The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 248 Case
However, whether it was Darren's prank or not, before leaving, he told Darren about an incredible police case.

Eric remained seated in the driver's seat for a long time without moving.

Because it's truly incredible.

Darren once handled a police case where the male suspect, after assaulting his own Nver, underwent sex reassignment surgery to assault his own Erzi.

"Damn, this is insane," Eric thought, letting out a soft sigh.

Seeing that the situation was still not calm even though Darren had already taken the man back to the police station, Eric stepped on the gas and drove away quickly.

On the way, Eric glanced at the police radio without thinking.

He had a feeling that today's police case would be quite bizarre.

Eric glanced at the time; after all that fuss, it was already 10:30.

"Forget it, let's go to the rich area, slack off for a bit, and wait until lunchtime." Eric decisively drove towards a slacking-off spot where there were fewer police incidents.

-

The headquarters of the Forensic Laboratory (SID), a laboratory.

Hope held the bag of evidence Eric had given her, a look of helplessness mixed with a sense of acceptance on her face.

He walked to his workbench, put on gloves, carefully opened the evidence bag, and used tweezers to remove the small piece of dark brown debris.

"Eric has been getting weirder and weirder lately. He can even dig up this kind of thing during patrols. I hope I'm not just overthinking it again."

Hope muttered to himself as he placed the debris under a stereo microscope for preliminary observation.

He understood what Eric meant; as a member of the forensic department, one was responsible for more than just one case.

Instead, there are many, many cases that require their forensic department to investigate, collect, and preserve evidence.

Of course, there are new cases in Los Angeles every day, so such a large department is divided into teams.

But this also shows that their forensic department keeps all the key evidence in the cases, such as the victim's blood and the murder weapon.

If Eric's intuition is correct, then this so-called scab could also be the blood of a victim in some case.

"The surface is cracked, the shape is irregular, and the color depth is uneven. It does look very much like dried biological tissue, and it is very likely to be a blood scab."

Hope muttered to himself as he observed.

"A small amount of fiber is attached; was it scraped off from the fabric or the carpet?"

Hope's expression turned serious. He took a small portion of the sample, placed it in a test tube, and added a small amount of saline solution to dissolve it.

Soon, the solution turned a pale pink color under his gaze.

"Preliminary positive for hemoglobin reaction." Hope frowned slightly. Based on the information obtained so far, it was highly likely that this stuff was human blood.

However, for more accurate confirmation, Hope performed the more specific Katler-Meyer test, also known as the phenolphthalein peroxidase test.
After he added the reagent, the solution immediately turned a bright pink color.

"It's human blood! Could Eric's intuition be right?"

Hope's expression became much more serious, and he immediately began the DNA extraction process, but this was a time-consuming and precise procedure.

A few hours later.

Hope placed the extracted DNA sample into a PCR instrument for amplification, and then prepared it for STR typing analysis so that it could be entered into the database for comparison.

"Alright, Eric, let's see if you, the 'Grim Reaper,' have found an unlucky guy who accidentally got a wound, or if you've actually dug something up."

Hope took a deep breath and entered the obtained DNA profile into the FBI's Joint DNA Indexing System and the Los Angeles Police Department's database for comparison.

If it is indeed the blood of a victim in a certain case, then there will inevitably be corresponding results.

While waiting for the results, Hope dealt with other things, occasionally glancing at the screen that was still conducting the comparison.

Suddenly, the computer beeped, indicating that the comparison had finally yielded results.

Hope immediately leaned closer to the screen, his eyes widening instantly, his tired and casual expression replaced by shock and seriousness.

"Holy! Shit! Really?" Hope took a deep breath, looking at the information displayed on the computer screen with an extremely excited expression.

The screen clearly displays the word "match," followed by a case number and victim information.

Jennifer Mosley, female, 43 years old, ID number 2023-0741, is the victim of the Mosley family massacre. Hope is very familiar with this victim.

Because that scene was one of the more brutal ones he considered to be.

A family of five.

A parent and three children sit facing each other at a table filled with their own 'organ food'.

Their eyes were gouged out, their chests were ripped open, and the remaining organs were thrown into a large vat in the kitchen to be boiled.

The scene was bloody, and many people were gagging and vomiting at that time.

Almost a month has passed, but Hope still finds it vivid in her memory.

To double-check, Hope took a deep breath, grabbed the internal phone on the table, and quickly dialed the Robbery-Murder Division.

"This is Hope Fuller from the forensic department! I need to speak with Detective Costa immediately!"

"Yes, immediately! Tell him it's about a potential evidence match in the 'West Side Serial Murders' case! The Joint DNA Indexing System just matched a known victim!"

Upon hearing the reply from the staff member on the other end, Hope held the phone, waiting to be transferred.

-

at this time.

In a relatively empty office in the police department building, an unkempt man was frowning as he looked at the case file in his hands.

A woman was sitting next to him. She looked over and shook her head.

"Costa, you've been watching for so long, what have you figured out?"

Costa pressed his pen against his temples to relieve his headache.

"I haven't seen anything yet, but I feel that one day I will catch this despicable guy in the act."

As he spoke, Costa turned to look at his partner and deputy, noticing her oily face and messy hair.

"Why don't you go back and take a shower first? This case can't be rushed. We can't just give up before we even catch the culprit, can we?"

Peña stretched and looked up ahead.

Two people had already collapsed onto the desks over there, fast asleep.

The case I'm handling is incredibly difficult. The modus operandi is similar, but the victims are completely unrelated.

The distance between them is also very far.

This means that the murderer may have simply chosen the target randomly, making it a case of random killing.

This already confirms that the case will definitely be very difficult.

The reason why it is difficult is that random killings strip away the most relied-upon elements in traditional criminal investigation: motive and interpersonal networks.

It forces the police to rely entirely on physical evidence technology and databases, as well as a certain amount of luck, in order to catch the killer.

Serial random killings are even more difficult to solve.

Of course, this also means that the murderer had a means of transportation, but they couldn't find anything suspicious after watching the security cameras for so many days.

The only conclusion is that the killer must be a local, familiar with every corner of Los Angeles.

Here's the problem: if that's the case, they can investigate in the direction of the profession, but so far they haven't found any useful clues.

"Alright, you're the captain, so you'll have to hold the fort for now." Peña yawned and got up to go to the bathroom next door to wash her face.

“Okay.” Costa nodded and prepared to look at the case file in his hand.

Peña stood up, ready to leave, but before she could take a step, the internal phone on Costa's desk suddenly rang.

Jingle Bell!
Jingle Bell!
For some reason, the ringing of the bell stirred something within Costa and Peña.

The two exchanged a glance, then Costa put down the file and answered the phone.

"Hello, this is Costa."

(End of this chapter)