Chapter 174 Scene of the Departed Person
At the door of Room 606, Alexander heard Loren's shout and immediately aimed his gun at the kitchen.
"Don't move!"
"Hands up!"
"Drop the gun!"
John, wearing a thick steel-plated bomb suit, rushed towards the kitchen, while Xavier and the others held their guns, ready to fire at any moment.
"Don't move," Alexander shouted again.
In the dim light of the kitchen doorway, a coat rack with a trench coat and a stiffly raised fake arm stood there, looking like someone holding a weapon.
"Damn, what the hell are you shouting for?" John took a couple of steps forward, realized it was just a coat rack, and cursed as he retreated.
Loren, holding his gun nervously with sweat on his forehead, stuttered, "S-sorry, I made a mistake."
"Disperse!" Alexander waved his hand and shouted.
Hearing this, everyone entered with their guns, forming groups of three, and spread out to the small rooms around the living room.
The sound of doors being kicked open echoed inside the house, and reports came from all directions.
"Master bedroom lights on, no one inside."
"Kitchen clear."
"Bathroom clear."
"Second bedroom clear."
After the shouts, Alexander slowly breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his gun.
In the radio channel, Jasper's voice kept coming through. "Alexander, what's the situation inside? Answer immediately! Alexander, can you hear me? Answer immediately..."
Annoyed by the noise, Alexander picked up the radio mic and said at the door, "Stop shouting, there's no one inside."
Ten minutes later.
Jasper, full of energy, led a dozen heavily armed men upstairs and asked fiercely, "Where are they? Didn't see anyone?"
Alexander turned his head, glanced at him, and took off his Kevlar helmet, replying, "If there were people, do you think you'd get in so easily?"
Jasper glared at Alexander, strode into the room, and frowned as he looked around, saying, "Did we get a false report?"
Alexander, too annoyed to respond, frowned and began inspecting the room.
At the master bedroom door, John took off his thick bomb suit and said expressionlessly, "The bedding in the master bedroom is messy, the phone charger is still plugged in, there are socks and a belt on the nightstand, and a pair of dark men's underwear under the bed."
Although Jasper's skills were average, he wasn't completely incompetent; otherwise, he wouldn't have climbed to this position. Hearing this, he immediately ordered, "If that's the case, then maybe it wasn't a false report. The suspect might have just left. Search the house immediately."
In the living room, Alexander stood at the kitchen door, looking at the surroundings.
There was an electric kettle on the counter, still plugged in, and next to it was an opened pack of instant pasta and a dirty household fork.
Alexander withdrew his gaze, turned to the living room, and saw the TV streaming, the lights on, and a messy coffee table with coffeecups and an e-cigarette.
"What are you looking at?" John walked over and asked.
Alexander pondered for a moment and replied, "The place is a mess, like they just ran off."
"Agreed." John nodded. "Logically, if they were suddenly reported, the suspects wouldn't have had time to prepare. And when our team arrived, we gathered outside the complex, so the suspects couldn't have noticed. But how did they suddenly get alerted and run off without even tidying up?"
Alexander glanced at John, thought for a long time, and said, "I have no damn clue."
In the living room, Jasper shouted towards the bathroom, "Did you check inside?"
Loren came out and replied, "Yeah."
"What was inside?" Jasper asked.
"Five sets of toiletries and men's grooming items. There was also a turd in the toilet, unflushed," Loren reported in detail.
Jasper waved his hand dismissively. "You, the new guy, go stand at the door and don't get in the way. Watch how the veterans handle a scene."
At the kitchen door, Alexander called to John and Xavier, "Let's check the bedroom."
The two nodded and followed Alexander into the master bedroom, putting on disposable gloves to inspect the room.
The room was about twenty square meters, with simple furniture: a bed, a nightstand, two wardrobes, and a coat rack.
Alexander walked to the bedside, glanced at the nightstand, and pulled open the drawer with his gloved hand.
Inside the drawer were a few pairs of new men's socks, two packs of old-brand cigarettes, and a turned-off phone.
Alexander took out the cigarettes and tossed them to John. "Keep these for later."
"Alright." John grinned and nodded.
"There's a phone?"
Alexander muttered, then took out the phone from the drawer and, after a moment of thought, shouted, "Bring the evidence bag over."
After shouting, Alexander turned to leave but suddenly focused on something under the pillow.
Pausing for a moment, Alexander reached out and lifted the pillow, finding a small notebook underneath.
"What's that?" Xavier walked over and asked.
Alexander picked up the notebook and glanced through it.
Black Street District: Alvin, M-series 4 units, 3000 rounds, debt $16,000, cleared.
Black Street District: Orlando, Colt, 02-series S-gun 15 units, 4500 rounds, debt $31,000, cleared.
Riverside District: Milo, Duke, M-series 4 units, 99-style loose rounds 10 units, miscellaneous handguns 20 units, 3000 rounds, 1500 rounds pending, debt $80,000. Note: Duke's boss Zephyr, involved in gun trafficking in Riverside District. Money might have been embezzled, hard to recover.
Seeing this, Alexander smiled inexplicably.
"What's written there?" Xavier craned his neck to look at the notebook.
"A gun dealer's ledger." Alexander turned back. "It clearly states that Duke and the gun dealer had a debt dispute. Duke didn't want to pay, so the gun dealer kidnapped him. Zephyr probably tried to dodge payment, too, so the gun dealer killed him in a fit of rage."
"Great, we didn't solve the main case but uncovered Zephyr's dirty deeds," Xavier sneered.
"This only indirectly suggests Zephyr's involvement in gun trafficking." Alexander shook his head. "But it doesn't constitute evidence, as the gun dealer's words lack credibility and there's no supporting evidence."
"What did you find?"
Jasper, like a bloodhound, walked in briskly.
"Take some photos and show them to Captain Lane," Alexander immediately instructed Xavier.
Xavier understood and took the notebook.
Half an hour later.
William called Jasper, "Did you catch them?"
"No," Jasper shook his head.
"Is that place where the suspects lived?" William asked again.
"Probably. We found some details, a ledger, and a phone used by the suspects."
"You found such important clues?" William was a bit excited.
"William, the clues are important, but these thugs are like they never graduated kindergarten. They wrote down everything about Duke's debt and even mentioned Zephyr's gun trafficking in Riverside District," Jasper awkwardly explained.
William was stunned for a moment. "You didn't catch the people but found evidence of Zephyr's crimes? What are you doing?"
"I didn't know we'd find this."
"Can you destroy it?" William urgently asked. "It's best not to bring this back to the precinct."
"We can't because Alexander found the notebook," Jasper replied awkwardly, his face turning red.
"Goddamm it!" William cursed, his head buzzing.
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