Chapter 152: The Serial Murders in the Deep Beach Pits

Squad Five Investigation Unit, interrogation room.

Philomena’s wrists were cuffed to the interrogation table, and Roan and Lacey sat across from her.

After briefly organizing the files, Roan slid the portion that could be shown to outsiders toward Philomena and said:

"If you could get tomorrow's Wall Street Journal today, you would definitely not lose money."

Having briefly outlined the course of the case, Roan finally asked in a deep voice:

"Tell me, who is the mastermind behind this case?"

"..."

Upon hearing Roan's words, Philomena was extremely shocked, and her gaze toward Roan was filled with utter disbelief.

She never expected that the FBI would uncover the truth behind Brent Hughes's death so quickly.

Lifting her head, Philomena gave the handsome FBI agent in front of her a deep look. After taking a deep breath, she still shook her head and said:

"Until you find my younger sister, I will not say a word."

Roan frowned slightly upon hearing this, pulled Lacey back, and said indifferently:

"I have already asked the best agent in our Squad Five Investigation Unit to search for your sister based on the information you provided. But the premise is that the information you provided must be true."

Philomena slammed the table with an excited expression:

"The information I provided is naturally true! I am not lying to you!"

"OK."

Roan did not dwell on this point, but continued:

"Philomena, I am not lying to you either; my colleague is indeed searching for your sister in the federal database. We now have a foundation for cooperation, so can you tell us the details of this case?"

"..."

Hearing Roan's words, Philomena lowered her head and fell silent for a long moment, before finally speaking in a low, bitter voice:

"I really didn't kill Brent Hughes, I swear. I was just following someone else's orders."

Lacey asked in confusion:

"What do you mean?"

Giving Roan a deep look, Philomena took a deep breath and said:

"When I was eighteen, I was still just a country girl. One day, a photographer from our country told me that going to New York as a model could make a lot of money. Then they helped me get a visa, bought me a plane ticket, and sent me to New York. But it was all a lie."

Roan frowned, tilted his head to look at Lacey, and Lacey looked back at him with a grim expression.

They could already guess what came next.

Sure enough, with reddened eyes, Philomena continued:

"He told me that if I didn't do as he said, he would kill me first, and then kill my family back home. Then he beat me and raped me."

Roan sighed. Lacey frowned deeply, her expression ugly, but she asked softly in a gentle tone:

"Who is he?"

"He is the one who ordered me to approach Brent Hughes, and he is also the one who gave the order to kill Brent Hughes."

Philomena shook her head, reiterating that she would not reveal that person's name until her sister was found.

To Philomena, this was her only leverage.

Roan and Lacey realized this as well, so they did not press further.

With her eyes still red, Philomena continued in a low voice:

"Later, because of my relatively good appearance, he sent me to the 'Dancer' modeling agency, letting me learn under Yuna Ramirez. After a while, he started taking me to places in Wall Street where those people win, dine, and make merry. While introducing me and helping me build a name for myself, he also sent me to sleep with certain people..."

A few minutes later, Philomena finished her account. Roan and Lacey exchanged a glance, stood up together, and left the interrogation room.

"Filthy Wall Street."

As soon as they stepped out of the interrogation room, Lacey spat in disgust, her face full of annoyance, and then tilted her head to look at Roan:

"Is that the reason why you chose to leave Wall Street?"

Roan was slightly startled by the question, then nodded.

With an "I knew it" expression on her face, Lacey gave Roan's shoulder a firm pat and said in a deep voice:

"I used to know Wall Street was dirty, but I had no idea it was this dirty."

Actually, there are even filthier places you haven't seen yet.

Watching Lacey's back as she walked toward the office area, Roan silently shook his head.

Pervasive betrayal, double-dealing, broken promises, hitting a man while he's down, honey on the lips and murder in the heart...

There were countless examples of those people on Wall Street using any means necessary to make money. Almost all the darkest, ugliest things humans could imagine had happened right here.

"How's it going, Mona?"

Walking over to the Squad Five office area, Roan dropped heavily into his chair, stretched, tilted his head to look at Mona, and asked with a smile:

"Any news on the sister Philomena mentioned?"

"Of course! I'm Mona!"

Hearing Roan's question, Mona rolled her eyes at him, then pointed to the data on her computer screen and said:

"The information Philomena mentioned was actually her sister's records in Europe, so it's perfectly normal that the NYPD couldn't find anything. Just now, using the internal FBI network, I bridged into the internal network of Customs and Border Protection and successfully found a girl matching the appearance and details Philomena described."

"Good job!"

Pouring Mona a cup of coffee with a smile, Roan cast his gaze toward her computer screen, only to find that it contained a case record.

Roan's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly asked:

"What is this?"

"A serial murder case discovered by the NYPD the night before last."

Taking the coffee Roan poured her, Mona drained it in a single gulp, then said with an angry tone:

"At ten-forty the night before last, the NYPD received a report from road-repair workers doing overtime. They said that on the beach on the south side of Long Island, they found a bloody, dying girl. After sending the girl to the hospital, following the blood drops left on the ground by the victim, the NYPD found a deep pit flooded by seawater in a secluded corner of the beach. After pumping out the water, they discovered twenty-two female corpses at the bottom of the pit."

"What did you say?"

Lacey's pupils dilated instantly, and she hurried over:

"Twenty-two female corpses?!"

Because of her agitation, Lacey's voice was slightly distorted.

"That's right!"

Mona was also extremely furious. She pointed to the data on the computer, her eyes blazing with anger:

"And according to the forensic examination, none of these twenty-two females were over twenty-five years old, and the youngest was barely seventeen, still a minor."

Bang—

Hearing Mona's words, Lacey slammed her hand fiercely onto the desk and cursed bitterly:

"Fu-k! Damned killer, son of a b-tch..."

Roan's expression was also very grim, but he hadn't forgotten his primary objective and hurriedly asked:

"Then what about Philomena's sister?"

"If the girl I found really is Philomena's sister..."

Mona tapped her ten fingers on the keyboard, and a portrait photo appeared before the two of them:

"Then she is this victim, corpse number 021."

Hearing this, Lacey immediately raised her hands to cover her face, and Roan let out a long, heavy sigh.

The air remained quiet for a long time. Lacey and Mona exchanged a glance, and finally turned their gaze together toward Roan, who was quietly reviewing the case files without a word, and asked softly:

"What do we do next?"