North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 290: 268 Villa under lockdown


Jimmy took off his suit, grabbed a bottle of ice-cold Coke, threw himself onto the sofa, dialed Justin's number. The bar had just started getting crowded, so it shouldn't have been too busy yet.

However, he didn't know what the situation was on Justin's end. Jimmy got disconnected without anyone picking up, so he put the phone on the coffee table and turned on the TV, randomly selecting a drama to pass the time.

About half an hour later, his phone rang. Jimmy glanced at the number and confirmed it was Justin.

Jimmy answered the call, "Hi, any news?"

Justin replied, "Yeah, but it's not good news. The forensic doctor couldn't identify the poisonous substance they were poisoned with. Now it's unclear whose directive it is, but they've sealed off Romany's villa."

Jimmy frowned and asked, "A lockdown? That's it? No further action?"

Justin said, "Yes, that's the strangest part. For now, they've only sealed off the scene to prevent it from being tampered with. The forensic doctor has submitted the autopsy report, and now the case is essentially shelved; no detectives have been assigned to follow up. Our informants inside the police force are no longer able to access the latest information."

Jimmy clarified, "So, you're saying the case is abnormal, but the police can't find any leads, and then someone interfered with them, causing them to be unable to close the case as death by asphyxiation, and instead forced to suspend the case and seal the scene off, preventing others from entering. Right?"

After thinking it over, Justin said, "Yes, that's a reasonable assumption. Let's leave it at that, it shouldn't be related to you. They don't have any clue that points towards you from his house, I can assure that."

Jimmy said, "Alright, let me know if they lift the seal."

Justin responded, "Sure, when the police get results, I'll inform you. This piece of intelligence is on the house."

Jimmy replied, "Thanks, remember to hit me up when you're in New York."

Jimmy hung up the phone, somewhat speechless. Just the night before, he had visited Romany's villa and had taken a look around. Yet, the police had not found any information related to him. He wasn't sure what to say; were the police incompetent?

For the time being, Jimmy set aside this troubling matter and continued watching TV, too lazy to go out after running around all day.

While Jimmy was busy calling Justin, Ruiz had arrived at Hughes's office.

Ruiz asked, "Hughes, what's the urgent matter that brought me back at this hour?"

Hughes said, "Sit. How did today's case go?"

Ruiz answered, "Four robbers blew up the subway entrance to escape, but we caught two of them. One of them was apprehended by Jimmy. The case is now with the Queens office, and the robbers are being held there."

Hughes asked, "How is he? Tell me about the process."

Ruiz explained, "When we got to the scene, the ESU hadn't made their move yet. About half an hour later, the negotiator came back. I think it was then that the robbers left the lobby for the vault. After the explosion at the bank, NYPD rushed in and found the robbers fleeing. Jimmy immediately ran out, ordering the NYPD at the door to guard the subway entrances along the street. Luckily, he found one of them, and then he started searching for other access points and successfully caught another."

Hughes pondered, "Did he run out on his own? Do you think... it was really just luck?"

Ruiz shook his head, "To call it all luck would be deceiving, but he was quick-thinking to secure the sewer exits upon seeing the blown entrance. You have to consider, no one knew the layout of the bank's underground networks at the time, and he didn't have enough manpower to watch every entrance."

Hughes agreed, "Yeah, I had the same thought. I remember there was a similar incident before; let me check."

Turning around, Hughes took a file from the shelf behind him. Jimmy was the office's most significant variable recently, so Hughes kept his file close at hand, although he had already reviewed it multiple times.

Hughes found a page and handed it to Ruiz, "Take a look at this, the case of the stolen artifact."

After glancing through it, then flipping back through other parts of Jimmy's file, Ruiz noted, "Hmm, with just one surveillance operation, he identified that room as having a high probability of being a suspect's hideout. His judgment is very good."

Ruiz closed the file and handed it back to Hughes, "It seems like you have some thoughts?"

Hughes queried, "What cases do you think he fits best?"

Ruiz didn't respond immediately, lost in thought, and Hughes didn't disturb him.

Hughes had already given it a lot of thought. Jimmy was a promising recruit, whether judged by the FBI Academy's assessments or by his actions over the past month. Even though he was a probationary agent doing fundamental work, he contributed to each case, sometimes significantly.

Any supervisor would want such an agent. More importantly, he was strong in combat, a valuable trait for an agency like the FBI. This strength could even cover for other shortcomings; even if he couldn't solve cases, being an assistant would be enough—many would vie for that role.

Ruiz finally addressed Hughes, "If it were up to me, he'd actually be better suited to NYPD's Detective Bureau, dealing with cases of murder, hostage situations, robbery. His shooting is excellent; for on-scene case handling, his abilities are top-notch."

Hughes watched Ruiz but said nothing, and Ruiz knew he might be stating the obvious. Ruiz continued, "Here, it seems like he could take on various cases, since we always face different dangers. Take my gang-related cases, for example: facing gang members, violence can erupt at any moment."

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