Legendary FBI Detective-Chapter 113: Strangulation Marks
"That's right, and there's more than one place where someone tampered with it."
Hearing Mona's words, Luo An nodded in agreement and then yanked the seatbelt off the driver's seat with force:
"Someone also tampered with this."
Mona looked at the somewhat damaged seatbelt and tilted her head in confusion:
"Can you explain in detail?"
"The seatbelt in Ivande's car is equipped with a pre-tensioner feature, which tightens the seatbelt within about 0.1 seconds in the event of a collision to protect the driver's safety."
Luo An showed the car's pre-tensioner system to Mona, speaking with a serious expression:
"But clearly, when the car hit the tree, it did not function as it should have."
After listening to Luo An's narration, Mona was silent for a few seconds before slowly swallowing her saliva.
——
Office area of Investigation Team Five.
"Ladies and gentlemen agents, we have bad news!"
A pregnant Augustus, holding a folder, stood at the front of the office area and announced loudly with a serious expression:
"Through the hard investigation by Agent Luo An and Agent Mona, we can now confirm that this car accident was not an accident! It was a complex murder case made to look like an accident!
I want to know, who would set up such an elaborate scheme to kill a regular photographer journalist?
Now, everyone get moving, dig into every detail of Ivande's life, pull up everything he's ever done!"
At this point, Augustus paused and turned his gaze toward Mona:
"Did we find out the identity of the person who stole Ivande's laptop?"
"Not yet."
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Mona shook her head: "The person is very skilled, and it seems they know very well the layout of the cameras and how to avoid them."
"Now, let's consider this thief the prime suspect."
Upon hearing this, Augustus frowned and then turned his eyes to Luo An, who was sitting at his workstation, looking down at the documents:
"Luo An, what do you think?"
"There is something peculiar about the process of Ivande's car accident."
Hearing Augustus call his name, Luo An raised his head and lifted the documents in his hand, saying:
"I don't quite understand how the murderer ensured that Ivande's car would encounter problems precisely on the forest road and crash into a tree.
Therefore, I suggest looking into the person who first reported the accident. According to the information, their vehicle had been following Ivande's car, and they witnessed the entire accident.
I think they might have seen some clues that the NYPD overlooked."
"Very good!"
After hearing Luo An's words, satisfaction spread across Augustus's large, dark face.
Luo An always managed to find leads and ideas, truly worthy of being his chosen talent.
With a wave of his large hand, Augustus indicated that the specific direction of the subsequent investigation was up to Luo An to decide.
In the end, however, Augustus spoke to Luo An with a serious face:
"This enemy is not simple, remember to keep safe at critical moments, self-preservation is of utmost importance."
"Understood, Chief."
Hearing this, Luo An grinned and smiled.
When he walked into the equipment room, he took a few more flashbangs than before.
The Reesi who accompanied him on the mission: "..."
——
The SUV quickly arrived at the outskirts of the neighborhood where the accident reporter lived.
"According to the information, the reporter is a married couple, the husband is an engineer, the wife is a teacher."
Reesi flipped through the documents in her hand, speaking nonchalantly:
"They seem to be just an average middle-class family, probably just happenstance witnesses to the accident."
"Hopefully so."
Hearing Reesi's comment, Luo An replied casually as he carefully checked his equipment — making sure the plate carrier vest, flashbangs, two Glock 18s, and extended magazines were all in order, and then he pushed open the car door and got out.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Hello! Is anyone home?"
Reesi stepped forward and rapped hard on the house's front door.
After waiting a few seconds, footsteps were heard, and a male voice came from the room:
"Who are you?"
"FBI!"
Reesi pulled out a gold badge to show to the person inside:
"We have some questions to ask."
Upon seeing the gold badge, the door opened a few seconds later, revealing a middle-aged white male with slightly red eyes standing before Luo An and Reesi.
"Sorry."
The man of the house, Mr. Qiansi, hurriedly invited the two agents into the living room, poured a glass of water for Luo An and Reesi, and then pushed some books aside on the table.
Finally, he sat on the sofa, rubbing his hands and looking at Luo An and Reesi, he asked loudly:
"May I know what you want from me?"
Seeing the man walking around the house in dress shoes and a work shirt, with fresh marks of constraint accidentally exposed on his wrist, Luo An's brow furrowed immediately.
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Qiansi."
Reesi raised her eyebrows, then asked softly:
"We are here to ask about some details of the car accident reported last night, OK?"
"No problem!"
Hearing Reesi's words, Qiansi nodded eagerly, then forced a smile:
"What details do you want to ask?"
Just as Reesi was about to speak, Luo An suddenly put out a hand to stop her.
Amidst Reesi's confused gaze, Luo An loudly inquired:
"Mr. Qiansi, what did you and your wife do last night? Why were you so late coming home?"
On the other hand, Luo An pulled a piece of paper from the book beside him, wrote on it with a pen, and then showed it to Qiansi.
Reesi cast a glance at Luo An, puzzled, then shifted her gaze to the paper.
It read:
"Mr. Qiansi, please answer my question normally, do not change your tone.
At the same time, if your wife is being threatened, please put your hands together in prayer. We will do our utmost to rescue her."
After reading what Luo An had written, Reesi's pupils contracted sharply, and she instinctively reached for the gun at her waist.
Qiansi's pupils shook as well, his face filled with shock as he looked at Luo An.
Seeing Luo An shaking the paper impatiently, Qiansi finally reacted, immediately putting his hands together in prayer, nodding frantically while pointing towards the upstairs bedroom, and began to speak with trembling lips:
"We attended a concert last night, that's why we came home so late..."
Reesi was no longer concerned with Qiansi's answer; she was very shocked and wanted to ask Luo An how he had figured it out.
But saving someone was more important at this critical time, so Reesi drew her Glock and looked at Luo An, silently asking:
What do we do next?
Luo An had a very grave expression at this time; after thinking for a few seconds, he continued to ask Qiansi questions while writing on the paper:
"Call for backup. Keep asking questions. Do not reveal any flaws. I will figure out a way to go upstairs."
Seeing Luo An's writing, Reesi took a deep breath, nodded firmly, then turned her head to start comforting Mr. Qiansi's emotions, asking him to keep his voice normal as she continued to ask him questions.
Meanwhile, Reesi also took out her phone and sent a text briefly explaining the situation and calling for backup.
On the other side, Luo An was fully armed and with a serious expression, holding a Glock 18 and slowly climbing the stairs in a combat stance, managed to enter the second floor of the house without making a single sound.
There were three bedrooms on the second floor of the house, of which only the master bedroom door was closed.
Given that Mr. Qiansi had just indicated his wife was in the master bedroom, Luo An immediately moved step by step to the door of the master bedroom.
Standing at the bedroom door, two breaths could faintly be heard coming from the room into Luo An's ears.
Seeing this, Luo An's mouth curled slightly, and he slowly took out a stun grenade from his pocket.
But the next second...
Bang!
Crash—
Just as Luo An took a deep breath and was ready to act, a loud noise suddenly came from the master bedroom, followed by the sound of glass breaking.
"Fuck!"
Hearing that sound, Luo An muttered under his breath and immediately kicked open the bedroom door and rushed in.
