1960: My uncle is the FBI Director

Chapter 96 The Second Victim (Please Subscribe)
Director Garcia is not here; he's supposedly at home taking care of some business. His son, Garcia Jr., may have gotten into trouble again.

The senior superintendent found the deputy superintendent and obtained authorization to access the branch office's data.

The patrol chief Ricky summoned had limited information to provide.

With hundreds of people in the patrol unit, how could he possibly pay attention to two nobodys?

The patrol supervisor had some connections with Ricky, so he brought in patrol officers who patrolled the same area as Detective Brown and the deceased, as well as colleagues who were close to the two, to assist in the interrogation.

These detectives were competent, but they could only provide limited information.

The questioning continued until the end of the workday.

They received a bunch of nasty rumors circulating among the detectives about the various management levels.

The detectives were saying that the patrol supervisor, X, was incompetent and disliked by his wife, so he always had a long face and treated them badly.

Before the detective who broke the rumor could finish speaking, the enraged patrol chief stormed into the interrogation room and kicked him out.

There were also rumors circulating among the detectives that Ricky was the illegitimate son of some big shot.

As the detective who made the whistleblower spoke, he looked at Ricky with a curious and inquisitive gaze.

Ricky remained expressionless, seemingly oblivious to the probing gazes of Supervisor George and his colleagues.

There were also rumors about the head of the archives having an affair with someone in the archives, a logistics supervisor purchasing substandard equipment, a deputy police superintendent rising to his position through his wife, and a bureau chief being so exhausted from cleaning up his son's messes that his hair had turned white...

Rumors circulated among all mid- to senior-level leaders.

Some are outrageous, while others sound very real.

But they didn't have the information they needed.

These detectives did not keep rumors about their superiors secret, but when asked about rumors among their colleagues, they all shook their heads.

In the end, all they talked about were gossip like who was getting a divorce or whose wife might be cheating on him.

They remained completely silent about their work and any disciplinary violations within the police force.

Ricky privately approached several FOP Bronze members to ask, and the response he received was: "If you were in that situation, would you say that?"

In any group, informers never end up well.

The interrogation room was somewhat somber, filled with the cheers of the detectives outside.

Ricky closed the folder, stood up, and told everyone to leave work.

Unlike other police stations, the East District Police Station insists on closing time even if the sky falls.

They only stood there in the interrogation room for a short while, and when they came out, all the detectives had already left.

The large police station was quiet, with only the on-duty detectives on duty.

The group parted ways in the parking lot, and the senior police superintendent pointed to his wrist, reminding them to keep track of the time.

Theodore left early today, and when he returned to the West Precinct, almost no one had left the main office.

As soon as he returned, he was surrounded by a crowd who bombarded him with questions about the case.

The detectives were particularly curious about this case.

Theodore satisfied their curiosity to a limited extent, and after tidying up, he returned to the apartment and ran into his next-door neighbor.

The neighbors also heard about the case and asked him about it.

Their information is far more outrageous than that within the police system.

The neighbor's version has evolved into three detectives being executed in a row, with blood-written words left at the scene, challenging the police station.

Theodore did not reveal the specifics of the case to them, but simply told them that the rumors were false.

Day three.

Only Supervisor George and Theodore met in the South Precinct meeting room.

The senior police inspector didn't come, but everyone could guess what he was doing.

Theodore wasn't the only one who heard the terrifying rumors after get off work yesterday.

The news has begun to spread beyond the police force, and because there is no accurate official information, there are many different versions of the rumors, all of which are quite outrageous.

A detective came to inform me that the East Precinct had a call for Ricky.

Ricky returned a few minutes later and beckoned Theodore and Supervisor George to come with him.

New victims have emerged!

The new victim lived in an upscale community. A resident of the community was jogging past the victim's house when he saw the victim.

Theodore didn't understand how this had anything to do with the case they were investigating.

Ricky glanced at him: "After receiving the report, detectives went inside to investigate and found Michael Johnson's (the first victim) badge."

He added, "I have already had the scene sealed off."

The car was stopped by security guards when it arrived at the entrance of the community where the incident occurred.

Ricky was released after showing his badge.

They drove a little further in and contacted the detectives at the scene via walkie-talkie, and with their directions, they arrived at the crime scene.

The site is a three-story villa with no courtyard; it is separated from the road only by a lawn.

The first floor of the villa features a huge floor-to-ceiling window facing the street, allowing a clear view of the interior from the outside.

