Mary finished her donut and left.
But the discussion sparked by her news did not end.
The deputy's tone was still filled with excitement, "I really can't believe it, Sofia Delarosa is still alive! It's unbelievable."
Jackson asked curiously, "Deputy, did you ever investigate the Sofia Delarosa kidnapping case?"
The deputy nodded, "Yes, that was ten years ago, but at the time, I was only assisting in the investigation.
The kidnapping case was primarily led by the FBI."
Jenny asked in confusion, "It's been ten years, why are these two cases linked?"
"It's not a coincidence, I previously suspected these two cases should have a certain connection," the deputy recalled, "Ten years ago, Sofia was kidnapped while playing in the community park, her father was a diamond merchant, and the kidnappers called to extort five million US Dollars worth of diamonds from her father.
Sofia's father reported it to the police, and the FBI began investigating the case.
Afterwards, the kidnappers revealed the time and place for the transaction, and the FBI and police set up surveillance in advance.
That night, we caught the person who came to collect the diamonds at the trading spot, and the arrest operation went very smoothly.
That person even confessed to an accomplice, but they both denied being the kidnappers, only claiming they were diamond traders, here to pick up goods as per a customer's order.
Later, the FBI investigated them and found out their true identities were black market merchants.
And the kidnappers never called again, we never found any clues about the hostage.
We always thought Sofia had already been killed."
Jackson listened intently and summarized, "Ten years ago, the Sofia kidnapping case was extorting diamonds, the kidnapping case we are investigating now is extorting gold.
The kidnappers from both cases shifted the riskiest part of delivering the ransom to black market merchants.
Despite the ten-year gap between the two cases, the modus operandi is almost identical."
The deputy nodded, "That's right, that's also why I suspect the two cases are related.
I originally thought the kidnapper had returned, but I didn't expect the victim kidnapped ten years ago is still alive, which counts as a pleasant surprise."
Jenny said, "It's really unbelievable. Normally, once the kidnappers get the ransom, they might kill the hostage, but the kidnappers didn't get the ransom, and the hostage had almost no chance of survival.
Yet Sofia survived and got involved with another kidnapping case ten years later, it all sounds rather puzzling."
Jackson speculated, "Is it possible the kidnapping back then had hidden secrets, like the hostage staged it themselves, which is why they weren't killed."
The deputy thought for a moment, "That possibility is very small, Sofia was only ten years old at the time. Even if she staged it herself, she couldn't have disappeared for ten years."
Jenny frowned slightly, "Could it be she faced family abuse back then, wanting to leave the family through this staged kidnapping."
The deputy didn't make an immediate judgment and said, "That kidnapping case was primarily investigated by the FBI, LAPD only assisted, I don't know many specific details."
At this point, the deputy scanned the surroundings, "Where is Luke? Why haven't I seen him at all."
Jackson said, "He should be in the captain's office."
The deputy shrugged, "Then why doesn't he come out? Or has he gone out and you just didn't see."
"Creak..."
The office door opened, and Luke came out holding a file, "I'm here."
The deputy reminded, "The kidnapping case has made progress."
"I know, I've heard it all from inside."
"Then why didn't you come out?"
"Because I was reviewing it." Luke handed the file over.
The deputy opened it and exclaimed in surprise, "It's the Sofia kidnapping case file.
And it's the detailed FBI file, how did you get it?"
Luke nonchalantly said, "I'm an FBI criminal investigation consultant, getting a file is not difficult."
"Cool!" Jackson showed a look of admiration.
"I must say, you've done an incredible job with this," the deputy sat by the table, impatiently starting to review the file.
Ten years have passed, and he's forgotten many case details.
Luke smiled, it's rare to see the old talker soften.
Twenty minutes later, the deputy thoroughly reviewed the Sofia kidnapping case file and said, "This file is indeed more detailed than the police's.
Moreover, the FBI continued to track the investigation three years after the kidnapping case happened.
Including some circumstances of the hostage's family.
According to the file, the hostage's father died of illness in the third year after the kidnapping case.
Perhaps it was also due to the father's death that the FBI abandoned tracking the case."
Jackson instinctively asked, "What happened to the hostage Sofia Delarosa's mother?"
The deputy replied, "Sofia's biological mother passed away when she was very young.
When Sofia was eight years old, her father remarried her stepmother.
At that time, I even met Sofia's stepmother once, she's a very elegant woman.
I think we should contact her if she's still alive."
Luke instructed, "Matthew, check Sofia's stepmother's current contact information and address."
"Yes, sir."
"Deputy, prepare yourself, once Matthew finds the address, we'll go visit her."
The deputy fell silent, his expression somewhat conflicted, "I'll pass, you take others to go.