Russell frowned deeply. "My findings are similar to yours. Mrs. Leidke is somewhat suspicious, but considering her age and status, she doesn't seem capable of pulling off something like this. She's a pampered socialite."
Jack nodded in understanding. "Why don't you start by sharing the doubts you have?"
Russell raised two fingers. "First, when I initially asked her about last night's timeline, she immediately said, 'Around ten o'clock, before they kidnapped Hubble.'"
"She used the plural 'they'?" Jack caught on quickly. He and CSI had deduced from the crime scene that there were at least two perpetrators. Mrs. Leidke's use of 'they' was highly suspicious.
Russell nodded. "The second point is that Mrs. Leidke once tried to sue TC for involuntary manslaughter after the San Francisco DA dropped the charges due to insufficient evidence regarding her daughter's death."
"Of course, she said she later withdrew the lawsuit, claiming it was because the medium, Karen, convinced her that her son-in-law was innocent."
"Uh-oh," Jack said with a smile. "But Karen told me that TC was selfish and had been unfaithful."
"You mean Mrs. Leidke might believe that TC wasn't responsible for her daughter's death, but she probably still thinks he had an affair with the housekeeper, Shelby Bryce?" Russell asked, misunderstanding Jack's point.
Jack shook his head, indicating that Russell hadn't fully grasped his meaning.
"What Karen says isn't the key issue here. Mrs. Leidke has a motive and the opportunity to commit the crime. She was at the scene last night and could have helped the kidnappers gain access to the mansion."
"She knows about the jewelry and possibly knows that Hubble was born via surrogacy. Hubble is actually her biological grandson, her daughter's child, not the illegitimate son of the housekeeper and her son-in-law."
"Perhaps Mrs. Leidke believes Hubble should be living with her, not with the man she suspects of killing her daughter. If that's the case, this kidnapping serves multiple purposes."
Russell's eyes widened in realization. "Kill the housekeeper, take her grandson, and make TC, who was already suspected of killing his wife, the prime suspect in this case. If he's imprisoned, and the ransom exchange goes as planned, Hubble would naturally end up living with his grandmother. Oh, and she'd also get back her daughter's jewelry."
"Of course, this is all just speculation," Jack added. "But if the ransom handoff goes smoothly, Mrs. Leidke's suspicion would become more significant."
"I'll inform Detective Bryce of this theory and have him investigate Mrs. Leidke. By the way, do you plan to participate in the ransom handoff?" Russell asked.
Jack shook his head. The ransom exchange would likely be surrounded by police officers. His presence wouldn't make much difference, and the chances of something going wrong were low.
"I want to use FBI resources to investigate that medium, Karen. Something about her just feels off, but I can't quite put my finger on it."
Since only Nevada was experiencing the blackout, while Los Angeles remained unaffected, Jack and Russell parted ways for the time being. Jack returned to his car, connected his phone to a power bank, and sent a message to Garcia.
He asked her to look into the case involving TC Riordan's wife, Natalie Riordan, who was murdered in San Francisco, and also requested a background check on the medium, Karen. Jack had a hunch that he'd missed some crucial detail about her, and his gut told him that she was more suspicious than Mrs. Leidke.
The sky was just beginning to lighten. Jack checked the time—it was only six in the morning. After sending the messages, he reclined his seat and found a comfortable position to sleep in the car.
The system's enhancements allowed him to go days without sleep and still remain clear-headed, as well as to shorten his sleep duration and improve sleep quality. But sleep wasn't just about physical recovery; it was also essential for emotional adjustment and recovery.
Since joining the BAU, where he often faced disturbing crime scenes, Jack had made it a habit to sleep at least six hours every day. For most people, six hours might not be enough, but for him, it was like sleeping in every day.
A sudden, urgent phone call pulled Jack from his dream. Refreshed, he glanced at the time—it was already 9 a.m.
The call was from Russell. The ransom handoff had not gone as planned; the kidnapper had managed to pull off a trick and escape the police's trap. But, surprisingly, five minutes later, gunshots were heard not far from the scene. When the police arrived, they found the kidnapper shot dead in his car, with the box containing over two million dollars' worth of jewelry left untouched.
Jack hung up and didn't rush back upstairs to the station. Instead, he made a left turn out the door, heading to a nearby restaurant to grab a smoked meat sandwich and a large latte for breakfast.
He leisurely ate while browsing the information Garcia had sent him, feeling that he was getting closer to identifying the culprit.
The smoked meat sandwich was surprisingly good, and the latte, called a flat white, was smooth and satisfying. With his hunger sated, Jack pushed open the glass door of the police station.
Inside, Nick Stokes, a CSI researcher, and Detective James Bryce, who had just returned, were recounting the events to Russell.
They had set up their ambush early at the designated spot—the Palermo Parking Garage—and monitored the situation.
At 7:50 a.m., TC Riordan arrived at the parking garage ten minutes early, carrying the briefcase with the jewelry. He waited there.
He ended up waiting for half an hour. By 8:20 a.m., twenty minutes past the agreed time, everyone began to suspect that the kidnapper wouldn't show up or might pull some trick, like changing the location at the last minute.
Then, a white man wearing a red hat emerged from a nearby van that had been parked there for some time.
This man had deliberately chosen a dark coat similar to TC Riordan's. After taking the briefcase from TC, he led him to the back of the van, where they exchanged a few words out of Nick and the detective's line of sight.
That's when the trick was played. The man handed the red hat to TC, instructing him to put it on, start the van, and drive to a specific location to pick up his son without looking back.
TC, not daring to disobey, got into the van. The man pretended to sit in the back with the briefcase full of jewelry but actually slipped out through a window that had been broken beforehand.
Without anyone noticing, the man climbed over the parking garage's third-floor railing, using a pre-arranged rope to silently lower himself to the first floor and escape undetected.
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Hello, if you enjoy mythology novels, I invite you to check out "I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother", a story inspired by Norse mythology