Due to the particularity of the case, which is not related to Barton or foreign races, it is impossible for Zach to officially enter the Barton Police Station to complete the normal evidence collection procedures. Vertex 23S. Fastest update
On the east side of the police station, which is considered to be entering the streets of Noel District, there is a small bar, 'Police Bar'. It’s not really a bar, but more like a family restaurant. It serves as a positive model for all consumption occasions in Barton. Unfortunately, such a place will never be imitated by any place...
Zach hasn't been here in a long time, at least not in our story. But the boss recognized Zach the moment he entered, "Hey! Mr. Enthusiastic Citizen~~" The boss is a fat man who works part-time as a waiter and chef... Such a role model cannot afford any fancy staff.
James was instantly wary of the boss's enthusiasm for Zach. Zach could only tell him in a low voice, "Anthony will come here when he is a policeman." This meant that Zach would come too, hey.
"How many years have I not seen you?" The fat man casually threw the food aside and asked the 'customer' to get it by himself in a familiar manner.
"It's been a few years~" Zach responded with a smile and whispered, "James, I don't remember his name."
James glanced at Zach speechlessly, "Joe."
Zach immediately said, "Hey Joe, how have you been these past few years?" Just be polite, it's not a problem for Zach.
"Same as before~" He had already approached Zach, "And you~" looked at him with a smile, "Exactly the same as before~"
I should be grateful for the time. There weren't many people in the bar, only a few uniformed police officers having breakfast. It should be a normal routine, such as replenishing food before going on patrol. Therefore, no one pays attention here.
James naturally didn't want to be disturbed anymore, "We want a location inside, close to the phone."
Fat Joe made James blink nervously, "I know~ go this way~"
After arranging seats, he looked at James, "Coffee?"
"More milk, please." James replied and looked at Zach.
Zach took out his snack can and smiled at Fatty Joe, "Exactly the same as before~" as if it was an inside joke.
Fatty Qiao also smiled, nodded and walked away.
James immediately leaned on the table and glared at Zach, "He knows you are..."
"He doesn't know." Zach waved his hand, "But he knows that Anthony is the mayor now."
James was stunned for a moment, not immediately understanding what Zach meant. He soon understood. The food came quickly. Fatty Joe put down James' order and left with "I'll treat you today~".
After James reacted, he was a little gloomy, "Does he know your name?"
"Of course I don't know." Zach tilted his head, "When he met me, I was not Zachary Grande. Benjamin and I were just illegal vagrants."
James's face wrinkled. When he first came in, Fat Joe called Zach 'Mr. Enthusiastic Citizen'. Uh, how ironic...
Zach and James are here with business to do. James took a sip of his drink to force himself to adjust his mood. The document was opened in front of him, "Sketch of the perpetrator who murdered Mayor Vega's secretary." He turned directly to Barton, knowing that the face of the criminal was meaningless, and to be honest, The person drawn in this sketch can be anyone, and it has no reference meaning at all. We can't expect the victim to still be in the mood to observe what the person who killed him looks like when a death occurs unexpectedly. "Description and sketch of the weapon used in the murder." He handed a copy to Zach.
The picture is actually not clear, it came from a fax. And since the case was related to an interracial relationship, the transmission of these information could not leave traces at the Barton Police Station, so the machine used was reported for repair in the official record. As soon as Zach took it, he had ink in his hand.
He curled his lips and wiped it on James' clothes, "A very common hunter trap for aliens." Zach was looking at a weapon that sprayed web-like things, next to the protruding spikes on the web that unfolded in the picture. , with 'silver spikes' marked by the sketcher.
"Trap?" James glanced at Zach, "So you have to prepare in advance." James quickly turned to the case description at the back of the file, "The murder happened in the garage..."
Zach interrupted, "Normally speaking, you have to prepare." Zach squinted and looked at the weapon spraying out a silver net in the screen, "But the person who attacked Secretary Root obviously used something that can be carried anywhere." A bit like an old-fashioned cannon.
James frowned, "Made in the Republic..."
