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

Chapter 326 What a coincidence
“Nursing assistant,” Joyna repeated in a low voice.

Penia said, "This completely explains the professional disinfectants and cleaning techniques. He must have received rigorous infection control and cleaning training at the hospital!"

White slammed his hand on the table: "Why do I have a feeling this guy is the fucking murderer?"

“I don’t think this can be used as evidence, White! But we already have a first suspect.” Costa suppressed White’s agitation, turned around, picked up a marker and wrote Burroughs Thorne’s name on the whiteboard, then drew a circle around it heavily.

Then, he connected all the scattered clues he had gathered.

Now, the previously scattered framework on the whiteboard gradually took shape, coinciding with the core framework of the mind map that Eric had been organizing alone on the computer the night before.

Scientific evidence and psychological profiling reached a perfect agreement at this moment.

"It seems there's no difference?" Eric looked at the whiteboard and couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"At most, a correct profile can speed up the process."

Costa put down his pen and looked at everyone present.

"We hold the king of DNA in our hands, but we haven't obtained the license to enter yet."

Now, what I need is evidence—legal evidence that can definitively prove him guilty.

His gaze lingered on White for a moment, carrying a strong warning.

White's cheek twitched, and he reluctantly pulled out a cigarette, holding it in his hand, but didn't dare to light it.

"Penia, dig deep into everything about Burroughs Thorne—his family background, finances, credit card records, cell phone location data, web browsing history, and vehicle GPS tracks."
This includes his possible whereabouts before and after the incident, every sum of money with an unclear source or destination, and every phone number contacted late at night.

Peña nodded, indicating that she understood.

Costa continued to turn to Joyner and Eric.

"Joyna, you take Eric with you. Your task is to be the eyes and ears, observe the target closely, record his behavior patterns, comings and goings, and his level of vigilance towards the outside world."

But remember, it's observation, not contact; never alert the enemy before obtaining clear authorization.

He knew that Eric had exceptional observational skills.

“Yes, sir!” Eric and Joyna replied in unison.

But Eric subconsciously glanced at Joyna; Costa was planning to pair him up with Joyna.

“White!” Costa continued.

"You coordinate with the patrol units to keep a close eye on the removal of garbage from the church."

Before the next garbage truck arrives, I need you to conduct a compliance public safety inspection of the garbage discarded at the church.

Find any items that might carry DNA, such as coffee cups, cigarette butts, tissues, anything!

This is currently the most likely legal way to get his DNA. Don't mess it up.

White said helplessly, "I understand, boss. I'll follow the rules."

"As for me, I'll go check out the area near his home!" After making the arrangements, Costa took a deep breath and gave his final pep talk.

"We are facing a very cautious murderer. The law is our weapon, but also our shackle."

If we use it well, we can bring him to justice; if we violate it, we will lose everything.

Do you all understand your tasks?

"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.

"Meeting adjourned. Let's get moving!"

-

No. 198 Cherry Lane.

The spire of the Methodist church came into view.

Instead of approaching, Joyna, who was in charge of driving, skillfully slid the car into a street-side parking space that was diagonally opposite the side entrance of the church and the back alley, where the view was good and the car was well hidden.

The car was turned off, and the engine's low hum disappeared.

Joyna took a black telephoto lens from the back seat and skillfully mounted it on the camera. She didn't raise it immediately but first carefully observed the surrounding environment.

Eric sat in the passenger seat, observing his surroundings and shaking his head inwardly, muttering to himself.

No wonder the crime-solving rate is so low!
He understands the importance of procedural justice, but in the current situation, even though he knows there is a very high probability that it is that guy, he can only wait for the other party to make a procedural error and for him to throw the garbage containing his own biometric information into the public domain.

“It’s impossible to succeed,” Eric muttered to himself, glancing at the Methodist church.

The fact that the guy thoroughly cleaned up his biological traces at the scene shows that he knew the importance of biological evidence.

Under these conditions, they still dared to leave semen stains.

That means he must have been cautious enough recently, and he wouldn't make such a basic mistake before things calm down.

after a while……

“He’s out!” Joyna whispered.

Eric snapped out of his thoughts and turned his gaze to the side door of the church.

A man dressed in simple khaki pants and a neatly pressed light blue shirt, with his signature black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, walked out.

It was Burroughs Thorne.

He was carrying a black garbage bag and walked straight to the green garbage bin next to the side door.

