Chapter 319 Is This Anne?
I quickly sidestepped and stuck out my foot, tripping the boy and sending him sprawling to the ground.
He yelped in pain.
"Have you seen this person?" My voice had turned icy.
"That's Anne. She used to be the woman around here who'd kiss anyone for money. But then, out of nowhere, she got a lot of cash and even went on a trip abroad." The boy, pinned to the ground by me, spoke through his pain.
I never thought the self-defense moves Joshua taught me years ago would come in handy now.
"Where is she now?" I pressed on.
The boy shook his head weakly. "A few nights ago, I saw her sneaking around like she was following someone. Haven't seen her since."
"Here's your reward." I pulled out a couple of bills from my wallet and tossed them next to his face. The boy grinned, picked them up, and whistled as he walked away.
I was more certain than ever. The person who had been following Edward and Skylar, and who had helped Edward call for help and taken Skylar away, had to be Anne.
I couldn't believe it. Anne had resurfaced. What surprised me even more was that with all the money she had now, she could have disappeared and lived a carefree life. Yet, she still wanted revenge on me.
With these clues, I didn't need to act rashly. The priority was to see Joshua immediately, exchange the information we had gathered, and then have him and his colleagues capture Anne again.
The thought of seeing Skylar soon made my heart race uncontrollably, almost to the point of suffocation.
I rushed to the surveillance room. Joshua stood up right away, giving me his seat.
He moved so quickly he almost knocked over the chair next to him.
"Diana, you were right. Not long after Edward and Skylar entered the alley, a mysterious woman followed them. Look here." Joshua spoke as he zoomed in on the screen, pointing to a woman in a hoodie.
I focused intently on the woman on the screen.
She was sneaking behind Edward into the alley.
"Is that Anne?" Joshua suddenly asked.
His question made me uncertain.
I scrutinized the woman on the screen. Her build did resemble Anne's.
But she was too cunning. She was wrapped tightly in her hoodie, with the hood pulled low and a large mask covering her face, making it impossible to see her features clearly.
I hesitated. "From what I remember, Anne never dressed like this. I can't be sure it's her just from this."
As I was considering whether to abandon this lead, a police officer from another surveillance team called out to Joshua. "Joshua, come look at this!"
Joshua immediately walked over, and I followed closely behind.
Sure enough, in this set of surveillance footage, the woman appeared holding Skylar.
More crucially, perhaps to hold Skylar more easily, she had taken off her hood.
Though she still wore a mask, her eyes were visible.
I stared at the screen, hoping for a clearer image.However, the footage only lasted a few seconds before she ducked into another alley, and the video cut off.
I replayed the clip over and over, my eyes glued to the screen, trying to squeeze out any more clues from those few seconds.
Joshua stayed by my side, patiently waiting.
I glanced at the officers still reviewing the surveillance footage, feeling disheartened, and asked Joshua, "Is there really no way to identify her?"
Joshua frowned slightly, thinking for a moment, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. Suddenly, he looked up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Seeing that glimmer made my heart race with excitement.
"There is one way," Joshua said slowly. "We can use iris recognition to see if it's Anne."
"Can we really do that?" Hope surged within me.
Joshua scratched his head. "We can try, but the tech team might need some time to process the images."
I nodded eagerly. As long as we could find Skylar, the wait was worth it.
While the tech team worked on the analysis, I forced myself to calm down, taking a deep breath to steady my racing heart.
I closed my eyes, recalling every detail from before Skylar disappeared. The memories flashed through my mind like a slideshow, each one a lifeline I clung to, not wanting to miss any possibility.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Time ticked by, but my mind remained blank, with no new insights. The anxiety within me grew stronger, like a tidal wave threatening to drown me.
Finally, after a tense period of work, the tech team displayed the woman's facial information on the screen.
I fixed my gaze on the screen, hardly daring to breathe, my eyes not blinking, afraid I might miss any vital information.
"It's really Anne." My voice trembled uncontrollably, and my throat felt like it was gripped by an invisible hand. Each word filled me with barely contained panic.
Tears streamed down my face again. I pointed shakily at the familiar face on the screen, too nervous to speak.
"Attention all units, we've identified the suspect." Joshua quickly responded, decisively ordering, "Teams, spread out and search the city for Anne!"
Joshua soon secured a warrant for her arrest.
In an instant, it felt as though the entire city was ensnared by an invisible net, with search teams scouring every street and alley.
All the officers joined the intense manhunt with a sense of duty, meticulously checking every corner, every alley, all on high alert, racing against time to find Anne and Skylar.
Meanwhile, the officers in the surveillance room remained vigilant, ready to dispatch officers to any location where Anne might appear on camera.
Finally, their hard work paid off. Search teams spotted Anne in a large shopping mall.
As soon as the news reached Joshua, we drove to the mall immediately.
On the way, Joshua communicated with the search teams via radio, "To avoid unnecessary panic, secure the mall and keep the public calm."
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