CHAPTER 271: CHAPTER 181: DEFORMED LOVE_1

Currently, the only clue the police and the FBI have on the cannibalistic Demon is a severed hand. To find the cannibalistic Demon, they first had to figure out to whom the severed hand belonged and why it was found in a trash bin on the commercial street. These two points could help the police narrow down the Demon’s range of activity and movements.

It’s worth noting that, due to their location amidst many restaurants and eateries, the trash bins on this commercial street frequently contained leftover food. Consequently, they were often rummaged through by the homeless. Based on the surveillance at the street corner, Merck might have some findings.

As Dean was getting ready to leave work, the team from the forensic department finally arrived. Merck approached them to discuss the situation. After greeting the bald Hawk and the other patrol officers, Dean quickly slipped away.

「The next day.」

After enjoying Sheila’s breakfast, Dean drove his bulletproof Hummer ostentatiously toward the Detective Bureau. At nine in the morning, just as he arrived downstairs at the Detective Bureau, he saw Merck, the senior FBI agent from yesterday, squatting at the elevator entrance, his eyes sunken and dark, with a scatter of cigarette butts on the ground around him.

Upon seeing Dean, a spark of energy flickered in Merck’s weary eyes. "Captain Dean, you’re here!"

Dean was puzzled. "Agent Merck? What’s going on with you?"

A look of embarrassment appeared on Merck’s face. "I need your help, Captain Dean!"

Dean was even more puzzled. "Buddy, haven’t I been helping you?"

"The case with the cannibalistic Demon just got complicated!"

Merck tossed away his cigarette butt. "The severed hand found last night was posted online by onlookers. Someone leaked details about the cannibalistic Demon’s previous crimes. Although our colleagues from cyber investigations handled those posts, it still caught the attention of Los Angeles netizens and sparked wild speculation."

Dean furrowed his brow. "There’s a problem with that. Even the homeless person who found the severed palm couldn’t have known it had been gnawed on. Those onlookers shouldn’t have known it was the work of the cannibalistic Demon."

"Yes!" Merck nodded, somewhat vexed, agreeing with Dean’s deduction. "I suspect this is the Demon’s provocation towards us. He wants to assert his presence in Los Angeles. What’s more troubling is that yesterday, when my partner and I tried to check the street corner’s surveillance, we discovered that neither the nearby shops’ cameras nor the street corner cameras covered the trash bin’s location. We have no way of knowing who disposed of the severed hand!"

Merck was under immense pressure. The cannibalistic Demon appearing in Los Angeles wasn’t the primary concern; the problem was that he’d committed a crime. Even that might have been manageable. Normally, the local police detective bureau could have shouldered the initial blame. However, due to his colleague’s recklessness yesterday, the case had been directly handed to the FBI by the local precinct, which hadn’t even reported it up to their own detective bureau.

Early this morning, Merck received a severe scolding from his immediate superior. He was warned that if the cannibalistic Demon’s brazen acts continued, Merck, being in charge of the case, should prepare to take the fall.

This greatly troubled Merck, a man in his middle age. He certainly didn’t want to lose his job.

Upon hearing this, a thoughtful look flashed in Dean’s eyes. A severed hand... outside surveillance coverage... immediate online leaks by netizens... Logically, it seems the cannibalistic Demon is preparing to make a grand display, to assert his existence to his followers. But as he pieced it together, Dean immediately sensed something was off.

He looked up at the exhausted Merck and smiled. "You guys tracked the cannibalistic Demon here; this must be your second day on it, right?"

Merck nodded. "To be precise, today is the third day. We previously received intelligence that a woman arranged to meet the cannibalistic Demon at the XX bar in Los Angeles. Through communication tracking, my partner and I eventually located the hotel where you, Captain Dean, had previously stayed. The woman had booked a room in the hotel but didn’t stay there. Then that idiot partner of mine heard the wrong room number. As for what happened next, Captain Dean, you should already know."

As he spoke, Merck took out a file. "This is the information on that woman. Her identity is somewhat special, so right now we are just surveilling her but haven’t questioned her directly."

Dean took the file and shrugged. "You’re exhausted. Go to our Squad Four’s conference room. The coffee there is good; it should help you regain some spirit."

「In Squad Four’s office.」

Lawrence and Harry were taken aback when they saw Merck following behind Dean.

They pulled Dean aside. "Buddy, isn’t this the FBI agent we had a conflict with before?"

"Yeah. Do you remember their excuse at the time?"

Harry, who had a better tolerance for alcohol, remembered the gist of it. "They seemed to be tracking a psychopathic cannibal and stupidly got the room number wrong, which led to our conflict." Curiosity flashed across his dark face. "Did a cannibalism case really happen?"

"Yeah. Just last night, a homeless person rummaging through trash found a severed palm. Upon examination, it had been gnawed on." Dean smiled. "I happened to be nearby at the time, so I called this guy."

"Dean, why did you contact them?" Harry asked, confused. "Wouldn’t it have been more fun to take their case and embarrass them?"

Lawrence, standing nearby, rolled his eyes. "Buddy, you’re a real idiot. Cases like this can easily cause public panic. If Dean hadn’t called them, and if the precinct had reported it to us first, we’d be in a bind. If the case then proved difficult to solve, our Squad Four would end up being the scapegoat."