America: The Gear-Up Detective

Rhodes drove along the road to the highway, and at the fork in the road, he saw a surveillance camera.

"Yes! There are security cameras here!" Hank, sitting in the passenger seat, pounded on the car door, venting his emotions.

Perhaps because the previous cases had progressed too smoothly, Hank felt a sense of unease after only two days without identifying a suspect in this case.

Now that an important clue has been discovered, I'm naturally very excited.

According to the homeless man, Evelyn got into a white Toyota that night, and the two drove off towards the highway and disappeared.

No wonder Evan watched the surveillance footage all night but couldn't find Evelyn in Osaka. The previous investigation route was wrong; Evelyn never went to Osaka!

Hank, sitting in the passenger seat, was on the phone with Connor, reporting his findings.

The intersection's surveillance cameras are managed by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), and Rod and his team would need to apply for a search warrant to view the footage.

However, this search warrant is different from the one for Evelyn's cell phone signal, because Evelyn's parents have already reported her missing to the police, and the police have officially opened a case to investigate Evelyn's disappearance. Therefore, the search warrant for the surveillance footage can be obtained quickly.

Sure enough, when the two returned to the detective station...

Inside the meeting room, Connor had already led a few people to watch the surveillance footage of the intersection.

In mid-April in Los Angeles, it gets completely dark around 7:50 p.m. According to clues provided by homeless people, even with the dim streetlights, Evelyn's face was not clearly visible; only her white legs were visible.

Secondly, Evelyn had been waiting under the streetlights for more than ten minutes, so the earliest the Toyota could have passed the surveillance camera was around 8:20.

However, just to be on the safe side, Connor still had Evan and the others start watching at 7:30.

Since no one remembers the Toyota's license plate at the time, Rod and his team now need to review the surveillance footage from around midnight, find all the silver and white Toyotas from that period, and then eliminate them one by one in order to identify the suspect.

In any country, reviewing surveillance footage in criminal cases is always tedious, boring, and painful, but it is often the most effective way to solve crimes.

An hour later, Rod watched the surveillance video at three times the speed, while the others had only watched less than a quarter of it.

Thanks to the equipment [Glasses of Love], Rhodes can activate the skill [Scan] to record every car that passes by, thus not consuming too much of his mental attribute.

Between 7:30 a.m. and midnight, a total of seven Toyota vehicles passed through this intersection. Excluding male drivers, only three Toyota vehicles met the criteria.

Rod adjusted the monitoring time to the moment the cars appeared, then projected them onto the screens in the conference room. He said to the people still watching the monitoring on their computers, "Guys, I've found them all. There were three cars that met the criteria during that period."

Looking at the row of screenshots on the screen, Jackson exclaimed, "Jesus! How did you do it so fast?"

Rhodes shrugged. "Use your eyes."

Connor looked at the three screenshots and gestured for Jose to investigate the car owner.

Soon after, three women with different appearances appeared on the screen.

The two most suspicious individuals are a Black woman with black dreadlocks and a white woman with black hair, a round face, and a fairly cute appearance.

As for the other car owner, the blonde woman has been ruled out as a suspect by the police.

"The Black woman's name is Holly Weber, and the other white woman's name is Gabriella Payne. They appeared only half an hour apart, and since Evelyn was not seen in the passenger seat in the surveillance footage, we can only assume that both of them are suspects."

Connor glanced at them, then said to Rhodes, "Have Evelyn's parents help identify them. See if they recognize anyone from either of them. Since Evelyn said she's an old friend, it's impossible that her parents haven't met her!"

"receive!"

......

Evelyn's parents' house.

This time, Rhodes met Evelyn's father.

A white-collar elite who should have looked sophisticated and capable was now looking haggard, with messy hair, stubble, and dark circles and red eyes that testified to how anxious he had been about his eldest daughter's disappearance.

Ronnie Brooks sat on the sofa, looking at the photos Rod handed him.

When he saw the photo of the white woman with dark hair, he exclaimed instinctively, "That's Gabriella!"

Rod and Hank exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing: "Found it!"

"Gabriella Payne? Mr. Brooks, do you know her?" Rhodes asked softly.

Evelyn's mother, sitting nearby, took the photo, looked at the person in it, covered her mouth, and exclaimed in disbelief, "How could it be her?"

Hank urged from the side, "You know her? What's her relationship with Evelyn?"

Ronnie Brooks, embracing Evelyn's weeping mother, explained to the two of them:

"Gabriella used to be our neighbor, and Evelyn often played with her when she was little."

Rod pressed on, "What's their relationship like?"

Evelyn's mother, who was crying, looked up at Rhodes with red and swollen eyes and explained, "Gabriella, that child... she's five years older than Evelyn, and we used to live on the same street."

At that time, our two families were very close, so the two children often played together and had a very good relationship.

I noticed that Gabriella was older, had a gentle personality, and was very caring, so I specifically hired her as a nanny for a while to help take care of Evelyn and her sister.

It's fair to say they practically grew up together.

Rod suddenly realized, "No wonder Evelyn said she was an old friend."

Then Evelyn's mother spoke with a hint of confusion, as if explaining to Rod and Hank, or perhaps asking her husband's opinion:

"In my memory, Gabriella was just a poor child. Her parents were divorced, and she lived with her mother since she was a child. She loved to draw... but she seemed to be a little psychologically unstable."

Gabriella's mother had complained to me many times and even seemed to be in great pain. I suggested that she take Gabriella to see a psychologist, but the child was very resistant, so the appointment didn't happen.

But no matter what, it shouldn't be...

Before Evelyn's mother could finish speaking, Ronnie Brooks abruptly stood up, looked at his wife still sitting on the sofa, and said sternly, "No matter what, Gabriella is our only lead now. I've said before that the child has psychological problems and is dangerous! But you wouldn't listen..."

Rhodes got up and pressed the button on the agitated Ronnie Brooks. Based on Rhodes' experience from his previous life, people who haven't slept for a long time are very likely to die suddenly if they become agitated.

"Regardless of whether Gabriella is a suspect or not, she is the last person Evelyn has been in contact with so far. We will look for her. Until then, for Evelyn's safety, do not contact her rashly, understand?"

The two nodded, indicating that they understood.