Max removed a pair of latex gloves and opened his mask.
"Didn't they say the killer was wearing gloves?" Dilan was very confused because the times of death were too similar, as if the killer had murdered them just seconds apart—which was impossible.
"He was wearing gloves!"
"At first, I thought there was only one killer, but now some discoveries have made me start to doubt that judgment. Killing six people that quickly wouldn't have been so silent, not even considering it happened in the middle of the night when everyone was deeply asleep."
Max tried hard to recall Larry's words, thought about the mark on the soles of the shoes, and instantly understood his thoughts.
Larry returned to the autopsy room where there were still bodies left to examine. Jack was waiting for him while talking with a few field agents investigating the case.
"Chief, you can go grab something to eat. We'll continue later."
"Then let's go. I know a great place you'll love."
"It takes around fifteen hours to complete all the dissections, so to avoid interference between the reports, I can't waste any time." Larry worked with near-obsessive dedication on his cases, which probably made him an excellent forensic pathologist.
"I like your obsession." Jack had forensics experts on his team, but Larry was used to doing the entire job himself. In that regard, Jack couldn't openly interfere.
"Well, then..."
"But you still need to eat, so I'll send something to your office while we analyze the reports and review your work from the side. How does that sound?" Jack was just as obsessed with the case as Larry was, so he matched his enthusiasm.
"Alright, then let's go up to watch the live footage. The special project meeting will be held at your center later." Jack had yet to organize a meeting to brief all the agents, so they needed to hurry.
After saying that, all the involved agents left, and Jack entered the control room to watch all the videos Larry had recorded.
As he saw everyone getting to work, he put on another isolation suit while checking the time. His assistant, a man named Gabriel, helped him.
"Aren't you going to eat?"
"I had a late breakfast and I'm not hungry, so I can assist you."
Larry nodded, looking at the intern who was about to become a forensic pathologist, and said, "Thank you!"
Every forensic expert knew why they chose this job. It wasn't for the money—it was to help the agents catch criminals. Their words were often the only hope for the families, friends, or loved ones of the deceased to get justice.
It's far too cruel to live knowing that your brother's killer is out there living freely, unpunished.
Gabriel picked up a camera and began taking photos. His movements were even smoother and faster than Max's, adding more credit to his record.
Larry cut Amanda's shirt and pants—the other victim—and then noticed that her pants had already been pulled down to below her knees. Since her blouse was quite long, he hadn't noticed this detail before.
Larry then asked for help placing Amanda on the dissection table. He could immediately tell that rigor mortis had already begun. Her forearms were bent, palms parallel to her shoulders, and there were clear signs of swelling on her jaw, palms, and knees.
The victim's lip had been scraped by her teeth, and a small amount of blood had come out. "Was she pushed down?"
Larry shook his head and pointed to the pants on the platform next to him.
"It looks like Amanda ran forward, and someone behind her grabbed her by the pant legs and yanked her down forcefully. That caused her to land on the ground with her palms, knees, jaw, and lips hitting the floor."
"The killer chasing her didn't slash her neck like planned but instead stabbed her in the back with a knife, and the blade twisted inside her body."
"You figured all that out without intervening?" Gabriel was impressed by Larry's skill.
"We'll confirm it once I begin the autopsy, but that's the most likely scenario."
Gabriel handed over the scalpel precisely, and Larry began cutting open Amanda's chest and abdomen.
Larry moved his hands rapidly, separating the layers of muscle and fat and removing the sternum. Now, the entire chest and abdominal cavity were exposed before him.
His movements were natural, as if he knew every part of the woman's body by heart. That was terrifying—after all, few people could show such mastery in this kind of work.
"Yes, here it is."
Indeed, a massive comma-shaped hole had been torn through the left side of the victim's chest, heart, lungs, liver, and spleen. The organs in those areas had been damaged, and the entire thoracic and abdominal cavity was filled with coagulated blood clots.
Her heart, spleen, and liver were ruptured, and her lungs had been slashed. The knife was quite long.
Gabriel collected the blood clots from the thoracic cavity and prepared them for testing.
"The way she was killed is horrific! All her organs were crushed."
Gabriel looked at him and scoffed.
"There's someone even more ruthless behind this! Someone sliced off her face, leaving only a layer of skin."
Sure enough, after hearing that, Gabriel's fingers trembled.
Larry glanced at him for a moment, warning him. Gabriel immediately understood and quickly lowered his gaze.
After completing the front dissection, they clipped her nails, preserved samples, and cleaned the lips.
Together, they turned Amanda's body face down, revealing a wound on her back.
The wound was 4 centimeters wide, but Larry noticed a mark of two to three millimeters on the edge where flesh had been removed.
Recalling the deep triangular puncture marks on the inside edge of the ribs during the previous dissection, it was clear the knife had pierced the bone, causing the edge to curve slightly.
Obviously, Amanda wasn't the first to be murdered—so what was the sequence?
Had this curved blade caused any damage to the other corpses?
Of course, the full picture of the crime could only be formed by combining the results from the bloodstain tests collected at the scene.
Gabriel felt a deeper respect for Larry as he watched him stitch with full concentration.
Only then did he understand why Jack had followed him all the way to Miami. Larry wasn't just a typical criminal profiler—he was someone fully prepared for anything.
Not everyone had such respect for the dead. Even after performing autopsies for ten straight hours, he remained meticulous, which was truly admirable.
Larry removed his outer gloves and drank two bottles of 50% sugar drink.
Gabriel did the same, following Larry's advice, who by now was practically a mentor to him.
A moment later, Larry walked over to the next body—but not before checking how Max and Dilan were doing. Max was, in fact, an excellent forensic expert.
Larry turned and looked at Max and the others. It seemed Max was also preparing to begin the third dissection and gave Larry a thumbs-up.
Seeing this, Larry nodded. Some of his team might seem eccentric under normal circumstances, but in critical moments, they were incredibly valuable.
He took a deep breath and began an external examination of Alan Snow's body.
His trust in Max was absolute—he wouldn't have brought him here if he weren't truly valuable and someone who had learned well from him.
Dilan, on the other hand, was an experienced man that Jack himself had recommended for the team. So, as long as they were working on the less critical bodies in Larry's eyes, everything would be fine.
Just as Larry was about to begin, he heard a scream behind him.
"Ah!"
Dilan's hands came together, and from the blood pouring out, it was clear he had cut himself.
Larry saw his movements and quickly approached. "Don't let it contaminate the evidence."
"That's not it."
"Wait… what did you find?"