"You didn't leave any agents to watch him, knowing the killer was still on the loose and he was likely a target?" Larry left this line of reasoning hanging, considering that they hadn't known earlier that Cristhoper was one of the killers.
"Of course I left an agent at his door, but I've been informed that Cristhoper escaped through the window." Jack couldn't understand how someone could escape from the sixth floor of a building.
"It's fine, don't worry. Do everything you can to arrest him. Now we have enough evidence to know that we've got the two murderers."
Larry paused, thought quickly, and then said, "There's a chance Cristhoper is still in the hospital, so send agents to seal off all the exits."
"Look for the connection between these two people—there must be something we're missing," Jack said as he walked alongside Larry toward the parking lot.
"I'll send someone to request a search warrant for anywhere they've both been. You can go to Nelson's house, whatever it takes—I don't care. Just find the links and build a solid case we can use in court."
Larry nodded, understanding what was needed now. "Alright, I'll take care of it."
Seeing that everyone was doing their part, Max followed Larry and asked, "Doesn't this all seem a little senseless to you?"
"People don't usually see the full picture of what's really happening right now, but I can clearly see a line of manipulation that stretches from one end to the other." Larry was fully convinced that Nelson was the mastermind behind this criminal case.
"Nelson?"
"The mental manipulation he pulled off with everyone is nearly perfect, but he used the wrong person to frame for crimes he didn't commit." Larry was thinking of Williams, who had been seen as a suspect after DNA samples confirmed he had been at the crime scene.
But he didn't rule anything out, because he wanted to give them what they expected to see. And once things became clear, he might end Nelson himself.
He was tired of special kinds of murderers like Nelson managing to outwit even the most specialized departments.
"Forensic Doctor Luk, the search warrant has been granted. We can go now!"
Max reached out to stop Larry, who was packing up his things in his briefcase.
"Larry, why don't you rest? I'll head down and ask someone to go with us. After all, they're still your classmates. It wouldn't be good for this to spread among them."
Larry shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's go check it out together. There are a few things I want to verify personally."
…
The first location they were investigating was Cristhoper's old house, which, in fact, still belonged to him.
According to the locals, Cristhoper came there very often and spent time in the house.
An hour later, at Cristhoper's house, a group of officers had already arrived long before.
There was no one home, which was normal since Cristhoper had no family.
Larry and three fully armed agents, along with several investigators, split into two groups and began searching Cristhoper's house—especially the master bedroom.
Before long, they searched Cristhoper's bedroom and study.
They didn't find any useful items, but they did discover something rather odd.
Cristhoper's dressing room was clearly divided into two parts. These weren't separated by storage types, but by color.
One side was decorated in dark tones like black and navy blue, and the other with light colors such as white, pale pink, mint green, etc.
Suits, shirts, shoes, and ties were all arranged in their respective places.
They were laid out so elegantly and neatly that it was immediately apparent their owner must be an extremely meticulous person.
Max turned to look at Larry, then said, "They didn't mention anything about any special condition of Cristhoper, did they? Is it in the records?"
"No, there's nothing. All the clothes are for spring and fall—no summer or winter clothing."
That sentence triggered something in Larry. No wonder he had sensed something strange earlier. This was it. The wardrobe had no summer or winter clothing, and everything was arranged very deliberately, as if it had been set up for display.
"This isn't where Cristhoper actually lives—or at least he doesn't usually stay here." Larry's thoughts drifted to Alicia, who had multiple personalities.
Recalling all the reports and digging deeper into Nelson than any other man, he discovered a useful pattern. Nelson had studied at the same university as Cristhoper, but after a few months, the latter had dropped out.
It had all happened suddenly, quickly, and without any logical reason, considering Cristhoper had been an honors student.
That led Larry to believe Nelson might have manipulated him somehow—just as he had done with Alicia, right up until her death.
"Cristhoper used to spend his summers here. He lived a completely different life until he married Alicia," Larry concluded to himself.
This man had behaved normally until he met Alicia. Something triggered a complete change in him, and soon after, he decided to marry her.
That trigger occurred when he fell in love with Alicia—something that changed him entirely.
"A trigger…" Larry knew that everything pointed to Nelson, who was the trigger for these two unstable individuals.
To incriminate Nelson, they had to find Cristhoper as soon as possible and interrogate him.