America: The Gear-Up Detective

Rod looked at Hank with some confusion and incomprehension. What did he mean by "good thing" that this was a case from fifty years ago?

Hank explained with a smile, "Think about it, if this case were recent or even ten years ago, the resistance you would encounter if you were to reopen it would definitely be much greater."

Because the police officers, prosecutors, and even judges involved in the case might still be in office.

The police department will not admit any wrongdoing in their investigation.

After a pause, Hank noticed Rod's thoughtful expression and continued to explain:

"But it's different when the time span is fifty years."

To put it bluntly, fifty years have passed, and the detectives, prosecutors, and judges who handled the case back then may no longer be alive.

At least in this respect, there will be no obstacles.

As for the police department, to put it bluntly, even if the police leaders at that time still have some influence today, what does that have to do with the present?

I suspect that these current leaders are eager for the case to be reopened, the verdict overturned, and the real culprit caught. That way, they'll have something to brag about when they hold press conferences.

Then, Hank's expression turned serious. He patted Rod on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "So, the most difficult and crucial part is still on our side. Even if the application to reopen the case is approved, what if we don't have any evidence and can't catch the murderer?"

This is the most difficult part.

Rod understood what Hank meant. To put it bluntly, as long as they were confident of catching the murderer and successfully overturning the case, overturning the original conclusion was not a big problem at all.

The authorities are eager to find the mistakes of their predecessors so they can boast about their keen insight in the news media.

All the pressure fell on Team Six, or more precisely, on Rod.

After all, Rhodes is the one who knows the case best right now, and he's also the one who wanted to reopen the case first.

Just as Rhodes was deep in thought, the glass door to the captain's office in the back opened, and Connor, dressed in a suit, walked out, clapping his hands to attract everyone's attention:

"We have a case to discuss, everyone please gather in the meeting room."

Also, Rhodes, organize the materials you prepared.

The rest of the group looked at Rhodes with curiosity.

Ten minutes later, inside the meeting room.

The six teams sat down on either side of the long table.

Rod stood in front of the table and projected the information and clues he had compiled onto the screen.

The projector lights flickered as Rhodes explained, "This is a case from fifty years ago..."

Half an hour later, Rod recounted in detail the cause of the case, the process, and the suspect identified by the police at the time.

Evan rubbed his presbyopia, his eyes a little sore from staring at the screen for so long, and then spoke first: "I seem to remember this case. It was when I was very young. It caused a huge uproar at the time, and almost every newspaper in Los Angeles published about it."

However, I never investigated it in depth, and now it seems that the conclusion at the time... was somewhat hasty.

José Martínez, usually a man of few words, showed a rare expression of surprise this time. "I can't believe... a case with so many doubts could be closed back then? What was the judge thinking?"

Connor coughed. "Back then, technology wasn't as advanced, so it's normal not to find some clues. There's no need to discuss this."

"Rhodes, what's your opinion?"

Rhodes looked at the six pairs of eyes staring at him, paused, organized his thoughts, and then said in a deep voice:

"Based on Ida's report, we now have a new suspect, Kerry Emerson."

Fifty years ago, detectives also suspected this suspect, Kerry, but he was fooled by a fake alibi created by his parents.

However, based on my speculation, Kerry at least had the opportunity to commit the crime, and according to Ada, he seemed to have some kind of infatuation with the little girl, which theoretically gives him a motive.

At this moment, José, who had been busy with his work with his head down, suddenly raised his head and shouted excitedly:

"Hey guys! Look what I found out?!"

As he spoke, he projected the data displayed on his computer screen onto the screen in front of everyone.

That was a detailed report about Kerry Emerson.

Rod glanced at him, then looked at the Mexican-American José Martínez with surprise.

He knew that Jose was often in charge of intelligence gathering in Team Six and was also good at computers, but Rod didn't expect that he could find such a detailed report in less than five minutes after he finished speaking.

Jose, oblivious to Rod's surprise, began explaining Kerry's deeds from the document.

"Kerry Emerson is 69 years old."

Temporary residence: 108 Alameda Street, Central City East, Los Angeles.

Upon hearing this, Rod raised an eyebrow.

The Central East District is a more formal name; it also has another name, Skid Row, which refers to the slums of Los Angeles.

It seems that this Kerry hasn't been doing very well in recent years?

Jose continued, "According to the information, Kerry Emerson was 17 years old at the time of the incident and also lived in the Sicamor community."

After the victim, Sofia Grant, went missing and was murdered, he joined the U.S. Air Force and retired four years later.

After retiring from the military, he settled in Washington state and became a state police officer.

It is worth noting that during his years as a police officer, he had been the subject of numerous complaints for harassing women.

At 43, he briefly adopted a 13-year-old girl. Later, accused of sexually assaulting the girl, he claimed he couldn't afford the high legal fees and ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, ending his police career.

After a pause, José adjusted the content on the screen and continued:

"Carrey has been married multiple times. His first two wives divorced him because they could not tolerate his frequent extramarital affairs."

After ending his police career, he became a photographer, which is how he met his third wife.

Six years later, Carey ended the marriage. He then met his fourth wife and remained undisturbed for many years. However, after divorcing again two years ago, he returned to Los Angeles, where he has stayed ever since.

Listening to the information Jose had gathered about Kerry, Rod felt that his suspicions had only grown stronger.

After listening, Jackson said, "From this perspective, this Kerry is no ordinary person."

Hank laughed and retorted, "So you know that too?"

Jackson gave Hank the middle finger and then said, "He's never had a stable job, yet he keeps getting married and divorced. Where does he get the courage? And he has a daughter with both his first and third wives. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't get married."

The child support payments alone after the divorce will be enough to kill me.

As he spoke, Jackson made a look of sudden realization, "No wonder this Kerry is living on Skid Row now, that explains it."