Zoe Sawyer quickly extracted two front-facing screenshots from the footage and drew a heavy red circle on them.
'That's him! That's Tiger!'
'She would never forget that face!'
'And I remember his three accomplices crystal clear, too!'
Evan Keller took a few photos of the screenshots and told the officers in the field to keep an eye on their whereabouts.
Soon, an officer in the field reported back with an update.
They had spotted Tiger, the man Evan Keller had told them to keep a special watch for, at a small roadside stall.
After getting a clear look at what they were doing, the officer in the field gave Evan Keller a call.
"You're telling me they're running a stall selling buns?" Evan Keller frowned in disbelief.
'A highly suspicious criminal group, and they're selling buns?'
'What's their angle?'
'Are they scouting for new victims?'
Zoe Sawyer frowned. 'I must have missed something.'
She closed her eyes and carefully recalled the group's conversation.
Three particular sentences suddenly slammed into Zoe Sawyer's mind, pulling her thoughts in a completely different direction.
Because she was starting a new book in the crime-thriller genre, Zoe Sawyer had researched some major cases, both domestic and international.
Naturally, this particular detail rang a bell.
After recalling those words, her thoughts naturally drifted in that direction.
"Bold hypotheses, careful verification. If you have an idea, just say it. We can all discuss its feasibility together." Evan Keller saw Zoe Sawyer hesitating and tapped on the table, encouraging her to speak her mind.
Since Evan Keller had put it that way, and Zoe Sawyer wasn't one to be coy, she recounted the words she had just remembered and explained her theory.
In any case, it was a lead.
Sure enough, after hearing Zoe Sawyer's theory, the room fell silent for a moment before everyone quietly jotted it down in their notebooks.
With their extensive experience, they tended to jump to all sorts of conspiracy theories, such as the criminals casing a location or using a disguise to throw off suspicion.
Besides, cases where a murderer cooked their victim into food were not unheard of.
They had just been momentarily sidetracked and had overlooked this possibility.
"Go and ask around about this bun stall. Then, have a couple of people buy an order and bring it back.
The other team, keep monitoring the area where the tracker is. We must round up this entire group in one fell swoop!
If even one of them gets away, they'll go into hiding, wait for an opportunity to resurface, and pose a severe threat to the public," Evan Keller said as he assigned the tasks.
Thanks to Zoe Sawyer's early discovery, the criminals had no idea the police had already gathered so much evidence against them.
What they needed now was to take advantage of this time lag!
They had to gather enough evidence during this window of time. Coupled with the constant surveillance on that area, they could move in for the arrest the moment something seemed off!
"Understood!"
A young and firm voice came from the other side of the phone, and after hanging up, the officer turned and walked towards the bun stall.
Soon, a steaming hot order of buns was delivered to Evan Keller and his team.
Evan Keller immediately had the buns sent to the lab to determine the composition of the meat filling.
The report was quickly delivered to Evan Keller. It stated that the meat filling was 100% pork, completely free of the substance they had suspected.
Zoe Sawyer still felt she had overlooked something. She was certain she hadn't misidentified him—that voice definitely belonged to Tiger!
Before Zoe Sawyer could figure out what was wrong, Evan Keller and Sean Hughes had already come up with a new plan.
They would ask two rookies who had just joined the bureau to have their friends do them a favor: buy another order of buns from the stall and deliver it.
Some criminal groups are extremely sensitive to the presence of law enforcement; they won't take any risks if something feels even slightly off.
And police officers generally undergo rigorous training. Sometimes, their very bearing and mannerisms can unconsciously give away their profession.
A more cautious criminal would notice the discrepancy immediately and back off.
If they wanted the suspects to completely let their guard down, their only option was to use ordinary citizens.
Everything went as smoothly as they had hoped. Soon, another freshly purchased order of buns was placed in front of Evan Keller and the team.
"Something's wrong. These buns have two fewer folds than the ones from the first order," Sean Hughes said, quickly spotting the discrepancy. When he placed the two orders side-by-side, the difference was obvious.
The folds on the newly purchased buns were fewer than on the first batch.
You might not notice it looking at them individually, but side by side, the difference was striking.
A thought suddenly struck Sean Hughes. 'Maybe they're made differently on purpose to distinguish between two types of meat filling!'
Soon, the lab report for the second order of buns was in their hands.
Though the report wasn't explicit, Zoe Sawyer understood its implications immediately.
Upon reading it, Zoe Sawyer finally couldn't stop herself from gagging.
"RETCH!"
Even though she had mentally prepared herself, the shock of having it confirmed was something else entirely.
For a moment, Zoe Sawyer wasn't sure if this ability of hers was a blessing or a curse.
It helped the police discover and solve cases, but it also meant she was always the first witness. The psychological burden she had to bear was immense.
"Captain! We talked to some local residents. They said the bun stall appeared about five days ago. Its hours are irregular, but the buns taste good and are a great value for the price, so they get a lot of customers every time they're open.
It has a pretty good reputation among the residents here," the investigating officer reported to Evan Keller as he ran up.
He also handed over a plastic bag. "These are some buns residents hadn't finished eating. I bought them all; they're all in here."
Sean Hughes opened the bag and took a look. He needed only a single glance, his tone firm. "The folds are identical to the second batch. They have to be from the same set."
Evan Keller said nothing, simply motioning for a nearby officer to take the bag to the lab. He instructed them to test a few at random to confirm they were the same.
Meanwhile, Officer Lee, who had been watching the surveillance monitors, made a new discovery.
"Captain! Just now, a group of people carrying several freezers entered the area where the tracker is located."
Evan Keller and Sean Hughes shot over to Liam's side. After one look at the monitor, Evan issued his orders immediately.
"Team One, find Officer Reed, get some backup, and arrest the group selling buns.
The rest of you, gear up and follow me to the scene." Evan Keller made the decision quickly and once again told Zoe Sawyer to stay in the office.
Zoe Sawyer offered to check out the situation from the outside, saying that if anything was really happening, it wouldn't be too late for them to go in then.
However, Evan Keller rejected her offer. Before leaving, he patted Zoe Sawyer on the shoulder and said in a low, serious voice,
"We can't rely on you for everything. This time, let us show you what we can do."