Chapter 72: Undercover! (Please keep reading! Please vote for me this month!)

"Hmm?" Ryder's booming voice startled everyone in the Fifth Investigation Unit. With furrowed brows, Roan asked, "The priest in the church? Or Susan's husband, Jono?"

"No, neither of them." Ryder was holding two large sketches, and he strode over to Roan's desk, pulling them apart. Roan looked down to see a face rendered in a style that was both odd and strangely familiar.

"This is..." Roan stared at the portrait in silence for a few seconds, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes fixed on Ryder. "Agent Marlon from the DEA?"

"That's right, it's him!" Ryder nodded. He didn't recall Marlon's full name, but he knew this was one of the agents who'd visited Roan that day—a DEA agent.

Hearing Roan's conclusion, the others gathered around, remembering when August had brought two agents to see Roan, and their faces tightened with concern. Mona turned the portrait over, studying the face with a grave expression.

"A DEA agent is the serial killer?"

Recalling the look Marlon had given him that day, Roan admitted the man had made him uneasy. But to label him a serial killer—Roan's instincts told him something didn't add up.

"No, it's not him." Ryder shook his head at Mona's suggestion. He lifted Marlon's portrait and drew out the second sketch, pressing it firmly atop the first. "Marlon was one of the two men the scavenger saw. This man is the one Louise described—the man who stuffed Susan into a car and who the scavenger saw standing at the corner outside the church."

Roan's brow creased as he studied the second portrait—a deep-set, mature-looking man with a small scar through the right eyebrow. Before Roan could speak, William's eyes widened with fury as he cursed, "Damn! Hell! It's him!"

Roan turned to William, who hurried to his workstation, fingers flying across the keyboard. In moments, a case report appeared on the screen.

"Roan, when you had Mona investigate criminals living near St. Phil's Church—those convicted of rape, stalking, indecent assault—I helped her comb through the records. That's when I found this failed case. Since the suspect wasn't convicted and the incident was a year ago, I didn't log it."

Roan's gaze shifted to the computer screen as William explained, "A year and a half ago, this white male named Shawn was arrested for rape and murder. But the New Jersey police had only a single witness, no DNA from Shawn on the victim's body, and the crime scene had been washed clean by rain, leaving no evidence. On top of that, another witness gave Shawn a rock-solid alibi, insisting he wasn't at the scene. In the end, Shawn was acquitted."

"What?" Ryder, Mona, and the other agents were shocked, while Roan stroked his chin, thinking in silence for a few seconds before asking, "If I'm not mistaken, the witness who vouched for Shawn was Agent Marlon, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." William nodded. In American law, police officers commonly testify in court, and often, their statements can be decisive evidence.

"Marlon gave false testimony?"

Reviewing the case file, and considering the serial murder investigation underway, suspicion about Marlon's testimony filled the minds of everyone in the Fifth Unit. But... they had no proof.

Remembering that Marlon was DEA and had tried to recruit him as an undercover, Roan suddenly understood. "Shawn is probably Marlon's informant."

Clapping his hands to draw attention, Roan spoke in a low voice, "All right, everyone, we now have a suspect. Tracing clues back through the suspect should make things much easier. Immediately investigate Shawn's background and look for any connections between him and the four victims in the serial murder case. Then, find key evidence!"

It was time for the technical experts of the Fifth Unit to show their mettle.

"OK!"

"No problem!"

William and the other five technical specialists responded at once and headed straight to the FBI archives to look up Shawn's records.

"Ryder," Roan turned to him, his tone serious. "Go to the medical examiner now and get the autopsy report as soon as possible."

If Susan's body showed Shawn's DNA, they could immediately request an arrest warrant.

"Understood." Ryder nodded emphatically, tossed the sketches onto Roan's desk, and hurried out.

Watching Ryder disappear, Roan nodded and turned to Mona, about to ask if she could sneak into the DEA database, but Mona interrupted, "I've already hacked into the DEA network."

Roan: "?"

The sharp clatter of keys echoed. Soon, the words "File Download" appeared on Mona's screen. Watching the progress bar race forward, Roan couldn't help but mentally curse the slow speeds of a certain old cloud drive in his past life.

Suddenly, an exclamation mark popped up on Mona's computer. Roan's eyelid twitched, but Mona only smirked in disdain, her fingers flying as she kept the download speed steady.

Time flew. The moment "Download Complete" flashed on the screen, Mona stood up and yanked out the network cable.

Roan: "..."

Such practiced skill.

"OK." Mona plopped back into her chair, breathed a long sigh of relief, and pointed to the screen. "Here are the records on Shawn, Marlon's informant at the DEA."

Roan's eyes lit up. "Great work, Mona!"

Mona stretched and waved it off. "No big deal. If the DEA comes knocking, it's your problem."

Roan: "..."

No worries—it was time for August to do his part.

As mentioned before, the technical specialists in the Fifth Unit were all veterans of the FBI records department, and their research skills were unmatched. In just a few minutes, Shawn's entire history was unearthed.

"Shawn Davis, forty-one, social security number ***. Lives in the Harwood area. The only recorded marriage was three and a half years ago, and the wedding took place at St. Phil's Church." William sat at his desk, reading solemnly. "His wife, Lena, disappeared one night three months after their wedding. Investigation showed she was abducted by a local gang."

Roan walked to the front of the conference room, pulled over a whiteboard, and gestured for his colleagues to continue as he began to write.