novelraw Chapter 1267 - 694: The Tucker Family
Chapter 1267 - 694: The Tucker Family
While driving back to headquarters, Hope had already called the technology department there, and Peter also received the news. He had set up a small command center in advance, where the tech staff could directly investigate the road surveillance footage.
On the way back, Jimmy and his team were also observing, but unfortunately, the area near the scene was really too remote. The houses they saw along the way were mostly ordinary homes, and they didn't find any with surveillance installed.
The clues provided by Jimmy were still relatively precise, with the vehicle type, color, and approximate time. The investigation results quickly came out, and the tech department successfully found the gray van in the closest traffic surveillance batch near the crime scene. However, when pursuing its path according to time and possible roads, they found that the intersection supposedly monitored in the system had malfunctioned cameras...
Well, this kind of situation is also understandable; the surveillance in New York faces similar issues, with large areas experiencing surveillance gaps.
Peter stood in the command center, looking at the screen in front of him, with results being reported by the tech staff in his ear. He needed to consider a problem: he didn't have enough people under his command to investigate surveillance along the route. If he only assigned a few people to handle it, they would need at least two to three days to circle the area along the route and review all the street-side surveillance footage.
After thinking for a while, Peter still gave up on this large-scale operation. If he wanted to mobilize on a large scale, there weren't many support personnel available at the FBI headquarters. He estimated he would have to collaborate with the Metropolitan Police Department, but without prior contact with the police department, they likely wouldn't have many officers available to help now. He looked towards the tech staff, "Continue to expand the range and look for the closest confirmed surveillance content."
Soon, Jimmy and Hope returned to the office. After bringing Jimmy to the command center, Hope left to deliver the evidence. Blood testing required some time and needed to jump the queue at the lab; otherwise, they would have to wait in line slowly, as the lab was always in queue.
Jimmy: "Peter, have you found any leads?"
Peter: "Yes, we found the vehicle's trajectory, but due to lack of surveillance, we're currently investigating the surrounding footage."
Jimmy: "Okay, then I'll wait for the news."
Peter pointed to an empty seat beside him. Jimmy, having nothing else with him, simply sat down and waited.
Even though it was just a small command center at headquarters, there were still quite a few tech personnel. Their division of labor and cooperation quickly confirmed that the vehicle did not pass through the monitored intersections in the area within the specified time. Either they hadn't left, or they had changed vehicles in some area within a suburban community.
After hearing the tech personnel's feedback, Jimmy spoke up directly, bypassing Peter: "Continue retrieving subsequent surveillance footage, looking for the latest time that vehicle appeared in the monitoring. Also, investigate the vehicle's information."
Tech Personnel: "The vehicle has already been verified; the license plate corresponds to a sedan, not a van, making it untraceable."
Jimmy held his right arm with his left hand and touched his chin with his right hand, thinking, "Retrieve the owner information of the license plate. They are likely in on this together, using the plate temporarily as a cover for this vehicle."
Peter looked at Jimmy in surprise. Jimmy shrugged slightly, "I used to be a county police officer in Arkansas. I've encountered this situation many times; usually, it's family members or neighbors temporarily swapping the license plates."
Peter turned to the tech personnel, "Retrieve that information immediately."
Peter had never been a police officer and had no experience patrolling the streets, checking license plates. Hearing Jimmy's words made him realize that this possibility was really quite high. Indeed, Jimmy's experience was extremely rich, and calling him in was definitely the right decision.
Information corresponding to the license plate came out, and it belonged to someone not from Washington, D.C., but from neighboring Maryland. Peter frowned, although the distance wasn't that far, cross-state matters were difficult to handle. Jimmy couldn't just run over there based on this small clue.
Peter: "Jimmy, I'll contact someone to go take a look in Baltimore. You don't need to go."
Jimmy: "Fine, just remember to have someone check if there's a van like that around the license plate owner's vicinity. If there is, pinpoint their location. Others continue investigating the surveillance to determine that vehicle's location."
Peter nodded and turned to leave the command center. Such an investigation truly didn't require Jimmy going; a trip back and forth would waste a day. Either have local people investigate or arrange for other agents to go from here. They still need to keep investigating in D.C.
As Peter left, Jimmy also took out the case of the kidnapped and detained girl to review. The victim, a girl, hadn't left yet and was still residing in a safe house under FBI supervision. Her parents should arrive in a day or two, and then they'll see how to proceed. However, whether she returns home or remains with the FBI, the case must be resolved. It just might not be Jimmy who handles it, as he mainly came for the case of the two missing FBI agents.
Jimmy was quite interested in this case, but solving it was very difficult since the girl couldn't provide relatively accurate location information, nor had they obtained a sketch of the suspect yet. Many things couldn't be processed quickly. After the victim's family arrives, the FBI will arrange for an artist to sketch the suspect, but right now, she's in a poor mental state and needs some time.