Conan Rick's Investigator

Chapter 501 Childress Family Repair Company

The next morning, Qin Zhibo and the Kudo couple flew to Oklahoma, the site of last year's serial murders.

Oklahoma is located in the south-central United States, more than 3000 kilometers away from California.

Originally, Qin Zhibo thought that there was no need for Kudo Yukiko to come along, but Kudo Yusaku meant that the couple were going to Massachusetts in the eastern United States to attend an important event soon, and it would be just on their way.

Qin Zhibo immediately said that he was also going to Massachusetts.

"Massachusetts...Are you going to Boston too?"

Qin Zhibo shook his head, "I'm going to Arkham."

"Arkham..."

Kudo Yusaku pinched his chin and recalled his impression of this eastern town in his mind.

Besides the fact that Miskatonic University, a world-class university, is located in that town, mysterious incidents occasionally emanate from there, such as pagan murders and witches...

Kudo Yusaku has wanted to visit this city many times, but he just doesn't have the free time.

This time is the same, what happened in Boston is very important and I can't miss it.

"Then I wish you good luck..."

……

Four hours later, the Boeing 747 landed at Oklahoma City Airport.

Qin Zhibo, the Kudo couple and their husband and wife took a taxi to the local police station, where they met the police chief and the two state troopers who handled the case last year, Cole Last and Martin Hart.

Last year's case made them heroes and they were promoted to senior detectives.

When they heard that Kudo Yusaku came for last year's case, the two expressed strong dissatisfaction.

"impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Martin spoke in a strong tone, spreading his arms and making exaggerated body movements, "We saw Regine Ledoux being shot dead with our own eyes!"

Cole glanced at his colleague Martin and said in a grave tone, "If you've come all this way just to tell me these things, you mystery novelists who only know how to make up stories in the newspapers, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed..."

Kudo Yusaku smiled slightly, with the confidence in his eyes undisguised.

"Will you be disappointed? Just take out the complete case materials collected that year and take a look..."

……

Under the arrangement of the police chief, the original photos and notes taken by Cole and Martin when they investigated the scene were turned out from the archives.

The complete case information is at least twice as much as what is recorded in the files, including some photos that are of little significance to the subsequent case-solving.

Kudo Yusaku sat on a chair, his eyes focused on the large amount of documents on the table. Cole and Martin stood beside him with their arms folded, watching with serious expressions.

In the eyes of both of them, Regine Ledoux was the ultimate criminal, and it was absolutely impossible to overturn the verdict.

Regine Ledoux had the same spiral pattern on his body as the victim, manufactured drugs, and kidnapped children, which completely matched the characteristics of the murderer analyzed previously.

However, when he arrested Regin Ledoux, he said some strange things that left a deep impression on Detective Cole to this day.

"I saw you in a dream. We are both in Carcosa now. She saw you..."

"You'll do it again..."

"Time is a flat circle, and the black star will rise as usual..."

Regine Ledoux was not killed because he resisted with a gun. Instead, Martin was furious after seeing him kidnap a child and killed Regine who had already surrendered.

At a subsequent hearing, Cole and Martin fabricated a non-existent gunfight and stated that Reg Ledoux died in the gunfight.

When Regin knelt on the ground, he said these meaningful words, which made Cole impatient and felt that there was something else behind them.

It was as if he had anticipated all of this and was ready to make sacrifices for it at any time.

Just as Detective Cole's mind was recalling the past, a movement interrupted his thoughts.

Qin Zhibo, who was sitting at the table, raised his hand and pointed at a photo on the table. The photo showed a lush green house.

The existence of the photo made Kudo Yusaku's eyes light up, and he immediately picked up the photo and examined it carefully.

【Survey√】

This is a photo of a house.

Qin Zhibo was able to notice this photo at a glance among a large number of documents because of the light of the investigation point.

"It looks like fresh paint."

Kudo Yusaku picked up the photo and looked at it for a few seconds before making a judgment. He then turned to look at Qin Zhibo, "It seems our reasoning is correct..."

The confident expressions on Kudo Yusaku and Qin Zhibo's faces made Detective Martin feel a little nervous, as if the evidence of his own crime had been caught.

"Hey! Tell me what's going on!"

Qin Zhibo took over the conversation, pointing to the original case file and explaining, "You mentioned the 'green-eared spaghetti monster' in the file, and that the person who took Dora Lan away from the church was a tall man with a scar on his face."

"But the murderer who was eventually caught did not meet these characteristics, so we suspect the murderer is someone else."

"The real murderer of Dora Lan is most likely a painter who may have frequently done painting work in the local area."

“When was the house in this photo taken?”

Detective Martin looked at the house above with a confused look, not quite remembering anything.

At this time, Detective Cole, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.

"This photo was taken near the scene of Dora Lan's murder..."

very good!

Qin Zhibo felt even more certain now.

……

Getting in the police car, Qin Zhibo, Kudo Yusaku, and detectives Cole and Martin headed to the location of the green house in the photo.

