"It's the semifinals of the Women's Volleyball World Championship, Brazil versus Japan. What an exasperating match! I won thousands of dollars betting—really, betting on Brazil is never a bad idea."
Alan was speaking with one of the agents who was still asking him more open-ended questions in another room. He was so excited that he wanted to raise his hand, but his wrist was cuffed to the chair, so he stopped himself immediately.
Jane stood up and went next door to look for Captain Jack. None of them seemed to have a motive, and for a moment she felt lost in this case.
Larry stared at Alan from a distance. The man's tone didn't sound like that of someone with deep thoughts. He had checked the match Alan had just mentioned with a janitor who knew a lot about sports, and it all turned out to be true.
What motive could a man with good business and a quiet life possibly have to murder three girls?
Jane and Jack discussed for a while and decided to wait until they could compare the results.
At that moment, Max's phone rang. Seeing it was from the research center, he quickly answered on speaker.
"How are the results?"
"The test came back positive. The unknown subject's DNA found at one of the victims' crime scenes matches the last sample you sent in."
Jane clenched her fist. With no other evidence, this was the best news so far.
"Excellent!"
Larry responded to Max's call. "It was only compared with Amber's DNA, right?"
"Yes!"
After hearing that, Larry handed the phone back to Max, looked around at the agents gathering, and before he could speak, an agent named Mike cut in:
"Since we strongly suspect them, can we request a search warrant?"
"This single DNA match is too weak to prove Alan was at victim A's, Amber's, house. We need to find the murder weapon and close this case once and for all."
Jane stopped smiling. She knew Larry was absolutely right. If they reported this to the prosecutor's office now, they would just be waiting for the defense lawyer to tear it apart.
"I've already requested the warrant. I'll go see if it's ready. I'll take the suspect with me."
Jane turned to make the arrangements. Captain Jack looked at Larry, who seemed deep in thought, and asked with concern:
"What's wrong? You look hesitant. Do you have something else in mind?"
"Let's go to the scene. Even though the DNA matches, my gut tells me Alan isn't the killer. Forget it. I can't let my subjective judgment steer the investigation."
A moment later, Jane returned with a search warrant. Jack, at the same time, checked his watch.
"I have a meeting soon. You should investigate first. Stay close on this case. The city is taking it very seriously, and we can't have two major cases unresolved. Three people have been killed in a row, and the impact is extremely negative now that the Death Judge is flooding the news."
"Is our case really that serious? I thought everyone would be focused on the Death Judge case." Jane hadn't imagined that her quiet investigation could have such an impact.
"Yesterday, a reporter was lurking around and nearly leaked photos. We managed to silence it for now, but it won't last long. After all, the pedestrian street is always crowded, so solving the case quickly is the key to fixing all these problems."
Jane nodded without another word, glancing sideways at Larry, who remained silent in thought. With the search warrant in hand, they hurried to the suspects' residence.
On the way, Max was eating a huge burrito.
Trusting Larry deeply, he asked, "Who do you suspect?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely not that guy Alan. Either he's some dramatic character or just an idiot. His chatter doesn't have the meticulousness of the killer, so he couldn't have committed the murders."
Alec wiped the sweat from his face with one hand and fanned his shirt with the other. "There were only four regular clients. Could it be those two?"
This time, Larry said nothing. He needed to see their houses before analyzing the situation. Whatever happened, he had to rule them out first.
The second crime scene where Anna had been murdered still hadn't been found, so they were definitely linked to the killer. Only by finding the primary scene and the murder weapon of these two victims could the case be completed.
Larry wondered if he would find answers soon—he was running out of time.
That thought led him to call in a favor from someone he knew. So, when they stopped at a gas station, he went to a payphone and made a call:
"Dex, do you have any vacation time you can take?"
"I'm the hardest-working man at the station, but I've got a few weeks off. Why do you ask?"
Larry smiled and asked, "I'd like to know if you want to go hunting. My way of tracking prey is different from yours—you only focus on the sea."
"Sounds good, but do you even have the time?" Dexter, intrigued by the idea, asked with a hint of doubt.
"I'll have some free time now that another good profiler is covering me so I can focus on just one case that has my boss worried. So yes, I've got the time."
"I'll see you then."
…
Metropolitan Police Department, Miami.
"Was that Larry?" Masuka, grinning unusually, approached Dexter with a box of donuts.
"He invited me to hunt."
"You can do that in the city? Wait—why did he invite you and not us?" Masuka looked indignant.
At that moment, Batista walked over and asked, "Did Larry call?"
"Yes. I think he's hunting the Death Judge."
"That's incredible. Does he need our help?" Angel sounded proud. After Sergeant Doakes' downfall, he had been appointed the new sergeant.
"They didn't accept me into the FBI. Said my investigative methods would cross ethical lines." Masuka walked away bitterly, ignoring Batista.
Angel Batista looked at Dexter and asked, "Should I go with you?"
"Don't worry. A sergeant can't just abandon his new post." Dexter forced a smile as he grabbed a donut from the box Masuka had brought.
Unaware, Angel walked away with an arrogant smile. "You're right, my friend."