Chapter 766: Chapter 768: Smoothly, Suspicion, Murderer, Assassin
In a rented room, Winslow walked over to Luo An and Chenier, shook his phone, and said:
"The trace examination department has set off and will arrive here in thirty minutes."
Luo An did not speak, Chenier looked at the chat records on the computer, her expression sour:
"Those who dare to hire assassins online are usually very cautious; I fear it will be difficult to clarify who contacted Ophelia Johnson to poison her..."
Before Chenier could finish, Mona’s voice came through the phone:
"No, I’ve already found a clue."
"?"
Chenier was stunned, and Luo An was also surprised:
"That fast?"
"It’s not that I’m fast, it’s more like the other party hardly hid themselves."
Mona sounded a bit strange over the phone. After tapping a few keys, she remotely controlled the page on Ophelia Johnson’s laptop, pulling up a black page to show Luo An and the others, and explained:
"This assassin who contacted Ophelia Johnson to execute the poisoning also used the same account to communicate with another person, whom I’ll temporarily call the employer.
The chat between the assassin and the employer reveals that the employer paid the assassin US$500,000 to poison Vireness with polonium-210.
As for the coffee beans plan, that information was also provided by the employer."
"..."x3
The rented room went silent for a moment.
Chenier felt somewhat speechless; just moments ago, she had mentioned that those who hire assassins online are cautious and difficult to track, yet the assassin’s reckless action proved her wrong so quickly.
Winslow felt contempt for the assassin taking US$500,000 for himself and giving only US$80,000 to Ophelia Johnson, criticizing the middleman’s greedy tactics.
Luo An also did not expect the investigation of this clue to go so smoothly. He looked at the chat records on the computer and asked:
"Who is this person hiring the assassin?"
The case was gradually clearing up. The chat records on the computer revealed that a hidden employer knew about Vireness’s lifestyle and the insufficient coffee beans.
This employer found the assassin, spent US$500,000, and proactively provided polonium-210 and information about Vireness, instructing the assassin to poison her.
The assassin received half the upfront payment, spent US$80,000 to convince Ophelia Johnson to poison the coffee beans, and after Vireness was poisoned, the assassin killed Ophelia Johnson to silence her, and ran off with the US$500,000.
"Hmm..."
Luo An’s question lingered, and then again the sound of rapid keyboard tapping came through the phone.
In less than five minutes, Mona’s somewhat excited voice rang out on the phone:
"I’ve found it! The employer’s IP address is at the headquarters of the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company!
Moreover, the account used by the employer is a person’s birthday written in reverse!
This person’s name is Ulysses, one of the managers at the headquarters of the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company!"
"A manager at the headquarters of the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company?!"
As Mona’s voice faded, Chenier’s eyes lit up brightly, saying:
"That fits! Vireness previously suspected that a nuclear laboratory under the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company was manufacturing smuggled polonium-210!"
"Exactly!"
Winslow also clapped his hands together, his face lighting up with excitement:
"This manager Ulysses might just be the head of this operation!
He learned that Vireness was investigating and, fearing his secrets would be exposed, decided to strike first, using polonium-210 to poison Vireness!"
"Very convincing!"
On the other side of the phone, Mona was nodding repeatedly, completely agreeing with Winslow and Chenier’s analysis, then said:
"Luo An, let’s go arrest them!"
The room fell silent, Luo An did not immediately respond.
He rested his chin on his hand, staring at the chat logs on the computer, eyes slightly narrowed in thought for a long time, before eventually slowly shaking his head:
"No, we need to find the killer who murdered Ophelia Johnson first."
"What?"
Luo An’s words felt like a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of the three people, Chenier frowned without speaking, and Winslow asked with great confusion:
"Why don’t we just capture the manager Ulysses first, interrogate him, and then find out who he hired as the killer?"
On the other end of the line, Mona strongly agreed with Winslow’s words, but after putting herself in Luo An’s shoes, she noticed some issues and asked:
"Luo An, are you worried about the current lack of sufficient evidence to make an arrest, or are you concerned that Ulysses might hire a lawyer and refuse to confess, making interrogation difficult?"
The files showed that manager Ulysses had been at the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company for over twenty years, and although he hadn’t become a billionaire, he could afford luxury cars and mansions, clearly not short on money.
Such a person would surely be very difficult to deal with once they had a lawyer.
"No, I’m thinking about something else."
Luo An slowly shook his head, he reached out to point at the computer screen, saying:
"Don’t you think, it’s all going too smoothly?"
"Too smoothly?"
Winslow showed a puzzled look, Mona’s brows furrowed on the phone, and after a long thought, Chenier, with a serious expression, asked:
"Luo An, do you think this is a trap?"
"Not necessarily a trap, but it feels like someone is purposely leading us."
Luo An rubbed his temples and analyzed with a frown:
"Chenier was right before, people hiring hitmen online are generally very cautious, using virtual IPs and fake numbers as basic measures.
For this assassin to use the same account, is really rare."
Winslow thought for a moment, then asked:
"Is it possible that the person isn’t very skilled with computers? Unaware of these..."
As he spoke, Winslow found himself unable to continue, a hired assassin with no sense of caution... if that were the case, it would be impossible for them to have survived until now.
"And there’s the manager Ulysses."
Standing aside, Chenier also slowly nodded her head in agreement with Luo An, saying:
"The account used to hire a hitman just used his own birthday numbers reversed, the directing nature is too strong, as if it has been arranged by someone."
The room fell silent again, after a few seconds, Mona asked:
"Luo An, are you suggesting that manager Ulysses isn’t the killer, but has been wrongfully accused?"
"Whether he’s been wrongfully accused, we cannot be certain right now."
A thought crossed Luo An’s eyes, as he smiled looking through the window at the Forensic Science Agents arriving below:
"But what can be confirmed is that manager Ulysses is definitely connected with polonium 210, otherwise this matter wouldn’t be linked to him.
Chenier, send a message to Michelle, have her put more focus on investigating Ulysses’ situation.
Mona, see if you can investigate through the internet and determine the identity of the assassin who killed Ophelia Johnson.
Winslow, Chenier, and I will later investigate the area around the crime scene, trying to figure out more about the assassin."
"Understood."
"No problem!"
As Luo An’s words finished, Winslow, Chenier, and Mona all responded in unison, taking the orders.
Within a few minutes, several Forensic Science Agents entered the room to process the scene, meanwhile, Luo An and the others, according to what was discussed earlier, began to go downstairs to conduct their investigation.
While checking the surveillance, Luo An’s phone suddenly rang, and upon picking up he found it was Reesi.
Before Luo An could ask what was going on, Chenier’s phone also followed suit, ringing immediately, and upon picking it, Michelle shouted:
"Chenier, hurry and tell Luo An, I’ve found the killer who murdered Ophelia Johnson! That person is still committing crimes!"