The police car drove slowly past the house. After a year of use, the paint on it was a little old, but it was still much newer than the surrounding houses.

"right here……"

The four got out of the car and knocked on the door, and an old lady opened it.

Detective Martin explained their purpose to the old lady, and the old lady invited the four of them into her home.

The old lady told everyone that the painting service for her house last year was provided by a maintenance company that specializes in serving church members in the church area, so the price was very affordable and it only cost $250 to paint the entire house.

"Is there any painter who has a scar on his chin among those providing services?" Kudo Yusaku suddenly asked.

"Yes, there is indeed a young man with a large scar on his chin..."

After hearing this testimony, the four of them looked at each other and understood what it meant.

Detective Martin asked the name of the repair company again. The old lady rummaged through the drawer for a while before finding the company's business card.

"Childress Family Repair Company..."

After Detective Martin finished reading the business card, he handed it out and passed it around among everyone.

Detective Cole took the business card from Kudo Yusaku and frowned slightly at the last name "Childress".

Chapter 502 You are the King in Yellow!

Detective Cole had some impression of this last name because when investigating the disappearance of the little girl Fontenot last year, the former local sheriff who handled the case was named Childress.

Childress...family...

Everyone said goodbye to the old lady and prepared to go to the tax bureau to check the company's operating information.

When leaving, Qin Zhibo suddenly turned around and extended his hand to the old lady in farewell.

"Take care, ma'am..."

The old lady was stunned for a moment, and felt a little favorable towards this polite young man, and a smile appeared on her wrinkled face.

"Young man, take care of yourself too."

The moment his hand touched the old woman's, Qin Zhibo silently launched the "Investigation" and asked, "Excuse me, what is the name of the local church you and your husband attend?"

"It's called the Illuminati. What? Do you want to join?"

Qin Zhibo smiled and shook his head, "Thank you, I was just asking casually."

"Bye now……"

Qin Zhibo turned and left, looking down at his right hand.

The system did not display any prompts, indicating that the old lady was not a member of the Yellow Seal Brotherhood.

……

The group then went to the tax bureau to inquire about the business information of "Childress Family Repair Company" and soon found a clue.

"The business license was obtained in 1978. The main business is to provide building maintenance for residences and schools. The legal person of the company is Billy Childress..."

Detective Martin's voice was noticeably more patient than when he first began the investigation, while Detective Cole next to him looked at the information on the computer in silence.

Qin Zhibo, who was also looking at the information, expressed his reasoning at this time.

"The old man said that a young man provided services to his family, so the murderer must be a young man."

"Can his family situation be checked?"

Martin turned and gave Detective Cole a questioning look.

Cole was silent and didn't say anything, so Martin found the relevant information in the police's population system.

"His son is William Lee Childress, his wife is Lizbeth Childress, born in 1944, and the address listed on his driver's license is south of Highway 27..."

……

After getting the address, the four people immediately drove to the target location to investigate.

Speechless all the way.

When they arrived near the address, Qin Zhibo was about to get out of the car when he was stopped by Detective Martin and Cole.

"The rest is our job as professional police officers. You just stay in the car."

Kudo Yusaku had no objection to this point. Although he had reasoned in countless cases, he did not have the habit of leading the way in catching bad guys.

Moreover, Kudo Yusaku was not afraid of missing any important clues, because the scarred man was at least suspected of chasing and threatening a girl. This alone was enough to bring him back to the police station for investigation.

Qin Zhibo didn't say anything in person, but after Martin and Detective Cole left, Qin Zhibo opened the car door and got out.

"I'll go over and take a look..."

Qin Zhibo didn't give much explanation, and Kudo Yusaku also understood Qin Zhibo's behavior.

It's a professional habit for the FBI to intervene in local police cases...

……

Qin Zhibo left the police car and quietly headed to the vicinity of Childress's house.

In fact, Qin Zhibo wanted to follow simply to see if there was a chance to contact the tall scarred murderer. He was very likely the member of the Yellow Seal Brotherhood he was looking for.

Squatting in the haystack outside the house, Qin Zhibo saw Detective Martin and Detective Cole with one hand on the pistol behind their backs and the other hand stretched out to knock on the door.

An old man opened the door, and Qin Zhibo saw the name Billy Childress above his head.

This is the scarred man's father. He was slightly drunk and shirtless, and invited the two detectives into the house.

The vision disappeared, and Qin Zhibo carefully recalled the scene he had just seen, and it seemed that he did not see the spiral pattern on his body.

Qin Zhibo, who was preparing to continue waiting, glanced at the open space in front of the house and suddenly saw a figure in the haystack opposite.

The man was tall, with a large scar on his chin making him look fierce. The name "William Lee Childress" floated above his head.

It's him!

The scarred man was obviously surprised when he saw the police walking into his house. He turned around and saw Qin Zhibo squatting in the haystack opposite, and he was even more surprised.

The two men looked at each other in the air for only a second, and then Qin Zhibo immediately stood up and chased after him.