"No, you two are completely different people. Kind-hearted Jennifer wouldn't inflict the suffering she's endured on an innocent person," Jack whispered soothingly, stroking his beloved's soft blond hair.
He didn't intend to change his assessment of Gen as a lunatic; at most, he'd add the adjective "genius" before the word.
While there's no concrete evidence of what happened next, a general inference can be drawn from the clues gathered so far.
Two years after Hana's disappearance, Gen, still a minor, had become a master hacker and began plotting revenge for her friend.
She opened a joint account in Trent and Hana's names and then stole $100,000 from a drug dealer named Jose Barria.
Upon discovering that his "hard-earned" drug profits had vanished, the dealer naturally targeted the other person in the joint account, the more suspicious Trent Russell.
What happened next was a natural progression. The drug dealers approached Trent, and the unsuspecting banker, naturally denying everything, was deemed a liar and ultimately shot dead by the enraged dealers.
This was likely the first crime Gen personally planned and executed at age 14, intended to avenge her friend. While her methods were somewhat immature and fraught with uncertainty
, overall, the secrecy and the use of a proxy are quite typical of Gen's current style.
"And the 'machine' probably gave us Hana's number for more than just asking us to help Gen find her friend's body."
Jack glanced at his phone, but the message on it suddenly made him sit up; he couldn't stay in bed any longer.
"What's wrong?" Jiejie asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"It's time to return to the East Coast. Alice tracked down an active credit card based on book purchase records. It was used about twelve hours ago at a gas station in Welldon, Maryland.
The user's name is Kelly Dyson, a fake identity. She retrieved the gas station video and found a middle-aged man who looked like Finch in the passenger seat of a Toyota Corolla."
—
At the exit from the town, under the sign that read "Welcome to Bishop."
"I really don't know how to thank you for your help."
Sheriff Landry pressed his cowboy hat against his chest and bowed slightly to the two FBI agents to express his gratitude.
Jack shook his hand while holding the old sheriff's arm with his other hand, indicating that such politeness was unnecessary. "Without the meticulous notes and documents you took back then and have preserved so well, we wouldn't have been able to uncover the truth so quickly."
He had come across many small-town police officers by now, but few were as dedicated and committed to justice as this old sheriff.
Most of the sheriffs and local police stations in remote areas of the Federation lack effective supervision and restraint, and can easily become tools for local tyrants and families to rule the local area.
For specific situations, please refer to some areas in Seris where clan power is stubborn. For more extreme examples, there is another ancient Eastern power.
"Are you really not going to stay here for a few more days? Now is a good time to enjoy hunting and fishing." The old sheriff wanted to persuade him to stay.
"That was indeed the plan." Jack glanced at Jiejie beside him with a little hesitation. They had agreed to investigate the clues of Gen and take a vacation at the same time, but they were busy solving the case and did not have any fun.
Jiejie looked nonchalant and said frankly, "Some emergencies have occurred. We must rush back to the east immediately."
Sheriff Landry looked even more regretful than the other two. Just as he was about to try to persuade them to stay, he suddenly slapped his head, as if on cue, and fished a photo from his breast pocket.
"This is one of Hana's father's belongings. The girl standing next to Hana is Sam Groves. They were once very close friends."
The old sheriff had probably guessed something; at least he knew the two FBI agents weren't specifically investigating Hana's disappearance.
In the photo, Hana, carrying a shoulder bag, stared directly into the camera with a sweet smile. The girl beside her, by comparison, hadn't fully grown, was much shorter, and looked quite ordinary.
"Twenty years have passed. Time really can change a lot." Looking at the photo of the twelve-year-old Gen, Jiejie said something suggestive.
--
"They told me to pick you up at the airport, but if I'd known you were flying such a luxurious private jet, I shouldn't have rented a stretch Lincoln or Cadillac. It would have been more fitting." "
Detective Doudou," standing at the Bombardier jet's ramp, looked up at the two, his eyes filled with unconcealed surprise and envy.
"Remember to wear your waiter uniform next time," Jack said, pretending to hand him the suitcase.
Fusco actually took it, and of course, he didn't hold back. "Where's the tip?"
"I've had so many great meals with you, and I've never seen you pay for them," Jack replied with a look of disdain.
The joke was over, and they got straight to business.
"Reese said you did a great job this time, finding Root and Finch's whereabouts. Can you tell me more about that?"
Hearing Jack ask this, Fusco instantly became excited, and with a certain amount of pride, he shared his findings of the past two days.
Leon Tao's minor troubles were resolved the same night Jack and Jiejie left New York. Reese used that guy to lure out the remaining members of the Aryan Brotherhood and their leader, and the NYPD launched a lightning raid to capture them all.
However, Leon Tao didn't get much out of it. Although his scheme of robbing criminals perfectly exploited legal loopholes, the bearer bonds he exchanged for the stolen money were all chewed into worthless pieces by the dogs.
The dog also got a new name—"Little Bear"—due to Reese's sudden inspiration, calling it "Bear," a play on the word "bearer" (a homophone for bearer bonds).
Fusco, having achieved another feat, became the department's star detective, nearly overshadowing Danny.
However, Fusco, feeling somewhat complacent, was targeted by a federal agent calling himself Hersh, who questioned him about the Alicia Corwin case.
Detective "Bean" managed to stay calm, thanks to Jack and the "POIs" for not withholding crucial information from him. His previous undercover experience also helped him sense the danger.
After playing dumb, he successfully fooled Hersh and informed Reese. Fusco
then boldly tracked the agent and, using the hacking software Finch had left on his phone, successfully hacked into the agent's bearer phone.
(End of this chapter)