North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1402 - 757: Dave's Summons (2)

According to Jimmy's arrangement, Mark flew directly from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles. Jimmy had already called the Los Angeles office, requesting their cooperation. Mark needed to investigate the Harriton Foundation and the Harriton family businesses, and it wouldn't work without local support.

Wright and Jimmy headed to the Puerto Rico Port Authority, requesting AIS information from before and after the incident, then returned to Miami to retrieve AIS information there.

AIS positioning information clearly identified the ships around at the time of the explosion. After ruling out all cargo ships preparing to enter the port from elsewhere, three ships were quickly identified, two of which were fishing boats and one a cargo ship.

The fishing boats did not depart from the Miami port, but happened to be passing near the exploding yacht, thus being included in the investigation list. As for the cargo ship, it continued its journey to Europe after the explosion, which basically ruled it out as a suspect.

The investigation of the fishing boats was quite a headache. Such survival tool-level boats don't dock at busy commercial piers but at small ones, where there is no surveillance. After contacting the boat owner at the dock, the two gave up.

The fishing boats would be cleaned for every round trip, and more than a week had passed. The owner didn't admit having any strangers on board. Even if someone did board temporarily, they wouldn't leave any useful information.

While Jimmy and the others were scratching their heads, Mark's investigation wasn't going too smoothly either.

The Los Angeles office, like the New York office, is one of the three largest FBI offices. With the cooperation of the commercial case investigation team, Mark successfully obtained company information related to the Harriton family. However, this information did not contain many business details, compelling Mark to investigate personally.

Although he was alone, there was no problem conducting inquiries with management personnel of the Harriton family's companies with his FBI credentials. After all, their company owner being murdered was a major issue. Faced with Mark's inquiries, apart from business secret information, they indeed provided quite a bit of information about rival companies.

Every evening, Mark would communicate the current investigation progress with Jimmy over the phone. Even though Jimmy knew those companies weren't the employers behind the suspects, he still had Mark continue investigating according to the rival company's information.

There was no other way. Based on current clues and the investigation direction, Mark's investigation was necessary. Apart from Jimmy, no one thought there was any problem with the investigation, which is why Mark, just a Special Agent, could gain support from the Los Angeles office.

Only after three or four days into the investigation, Jimmy received a call from Dave and went to a seaside villa in Palm Beach. When Jimmy received Dave's call, he thought it was something related to New York, entirely unexpecting Dave to be in Florida just calling him for a meeting without mentioning the case over the phone.

Palm Beach wasn't unfamiliar to Jimmy. Not to mention his previous visits for travel, when Dave was shot at first, he came directly here to take care of him. But that time, Dave was attending a banquet, and after leaving the hospital, he checked into a hotel. Now he directly stayed in one of the villas, not sure if he bought it.

However, as the head of the New York office, obtaining a villa doesn't seem to be a big deal, people like him certainly don't lack that money.

The villa wasn't large. Jimmy drove over and knocked on the door. Dave came to open the door himself and let Jimmy in. There was no one else in the villa, whether it was just Dave alone or everyone else left to avoid interruptions during his chat with Jimmy.

Dave, dressed casually, poured Jimmy a cup of coffee as he invited him to sit: "Jimmy, how's the investigation into the explosion case going?"

Standing by the sofa without sitting down, Jimmy replied, "There's been some progress. We got a not very clear image of a suspect from a surveillance camera."

Holding a coffee cup, Dave approached: "Sit down, don't be so tense, it's just a casual conversation."

Jimmy accepted the coffee cup and finally sat down with Dave, who took a sip from his cup, "It's been two weeks since the explosion, and you've been investigating here for over a week. How does it feel? Do you have confidence?"

Jimmy: "Honestly, my confidence isn't exceptionally high. The suspect is undoubtedly at a professional level, proficient in avoiding leaving usable clues, and has no qualms about killing.

So far, we know he boarded the yacht on Harriton's island to plant the bomb and killed a security guard on the island. But apart from identifying his entry route onto the island and a blurred image from the pier surveillance, we found no other clues on the island. Someone capable of such things is no ordinary person.

Looking at the wound inflicted on the security guard, it's more fitting to describe this person as a professional killer than an explosion expert. The neck-slitting move from behind is not something an average person can perform, let alone so cleanly. I couldn't even locate his initial point of killing the guard; I only found the guard's body."

Dave nodded, "So you think this case is a hired assassination?"

Jimmy: "It can be confirmed. The person acted with a clear purpose and didn't choose an assassination method. Killing with such violence is obviously related to the employer's request. Otherwise, for a killer capable of sneaking onto the island, killing a guard, and then quietly leaving, an assassination should have been a piece of cake.

In fact, based on my observations on the island, its security couldn't withstand a professional killer. Even exposing his whereabouts after killing Harriton, he could easily eliminate any witnesses and escape the island without showing up in monitored areas."

Dave: "Any thoughts on the suspect's identity?"

Jimmy: "No, I have very little contact with the professional killers in the Dark World, so I can't make an assessment. But someone capable of installing explosives and remotely detonating them might have a military background, possibly with enough experience in special forces or related industries.

Actually, I'm not very interested in the suspect himself. I'm more concerned about who hired him. Someone who could order such a public spectacle to blow up Mr. Harriton and his entourage must hold a significant grudge, and such a person could cause more trouble."

Dave nodded again, smiling: "That's also what I and others are worried about. No one can ensure they haven't offended such a person. Someone who could hire a professional killer to murder Harriton must have spent a considerable amount. Have you considered investigating from the financial angle?"

Surprised, Jimmy looked at Dave, wondering why he suddenly mentioned this direction. After taking a sip of coffee, Jimmy softly asked: "Did you receive any information?"

Dave: "No, just a suggestion to supplement your investigative approach based on your findings. The specifics of the case are certainly up to you to handle."

Jimmy: "Currently, my plan is to have Mark go to Los Angeles to investigate the information about the Harriton Foundation and related Harriton family businesses, seeking clues about related parties that might have acted. Meanwhile, I'm working with the Miami office to investigate the boats the suspect might have used and any images captured at the docks. Neither side has concrete results yet.

As for the financial trail, we haven't targeted that yet. After all, Harriton is dead, and tracking his financial transactions doesn't seem relevant."

Dave: "Hm, continue your investigation. Also, no need to rush; take your time. Even when investigating, remember to rest and take care of yourselves. You all haven't had a good rest these days, have you?"

Jimmy was completely bewildered. Why does Dave's conversation always veer off in such a drifting manner, changing topics in an instant?