Chapter 210: Marilyn Strip Club
"Yes."
Reesi nodded while her face tightened, hurriedly pulling her arm out of the other person's grasp.
Tom's grip was strong, nearly bruising Reesi's arm.
"Sorry, sorry."
Realizing his mistake, Tom hastily apologized, letting go of his hand.
At this moment, Luo An walked over. Seeing him, Tom's eyes lit up and he immediately broke away from the forensic agent pulling at him and rushed over.
"!!!"
Seeing a huge white mass charging towards him, Luo An's eyebrows twitched. He was just about to raise his hand to stop him with all his might when Tom suddenly stopped, then fiercely grabbed Luo An's hand and wouldn't let go, his face filled with urgency:
"You're so handsome, you must be Deputy Group Leader Luo An Greenwood from Team Five. I am Tom from the Criminal Justice Department.
Please, you must find the killer of my wife, I believe in you, you definitely can do it..."
After this morning's meeting, most people in the building had heard that Luo An, at the age of 25, had been promoted to Deputy Group Leader of Team Five.
Many of them had never seen Luo An and didn't know what he looked like.
Those who had seen Luo An thought about it, saying the most handsome man in Team Five was him.
At this time, political correctness hadn't yet permeated the FBI; Tom, whose aesthetic judgment was still normal, naturally recognized Luo An standing behind Reesi at a glance.
Hearing Tom addressing him as an expert detective, Luo An's face twitched.
Who on earth had given him that nickname?
And, is the food at the Criminal Justice Department really that good? How come both Augustus and Tom are so fat?
"OK, Tom, just call me Luo An."
But now was not the time to discuss these matters, pulling Tom aside, Luo An asked seriously:
"As Angelique's husband, has Angelique faced any threats recently?"
"No."
"Then, has she shown any signs of nervousness recently when going to work?"
"No."
Luo An continued to ask several questions, all of which Tom shook his head to, indicating nothing. He finally explained:
"Recently, Angelique was investigating a strip club in Queens named 'Marilyn'.
She would come home very late every day and lock herself in the study to write and record investigative information."
"Marilyn Strip Club"
Hearing this name, Luo An turned his gaze towards Reesi. Reesi nodded slightly, and immediately pulled out a notebook from her dimensional pocket and jotted down the name.
Luo An continued:
"What you've mentioned is very useful, Tom.
However, can you provide us with the documents Angelique recorded? They might contain crucial information to find the killer."
"No problem!"
Hearing this, Tom nodded repeatedly, again grabbing Luo An's hand, speaking a lot of words pleading him to solve the case and promising gratitude later, believing only in Luo An, and after all that, he immediately turned around to return home with the forensic agent to fetch the documents.
Angelique's body hadn't yet been completely handled, and by the time Tom came back with the documents, it would almost be ready.
Watching the white mass quickly disappearing into the distance, Luo An walked towards the elevator while speaking to Reesi:
"Check this Tom's financial and employment status later."
"What?"
In the elevator, Reesi was slightly taken aback:
"Do you think there's an issue with him?"
Luo An shook his head, as he had observed Tom's gestures and facial expressions while he was speaking, and hadn't noticed anything amiss.
But after all, the other party is the husband of the victim, and when one spouse is victimized and dies, the other always falls under enormous suspicion.
"OK."
Reesi nodded, and upon returning to investigation team number five, she immediately led a technical agent to examine Tom's activities over the past few days.
At the same time, Mona took the paper labeled "Marilyn Strip Club" and started her investigation swiftly.
Soon, Mona had gathered relevant information about the club.
"The club's owner is named Vikram Henry, 37 years old. A few years ago, he was sent to prison by our FBI for assault with a weapon and carrying drugs."
Typing the information into the computer, Mona explained:
"A year ago, Henry was released from prison and started this club. On the surface, the club's management is entirely legal, with no issues.
However, the organized crime investigation unit suspects Henry is forming a gang, although no direct evidence has been found yet."
"Good."
After listening to Mona's narrative, Luo An continued to ask:
"Where were Henry and his subordinates at 11 o'clock last night? Do they have an alibi?"
"At the moment, no."
Mona put the data from the organized crime investigation unit onto the computer, then pulled up some surveillance footage and said:
"This is the surveillance video from the entrance of the strip bar. According to the footage, Henry and a few of his subordinates did not come out at all, at least not until very late."
"There's also nothing suspicious found regarding Tom."
Just then, Reesi came over and said:
"According to the investigations by several technical agents, Tom's financial situation is sound. Due to an emergency, Tom was forced to work overtime at 11 o'clock last night, and did not have the time to commit a crime."
"OK."
After listening to Reesi and Mona's description, Luo An frowned slightly, then picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip.
Thinking a bit, Luo An asked:
"What time does Angelique usually leave the strip club every day? And from where?"
"She disguises herself as a dancer at the club, and her shift ends at 2 AM every day."
As Mona rapidly played the surveillance footage from the previous days, she answered the question.
Meanwhile, Luo An also closely watched the monitor, and after a moment, he suddenly noticed something and loudly said:
"Stop, Mona! Rewind forty seconds!"
Mona and Reesi were both startled by Luo An's sudden shout, and casting Luo An an annoyed glance, Mona slowly rewound the surveillance.
"A bit more, a little more back..."
Moments later, the surveillance footage halted, and Luo An pointed at a colorful-dressed woman in the upper right corner of the computer screen, as well as a man and a woman, and asked:
"Is this woman Angelique?"
The image in the surveillance wasn't very clear. Reesi couldn't see clearly, while Mona stared carefully for a moment, then her fingers began to dance quickly across the keyboard:
"There's a store across from where they are standing. The store's surveillance can clearly show these three people!"
As she finished speaking, the surveillance footage from the store was pulled up by Mona, and the images of Angelique and the other man and woman suddenly appeared on the computer screen.
"Goodness gracious!"
Seeing that one of the women was indeed Angelique, Reesi gasped in surprise and looked at Luo An with shock-filled eyes:
"Mona was playing the surveillance at such high speed? How did you even spot her?"
Luo An chuckled lightly but said nothing.
One reason was his keen eyesight and attentiveness; in the past, he had managed to spot clues in surveillance footage that others couldn't.
Another reason was Angelique's distinct physical traits. Not to look down upon or insult Angelique, but just judging from the naked eye, even if Leixidun stuffed two soybeans in her bust, she would have a cup size larger than Angelique.
The content in the video was simple. One night a few days ago, under dim lights, the colorful-dressed Angelique and a handsome Caucasian male were being affectionate at the street corner, touching each other provocatively as if they were about to take action then and there.
Following that, a short-haired woman, tall and big-built, filled with rage, suddenly rushed out from across the street.