North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1238 - 680: Apprehension

Mark and Julia were discussing how to handle that annoying complaint while investigating the murder case in the car.

Although Jimmy didn't say how he did it, his words just now had already set the follow-up process, so the rest can't let Jimmy take charge anymore.

If the two of them have no opinion at all, then they might as well forget about becoming independent. After all, Jimmy is only two or three years older than them, but he has a few more years of experience. The gap is really visible to the naked eye.

Whether it's the cases they've worked on with Jimmy or the ones they've read about in the records, the gap is so large that it feels like an insurmountable chasm between a genius and an ordinary person. How many people in the whole Manhattan office can handle cases like Jimmy? At least they haven't heard of any.

They are now heading to the IRS office to investigate colleagues related to the deceased, probing into some matters before the victim's death to ensure they haven't missed any clues. Otherwise, this murder case is really going to be shelved as there are no clues on the scene. They can only deduce a potential suspect through the victim's relationships and action tracks.

This method relies entirely on manpower and brain power, with no chance for shortcuts. At most, they can find someone to do a suspect profile once, but that's usually reserved for major cases. Otherwise, there's no way to mobilize Quantico's BAU team, as there are only five teams to support nationwide, which is nowhere near enough.

After questioning the deceased's colleagues, the two of them didn't get any new leads. Mainly, the deceased didn't share much about his private life with others normally. In this case, they're really at a loss.

Mark checked the time and they returned to the surveillance team. Seeing that the surveillance team also didn't gather much information from the outside, Mark gritted his teeth, "Give me a set of monitoring equipment, and I'll go over and apologize."

Julia looked at Mark, "Are you going to expose that we're monitoring him now?"

Mark: "It's not exposure; it's me going to apologize after receiving the complaint, hoping he will withdraw it. The reason should be fine. He shouldn't find out about us."

Julia bit her lip, thought for a moment, then nodded, "I'll go with you. That way, it's more formal."

Mark nodded, "Then we'll need two. Each of us will carry one to ensure the recording is a bit clearer."

There were plenty of such eavesdropping devices in the surveillance team's car. They did not refuse and set up one each for Mark and Julia, tested it with headphones to ensure everything was fine, signaled OK to them, and the two left the surveillance vehicle, driving their own car directly to the target's door.

Mark walked up and knocked on the door while Julia stood on his side near the door, "FBI, is Mr. Cole Westwood in?"

Soon a man inside opened the door, "That's me. Who are you?"

Mark showed his credentials, smiling, "Mr. Westwood, I'm FBI Special Agent Mark Anderson, and this is my colleague Julia Lee. We're here regarding your previous complaint."

Cole squinted his eyes, "What are you here for?"

Mark: "I'm here specifically to apologize for my earlier rash behavior. Can we come in?"

Cole: "No need, handle it internally, just like that."

After saying that, Cole started to close the door. Mark reached out to block it, still smiling, but not as sincerely, "Please don't be so angry, I'm genuinely here to apologize. I'm sorry. Can we come in and talk?"

With considerable strength, Mark held back the door as Cole tried forcefully to close it twice but was unsuccessful. Cole stared at Mark's face for a few seconds, then relented his grip on the door, letting them in.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Mark apologized to Cole again and explained the reason for his actions back then. Cole's face didn't look good, and once Mark finished speaking, Cole immediately replied, "OK, now I understand the situation. I forgive you. You can leave now." Then he stood up, ready to see them out.

Mark also stood up, "Thank you, Mr. Westwood, for your understanding. I have one more request: could you provide us with a copy of your surveillance footage? The murder took place not far from here, and I'd like to see if there are any leads in the surveillance."

Mark was like flypaper, needing to draw Cole's attention, giving Julia little room to observe the room's circumstances. However, Cole clearly didn't agree, directly refused, and asked them to leave. He would call the FBI to cancel the complaint.

Mark and Julia tried a couple more times to request Cole's cooperation for the surveillance footage. Cole suddenly exploded, threatening to call the police if they didn't leave, so they left the house, with Cole shutting the door behind them, showing no interest in checking on them.

Walking towards their car, Mark asked softly, "Did you smell it?"

Julia gave a nasal "mm," "Let's talk in the car."

Once in the car, Mark started the engine and left, making a turn ahead and stopping immediately. Mark looked at Julia, "That smell was very much like the pungent odor of marijuana, very faint. I didn't notice any high-power appliances in his living room. I suspect he might be growing marijuana in a room or basement, possibly newly flowering; otherwise, the smell would be stronger."

Julia: "It's also possible he was smoking marijuana in a room, and a bit of smoke drifted out."

Mark: "No, he also had the smell on him, also very faint. It likely wasn't from him smoking."