Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Police Detective Bureau.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Luke gathered everyone in the office to discuss the case.

Luke took a sip of tea and asked, "Deputy, any leads on the investigation of the third victim, Arian Osborne?"

"I contacted the third victim's sister.

She was somewhat indifferent upon learning of her brother's murder.

According to her, she hasn't seen her brother in many years.

And she doesn't plan to come to Los Angeles to identify the body." The deputy sighed and said, "People are so frighteningly indifferent nowadays."

The third victim might just be an unlucky person caught up in the fire and wasn't the main focus of Luke's investigation.

Luke said, "We investigated the contact list of the second victim, Teddy Colin, and found that he was in frequent contact with a woman named Anika Carmen.

In the morning, Marcus and I visited Anika Carmen, and during our conversation with her, it was obvious she was hiding something, possibly even lying on some issues."

Little Black nodded, "That's right, I have a hunch that this Anika Carmen could very likely be the real arsonist."

Jackson chuckled, "Too bad hunches don't count as evidence, Captain, should we apply for a search warrant?"

Little Black retorted, "Rookie, you can't just apply for a search warrant whenever you want."

Luke waved his hand, interrupting the two, "You're both right, what we lack most right now is evidence. Even though we suspect Anika Carmen may have issues, we don't have evidence to prove it.

In fact, without relevant evidence, it's even hard to apply for a search warrant for this reason."

The deputy nodded, "I also think it's a bit early to apply for a search warrant now, but it's best to have someone keep an eye on Anika Carmen to prevent her from fleeing or destroying related evidence."

Luke instructed, "Raymond, Jenny, you two are responsible for watching Anika Carmen. If short-handed, you may seek assistance from nearby patrol officers."

"Alright, Captain."

Luke continued, "We can't just wait for Anika Carmen to make a mistake; we also need to actively seek out clues and evidence.

The arson case has three victims, among whom the third victim is likely collateral damage from the fire, not the actual target of the killer.

The first victim, Haida Cartman, and the second victim, Teddy Colin, were both murdered before their bodies were burned by the fire.

The killer likely intended to destroy the bodies.

However, the circumstances of the first victim, Haida Cartman, and the second victim, Teddy Colin, are also different.

The first victim was murdered four or five days before the fire, while the second victim was killed shortly before the fire. Logically, these two bodies shouldn't have been at the fire scene simultaneously."

Little Black rubbed his chin, pondered, and said, "That's right, as the first victim had been dead four or five days, the body would have started to decompose and emit an odor. If the body had been in Mogaro Forest Park the whole time, it would have been discovered.

So, the first murder site might not have been at Mogaro Forest Park.

It's likely someone transported the body to the park before the fire to destroy it."

"Marcus's reasoning makes sense; it's a possibility." Luke agreed, then changed the topic, "At the same time, there's another possibility.

The first murder site was in fact Mogaro Forest Park, and after the murder, the body was buried underground.

The killer exhumed and burned the remains before setting the fire."

The deputy chuckled, "If I were the killer, I'd choose the second method, at least I wouldn't need to transport a smelly corpse back and forth."

Luke continued, "If my hypothesis is correct, there should be another burial site at the fire scene.

I plan to revisit the Mogaro Forest Park scene to see if I can locate this burial site, perhaps the killer left some evidence behind."

The deputy said, "Then I'll go monitor the technical team and see if they have any new discoveries."

"OK, let's all split up and act."

...

Near Mogaro Forest Park.

In a black SUV.

Jackson was driving; Luke was in the passenger seat.

Jackson spoke while driving, "Captain, I've been pondering a question. There are three victims in the arson case; the third victim should have perished in the fire, while the first and second victims were murdered then burned.

Because the first and second victims were killed in the same manner, they were assumed to be the work of the same killer.

But in reality, the two victims died days apart, and no direct link between them was found.

I've been wondering if these might be two different murder cases connected by a single fire."

"This idea is quite interesting.

Based on the existing evidence, there is indeed no direct connection between Victim 1 and Victim 2." Luke rubbed his chin and thought seriously, "Assuming your hypothesis is correct, the person who killed Victim 1 and the person who killed Victim 2 are not the same person.

Which perpetrator do you think is more likely to have set the fire?"

Seeing his hypothesis affirmed, Jackson smiled, "I think the perpetrator who killed Victim 1 is more likely to have committed the arson.

