With the assistance of various legal teams, the collection of victim information was incredibly rapid. By the time Jubal arrived with the rest of the Most Wanted team, the large conference table in the office was already piled high with cardboard boxes.
This was just the paper information, and it wasn't limited to the third victim, Joseph Fielding.
Information on the first two individuals, Michael Stanton and Hoyt Asift, whose deaths had been declared suicides or illnesses, had also been sent, and it was undoubtedly far more detailed than what had been previously sent by the State Attorney's Office.
"Eighteen luxury cars, six properties, and three yachts—can you believe there's room for yachts in Dallas?" Clay, a true middle-class man, was amazed.
Jack shrugged, "Texas still has plenty of large lakes."
In reality, wealthy people like him and Aubrey were truly atypical in America. Only the so-called "aristocrats" with centuries-old family trees and surnames traceable back to the royal genealogies of Europe and America would maintain such a low profile.
The rest, even the so-called "old money" whose surnames could be traced back to ancestors aboard the Mayflower, were ultimately nothing more than nouveau riche.
However, their situations differed somewhat. Aubrey was the type who had seen through the mundane world, having witnessed the ups and downs of Wall Street.
As the saying goes, "I watched him build a mansion, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched it collapse." After a moment of enlightenment, this Wall Street elite chose a different path to pursue his ideals.
Compared to Aubrey, Jack possessed a more casual and playful attitude. Forget money, even the bloodline that was so highly valued in European and American culture was unimpressed by him, a Seres.
After all, in his former home, only cats and dogs were considered pedigree-conscious.
"It just goes to show that, at a certain point, wealth is really just a number." Jiejie flipped through Joseph Fielding's financial statements.
"It says here that he spent $500,000 on a place called the 'Batcave.'"
"Ah ha," Aubrey said, pulling out a photo with a quizzical expression. "Is this him in the 'Batcave,' dressed as 'Catwoman?'"
"Poof!" Jubal couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of coffee.
Jack couldn't resist a glance out of curiosity, then regretted it. "Damn, I feel like I'm going blind."
The visual impact was far greater than last night's scene of the deceased dying naked in the elevator. On the other hand, the two women dressed as Batman and Robin were quite eye-catching.
Clay patted Aubrey's shoulder and apologized sincerely. "So, among the wealthy people I know, you're pretty average. At least things like yachts and supermodel parties aren't beyond my imagination."
"Is there anything else these guys wouldn't spend money on?" Hannah, once considered a wealthy woman by Jack, complained.
She had always considered herself poor, at least until this Texas girl could redeem her parents' ranch.
After Jack made a fortune in Korea, he had already entrusted Chris with the redemption of the ranch, though the details were kept secret for now. After all,
Shangri-La was burning through cash, with numerous funding needs. It was impossible to launder over a billion dollars in a short period of time; it might take a year or two.
"Maybe there are, such as his ex-wives." Jubal raised the information in his hand.
"Joseph Fielding was married four times. Although there was no prenuptial agreement the first and second time, he did his best to deprive his ex-wives of the property that should have been given to them by sharing the debts."
The eyes of the others lit up and they picked up the documents in front of them and started flipping through them. Jiejie raised her hand first, "Hoyt Asift has also been divorced several times, and the situation seems to be similar."
"There are also extremely fierce alimony lawsuits." Aubrey said he was eye-opening, "These people would rather spend more lawyer fees and 'fight' with their ex-wives over whether they should pay an extra $1,000 in alimony every month."
As a man who had been divorced once, Jubal sneered and threw the documents in his hand on the table, "Although the courts ruled in favor of the ex-wives in several of the cases, these guys still chose not to pay."
"Why would such a rich man pay $20,000 a night for a call girl without hesitation, but be reluctant to pay a mere few thousand dollars in alimony every month?"
Clay looked at Aubrey and asked.
"How should I know?" Aubrey covered his face, trying not to look at Alice beside him. He was a little worried that this topic would upset his girlfriend, who had already experienced a failed marriage.
Alice's income as an FBI analyst wasn't much, and even now, as a field agent, she relied heavily on her parents to help with childcare. She certainly couldn't afford maids or babysitters.
Her ex-husband wasn't a wealthy man, but he was a complete abandoner. His whereabouts were unknown, and child support was out of the question.
"Because they think it's a waste of money. Their wealth doesn't hide the fact that they're selfish, irresponsible bastards."
Alice answered, gently grasping Aubrey's hand and smiling sweetly, reassuring him. "Marriage is essentially a property contract, and even that has proven to be shaky. Therefore, I'm very satisfied with our current situation."
The meeting room was filled with coughing, and everyone else felt like they were being forced to feed their daughter.
Jack clapped his hands, forcing everyone's attention back. "Jiejie, remember what the madam said? She said a good call girl doesn't just provide sexual services; listening and stress relief are equally important."
Jiejie nodded knowingly, then continued his analysis.
"Considering that most of the women who actively work in this industry come from dysfunctional families, and when those wealthy men chatter endlessly at their pillows about their 'greedy' wives and 'annoying' children, this could very well become a trigger."
"OK, so now we've found a commonality among the victims, but how can we use this commonality to find the murderer?" Jubal's pencil flickered between his fingers, leaving a shadow.
"We can't just make a list of all the wealthy and famous men in Dallas who've gone through divorce proceedings and then call them one by one to ask if they've ever hired a prostitute, right?"
(End of chapter)