"I don't understand. Trent Russell died 15 years ago." Sheriff Landry hurried over, his face bewildered upon seeing the two FBI agents.
"Yes, he was shot to death. The killer hasn't been caught, but we suspect it was a Mexican drug trafficker who came over the border. And then we happened to discover that the librarian, Ms. Barbara Russell, was his widow."
Jack and Jiejie had been waiting in the car for over half an hour, busy as ever. They had already thoroughly investigated the situation with Alice and had roughly deduced the truth.
"You suspect Barbara? No, how could that be? Why would she do that?" Sheriff Landry was incredulous.
Jiejie shook her head. "No, the suspect is Trent, but we think Barbara might know something. She's our only hope for the truth."
As the two listed the clues they had uncovered and offered their inferences, the old sheriff's expression grew solemn.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number, asking directly, "Larry, have you found that recording? Okay, send it to me right away. I'm at Barbara Russell's place. You heard me right, right now."
He then made a second call. "Barbara, you need to take some time off to go home. Yes, there's a plumbing problem in your backyard. You'd better get home and take care of it right away."
Twenty minutes later, an old Honda Accord slowly pulled up in the driveway outside the house, and librarian Barbara hurried out.
Her initial anxiety turned to confusion and unease when she saw the door to her old garage open. Sheriff Landry, several officers, and the two young men and women who claimed to be from the FBI, whom she had met at noon, were standing there.
"What's going on? Sheriff Landry, aren't you saying..."
Barbara was interrupted mid-sentence by the sullen old sheriff. "Barbara, is this old black Mustang yours?"
He pointed at the license plate on the front of the Mustang, his fingers trembling slightly. The license plate read "925-EFK."
This question actually left Barbara somewhat bewildered, and she even forgot to protest the other party's lack of authority to open her garage without her permission.
"This was Trent's favorite car back then, so I never sold it."
The old sheriff took another look at the file he had personally handed to the two FBI agents half a day ago. The number and letter combination "925-ESK" on the police call record stood out.
"Would you mind if we could come in and sit down? Barbara, I'm sure you and these two FBI agents have a lot to discuss."
Although he used the word "please," the old sheriff's tone held an undeniable sense of urgency.
"
Trent was a member of the book club and made a large donation to the town's public library. We met there. He was a kind and loving man.
Although our marriage lasted only three years, I still miss him. You must have made a mistake. Trent couldn't possibly have known Hana."
Barbara shook her head repeatedly in disbelief at the evidence Jack and Jie presented, the account jointly held by Trent Russell and Hana Frey.
"Can I take a look around?" Jack asked, but as he spoke, he stood up and walked towards the study. Jie followed him down the hallway and unceremoniously opened the bedroom door.
"You can't do this. I want you to leave now." Barbara stood up to try to stop them, but under Sheriff Landry's icy gaze, she sank back onto the sofa.
"Barbara, we've known each other for over 40 years, ever since your parents moved to this town. I've watched you grow up, from a little girl with pigtails to the person you are today."
I attended your wedding, Trent's funeral, and even presided over your parents' funeral. I used to think I knew you very well, but now it seems that's not the case."
The old sheriff's words made Barbara lower her head, and her hands on her knees clenched and unclenched nervously.
With Sheriff Landry, who was able to control the situation, the two FBI agents didn't even need a search warrant. Small places also have their advantages. Even in a place like Margrave Town, ordinary people rarely dared to go against the local sheriff.
Soon Jack and Jiejie both had their gains. A large stack of brand new books were placed on the living room table. The covers and titles were exactly the same.
"Flowers for Algernon" is the book that Hana borrowed from the library that night. We found a total of 16 copies from your bedroom and study bookshelves. I don't think this is a coincidence. "
As soon as Jack said this, the atmosphere in the living room fell into dead silence. Barbara lowered her head and couldn't help shaking all over.
If she was a little confused about the actions of Sheriff Landry and the two FBI agents in the garage at first (she was unaware of the 911 call that year), then it was obviously difficult to explain away this scene.
"I don't know, on that day every year, these books are mailed from all over the country, with no messages or senders, as if someone is deliberately trying to torture me." Barbara covered her face and choked with sobs.
"Which day?" Sheriff Landry asked.
"April 15th, right? The day Hana disappeared. "Jiejie answered for her, and Barbara responded with silence.
Jack put on rubber gloves and flipped through each book. He found several price tags on the back of the pages, which recorded information such as the bookstore name and the selling price.
He took pictures of these tags and showed them to Alice, hoping to find the buyer's information through the sales records of those bookstores. As long as it was not paid in cash, there would be hope.
Just when Sheriff Landry was impatiently trying to interrogate Barbara, a short siren sounded outside the door. A police car turned off the siren as it stopped. Everyone could see through the window that a young police officer got out of the car and ran quickly towards the main door of the house with a cardboard box in his arms.
"Sir, the tapes you are looking for are all here. I also found a working tape player." This young police officer with sweat on his forehead should be the Larry that Sheriff Landry mentioned before.
"Well done. "Sheriff Landry, with a gloomy face, gestured for him to put the cardboard box on the table. He reached into a pile of labeled tapes and searched for a long time, trying a few more, until a child's voice and the voice of a 911 operator came from the player.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"It's about Hana, the missing girl. I saw her get into a car outside the library."
"What model of car was it?"
"I don't recognize it. It was a dark-colored car."
"Do you remember any other characteristics?"
"Yes, the license plate number was 925-EFK."
(End of this chapter)