Because there were four or five days between Victim 1's murder and the fire, and Victim 1's husband had already reported her missing, if her body had been left exposed outside, it would have decomposed and been discovered long ago.

So, her body was likely dug up or moved to the fire site before the fire, and then the perpetrator set it ablaze.

Coincidentally, Victim 2 had just been killed not long before, and their body was also burned in the fire."

Luke said, "Your hypothesis holds theoretically, but there is one point – Victim 1 had already been dead for four or five days, and her body had not been found all this time, indicating it had already been dealt with once.

So why go to the trouble of committing arson to burn the body?"

Jackson explained, "The location of the arson was in a valley, surrounded by high mountains and dense forests, it would be difficult to spot a fire from afar at night.

So, I think the perpetrator's initial intention was just to incinerate the body to completely destroy the evidence, and not to cause a forest fire.

But clearly, the perpetrator underestimated the danger of starting a fire in a forest, and it's likely that the so-called arson was an accidental fire, which became hard to control once the flames spread."

Luke nodded, "Your hypothesis makes some sense, but it also lacks evidence. If you want to prove your hypothesis, go find the evidence."

"Yes sir."

A case can have multiple possibilities, and while Jackson's hypothesis lacks concrete evidence, it still provides some reference value. As for his hypothesis about the possible existence of two perpetrators, Luke hoped that was not the case, as it would complicate the investigation.

The police car arrived near Mogaro Forest Park, and after pulling over, Luke got out from the passenger seat.

Mogaro Forest Park remained desolate, the darkness stretching out as far as the eye could see. Luke had a sense that property prices in the area might plummet.

Originally, Mogaro Forest Park, with its tall trees and beautiful scenery, was a selling point for the surrounding community. Now, with it engulfed in flames, the park had not only lost its appeal but also posed a threat, meaning potential homeowners would have to reassess their purchase.

Luke led the team into Mogaro Forest Park to reevaluate the site where the three bodies were discovered,

Amongst them, Luke was most focused on the site where Victim 1's body was burned, as according to his hypothesis, after Haida Cartman was murdered, she might have been buried underground, and there might be some remaining evidence there.

Luke located the marker for Victim 1's body. The area around had been reduced to ashes, and not many valuable clues were found.

Subsequently, Luke centered his search around Victim 1's body, looking for any depressions or grave pits.

Luke searched for a full twenty minutes and did not discover any obvious burial sites.

This suggested two possibilities: the first was Jackson's hypothesis, that Haida Cartman's body had been moved from elsewhere.

The second possibility was that, after the body was dug up from underground, the perpetrator refilled the grave pit, and then set fire to the body.

Luke personally leaned toward the second possibility because moving a decomposing body is not easy, and he assumed the grave pit should not be far from the site where the body was burned.

Luke started to sift through the topsoil around the burn site, assessing differences in color and hardness.

After about ten minutes, Luke found a patch of soil that appeared to have been recently disturbed, roughly ten meters from the burn site.

Luke called over two technical team members to continue the excavation.

The soil was very loose, so the digging progressed quickly, and the loosened layer, once removed, resembled the shape of a coffin, just the right size for a body.

During the excavation, Luke already smelled a stench of decay and put on a mask, becoming even more certain of his hypothesis.

"Captain Lee, I've found some items," called a Black team member from the technical team.

Luke approached to inspect while the technical team dug out a soft, decayed object, which appeared to be a piece of rotten flesh.

"Keep digging."

Soon, the two technical team members uncovered more items: bloodstained rags, a rotting finger segment, and some scattered hairs.

Upon hearing of Luke's discovery of new evidence, other officers gathered around.

Jackson squatted nearby, examining the evidence with his nose covered, "Captain, it seems you were right, this large pit is likely the burial site for Victim 1, Haida Cartman.

From this half-severed finger and bits of flesh, it seems Haida Cartman experienced torture before she died.

The perpetrator is very likely a cruel psychopath," Jackson frowned slightly, "but these hairs are a bit strange, I think they could provide a starting point for the investigation."

Jackson also approached to look, "It's definitely strange if from a human, as these are animal hairs."

Jackson glanced at him, "Seems like you know quite a bit?"

"I think they're dog hairs." Jackson observed carefully, adding, "We have two dogs at home, they're like a part of the family, and I often play with them and groom their hair."