you confirm the identity of the visitor?"

"There are no security cameras inside the storage center, just two cameras in the reception area. We still don't know if they captured the visitor's identity.

Additionally, I've contacted the night manager. He might know more."

Susan and the investigators entered the storage. The smell of decay had lessened but was still nauseating.

Scattered around the storage were numerous oil paintings, some of which were damaged, showing clear signs of a struggle.

Wearing a mask, Susan approached the box, which contained a body crawling with maggots, the eyes sunken into two holes, the clothing so degraded its original color was indiscernible, and the oil painting it was holding was also damaged."

"Captain Susan, please step back, we need to move the body outside," said a person named Hila, the forensic doctor in charge of the autopsy, clad in protective gear and unrecognizable.

Susan stepped out of the storage, giving the forensic doctor and investigators more space.

...

The police used a vacant storage space as a temporary office, from which investigation orders were issued.

Marcus checked the surveillance of the reception area.

Raymond and Jenny looked for eyewitnesses. Although the chances were slim, they had to try.

Luke and David were responsible for taking statements from the storage center personnel.

The night manager, named Romi, was a Mexican-American man in his forties.

Luke got straight to the point, "Romi, were you on night shift the day before yesterday?"

"Yes," Romi nodded.

The job content, salary, and authority differ greatly between night managers and day managers.

Night managers are only responsible for standing watch, registration, and attendance records.

The day manager handles more tasks, such as processing transactions, auctioning off abandoned storages, and managing attendance, among other things.

In specific work arrangements, night managers also have to obey the day managers.

In simpler terms, it's like a chief and a deputy.

Luke continued to ask, "The night before last, did someone open storage unit number 53?"

Romi looked at the access records and recalled, "Yes, a Caucasian woman."

"The tenant of storage unit 53, Lorne, is clearly a man. Why would you allow a woman to enter?"

"According to the company's rules, as long as one has the storage key and the tenant's ID, they can enter," Romi pointed to the logbook and said, "You see here is the record. The lady showed Lorne's driver's license; I had no reason to deny her access."

Luke turned on his phone and showed a photo of Caroline, "Do you recognize this person?"

Romi examined the photo carefully, "Yes, yes, that's her. I remember, a very elegant lady."

"Did she come alone, or was there any companion?"

"Someone came alone… They were fine when they arrived, but there was something odd about the way they left."

"What do you mean by 'odd'?"

"She seemed to have been scared, very frantic as she ran off. I was puzzled at the time, wondering what she was doing at the warehouse so late at night?"

"How long did she stay inside?"

Romi spread her hands, "I'm not sure exactly how long, probably no more than ten minutes."

Based on Luke's speculation, Caroline had come to the storage center the night before last, probably to retrieve something from the warehouse. The lighting in the warehouse was dim and there were no people around, which was a bit scary in itself. Caroline, with a nervous heart, opened the box.

What she didn't expect to find was not what she was looking for, but a decaying corpse instead.

Anyone would have been frightened.

Luke said, "On the evening of February 26th, someone else visited Warehouse 53. Do you remember this?"

Romi shook her head, "It's been so long, I don't remember. But according to the record sheet, the person used Lorne's social security card and likely drove into the storage center."

After completing the report, Luke returned to the temporary office to report the situation to Susan.

Considering the extent of decay on the body, it was quite possible it was put in the warehouse on February 26th.

The progress of various investigations also began to be summarized.

Mary entered the temporary office and took off her gloves, "Is there coffee?"

Susan shook her head, "No, I'll treat you when we're back at the station."

"OK, we've completed the preliminary survey of the scene. There was a fight in the warehouse, with clear signs of dragging. This place should be the first crime scene.

We also found some blood and hair.

However, we did not find any documents that could prove the identity of the deceased, nor was there a mobile phone."

Susan asked, "What about the murder weapon?"

"Not found."

"Thank you for your hard work."

"I'll let you know once I have the test report," Mary said before she left the temporary office.

The deputy chief said, "According to Mary, the warehouse should be the crime scene. If it were a premeditated murder, they probably wouldn't choose to hide the body in the warehouse.

The reason they came to the warehouse was likely to steal Lorne's belongings. I think it's very possible that there was a violent dispute over the distribution of loot amongst accomplices." The deputy chief asked, "Know who I'm thinking of?"

Luke guessed, "Tim."

"Exactly. Tim has always refused to become an informer, and it was suspected he likely had other criminal records. The victim might well have been killed by him, so he didn't dare reveal his accomplices.

Once his accomplices are caught, Tim's own murder would be exposed."

Susan asked, "Deputy chief, are you confident that you can make him confess?"

The deputy chief thought for a moment, "No, Tim is a major suspect, but he's very cautious. Without concrete evidence, he definitely wouldn't admit to anything."

At that moment, Marcus walked in, "Hey, guys, I've found a major clue."

The team was used to his habit of making a fuss, and Luke asked indifferently, "What clue?"

Marcus chuckled, but didn't answer directly; instead, he placed his tablet on the table and played a video clip.

In the video, a black Volvo pulled up at the entrance of the storage center. The person driving in the cab was Tony Will. He presented his ID, signed in, and then drove into the storage center.

Marcus pointed at the video and said, "We can't see the face of the deceased because the body is severely decomposed. However, Tony's clothes in the video are very similar to those on the corpse. Tony Will might well be the deceased."

Luke added, "He might also be the killer."

A new question formed in his mind: why was Tony Will involved in Lorne's case?

Who exactly was he?