North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1398 755: Handover (Part 2)

Wright nodded, tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground, and stomped on it forcefully before heading back into the villa.

It turned out he was quite upset too. A major case was about to be nailed down — there were witnesses, there were victims, and they had arrested those inside the villa who might be involved. Such a case just required following procedure to close it. But suddenly, someone swooped in and took credit, and anyone would be annoyed. Even as a Senior Agent, he needed such major cases.

Jimmy watched Wright return to the villa, then took a few steps forward to leave it. This case still needed to be held in his own hands. The Miami office and New York office weren't in a superior-subordinate relationship. To oppose senior management in the Miami office, it certainly required a corresponding senior official. If the New York office couldn't manage it, perhaps headquarters might have to step in.

Jimmy first called Ruiz, to inform him there was an unexpected turn in his investigation. He unexpectedly found certain people interacting with minors on surveillance footage, and learned from the butler that women attending the party were still in the villa, which led to the rescue of the kidnapped women.

The explosion case being linked to a kidnapping case was no small matter, but now the Miami office was set to take over the case, and Jimmy hoped Ruiz could come up with a plan.

After a few brief words, Jimmy hung up the phone. He didn't elaborate on his ideas, but he believed Ruiz would understand his intentions. Being forcibly deprived of a case was certainly not a good thing.

Jimmy checked his pants pocket — the cigarette pack got soaked when he changed pants earlier, and now he was out of cigarettes. He could only stand there looking at the beautiful scenery.

The efficiency from Ruiz's side wasn't very high; Jimmy waited a while without seeing a return call, sighed, and returned to the villa. Anyway, it's best to start the investigation.

Those women under contract with talent agencies were relatively easy to deal with. For them, attending a wealthy party and having some interactions with attendees was completely normal. They sought fame and money voluntarily, so they didn't hide this fact during agent interrogation. However, apart from their identities and agency details, they refused to disclose other information, insisting on waiting for their company's lawyers to arrive before speaking further, due to signed confidentiality agreements. Between paying damages and FBI interrogation, evidently, damages were deemed more severe.

As for the butler and security, they were evidently more difficult to handle than the women. Apart from previously provided information, these individuals demanded lawyer presence. Especially the butler, who was bound by agreement with the Harriton Family, and couldn't respond to matters involving the Harritons without the lady's permission. His lawyer was also affiliated with Harriton Family, and waiting for these lawyers would take considerable time.

Such a case would surely be resolved, but how long it would take was uncertain. Jimmy was not involved in the interrogation; he was still waiting for Ruiz's call. This matter could not be resolved on-site, requiring outcomes from behind-the-scenes battles.

By the next day, the kidnapping case team from the Miami office arrived on the island and, after liaison with Agent Wright and Jimmy, temporarily took over management from other agents to continue interrogating these individuals.

Jimmy inquired in passing; Mrs. Harriton had already received an FBI call, requesting her to temporarily refrain from leaving her residence. Other agents were dispatched to her home, and in addition, CEO of those women's talent agency was controlled overnight by FBI and Los Angeles police, awaiting further investigation.

The Miami office deployed considerable manpower for this case and requested support from Los Angeles office, adhering to major case handling standards.

But Jimmy was still awaiting Ruiz's call. He was now entirely powerless against direct authorization from Miami office's higher-ups, and could only comply normally.

Luckily, they obtained the surveillance footage due to previously applied search warrants, allowing them to continue investigation instead of idly waiting.

Jimmy discovered a lead earlier; the suited security guard had been identified as not belonging to their security team. Moreover, sixteen guards weren't all on the island; some had already taken time off and left. These individuals too were handled by the kidnapping case team, contacted, and instructed to promptly report to FBI.

These guards had identifiable statuses. If they fled after FBI notification, it would be unwise, because an FBI warrant would force them into hiding under new identities.

The three technicians who arrived previously completed reinforcements on the dock surveillance video, but resolution was too poor. Apart from discerning the individual's face shape, facial recognition using this footage was impossible.

They investigated other relevant surveillance based on this individual's actions, but couldn't trace further due to numerous blind spots in the area's monitoring, leaving doubts on whether the original designers intended it or faced limitations in ability, resulting in incomplete coverage.

Jimmy's investigation reached an impasse. They knew this location was where the suspect placed the bomb, but the trail abruptly ended. To trace the individual's island activities required meticulous backtracking, and all security and staff were already directed to kidnapping case interrogations, leaving them battling for verification.

Ruiz's call finally came, albeit late, bringing Jimmy unpleasant news. The yacht bombing case was Jimmy's task to investigate; the kidnapping was fully transferred to Miami office investigation.

Jimmy had to contest this further, when a relatively low voice came through on the call, not directed at Jimmy but at Ruiz, saying, "Let him discuss it further after returning."

Ruiz passed this message to Jimmy, who had to accept because that voice belonged to Dave, the New York office leader. His involvement signified the decision was final, and Jimmy initially hoped headquarters would intervene. It now seemed headquarters also had a conclusion.

This made Jimmy realize the complication beneath the surface. His investigation pace was too swift; the initial request for his involvement was to examine the bombing, yet unexpectedly, he uncovered a kidnapping involving minors and sexual exploitation, including high-profile guests, which expanded the investigation list considerably. Attendees of billionaires' parties usually held significant identities, making their investigation highly impactful.

Perhaps headquarters, New York, and Miami office personnel were already being pressured by public relations. Assigning the case to Jimmy could render subsequent investigations unmanageable, given Jimmy's notorious thoroughness.

Reluctantly resuming his yacht bombing case, Jimmy's mood worsened over limited leads; they needed further analysis of the individual's movements in the footage, which was thwarted due to surveillance gaps and passage of several days. Locating the individual's whereabouts currently was challenging.

The kidnapping investigation team efficiently delivered Jimmy an unexpected lead: a security guard listed as off-duty couldn't be reached, linking to the suspect posing as security here, suggesting possible foul play towards the guard.

Jimmy requested the head of security to provide information on the guard and his resting quarters. The security chief naturally wasn't cooperative, already mired in troubles. Jimmy couldn't enforce compliance given surrounding crowd size, any forceful action could easily impact ongoing investigation.