Legendary FBI Detective

New York Queens District.

Outside a community apartment, fully armed agents Luo An, Lede, and Reesi hold their weapons, standing by the door two on the left and one on the right.

They exchanged a glance, and Luo An counted down three numbers, then Lede lifted his foot and kicked the door with force.

Bang!

"FBI!"

"Don't move!"

As they shouted, the three agents quickly checked each room in the apartment, then encountered a young white woman in the kitchen dancing and making dinner with headphones on.

The young woman turned her head and saw Luo An and Lede suddenly appear, along with the Glock 18s in their hands, she screamed in shock.

"We're the FBI!"

By this time, Reesi, who had finished checking all the rooms, came back and shook her head at Luo An. With a slight frown, Luo An pulled off the woman's headphones and asked:

"Where is Richard Meyer?"

"I don't know, he's not here!"

The young woman, named Erin, slowly calmed down and explained:

"We broke up two months ago! What do you want with Richard?"

"We suspect he's connected to a series of serial killings."

Luo An put away the Glock 18 and said gravely:

"Do you know where Richard Meyer is now? We need to have a talk with him.

Or, you could explain why you've been using Richard Meyer's credit card."

"What?"

Hearing about the serial killings, Erin took a deep breath of shock, vehemently shaking her hands to express that she had absolutely nothing to do with those cases, and then she confessed everything.

"I met Richard a year ago."

Erin worked as a waitress in a high-end restaurant, where she met Richard when he went there for a meal with people.

At the time, Richard was very charming and also a factory owner, so Erin quickly moved in with him.

The toys were also purchased together when they were living together; after all, Erin was young and enjoyed variety, and Richard was keen to try new things.

Hearing this, Reesi and Lede exchanged glances—it seemed their previous judgment was wrong; Richard was not a barrel fetishist.

Luo An nodded imperceptibly and continued to ask:

"And then?"

"After that, Richard's factory went bankrupt."

Erin sat on the sofa, her expression very complex:

"At that time, Richard was utterly devastated and began to abuse alcohol.

About a month and a half ago, Richard suddenly messaged me saying he needed to leave New York to clear his head, and then I never saw him again, only sporadically receiving text messages."

The timeframe of a month and a half ago and the word 'messages' narrowed Luo An's eyes slightly, thinking of a possibility:

"Do you mean that, since then, you've never had a verbal conversation with Richard over the phone?"

Erin also seemed to realize something, swallowed and nodded:

"That's right."

Lede and Reesi exchanged glances, also coming to a realization.

Luo An went straight to the point:

"Can you still contact Richard by messages now?"

"No."

Erin shook her head, went into the bedroom to find a phone, and said:

"A week ago, I messaged him asking when he would return to New York, but he has not replied."

"Fu-k."

Lede hit his head and cursed, while Luo An took the phone and handed it to Reesi, saying:

"Reesi, take this phone back to investigation team number five immediately. Have Mona try to see if she can use this phone to locate Richard's current position."

"OK."

Taking the phone and noding, Reesi quickly left the apartment and started the SUV to return to investigation team number five.

Inside the apartment, Lede made coffee for himself and Luo An, and handed a cup of coffee to Erin, saying in a deep voice:

"Miss Erin, I suppose you have some idea of Richard's possible state at this moment.

So, I hope you can recall, before Richard left you, if there was anything off about his words and actions."

Taking the coffee, Erin's complexion was somewhat pale, her hand also shaking slightly.

After thinking for a long time, Erin shook her head:

"I'm sorry, agent sir, I don't know what you mean by 'off' because Richard was bankrupt, and he was not himself throughout."

"Did Richard, after indulging in alcohol, repeat certain things?"

Luo An sat across from Erin, slowly guiding her:

"Like repeatedly cursing someone?"

"That, indeed, is true."

Erin nodded:

"He kept saying something about misjudging people, placing his trust in the wrong person and so on."

Reesi, sitting next to her, glanced at Erin, knowing whom Richard was cursing.

Luo An continued:

"Did Richard ever mention what he intended to do? Like plotting revenge or something."

"No."

Erin shook her head:

"I didn't hear Richard talk of revenge, nor did I hear him planning anything; he only mentioned that this was a punishment from God."

"God?"

Luo An's mind raced, as if he had stumbled upon something:

"Was Richard a religious believer?"

"Yes, Richard has always been a Protestant."

Erin replied subconsciously, then suddenly remembered something, her body stiffened abruptly, she turned her head and stuttered:

"Agent sir, I remember something.

After Richard went bankrupt, every time he sobered up from drinking, he would drive to a church to confess.

And the day he said he was leaving New York, he also drank quite a bit, and I never saw those cars again."

"That's very good, Erin, this is very useful information!"

Luo An's eyes lit up, and he hastily asked for the address of that church.

Reesi, at his side, also had the corners of his mouth lift, sitting up straight, rising to his feet, could it be the church priest who had acted?

"That church is in New Jersey."

Erin pulled out a Bible that was under the bed, inside of which was a bookmark with the address of the church.

"Good."

Taking the bookmark, Luo An and Reesi immediately left the apartment, and then... pulled out their phones to call the SWAT team.

On one hand, they would need their help for the apprehension, and on the other hand, the SUV from the Investigation Team No. 5 had been driven away, and both Luo An and Reesi needed someone to pick them up.

————

The SWAT team's vehicles sped towards the target location, Luo An sitting in the back, calling Mona.

"How is it? Have you located Richard's cell phone?"

"Sorry."

Mona from the Investigation Team No. 5 office area sat in her chair, somewhat helplessly speaking:

"The other party won't answer calls or messages, I can't find their exact location.

But we found the last known location of Richard's car, it was on the freeway between New Jersey and New York State."

Luo An, having expected this result, briefly recounted the new lead he obtained from Erin, and concluded by saying:

"Work with William and the others to check out the priest at this church, see what his situation is, whether he has any suspicious motive for the crime."

"OK, give me some time."

Mona nodded, hanging up the phone to start working swiftly with William and other technical agents.

At 9:47 PM, Luo An, Reesi, and a team of SWAT officers arrived at the church in New Jersey.

At that time, the inside of the church was pitch dark, Luo An and Reesi led a few SWAT officers to block the church's front and back doors.

After counting down from three, the two led the SWAT team members and rushed in.