Theodore briefly observed the outside, put on gloves and shoe covers, and entered the scene.

There was a pile of broken glass at the entrance.

That was caused by the first detectives to arrive at the scene.

In order to enter the room and check on the deceased, they had to break the window in the door.

To the left of the entrance is a staircase leading to the second floor, and to the right is the first-floor living room, in the center of which is a large pool of blood.

Upon entering the room, a strong smell of blood hit you.

This villa is similar to the residence of the first victim; it doesn't have much furniture or decoration, and it looks like no one lives there at all.

There were only a few chairs and a table in the corner of the living room on the first floor, nothing else.

The chairs were scattered about, many of them lying on the ground.

Walking around the messy chairs to the center of the living room, you can see a large pool of blood.

The pool of blood had not yet completely congealed and was still slowly spreading outwards.

There were obvious drag marks on the side facing the window, and the end of the drag marks led to the deceased.

The deceased was placed in front of the window, his body covered in wounds.

The corpse was naked, lying supine with its arms tucked under its body, and its mouth was sealed with duct tape. A stick was inserted into its anus, and its genitals had been castrated.

The lost police badge was placed on the deceased's chest.

Theodore did not touch the deceased, but instead gestured for the forensic pathologist to come in and handle the body.

He then went upstairs.

Upstairs there are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and two walk-in closets.

But apart from one bedroom, all the other rooms were empty.

Theodore conducted a thorough examination of the bedroom and found the deceased's bag.

The deceased's bag did not contain many items.

A bunch of keys, a few small umbrellas, half a bottle of amphetamines, two sets of clothes to change into, a small stack of banknotes and a small handful of loose bills.

Back downstairs, the forensic doctor had already taken photos of the body and was putting it into a body bag and carrying it away.

Theodore handed the bag to the forensic pathologist and paced back and forth in the living room, analyzing the distribution of bloodstains on the floor.

Twenty minutes later, Theodore left the scene.

When he came out, Ricky waved to the detectives, who put on shoe covers and gloves, grabbed paper bags, and rushed in, disguising themselves as they saw the items.

This scene left Supervisor George speechless with astonishment.

Unfortunately, there was no party going on, and the room was empty, so they didn't have much evidence to take away.

Ricky told the two to get in the car and return to the East Precinct. Before continuing the investigation, they needed to report the case to their superiors and clarify the jurisdiction.

As soon as they returned to the branch office, they were taken to the director's office by the director's assistant.

To their surprise, Chief Garcia had already communicated with the chief of the Southern District Police Station in advance, and the two sides had reached a consensus on the issue of the case's jurisdiction.

The South District Police Station transferred the entire case to the East District Police Station, and the subsequent investigation will be led by the East District Police Station, with the South District Police Station providing assistance.

Director Garcia summoned them to inquire about the progress of the investigation.

Ricky and his supervisor George both looked at Theodore.

Based on his on-site investigation, Theodore reconstructed the events of the crime: "The perpetrator must have committed the crime last night or late at night."

"The murderer may have known the victim number 2, or used his police identity to trick his way into opening the door."

"Upon entering, they immediately subdued the second victim and subjected him to torture on the first floor."

"After killing victim number 2, the murderer dragged the body to a conspicuous place in front of the window, placed victim number 1's police badge on the victim's chest, locked the door, and calmly left."

After a brief pause, Theodore focused on interpreting the ritualistic behavior of the second victim:
"The murderer castrated the second victim, inserted a wooden stick into the rectum, and left the naked body in front of the window. This was a highly ritualistic killing."

"The killer was conveying his understanding of the second victim."

"The killer believed that the second victim was a sexual predator."

He concluded by mentioning the police badge and making a prediction: "The killer placed the police badge of victim number 1 at the scene of victim number 2, clearly conveying the message that the two cases are related."

"Only three days passed between the first crime and the discovery of the second, indicating that the perpetrator is becoming increasingly confident. He will soon strike again."

Chief Garcia nodded solemnly, indicating that the Eastern Precinct would fully support them.

He concluded by mentioning headquarters' dissatisfaction with their current performance and their intention to transfer Theodore away from the case.

At this point, he looked at Theodore.

Theodore shook his head, indicating that he did not want to be transferred.

His interest in the case increased significantly after he met the second victim.

The killer's choice of victim number 2 and his excessive behavior completely overturned his previous profile of the killer.

He liked the case and was prepared to classify it as a case on par with Carlos Mendoza's.

