Reborn: The Rookie Detective

"Emma Christina, 19 years old, a female college student, went missing a month ago. Her roommate reported her missing three weeks ago, and the police have opened a case, but haven't found her."

"Did the victim reveal the kidnapper's name?"

Hannah shook her head: "The victim didn't know where she was being held. After escaping, she ran continuously due to emotional distress until she was exhausted."

"Until you ran her over with your car?" Detective Motta persisted, looking utterly obnoxious.

Jack quickly grabbed Hannah's arm to prevent her from acting impulsively.

"It was an accident. No one along the way was willing to help this poor girl. When she saw the police car, her first reaction was to rush towards it for help. She collapsed in front of the car entirely because she was exhausted."

Jack emphasized his words, feeling a growing contempt for the detective. Perhaps, aside from the fictional characters he knew, Detective Motta represented the true face of the police.

Detective Peggy, perhaps finding the young and handsome Jack more agreeable, also stopped her partner from speaking rudely again.

"We'll intensify our search for the kidnapper's residence. Did you get any leads?"

Hannah glanced at Commander Gray beside her, whispered a few words to him, and then nodded to Jack.

Jack handed over his notebook: "These are some details provided by the victim. The girl is very calm and rational. Please let us know if there's anything else we can do."

"Go and search the neighborhood until we confirm the exact address."

"It's settled then," Commander Gray replied.

"I'll arrange three patrol cars to conduct the search in shifts throughout the night, including both of you, Hannah and Jack."

"Roger that. Jack, let's go." Hannah turned and left without another word, clearly having reached her limit with the bald, fat man in front of her.

....

"Eat something first. It's already afternoon; you need to replenish your energy."

It was nearly three in the afternoon. Jack handed Hannah a heated food container in the car, containing soup dumplings he had made the night before.

Hannah put down her walkie-talkie, carefully bit open the skin, sipped the delicious soup, and finding it wasn't too hot, finished one in two bites, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"I've already asked Tim to use his connections at the detective division to help find the suspect's address. Commander Gray has also reported the situation. Once we have the specific address, we won't need to wait for the Major Crimes Division; the court will send us the search warrant directly."

Jack also picked up a soup dumpling and swallowed it whole. He was starving; after his physique broke through 20, his training intensity had increased dramatically, and his appetite had also increased accordingly.

"I have a question: why doesn't the Major Crimes Division pay as much attention to these cases of missing minors?"

Hannah answered while wolfing down her food.

"Do you know how many people go missing in this country every year? Nearly 100,000! As of last year, a total of over 800,000 cases have gone missing without any progress after investigation, with cases of missing minors being particularly serious."

Seeing Jack's incredulous expression, she continued.

"In densely populated areas like Los Angeles, there are child abduction cases almost every day, but how many times have you heard of an Amber Alert? The conditions for issuing an Amber Alert are quite strict. In a case like Kara's, if that bald detective insists there's insufficient evidence, it's impossible to issue one."

"Okay, never mind." Jack sighed inwardly at the plight of the common people, and started snatching soup dumplings from the food container from Hannah.

"But I don't understand, Kara was running barefoot through the streets for her life, and the passersby just ignored her?"

Hannah shrugged, pointing to a few oddly dressed people on the street.

"This is Los Angeles."

Jack was still a little hesitant, but after thinking about it, he didn't press further. Perhaps kidnapping cases were just a common occurrence in this country, or perhaps in this world.

At that moment, Tim's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Hannah, Jack, we've identified the suspect and his address: Angus Lucius, male, 47 years old, former Marine, 2699 Pickford Street. John and Angela are on their way from the police station with a search warrant."

Hannah swallowed hard and picked up the walkie-talkie: "About three blocks from where we met the victim, this should be it. We're the closest. We'll be there in five minutes."

Jack quickly tossed the food container into the trunk, got into the driver's seat, started the police car, and sped off towards their destination with the siren blaring.

Three minutes later, Jack turned off the siren, slowed down, and turned the corner at a normal patrol speed, driving slowly down Pickford Street. Hannah, meanwhile, was looking at the map and checking the surrounding houses.

"Gray bungalows, red brick roofs, this is it."

Following Hannah's directions, Jack saw that the doors and windows were tightly shut, and the parking spots in front were empty. A sense of foreboding rose in his heart; they might be too late.

Less than ten minutes later, Tim and Lucy's police car arrived first, followed by Angela and John's police car, who had gone to retrieve the search warrant. It was the veteran Tim who was in command.

"Angela and Nolan, flank from the back door. Lucy and I will provide flank cover. Hannah and Jack, breach from the front. You two be careful."

Everyone nodded. Based on the victim's description, the suspect was armed with multiple weapons, so everyone carried rifles. Jack carried an Ithaca 12-gauge shotgun loaded with a special breaching round.

The others were all armed with M16s, fearing the suspect might take hostages. With Hannah's shout, "LAPD, open the door!"

Jack shot the lock, and Hannah kicked the door open. Everyone filed in and searched each room.

"Nobody here!"

"Nobody here!"

"Nobody here!"

Jack's premonition came true. Angus Lucius had run away without even packing after discovering Kara's escape. Tim found the basement entrance, but it was empty except for a foul stench.

"Hey guys, come down here and see what I found."

John's voice came from the bedroom. Jack entered the room and saw an open collection box filled with various women's jewelry and underwear.

Tim switched his flashlight to UV mode, and under the UV light, the stains on the underwear were clearly visible.

"These underwear come in several sizes. There are more victims!"

Lucy exclaimed. Everyone present turned pale, especially the two female officers, Angela and Hannah.

Tim's gaze swept over everyone, and he nodded to Jack.

"Jack, come with me to the backyard. The rest of you continue searching for clues. We need to find the suspect as soon as possible. That girl named Emma doesn't have much time left. If the suspect thinks he's safe, he might kill her to cover it up."