Reborn: The Rookie Detective

Rossi held up a small piece of paper from an evidence bag, showing it to everyone. It was covered in densely packed numbers.

"Rosalind and her followers created a bunch of false clues to try and mislead us. Let me start with the search of the prison."

"I knew Rosalind had a reading habit, so after searching her cell, I had FBI agents check all the books she had borrowed in the last six months. Then we found this piece of paper in a folded compartment of a novel."

Commander Grey took the evidence bag and glanced at it: "A very simple substitution cipher. The numbers in the corner should be the page number of the book, and the numbers below are the line numbers."

Rossi nodded: "Yes, the agents easily deciphered the cipher on the spot. It's a name, Brian Coleman."

Nolan raised his hand in confusion: "But the guy Jack shot dead on the spot was named Caleb White, and that's the name on his driver's license."

Rossi gestured for him to calm down: "Yes, this is the first trap Rosalind set. We raided Brian Coleman's residence. His walls were covered with photos of victims, but FBI files show he's been missing for a long time. If we followed that lead..."

At that moment, Commander Grey's phone beeped twice. He pulled it out and said in a low voice, "The forensic team just found a recently buried body near the scene at the old zoo. The fingerprints match Brian Coleman's."

The group murmured amongst themselves. Clearly, Brian Coleman was just an unlucky scapegoat. If it weren't for Dr. Brennan's team's lead to the old zoo, they might still be busy with a city-wide manhunt for him.

"Next is the second trap," Rossi said, glancing at Tim and the others.

"The LAPD has tracked down the guy running the black market at the women's prison — Benjamin Lacey, a mid-level mob boss. He gave up a second name: Jerry Javier. Correctional center files show he worked as a guard at the women's prison for a few months in 2017."

Tim looked annoyed but still continued, "We raided Jerry Javier's residence with the SWAT team and found that this guy is a cripple who can only move one leg."

"He did work as a prison guard, but five years ago he was stabbed by an inmate during a prison riot, leaving him almost paralyzed from the waist down. According to his confession, his identity was stolen three years ago, and his personal credit record was messed up."

Rossi looked away and pointed to Caleb White's photo on the whiteboard.

"The FBI retrieved Jerry Javier's credit card records from the past two years and discovered that the card was used to purchase a small diesel generator, the same model found in the old zoo," Commander Grey summarized directly. "Now it's completely confirmed that Caleb White is Rosalind's real accomplice. Three years ago, he stole Jerry Javier's identity and entered the women's prison as a guard to get close to Rosalind."

Jack chuckled, "That explains it. Rosalind was using her seductive methods... Caleb White can be considered her first follower. No wonder she keeps babbling. Nolan is probably her next target."

All eyes turned to Nolan, whose face was flushed. Angela teased with a grin, "Nolan, you'd better hold on tight. This beautiful snake eats people."

Commander Grey was also in high spirits, looking at Nolan: "Rosalind will be taken back to jail tonight; the District Attorney's deal with her has been canceled. If Nolan still wants to talk to her, there's still a little time."

Nolan shook his head repeatedly, but Jack stood up, took out an evidence bag, and said, "I'm going to meet her. Perfect timing, I have something here that will definitely 'please' her when she sees it."

Commander Grey nodded to him and then adjourned the meeting: "Everyone, go back and rest. You've all worked hard."

Everyone stood up, and as they passed Jack, they all pulled out their FBI tracking devices and returned them to him. The case was over; nobody wanted to carry such a thing around all the time.

"Uh, one more is missing. I gave it to that Channel 8 news anchor. I'll ask her for it back tomorrow."

Jack gathered the trackers together and handed them to Rossi. The old man smiled ambiguously, patted him on the shoulder, clearly having misunderstood something. Jack didn't bother to explain and quickly headed to the detention room.

"We rescued our third victim; she's currently receiving treatment in the hospital. Your follower, Caleb White, is dead."

Jack stated expressionlessly, looking at the old woman before him. He wasn't trying to boast to a serial killer; he simply had other thoughts in mind. He wanted to see her one last time.

This woman had meticulously planned for so long since her imprisonment, setting up a complex series of traps. However, due to the intrusion of Dr. Brennan's forensic team and Jack's abilities, she was easily defeated — a fitting end.

Jack vaguely remembered that this woman had more than one admirer. Now that the situation was settled, he was just taking a chance.

This woman wouldn't reappear for another year or two anyway. By then, he would be an FBI agent, his skills undoubtedly improved. Coming here now to stir up trouble might just bring him some experience points later.

Sure enough, Rosalind's expression was grim, her previous smug smile gone, her voice laced with resentment.

"So disappointing!"

Jack felt this wasn't enough; the hatred wasn't strong enough. He needed to find a way to make her lose her temper.

"Your story is truly over. You will be gradually forgotten by the world, slowly rotting in that small private cell."

"No!" Rosalind suddenly looked up, her smile returning.

"There's a third burial site I haven't revealed, more bodies, more burial sites. I can continue to make deals with the District Attorney. Some ambitious bureaucrat will eventually agree. You're too young to understand this. Of course, young people always have to learn to grow up, don't they?"