America: The Gear-Up Detective

Inside the observation room, Connor stood in front of a one-way mirror, looking at Kerry sitting in the interrogation room.

Until now, except when he talks about the victim Sofia Grant, his expression has remained somewhat gloomy and withdrawn.

Seeing Rhodes and the others enter, Connor turned to Rhodes and asked, "How did it go?"

Rhodes held up the file folder in his hand. "Linda successfully identified Kerry Emerson."

Connor nodded, a hint of delight on his face. "Good!"

Evan, who was standing nearby, looked over and said in a deep voice, "Then we can now convict him."

Under California law, the statute of limitations for a typical kidnapping case is only six years.

Only four serious kidnapping cases—kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping for robbery, kidnapping for rape, and aggravated kidnapping—are exempt from statute of limitations because they can be punished with death or life imprisonment in court.

At the time, whether due to technical reasons or some other reason, the police did not conduct a more in-depth autopsy on Sofia, and therefore did not find any evidence that Sofia had been sexually assaulted.

However, Kerry's kidnapping resulted in Sofia's direct death, which falls under one of the four categories of aggravated kidnapping. This crime has no statute of limitations, and the police can prosecute it at any time.

Inside the interrogation room, Kerry sat silently on the cold iron chair.

Connor and Rod walked in.

"We have enough evidence to prosecute you. Even if you don't say a word, we can still take you to court. However, we still want to give you a chance to confess some things yourself. The judge may consider reducing your sentence accordingly."

Connor sat across from Kerry, staring into his eyes, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

Based on the physical and witness evidence currently available to the police, it is indeed possible to bring Kerry to court, and the probability of a successful trial is quite high.

However, what makes this case special is that it was a case that was closed fifty years ago. According to California law, if a case is reopened and the defendant is found not guilty, then even if irrefutable evidence is later discovered, the suspect cannot be prosecuted again for the same crime.

If anything unexpected happens and his defense attorney discovers any new points that can be used in the defense, then Kerry may still be able to escape punishment.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, it is the most prudent approach to have Kerry confess to all his crimes.

Kerry remained silent.

One misconception is that the right to remain silent protects individuals from being forced to incriminate themselves in any criminal case.

However, simply remaining silent will not lead the police or the court to believe that the suspect is exercising his/her right to remain silent. Only when the suspect explicitly states, "I am now exercising my right to remain silent" or "I have the right to remain silent," will the right to remain silent take effect.

Similarly, the right to remain silent can be voluntarily, wisely, and knowingly waived during a trial.

Once a suspect begins to answer questions, he is considered to have waived that right, and further questioning can continue until he clearly indicates again that he wants to return to silence.

Rhodes looked at Kerry, who had his eyes closed.

After thinking about it, I activated the [Bewitch] skill, but I didn't immediately ask Kerry about the crimes he had committed.

Instead, they gently guided the conversation, saying, "You said you were already on the train, but how do you explain finding the perfectly intact ticket?"

Kerry's eyes flickered. He glanced at Rhodes and finally spoke, "What does this prove? Maybe I remembered it wrong?"

Rhodes clenched his fist inwardly, thinking, "I'm not afraid you won't admit it, I'm just afraid you won't say anything."

Rhodes glanced at the dwindling mental attribute on the panel; he could still activate [Bewitch] for forty seconds.

Then Rod pressed further, "Based on the evidence we have, you've even behaved inappropriately towards your own daughter?"

Before the lawyer could intervene, a rare look of anger flashed across Kerry's face. "Boll Shit! That was my purest love for them!"

Rhodes continued to press him, relentlessly putting pressure on him. Under the influence of [Bewitchment], Kerry may not have been completely affected by the skill, but his emotions finally showed a slight fluctuation.

"So you admit that you are indeed a pervert with some kind of twisted infatuation with little girls?"

"I love everyone, and they love me too!"

"So you kidnapped Sofia and then brutally murdered her because she didn't love you?"

"That's because she's rebelling...!"

"Yes!" In the observation room, everyone high-fived each other in encouragement as they listened to Kerry's finally uncontrollable answer. The confession had finally been found!

The atmosphere in the interrogation room became quiet.

Rod, pale-faced, grinned as he looked at Kerry Emerson, who was also pale-faced.

A glance at the stat panel showed: [Spirit: 13.1 → 2.6]

In the game that lasted about 35 seconds, Rhodes ultimately came out slightly better.

Connor looked at Kerry, who was looking down and seemed slightly surprised, and continued, "Is there anything else you need to add regarding what you just said?"

Kerry jerked his head up. "A plea agreement! I can sign a plea agreement, please, I don't want to die in jail!"

American prisons house the most heinous criminals, yet a hierarchy of contempt exists among them. Everyone looks down on criminals who specifically prey on children and women, especially child sex offenders, who are at the very bottom of the prison "hierarchy" and face constant violence and threats.

Connor shook his head. "It's too late now."

Kerry slumped helplessly in his chair. The lawyer beside him shook his head. There was nothing he could do. If the client wasn't cooperating, even the most skilled lawyer couldn't do anything, especially since he was just a low-level lawyer assigned by the police department.

Stepping out of the interrogation room, Connor looked at Rhodes, whose face was pale but whose spirits were high, and asked curiously, "Are you alright?"

Rhodes shook his head, indicating that he was fine.

Hank, Evan, and the others also came out of the observation room next door. Hank patted Rod on the shoulder with both hands and smiled happily:

"You're really clever, kid; you managed to trick me into finding that out!"

Rhodes smiled and said, "Just some little tricks."

Jackson looked on with admiration, giving him a thumbs up, thinking to himself, "Bro, you're that good. Are we going to be separated by a thick barrier? No way, my good brother!"

After a brief celebration, Kerry was taken to a detention cell for temporary custody.

The team members began to organize the case files and evidence for the case, which would then be submitted to the prosecutor.

Rhodes sat in his seat. Although he had consumed a lot of mental energy this time, he could still bear it, probably because his physical attributes had improved.

Then the panel started displaying the newly updated information.

Because you conducted and led a high-quality trial.

Skill: Interrogation, gain +100 experience.

Interrogation: Interrogation lv2 (124/500)

[Mission Complete: Mysterious Disappearance - Was it a wandering or deliberate act? Corpse Found in the Wilderness - Was it an accident or a provocation?]

A reward will be given for solving this case.

Completion Reward: ......