“He’s taking out the trash.” Joyna said with a hint of anticipation, quickly raising her camera.

However, the next second, Joyna realized what was happening and said speechlessly.

"He was even wearing gloves?"

Eric looked at the gloves on Burroughs Thorne's hands and shook his head inwardly.

This guy is definitely going to be a bit tricky!
White and Costa gained absolutely nothing.

After taking out the trash, the guy walked to a bench near the church entrance and brushed off some dust.

They even adjusted a crooked "Please keep quiet" sign next to it so that it was completely facing the way they were coming.

Sensing the vibration in his pocket, Eric temporarily looked away, picked up his phone, and looked at the fourth squadron's communication group that he had recently joined.

Open the group and swipe quickly with your finger.

Peña, who is in charge of information integration and dynamic updates, will update everyone's latest activities in it.

The vehicle registered under the target's name had a static GPS signal in the church parking lot on the night of the incident, with no movement record.

The target's credit card spending over the past three months has been extremely minimal, with no entertainment or dining expenses, and the main expenditures being at gas stations and supermarkets.

She found a lot of information.

But none of that mattered to Eric; he only needed the most important information.

That is, this guy's family background.

While at the bureau, he had already taken into account Burroughs Thorne's caution and devised a corresponding solution.

Taking an unconventional approach, they broke the deadlock by comparing kinship DNA.

If he's not mistaken, DNA matching should be able to obtain a search warrant for the suspect.

Peña [Family Background - Core Summary]
Father: Leonard Thorne, deceased, former structural engineer, died from respiratory depression caused by an accidental overdose of prescription sleeping pills mixed with alcohol.

Mother: Marianne Thorne, alive.
"We've found a breakthrough." Eric narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in them.

Peña investigated very thoroughly; she even discovered that the target's mother, Marianne Thorne, had a long-standing, stable, and regular record of making small donations.

The recipient was a church account. "St. Mark's Church? Isn't that Father Donnie's church?" Eric thought to himself, raising an eyebrow.

"What a coincidence, what is this?"

Father Donnie was the priest who helped arrange the adoption of Zhizhimin's children.

He also visited St. Mark's Church.

Eric instinctively thought of Zhizhimin, and then he also thought of John and his wife.

It seems like he hasn't paid attention to Zhizhimin for quite some time.

Although she had been receiving messages from Ms. Helen, in which Zhizhimin appeared to be having a great time and getting along well with John Wick in the video.

Both the dialogue and the scenes of the adoptive father and daughter playing baseball are very good.

And it seems they also bought a beagle because of Zhizhimin.

Eric lowered his eyes slightly.

He has always maintained an attitude of not disturbing or getting close.

As long as Zhizhimin is doing well, that's enough. He'll think about what to do with Zhizhimin after Ms. Helen passes away from her illness.

Now it seems so.
"What are you thinking about? Is there any new activity in the group?" Joyna's voice interrupted Eric's thoughts.

Eric snapped back to reality, glanced at the windshield, and saw that Burroughs Thorne was gone; he appeared to have gone into the church.

“Yes, Peña just updated the target’s family background information.”

Eric tilted his phone screen towards Joyna, tapping the family background with his fingertip, and asked.

"Joyna, according to procedure, if we can legally obtain his mother's DNA sample and compare it with the semen stains found at the scene,..."
Can this indirect comparison be used to obtain a search warrant?

Upon hearing this, Joyna paused for a moment, carefully examined the information on the screen, then looked at Eric with a slight frown, as if assessing the feasibility of the plan.

“Theoretically, yes,” Joyna said, glancing at Eric, as she roughly knew what he was thinking.

"The probability of direct kinship matching is extremely high, which is sufficient to constitute a reasonable basis for applying for a DNA sampling search warrant."

The challenge lies in how we can legally obtain his mother's biometric information without alerting the target.
This also requires specific legal authorization, and the process will likely involve Burroughs Thorne as a relative and potential contact.

Joyna let out a soft breath and paused: "So, your line of thinking works, but the operational prerequisites are essentially no different from what we're doing now, staring at his trash can."

“No, there is a difference,” Eric interrupted Joyna.

He first gave his analysis of Burroughs Thorne, and the fact that he was wearing gloves earlier undoubtedly strengthened his analysis.

Joyna raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue, but as she looked at Eric, her eyes inexplicably lit up.

