The company involved in the incident was located on the third floor of a newly built office building. As Jack entered the elevator, he noticed that where the cameras should have been, there were only holes, revealing pre-installed wiring.
"So you didn't collect any surveillance footage?"
"This place was renovated less than two weeks ago, and 'Senna Locke' was the first company to move in, so a lot of the equipment hasn't been installed yet,"
the sheriff replied as he quickly exited the elevator, tucking his standard-issue state trooper cowboy hat under his arm.
"There are only nine people in this company, including the CEO. Where did the other employee go?" Jiejie asked, flipping through the two-page report she had just been handed.
"It's a software engineer at the company. Officers went to his address immediately after the incident, but his neighbors claim they haven't seen him in the past two days."
As he spoke, the sheriff led the group down the hallway. As he had said, not only was the surveillance equipment still incomplete, but even the company logo on the door was missing.
The company's layout was simple: a partitioned common office area in the middle, flanked by several rooms: a reception area, a slightly larger conference room, and a private office at the back.
"It's a small, healthy company with a simple business. What exactly do they do?" Aubrey asked, stepping around a pool of blood near the door.
Five or six hours had passed since the incident, the body had long since been taken to the coroner's office, and the scene investigation was nearing completion. Several forensic assistants were collecting the scattered yellow evidence signs.
"The information says it's internet-related, but given the situation, we're still contacting the victim's family." The sheriff looked troubled.
With nine employees in one company, eight dead and one missing, it was difficult to quickly determine the company's specific operations.
The sheriff pointed to the CEO's office at the back. "Adam Weiner is the CEO of this company. His office has been turned upside down. Perhaps you can find some useful clues."
"Jiejie and Hannah, go in and take a look," Jubal said, handing the tablet to Jack. "Alice just got some photos of the scene. Let's see if we can reconstruct the scene."
The sheriff pointed to the large pool of blood at the feet of Clay, who was also holding a tablet. "This is the first victim we found, Nathan Muntz."
"The body fell facing the door. He almost ran out of the office. It looks like he was the last one killed." Clay half-crouched on the ground, shifting the tablet in his hand from time to time.
"The ones fallen here are Jane Birney and Winnie David. Jane also tried to escape, but her throat was slit from behind. Winnie hid under the table, but the killer didn't let her go."
Jack paused and exchanged a glance with Clay.
The sheriff following behind them didn't notice this and introduced himself, "Among the eight dead, only these three died from knife wounds, and the rest were shot.
So we suspect that there are probably two murderers, but we haven't found the second person's bloody footprints. He must have been very careful."
Clay shook his head, his face a little ugly, "There should be only one murderer. He used a pistol first, and after emptying the magazine, he didn't change the magazine, but directly used a knife to complete the follow-up."
He said this with a bit of reluctance, "The murderer's physical fitness is far superior to ordinary people. He has received rigorous training and is decisive and ruthless. He is very likely to have a certain military background." They
found something strange when they walked into the company. Although the scene was extremely bloody and there were large pools of blood on the carpet, it was not covered with bullet holes like a normal shooting scene. There was not even a piece of broken glass.
All the mess was caused by the victims fleeing or collapsing, like spilled cups and laptops ripped to the ground by their power cords.
Even if the killer had acted suddenly, facing eight unarmed civilians, only Jack and Clay could have pulled off such a rapid and efficient slaughter.
Aubrey's mind raced, keenly sensing something was amiss. "This doesn't make sense. If the killer had planned this, he wouldn't have had spare magazines ready, leading to the final resort to using a knife to finish off the remaining three."
"This means he was targeting someone, and the others were just collateral damage." Jack looked at the CEO's office that Jiejie and Hannah had entered. A pool of blood, containing fragments of brain tissue, lay at the doorway.
Photos showed the body lying there was that of the company's CEO, Adam Weiner. While the deaths of the others only hinted at the truth, the injuries sustained by this CEO were clear.
Two bullets to the chest and one to the head—many of the victims killed by Jack and Clay had suffered similar blows.
"I'm guessing he's the killer's priority target, the first victim."
Before Jack could finish his words, the glass door to the office flung open, revealing an open, locked gun case in Jiejie's gloved hands.
"Jack, Clay, does this look familiar to you?"
Inside the case lay a MK24 with a golden anchor logo. Jack had an identical backup gun, a gift from SEAL Team B.
"
Looks like we know why NCIS assigned this case to the Most Wanted Squad," Jubal said, looking at the photo hanging on the office wall.
It showed Adam Weiner in his white naval officer's uniform. Below the photo hung a medal plaque announcing his 2019 Navy Cross award.
"Do you know him?" Jack asked Clay.
The identities of active-duty SEALs, including those in the regular Navy SEALs and the so-called SEAL Team Six, now known as "DEVGRU," are strictly confidential. This applies to other special forces units like Delta Force.
Even after retirement, their service history is still sealed, including the FBI, and most of the records that can be found are some records that are deliberately left blank or vague.
Clay shook his head, "Maybe you should ask Jason, I was training with the Youth Team before joining Team B."
"Wait, you suspect Adam Weiner was once a SEAL?" Aubrey reacted, a little unbelievable.
"This doesn't make sense. The murderer rushed straight in from the door without alerting or stopping others, and Adam Weiner, as a former special forces member, didn't try to go back to the office to get a gun at the first time. What does this mean?"
"This means that he looks harmless. Maybe everyone here knows him. He might be the missing employee." Jiejie guessed.
She pointed to the documents on the floor in the office, "There is another doubt. These are all contracts for 'Senalock'. Why would the murderer be interested in these things?"
(End of this chapter)