Chapter 363: The Accountant with Explosive Combat Power
Just as Ron completed another Sheldon embarrassment achievement and synced the commemorative photo to a group chat called "The Cooper Family," garnering a wave of likes,
Beca, now going by Dana, was quietly approaching her new colleague, the seemingly taciturn accountant. Incidentally, the members of Ron's group chat included George Sr., Georgie, Missy, Veronica, Lieutenant Dan, and Ron's Meemaw, but notably absent was Mary Cooper. This explained why Ron dared to post Sheldon's embarrassing photo in the group.
"Hey, how did you manage to dent a stainless steel thermos like that?" A skilled hunter often appears as prey. Dana pointed to the severely dented thermos next to the accountant and asked.
"Wear and tear." But her prey didn't seem interested in conversation, giving only terse responses. She changed tactics: "So what made you choose forensic accounting?"
"Bureau of Labor Statistics says it's one of the fastest-growing professions."
"I see." Dana said, bringing her lunch over to sit closer. "I like the precision in this field. I like finding patterns that aren't immediately obvious, plus my dad was a CPA."
For the next ten minutes, Dana tried her best to find an engaging topic, but the new accountant deflected every attempt, like a defensive coordinator shutting down every play, leaving Dana like a quarterback with no open receivers.
But what she didn't know was that she was only seeing the surface. In reality, the seemingly aloof accountant had already developed feelings for her, and at the same time, Ron's team was making real progress.
"Boss, I've got something here you're going to want to see." As soon as Ron returned to his office, Hank excitedly followed him in with a case file.
"I don't have time to wade through those encyclopedia-length reports. Give me the executive summary—what did you find?"
"I found a facial match in the NYPD's surveillance database. I'm absolutely certain it's the same guy!"
"New York? Interesting. Who's his client this time? Does Thanos's invasion force need an accountant to balance the books before they report back to the Mad Titan?" Ron casually took a sip from his thermos and asked with genuine interest.
"No, this time he wasn't serving any clients—he was hunting. I think it was revenge because in the audio recovered from the scene, he mentioned someone's name..."
"Hold up, Hank, I'm not interested in his origin story. I just want to know how capable he is." Ron cut off Hank's rambling. "You said he was hunting people—continue from there."
"Right, boss," Hank nodded. "He used a steak knife lifted from an Italian restaurant to take down two mob enforcers cleanly and efficiently, then went into their safehouse and eliminated seven hostiles in quick succession, using only their own weapons."
Hank plugged the flash drive into Ron's office computer and pulled up crime scene photos one by one. There was even combat footage at the end: "Watch this—headshot, headshot... another headshot!"
Ron's eyes widened. This combat ability was off the charts! Was this really just a bean counter?
Ron was confident he could take down seven hostiles, but headshots every single time? That was a completely different ballgame—something even he'd find challenging.
In close-quarters combat, encounters with hostiles often happen in split seconds, and in those moments, generally whoever shoots first wins. Therefore, the priority is achieving the fastest possible engagement time.
For example, Ron, even though he kept his sidearm holstered, was confident that with his enhanced reflexes, he could outdraw anyone already holding a weapon.
Of course, besides exceptional marksmanship, there was another possibility: the shooter possessed an almost superhuman level of OCD, much like Ron's own brother, Sheldon.
Whether at home, in a movie theater, or anywhere else, Sheldon had to occupy a specific, supposedly optimal position, strictly adhering to his self-imposed routines every single day.
Thinking about this, Ron asked thoughtfully, "I remember you mentioned recovering audio from the scene, right?"
"Yeah, it's right here." Hank opened the audio file.
The recording contained the sounds of impact, something hard striking flesh, and a barely audible voice muttering something.
"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday..."
"You know what this means?" Ron's lips curled into a knowing smile, and he deliberately amplified the volume and played it again.
"Sounds like a nursery rhyme?" Hank said uncertainly. "But what's the significance? I'm also confused why a nursery rhyme would be playing at a murder scene, but it doesn't seem particularly relevant to the case, does it?"
"No, this is the most crucial clue." Ron played the nursery rhyme again. "Listen carefully—this rhyme repeats four and a half times, but the pitch, cadence, rhythm, volume, and pronunciation of each line are absolutely identical. What does that tell you, my dear Hank?"
"It means this guy's got issues?" Hank's eyes lit up with understanding.
"Exactly. Combined with the evidence that every victim at the previous crime scene had a single gunshot wound to the head, I can preliminarily conclude that this person has severe OCD—possibly the kind where they'd rather take a bullet themselves than let a round miss the target's forehead."
Ron steepled his fingers and made his assessment. Just then, his office door swung open again.
"Boss, I found him!" Andy entered this time. "You won't believe this—he's in Los Angeles right now, working out of this accounting firm called ZZZ."
Andy displayed a photo; in a strip mall storefront row, the office with the ZZZ firm's placard was unremarkable, tucked in the middle of the complex.
"Excellent work. So what's our mysterious accountant calling himself now?"
"Christian Wolff, named after an eighteenth-century German philosopher and mathematician," Andy smiled knowingly. "Even more interesting, he's currently providing forensic accounting services for Life Robotics, and we're investigating that company. I strongly suspect they're cooking the books—inflating their financials to pump up their stock price before an IPO."
(End of Chapter)
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