Zach interrupted directly and glanced at James, "Don't make casual contacts." It was a reminder that although James now has an open world view and knows and understands many things in this world, there is no need to show off and give everything away. Think about things huddled together.
James twitched his lips, "The thing used to kill is salt water. This is... "
"Common sense." Zach didn't want to listen to James' reasoning. He didn't know what James, who was eager to show off, would say. "Especially in a social environment like the West. Most ordinary people don't know that aliens live among them. , this knowledge is common sense." Zach wanted James to destroy the hunter.
James pursed his lips, "The secretary's testimony also said that the perpetrator did not look like a hunter."
"The perpetrator had a conversation with the secretary's daughter." Zach gestured to James.
James flipped through it for a while and curled his lips, "It's a useless conversation. The girl said that a stranger came to her house and wanted to call the police, and the other party replied, 'You can try'."
"It's a provocation." Zach made a very objective judgment.
"Provocation? To a four-year-old girl? Uh-huh." James shook his head.
"No, it's to the daughter of a foreign race." Zach shrugged.
James pursed his lips again.
Zach spoke again, "The murder I heard about on the phone." Zach was about to play his role as a witness, "At first, it was easy to think that when the murder was going on, the assailant didn't bother to hang up. Drop the phone.”
Recall Zach 'eating flies' at four in the morning.
"But if the perpetrator was provoking." Zach tilted his head, "He deliberately left the phone on, and only hung up after confirming that someone was listening on the other side of the receiver and I was listening."
James had a sullen face and looked like he didn't want to speak. James waited for Zach's conclusion.
Zach took the document in James' hand, "It says that the assailant told the girl that Root's secretary was dead. It was the same as letting me hear the murder that happened on the phone. The assailant, in Show his behavior to onlookers.”
"significance?"
"You ask me?" Zach was speechless, "You are a police detective, you are a professional, and now you ask me about criminal psychology?"
James curled his lips and turned his head, not knowing what to say.
Zach continued, "Serial murders have a very special feature, which is the 'sign' of the perpetrator. Normally, it is the pattern of the murder, such as the method of killing." Zach glanced at James The soldier asked James to focus on "But for aliens, the methods cannot be the same. To kill different aliens, different methods must be used. You understand this, then, what can the 'sign' of the perpetrator here be?" ?”
"Uh, the victims were all aliens who adopted humans?" James said something casually, but it was still wrong.
"This is the perpetrator's criterion for selecting victims, not a sign." Zach began to doubt whether James had received professional training. Well, bear with me James, this is a complicated case.
"If what you say is right! The perpetrator is deliberately showing what he did. This is his mark, showing others that he committed the crime. Then why are there only witnesses to these two murders? You and the girl!"
Zach pointed to the phone, "It's your turn to confirm."
"Confirm what?!"
"You know the attitude of the West towards interracial cases. Detective Luther made it very clear that they will only 'solve' interracial cases when there is pressure." This means that as a serial murder case, the previous cases have A lot of information was deliberately missed by the Vega Police Department.
James was silent for a while, "You mean, if the perpetrator showed others a pattern of killing aliens, there must be witnesses other than you."
Zach nodded, "This is Vega's opening to solve the case."
James went to make the phone call.
Zach continued to flip through the documents, and every time he saw 'Mayor's Secretary' on it, he smiled inexplicably.
Is such that.
Based on Zach's knowledge of Root, Root will hire a curse caller at four in the morning. Root will use Zach's imaging ability to try to murder Toledo's future (wanting Zach to leave the country as the master of Grande). Special will recall the mind-reader Oz, Root will create a confrontation between Zach and Eli, Root will create Zagar... Root will form a secret alliance to fight against the independence of the Federation, Root is not a broad-minded guy.
Therefore, Zach did not think that the case was reopened by the Vega Police Department because Root's secretary had received a life threat.
Zach felt that the reason why Root, as Mayor of Vega, still put pressure on the police department even though his own race and social status were already unpopular among law enforcement agencies, was entirely because of Zach.
Root knew Zach was a witness to the murder.