Director Garcia told Theodore not to worry, as he had already declined a request from headquarters.

He also mentioned the time limit for them to solve the case, saying he would speak with Chief Adams again to buy them more time.

Ricky was a little dazed after leaving the director's office.

Supervisor George frequently glanced at Ricky, his eyes filled with obvious envy.

Theodore glanced back at the office and suggested to the two that he go to the medical examiner's office.

He had no trust in the forensic doctors at the East District Police Station.

The forensic pathologists at the East Precinct share characteristics with Gary and Samuel—slow and incomplete, the exact opposite of the forensic pathologists at the South Precinct.

The three arrived at the forensic lab, where the head of the lab was examining the body. When he saw Theodore again, he shuddered and felt a dull ache in his shoulder.

Upon approaching, both Ricky and Supervisor George couldn't help but glance at the deceased's genitals, then shuddered.

The forensic doctor proactively explained the deceased's circumstances to them.

The second victim died 6-8 hours prior, and suffered torture before death, with multiple sharp-insertion wounds all over his body and massive blood loss. The castration and the use of a wooden stick were acts committed before his death.

The forensic examiner parted the hair at the back of the deceased's head, revealing a wound about 0.3 inches in diameter with obvious burn marks around the edges.

Like the first victim, the second victim was executed.

The forensic doctor then showed them the deceased's wrists, where there were obvious, continuous, arc-shaped ligature marks that had cut through the skin.

Supervisor George subconsciously touched the handcuffs on his waist, but when he saw everyone looking at him, he lowered his hands.

The forensic doctor's performance surprised Theodore somewhat.

After expressing their hope that the autopsy report would be available as soon as possible, Theodore and his team left the medical examiner's office satisfied.

Ricky led the two to a small conference room to summarize and discuss the case.

Theodore compared the two cases, supplementing his analysis in the chief's office:

"The murderer executed victim number 1 in the bedroom and had no desire to make it public."

"But for the second victim, the murderer deliberately dragged him to the window and placed him there, expressing a strong desire for a public trial."

“His feelings toward the first victim and the second victim were different.”

"This is also evident in the way the murderer executed the two victims."

"The murderer executed victim number 1 swiftly and cleanly, without any unnecessary actions. But he took a lot of unnecessary actions against victim number 2."

"The murderer used handcuffs to control victim number 1, but left obvious teeth marks on the wrist of victim number 2."

"Compared to victim number 1, the killer poured more personal emotions into victim number 2."

Supervisor George questioned, "Why? Because he believes the second victim was a sexual assault victim?"

Theodore shook his head, unsure.

A detective knocked on the door and handed Ricky a folder.

The identity of the second victim has been confirmed; he was identified by a patrol officer from the patrol department.

His name is Mark Ramirez, and he is a student.

Theodore was puzzled as to how the patrolman had recognized him.

Ricky went out and called in the patrol officer who recognized the second victim, and asked him what had happened.

It turns out that the second victim often hung out with the second generation of kids and had been spotted by the patrol officers many times.

Theodore has filed a request to unblock the criminal record of the second victim.

He believes that the second victim likely had a history of sexual assault, and that the killer may be connected to the victim who was sexually assaulted by the second victim.

Ricky took the file and went out.

He found Chief Garcia and, with his help, obtained authorization to retrieve the criminal record of the second victim.

There was only a blank space inside.

There isn't even a single record of drinking.

Either the second victim was a model citizen, or all his criminal records were withdrawn before they were recorded.

Theodore did not consider the second victim to be a model citizen.

Exemplary citizens don't associate with the privileged kids and cause trouble.

He thought of the first victim, and of the silence of the victim's partner, Detective Brown, and suggested:
“We need to talk to Detective Brown.”

…………

Detective Brown was brought in quickly.

This time, they did not choose to meet in the interrogation room, but arranged to meet in the conference room.

Detective Brown looked somewhat impatient, but he obediently sat down as required by the rules.

Theodore informed Detective Brown of the death of victim number 2 and described in detail the horrific torture inflicted on victim number 2.

It was clear that Detective Brown was deeply shaken.

Theodore asked him whether the first victim had committed any misconduct.

After a moment of silence, Detective Brown gave the same answer as before.

This confirmed Theodore's guess.

Theodore asked Detective Brown, "Who told you not to talk?"

Detective Brown glanced up at Theodore, then quickly looked down again.

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(End of this chapter)