Richmond, the capital of Virginia, required a five- or six-hour drive through Maryland and Washington, D.C.,
but for a Bombardier business jet, it was a quick takeoff and landing. In less than two hours, the Most Wanted team arrived at the crime scene.
Local state police had already cordoned off the house, and many neighbors were standing outside to watch. Jack, judging by their skin color and clothing, knew it was at least a middle-class neighborhood.
As the FBI agents exited the vehicle, the local medical examiner and his assistant were carrying the body out on a stretcher. Jiejie approached the sheriff in charge of the scene, greeting them and introducing herself.
Jack and Clay stopped the medical examiner to inquire about the cause of death and related details. Jubal then led Hannah and Aubrey into the house.
Twenty minutes later, the group reunited in the living room where the body had been found, exchanging their recent information.
Jiejie spoke first, "The deceased's name is Valerie Barnes, she is a doctor, 42 years old, and her husband is Navy Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Barnes."
"Was it the husband who found the body?"
Jubal asked. For a woman who was murdered at home, the first suspect is always the husband, followed by the lover.
Jiejie shook her head, a hint of sympathy on her face. "No, it's Rachel Barnes, the victim's ten-year-old daughter. She stayed over at a friend's house last night and was found when she returned home today. A neighbor called the police."
She pointed to the backyard. "The poor girl is right there."
Jubal looked at Jack. "Cause of death?"
"Shot in the back, fatal, probably between 12 and 2 a.m. this morning.
Clay judged from the shape of the bullet hole that it was a small-caliber round like a .38, but the details remain to be seen after the medical examiner retrieves the bullet lodged in the victim's body.
After I bribed him with two servings of lemon sherbet pudding, the kind old man said he would immediately dispose of the body."
Jack surveyed the scene as he described. The body had fallen on the porch between the dining room and living room, with a large pool of semi-coagulated blood on the ground.
The area around the body was clean, with only two small bloody handprints and the mark of a knee moving around the pool of blood, likely left by the daughter of the family who discovered the body.
"What's wrong?" Clay knew he had noticed something suspicious.
"Notify our forensic team to come and reconstruct the scene. There's something strange about the way the victim was shot. The trajectory doesn't seem straight, but rather tilted slightly upwards."
Jack gestured with a hip-fire motion, similar to the cowboy showdowns in Western movies.
"When I examined the body earlier, I thought the victim might have been standing on a staircase that was higher than the killer's level, but apparently,"
he gestured around, "the height difference between the dining room and kitchen isn't enough to cause that."
"Does this mean the killer was someone who was quite confident in his shooting skills?" Clay understood, as did he and Jack.
Hannah, camera in hand, was whispering with Aubrey. When Jubal looked at her, she realized it was their turn.
"No murder weapon was found, no signs of forced entry. When the local police arrived on the scene after receiving a call from 911, they found the back door of the house open.
There were no signs of rummaging through the room, so it doesn't look like a burglary-turned-homicide."
"OK, Clay, contact the Navy and find the victim's husband, Ryan Barnes, as soon as possible
. Jiejie," Jubal scratched his head uncomfortably with a pencil. "Ask the little girl if she knows anything. Jack and I will go talk to the neighbor who reported the crime, and Hannah and Aubrey will go talk to the other neighbors."
"
When was the last time you spoke to Mrs. Barnes?" Jubal asked, Jack's eyes flickering between the man in front of him and the little boy behind him.
The neighbor who reported the crime was a white man in his late twenties, tall and thin, handsome, and with a slightly uneasy expression. Judging by the tattoos on his arms and neck, he was probably a former Marine.
"It was probably last night, around six o'clock, when she dropped Rachel off at my house."
As if sensing Jubal's confusion, he went on to explain, "She often has to work late, so I volunteered to babysit her."
"So you're friends?" Jack observed the other man's expression carefully, noting that his nervousness and anxiety were largely due to his concern for his son. He added, "Are you from a single-parent family?"
"Oh, yes. My wife passed away two years ago, and I retired and returned home." The neighbor was somewhat surprised by Jack's insight.
"I've known Valerie for three years, and our children are in the same grade." He glanced back at his son.
The little boy looked frightened, his chubby face still tear-stained, clearly terrified.
"I'm sorry to have taken you so long. One last question." Jubal smiled, easing the neighbor into a relaxed mood.
Over three hours had passed since the police report was filed, and the father and son had been accompanied by police officers, which was clearly the main reason for their anxiety.
"Can you tell me about Commander Barnes?"
the neighbor asked, a bit embarrassed. "To be honest, I don't know him very well. I was just a regular petty officer in the Navy.
He rarely comes home, either training or on missions. I have some idea of what's going on, but as you know, that's confidential information, and I never ask about it.
The last time I saw the Commander was a few days ago."
He turned and hugged his son. "Can I take my son home now?"
Jubal smiled back. "Of course, thank you for your help, Mr. Curtis."
Unexpectedly, the neighbor didn't leave immediately, but instead looked behind the house with concern. "So, what will happen to Rachel?"
Jubal and Jack exchanged a look, neither sure how to answer.
After the on-site investigation and questioning concluded, Jack and Jubal found Jiejie in the backyard, accompanying the little girl.
They sat under a hut made of wooden pallets and colorful plastic sheeting. The little girl hid in a corner, keeping her distance from Jiejie, a look of intense caution on her face.
Jack was a bit surprised; this was a rare sight. Jiejie's affinity with people of all ages and genders was universal, and the psychology skills she'd learned from the BAU had elevated her communication skills to a new level.
Seeing the two approaching, Jiejie reluctantly stood up, walked over, and whispered, "She just wants to see her father right away."
(End of chapter)