Eric's analysis today, and his claim of direct kinship comparison, lack sufficient observation and extensive legal knowledge to have even considered this point.

She inexplicably recalled what Hope had said earlier that day about finding a treasure.

Did we really find a treasure?

“Staring at the trash can is passively pinning your hopes on his mistakes, while the path of kinship DNA allows us to proactively build a chain of evidence within the rules, giving us the initiative,” Eric said.

Joyna shrugged. "Do you want to apply for a search warrant to enter Marian Thorne's residence to search and seize her biological samples? Unfortunately, the failure rate is just as high."

However, according to you, this path also works. At least we can assume that Marianne Thorne shouldn't know what happened, which would make it highly likely that we could easily obtain her legitimate biological samples.

However, under Joyna's gaze, Eric shook his head and said:
“There is an even more convenient route,” Peña discovered, “his mother, Marianne, was a long-time devout follower of St. Mark’s Church.”
And I happen to know Father Donnie there, and we've dealt with each other a few times. If I could get the priest to help me…

Joyna blinked in disbelief, her eyes wide, and she instantly caught up with Eric's train of thought.

Given the suspect's extreme caution, obtaining biological samples is incredibly difficult.

By taking a more unconventional approach and going through a roundabout route, they were able to obtain a search warrant for the suspect through DNA comparison with the suspect's immediate family members.

Without a priest, they would have to continue with their current practice, waiting for the suspect's mother to throw out the trash and then trying to extract biological samples from it.

After all, obtaining a direct search warrant is also very difficult.

But then the priest was added.

If a priest can enter a suspect's mother's home under the guise of private social or religious activities, it would mean that the priest would not be directly bound by the Fourth Amendment, and would even eliminate the risk of alerting the suspect.

The priest then informed the police of the tissues he saw the suspect's mother throw away after wiping her mouth, etc., as information he had gathered from her.

Based on such specific intelligence, they could then apply to the judge for a very narrow search warrant.

For example, requesting a search and seizure of the tissues found in the trash can at Marianne Thorne’s residence.

The success rate is extremely high!

Because the legal status of the suspect's mother is merely to serve as a neutral investigative tool, obtaining a reference sample.

The suspect is a targeted criminal charge, and evidence is being sought to convict him.

The difficulty of obtaining a search warrant under these two different conditions is like heaven and earth.

Joyna looked at Eric, who had a calm expression, and took a deep breath. How did he get such a sharp mind? It was incredibly clever.

This guy not only figured out a way to bypass Burroughs Thorne, but he also instantly found the best way to bypass the cumbersome legal procedures.

"Did you anticipate this step?"

Eric calmly replied, "I just happened to think of this after seeing what Peña found out about my family background. So, do you support me?"

"Of course I support him!" Joyna didn't hesitate; she was now completely and blindly on Eric's side.

"This is much better than just staying here!"

Eric laughed and said, "Shall we go to St. Mark's Church? I'd like to speak with Father Donnie in person; it just doesn't feel formal enough to discuss this over the phone."

“Agreed.” Joyna immediately put down her camera and fastened her seatbelt.

"You show the way!"

“OK!” Eric nodded.

"Just go straight now."

Under Joyna's control, the car drove away from its original position and bumped right into a garbage truck.

White, sitting in the driver's seat, stared blankly as the familiar vehicle passed by, its windows reflecting the clear profiles of Eric and Joyna.

"What's going on?" He gripped the steering wheel, looking in the rearview mirror at the car speeding away, his face full of astonishment.

"Stop keeping watch? Where are they going?" However, his question received no answer.

Meanwhile, Joyna's vehicle had already merged into the traffic and sped towards another corner of the city.

Fifteen minutes later, at St. Mark's Church.

Unlike the modern style of Methodist churches, St. Mark's Church is a Gothic building with a strong sense of history. Its mottled stone walls and stained glass windows exude solemnity and tranquility under the sunlight.

"Is this the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism?" Eric, sitting in the passenger seat, raised an eyebrow.

Joyna looked at Eric and asked, "Are you ready? Will Father Donnie really help us?"

"do not know."

Eric unbuckled his seatbelt: "But Father Donnie is an upright and kind man, he should be able to help, right?"

After all, we don't need Father Donnie to do anything beyond his duties and morals; he just needs to make a sincere visit.

As he spoke, Eric pushed open the door and got out of the car, thinking of Ms. Helen, and left with his last words.

"At worst, there's still a way out."

(End of this chapter)