Zach didn't continue thinking, quickly closed the file he was flipping through, turned his head, "Hey~Qiao~"
Fat Joe held a pot of coffee and filled James's cup with a smile. "Haha, still so enthusiastic~" he winked at Zach, indicating that it was the cover of the document that Zach had closed, on the police station folder. symbols of.
Mr. Enthusiastic Citizen, isn’t he~
James' phone call went through, but he couldn't get through it for the time being. Zach smiled, "Yeah~ Still enthusiastic~"
Fat Joe glanced in the direction of James and continued with a smile, Zach, "You are really good at picking people, haha, that's Detective James Lance. Hehe, before, it was Detective Anthony, haha, the mayor. Sir~"
These words actually cross the line, and even a fool can understand the meaning of these words. But don’t take it as malicious, Zach dealt with it calmly, “Speaking of the mayor, our old mutual friend, did you vote?” It was as if friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time were reminiscing.
"Ah, not yet." Fat Joe actually sat down opposite Zach. James wouldn't be back for a while anyway, "It's three days, it's not urgent. What about you?"
"Just voted." Zach smiled. Looking at Zach’s expression, I really can’t tell that this is a lie~
"Haha, you must have voted for your old friend, right~"
"A must." Zach nodded. Zach didn't mind such chatting, it was just daily communication.
Fat Joe smiled and nodded repeatedly, as if everything was expected and clear, "Where is that 'not very enthusiastic citizen gentleman'?" Benjamin.
"Oh, he's home." Zach replied casually.
"Where's the girl who's always crying?" Alice asked.
"Haha, she won't be happy when you say that to her, she is a teenager now~" Zach replied with a smile.
"Oh haha, that's right!" Fatty Joe also seemed very happy to chat with his 'old friend'.
Quotation marks are required. Did you notice that there was no name in Fat Joe’s words? As Zach said to James, when they met, Zach and Benjamin had no identities.
So, this problem will arise sooner or later, "Come to think of it, I don't even know who you are~" Fatty Qiao lowered his head and said this with a smile.
"No way!" Zach's acting skills had nothing to say, "You don't know who I am? I thought 'Enthusiastic Citizen' was the nickname you gave me, but it turns out you just don't know me?"
"Don't be like this." Fatty Joe still smiled and patted Zach familiarly, "You know where my place is, and I don't dare to just ask who the guys brought here by these police are~"
What a reality.
Zach's expression was aggrieved, "You don't think I'm some criminal informant, do you?"
"Hehe, I really think so~" Fat Joe was so honest, "It's just that the identities of most of these guys will be revealed in the conversations with the police..." He lowered his voice and winked at Zach, "Leaked out." Then. He returned to normal, "It's just you~ Haha, it's never happened before~ So the title of 'Mr. Enthusiastic Citizen' is tied to you~"
"Okay." Zach smiled and nodded, expressing understanding, "Then, belatedly introduce yourself." Zach touched his pocket and took out his business card, "Zachary Grande, my friend Call me Zach.”
"Grand?" Fatty Joe took Zach's business card solemnly and looked at the name on it, "Are you the owner of Grande Funeral Home?!"
"It's guaranteed to be genuine." Zach smiled.
"Wow!" Was it Fatty Joe's inexplicable reaction? Don't. He looked at Zach, as if he was looking at him carefully as if he were meeting for the first time, "Since you and Detective Anthony stopped coming here and he became the mayor, I know that you are not a simple 'enthusiastic citizen'. I just didn’t expect that you are so extraordinary and you are actually Grande’s master!”
"Haha, what, am I famous?"
"Oh my god!" Fatty Qiao lowered his voice again, and cautiously glanced at the area in front, where there were just a few patrol officers eating. "You don't know how many topics happening here are about you!"
"Oh? Good or bad?"
Fatty Qiao's face hesitated, "Haha. A kind of 'enthusiastic citizen' type." A strange answer. He carefully accepted Zach's business card and looked back at James. James finished his phone call and was ready to come back.
"Contact me when you have time." Fatty Qiao left.