CHAPTER 460: CHAPTER 276: FOUND THE SUSPECT!_4

How did he do it? Without figuring this out, any investigation was meaningless.

Louise, although unaware of what exactly Dean was looking for, could only follow his lead and look around. In doing so, she actually stumbled upon a difficulty. Many tourists came here for vacation, and many women entering and exiting the restrooms were dragging large suitcases. Solely from monitoring, it was difficult to determine whether those rolling suitcases contained clothes or people!

And not far from the restroom was the side door to the parking lot. Some groups on a tour could get on a bus to the hotel directly from there and leave the airport. Some being picked up by friends or family would also leave from that side. Then there were locals from Las Vegas who had just gone on a short trip, leaving their cars in the parking lot. Upon reaching it, they could drive home. This would make their investigation more difficult.

Just then, Dean pointed at a cleaner parked by the women’s restroom with a small cleaning cart and asked the security guard beside him, "Are restroom cleanings always scheduled at fixed times?"

One of the security guards shook his head. "It mainly depends on the shifts. As people from each shift leave, cleaners will go in once to clean. Otherwise, the environment inside wouldn’t remain pleasant."

As they spoke, the female cleaner put on her mask, took a sign from the cart, placed it at the entrance to the restroom, and walked in through the passage that blocked the outside view. A moment later, a few women, still holding cosmetics, walked out looking somewhat annoyed.

Louise asked in puzzlement, "Do you perform closed cleanings here?"

The security guard shook his head. "Of course not, but tourists often like to do their makeup inside the restrooms. Ordinary people, upon seeing someone come to clean the floors, would choose to leave unless they were using the stall."

Dean, with a thoughtful look, withdrew his gaze.

Cleaner... cleaning cart... Ross’s account didn’t include this scene. The small cleaning cart was easy to see through with the naked eye. So, the culprit couldn’t have disguised themselves as a cleaner to disperse the people inside and then stuffed Gaia into the cleaning cart to take her away. To be precise, the culprit didn’t use the cleaning cart to take Gaia away! But to ensure that no witnesses saw Gaia’s disappearance, he disguised himself as a cleaner! Is that it? Just ask, and you’ll know!

Dean immediately took out his phone and dialed Ross’s number. Ross was supposed to be at the hotel. After a while, he finally answered the call, excitedly saying, "Dean, is there news about Gaia?"

"Still investigating. Ross, think carefully. While you were waiting for Gaia, did you see anyone dressed like a cleaner, pushing something and leaving?"

"Cleaner’s outfit?"

"Yes, that kind of gray work attire. They might be wearing a dust mask or even a hat, the kind that makes it hard to distinguish between man and woman."

On the other end of the phone, there was silence. In the hotel, upon hearing Dean’s description, the image of the person pushing a cart out of the restroom immediately sprang to Ross’s mind. At the time, it seemed like the wheels on the cart were stuck. He had even offered to help. Could it be?

"Ross?"

Hearing Dean’s doubtful voice on the phone, Ross’s lips moved several times, but he didn’t know how to start. Should he tell Dean that he inadvertently helped the culprit take his fiancée away?

At the airport, seeing Ross silent on the phone, Dean knew Ross had realized what happened. He sighed and comforted him, "Ross, don’t worry. We’ve located a suspect. Gaia will be back with you soon."

"...Thank you," Ross said weakly, sounding very much like a child who had made a mistake.

In that moment, Dean’s image was elevated once again in his heart.

Dean hung up the phone. He turned to Louise and said, "Let’s go check out the surveillance footage. I know who the target is now!"

「Surveillance room.」

The security helped retrieve footage from the cameras in the restroom’s external area based on the time frame. The airport only has surveillance in public areas; it’s impossible to install cameras inside the restrooms. But this was enough. Based on the approximate time Gaia went missing, Dean quickly identified his target.

It was a man in gray work clothes, wearing a mask and a hat, appearing from the corner that blocked the view from outside the restrooms, walking away. There were two large suitcases on the small cart, secured with straps. In the middle of all this, Ross, that simpleton, even stepped forward to give a hand...

Since the restroom corridor was obstructed, from the surveillance angle, it was impossible to tell whether this man came out from the men’s restroom or the women’s restroom. But his presence undoubtedly confirmed Dean’s guess. This guy was the culprit!

Dean immediately said, "Continue to roll back the footage. I want to see him entering on camera!"

The security on duty in the surveillance room obediently did as instructed. According to the surveillance timestamps, the man in gray had vanished from the external restroom surveillance before Ross and his group had disembarked from the plane. It wasn’t until more than an hour later that he reappeared with his cart. Before he came out, about four or five women came out at the same time. This scene looked like there had been a cleaner inside, but in fact, no cleaners had gone there to clean at that time.

After watching the surveillance, Dean turned his head to look at Louise beside him. "Louise, from the surveillance, what do you see?"

Louise, after thinking for a moment, confidently said, "The suspect seems very familiar with the airport cleaners’ routines and habits, and the outfit is quite convincing. Additionally, if I’m not mistaken, that cart looks like the usual trolleys seen in the airport."

An adjacent security guard nodded in agreement with Louise. "Yes, some passengers have heavy luggage that needs to be checked in. That cart and those suitcases are exactly the tools used by employees in the logistics department."

Airport logistics department! Hearing the term, Dean and Louise looked at each other. If they remembered correctly, they had seen many refrigerated trucks headed to the warehouse area of the airport! It seemed they had found the direction for their investigation!