American forensics, but the gourmet system

Chapter 84 A Bizarre Robbery (Third Update, Please Subscribe!)

"A robbery?" Russell was a little confused. "Why would a forensic pathologist like me study robbery cases?"

"The Robbery Squad has encountered a rather tricky case," Captain Hansen said bluntly. "Scott Hudson, the Chief Inspector of the Robbery Squad, wants our team to assist in solving this robbery—"

"Hudson?" Russell paused, taken aback. "Isn't he the one from six years ago?"

"Yes, it was him." Captain Hansen gave a wry smile. "I went through the cases he handled back then. Whether as a colleague or as a superior or subordinate, it's normal for him to be unhappy—he came to see me a few days ago and said he could sign the wrongful conviction report. His only request was that our team assist them in handling this robbery case."

Russell was even more puzzled: "Why us of all people? Aren't the robbery squad more professional at handling robbery cases?"

"That's the theoretical way to do it," Captain Hansen nodded. "But there's a problem. This case requires forensic assistance, and the robbery squad doesn't have a resident forensic doctor. Although they've applied for forensic support from the medical examiner's office, you know how rare it is to find a forensic doctor available temporarily—"

"A robbery case needs a forensic doctor?" Russell blinked. "Wouldn't that turn it into a murder case?"

"Yes—" Captain Hansen smiled wryly, "But this is indeed a robbery—only the stolen items are rather unusual; they're a pile of human bones."

Robbery is a very common occurrence in New York and throughout the United States.

From small items like cigarettes, loose change, and sandwiches, to medium-sized items like cell phones, sneakers, and down jackets, to large items like gold, diamonds, and Porsches, there are people scrambling for them, and people successfully snatching them all.

Compared to the wilder style of free shopping on the West Coast, robbers in New York are relatively conservative, but incidents such as people having their phones snatched while waiting for the subway still occur frequently.

As we all know, even without comparing it to high-difficulty crimes like murder, robbery is relatively low on the crime hierarchy, and the technical skill required for robbery is even less than that required for theft.

Anyone who frequently commits robbery knows that the methods of robbery require almost no learning cost.

If you're physically fit, strong, fast enough, or intimidating enough, then the whole of New York City is your free shopping supermarket.

Therefore, there are very few moments when dealing with robbers that require outsmarting them.

Most of the time it's a battle of courage.

Typically, the robbery squad's method of solving cases is to first locate the person through certain methods, and then swarm in and arrest them.

It's over.

Even if we can't find the person, it won't be a problem.

After all, there are countless robberies in New York every day, and whether or not they are found is part of the probability.

Unlike the unfortunate guys downstairs who deal with murder cases, who have to search for clues at the scene and on the body, and who have to track down murderers whose counter-investigation abilities are generally stronger than those of robbers, and who have to burn through their brain cells by percentages to deduce the motive, relationships between people, and where they are hiding if they really can't find the murderer, they are different.

This results in a fundamental difference in appearance and psychology between detectives from the robbery squad and detectives from the homicide squad.

Upon entering the fourth-floor office area where the robbery squad was located, Russell immediately sensed something was different.

Even Diaz, the most robust member of the Major Crimes Unit, would only be considered average in the Heist Unit.

Looking around, the fourth-floor office area was full of burly men with pointed heads, bald heads, large muscles, and clear eyes, who could crush chicken eggs, duck eggs, ostrich eggs, and even prisoners' testicles with their biceps and forearms.

Russell felt a little uneasy walking among the burly men, while Jesse was carefree and unconcerned. Thea, who was already slender and pretty, looked even smaller now.

Under the gaze of dozens of clear and innocent eyes, Captain Hansen led the three of them into an office.

In the corner of the office sat a pair of 20-pound dumbbells, and a thick, black arm strength bar hung from a nail on the wall. Behind the desk...

Sitting in front of him was a bald, muscular black man who was over 1.9 meters tall.

"Captain Dorsey," Captain Hansen introduced to them, "is the captain of the heist team investigating the human skeleton robbery case. We're here to assist their team in solving the case."

Captain Dorsey laughed heartily. "Please have a seat, everyone. Chief Inspector Hudson told me to bring in an elite team to help us with this case—is this Medical Examiner Russell? You've been quite famous these past few days—"

Russell chuckled awkwardly and found a chair to sit down, and Jesse sat down next to Russell without any hesitation.

Thea pulled out her notebook as soon as she sat down, just like a primary school student preparing to take notes in class.

"Then let me introduce the case." Captain Dorsey also sat down. "The incident occurred five days ago, at 1:45 a.m. on December 14. The 911 Public Safety Response Center received a report from a Mr. Kuso who claimed that he had been robbed in his home. We rushed to the scene immediately."

"According to Mr. Kuso's own account, around midnight, he heard a knock at the door. He thought it was his daughter returning home from a classmate's birthday party, so he opened the door. Two robbers took the opportunity to break into the house, subdue Mr. Kuso, and tie him to the bed."

"Mr. Kuso is a paleoanthropologist at the National Museum of Natural History in the United States. He has many valuable private collections." Captain Dorsey paused here. "According to Mr. Kuso himself, his collections have little economic value; their value lies in their unique historical significance. After tying Mr. Kuso to the bed, the two robbers broke into his collection room and looted his most precious collection of paleoanthropological fossils and specimens. Mr. Kuso was not untied until his daughter returned home, and he immediately called 911."

"Didn't you consider the possibility of someone you know committing the crime?" Captain Hansen asked, frowning.

In robbery cases with such a clear target, the police usually consider the possibility that the perpetrator is someone they know.

Moreover, Mr. Couso's stolen collection is of no use to ordinary people, and they can't even find a way to sell it.

"Of course we've considered it." Captain Dorsey tapped his bald head. "Over the past few days, we've investigated Mr. Kuso's students, colleagues, and friends in the industry—but they either have alibis or don't fit the characteristics of a kidnapper—"

"What about an employee robbery?" Russell asked.

"We're also considering this direction, but the investigation is too difficult," Captain Dorsey sighed. "Moreover, the targets all have a certain social standing, making it hard to use harsh methods to investigate—"

"So—" Russell scratched his chin, "I have another question. Besides being a paleoanthropologist, does this Mr. Kuso have any other political connections?"

Captain Dorsey immediately looked embarrassed.

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