Legendary FBI Detective
Chapter 393: Sonic, One Piece of Good News, Two Pieces of Bad News

Special Investigation Team, conference room.

As Michelle raised her hand, Luo An, Mona, and Reesi simultaneously shifted their gazes towards her.

Michelle distributed the papers in her hand to the three of them and introduced:

"This lady's name is Anette, and she works in the Federal Postal Department."

"Wow, working in the postal department for twenty years, that's no easy feat."

Luo An, looking at Anette's photo and information, raised his eyebrows and asked:

"Where has she encountered a problem?"

"Unexpectedly, it's about money."

Michelle pulled up a record of Anette's bank account transactions and said:

"Federal law stipulates that in criminal cases, after a federal citizen is selected for jury duty, if their bank account suddenly receives a sum of ten thousand dollars or more within a short period, then that juror and the funds they received will be subject to investigation.

Last Wednesday and last Saturday, our Mrs. Anette deposited 3000 dollars and 6000 dollars in cash into her bank, respectively."

"That adds up to 9000 dollars, just under the threshold of ten thousand dollars."

Reesi chuckled upon hearing this, Luo An nodded and continued to ask:

"So, is there any connection between her and Trevian Sheffield?"

"I've found a bit of a connection."

Michelle didn't speak; instead, Mona, who had been continuously typing at the keyboard beside her, suddenly interjected, and Luo An and Reesi leaned towards her. Mona explained:

"Mrs. Anette herself works in the postal department, and her husband is a doctor, working in a hospital.

Trevian Sheffield never visited that hospital, but his wife, Lonnie Sheffield, had undergone laser hair removal surgery there a while ago."

"..."x3

Upon hearing the name of the surgery, the three besides Mona fell silent for a few seconds, with Luo An being the first to break the quiet, saying:

"Mona, Michelle, the two of you stay with the Special Investigation Team and carefully investigate Trevian Sheffield and his wife Lonnie Sheffield's circumstances, as well as their associates, employees, relatives, etc.

Reesi, come with me, let's go have a chat with Mrs. Anette about the salary and benefits at the Federal Postal Department."

"OK!"

"No problem!"

----

En route, Luo An drove the SUV swiftly forward, while Reesi, sitting in the passenger seat, carefully reviewed the information records of Anette's family:

"The records show that Anette and her husband haven't finished paying off their car loan, mortgage, or student loans, and there's hardly any money left from their monthly wages.

They have a daughter, who was diagnosed with a chronic heart-related illness not long ago... I think this might be why Anette did what she did."

"Highly likely."

Luo An nodded. In this federation, there were simply too many people forced to walk down the path of crime, powerless against the necessities of family and finances.

As an ordinary person living in the federation, from birth to burial, one is almost inextricably bound by loans, and any slight risk can lead one into the abyss.

Upon reaching their destination, Luo An parked the SUV by the roadside and, together with Reesi, headed to Mrs. Anette's home.

Approaching the doorstep of the small apartment, just as Reesi was about to knock, Luo An's expression suddenly changed. He pulled Reesi back and drew a gun from behind his waist.

With his acutely sensitive sense of smell, he had detected the scent of blood.

Seeing this, Reesi's expression also changed. She quickly drew her gun from behind as well, and the two of them, one on the left and one on the right, positioned themselves at the apartment door. Counting down to three, Luo An kicked forcefully at the apartment door.

Bang—

The two quickly checked every room in the apartment with their handguns, confirming that there were no enemies, before loudly calling out to each other:

"Second floor, secure!"

"Basement, secure!"

The pair then holstered their guns and returned to the living room on the first floor, where several plush toys sat, giving off a very warm atmosphere. In the middle of the living room, on the floor, lay a man – Anette's husband.

On the living room sofa sat a woman holding a child. They were Anette and her daughter.

Anette herself was tied to the sofa with ropes around her hands and feet, her face and body bearing numerous bruises and scars, obviously tortured before her death.

Behind Anette's husband, at the center of Anette's forehead, and at the back of Anette's daughter's head, there was a bullet hole each, with the blood that flowed out staining several toppled plush toys red.

The scene was straightforward, and the experienced Reesi and Luo An quickly deduced the scenario at the time of the crime:

Anette's husband had opened the door for the assassin and led the person into the living room with his back to the assailant.

At the time, Anette was sitting on the sofa holding her daughter, so the assassin, upon seeing their targets, did not say a word and directly shot and killed Anette's husband.

Then, the assassin took control of Anette and her daughter and began to torture Anette.

After obtaining the desired clue or answer, the assailant shot and killed Anette and her daughter and then left.

As for what clue or answer the assailant wanted, it was not hard to guess whether Anette had told anyone else about her informing on Trevian Sheffield.

"Damn killer! Son of a bitch!"

Looking at the little girl in Anette's arms, Reesi's face turned ugly, and after cursing loudly, she took out her phone and called the Forensic Team. The scene needed their treatment.

At the same time, Luo An, with his arms crossed, was earnestly surveying the scene before suddenly walking towards the television in the living room, crouching down and starting to inspect it.

After Reesi hung up the phone, seeing Luo An's actions, she hurriedly approached him and asked:

"What did you find?"

"A new toy."

Following Luo An's guidance, Reesi noticed a fuzzy, two-person-height plush toy sitting by the television and asked with some hesitation:

"Is this… Sonic?"

"No, it's a camera."

Luo An picked up the blue plush toy, pinched its left eye, and only then did Reesi realize that this eye was actually a camera.

"This must have been Anette's backup plan."

Thinking it over, Luo An stood up and glanced at the corpse on the sofa cradling the girl, then mused:

"Anette must have known the dangers of working with someone like Trevian Sheffield, so she planned to use surveillance footage or other items to threaten him, to protect her own safety.

But as an ordinary person, she clearly underestimated a desperado like Trevian Sheffield; the assassin he sent didn't bargain with her at all."

Reesi nodded grimly and then added:

"After seeing the assassin kill her husband, Anette knew she and her daughter wouldn't survive the day and thus, until death, didn't reveal the camera's existence.

It might have been for redemption, or perhaps she wanted us to avenge her family."

Luo An patted Reesi on the arm and led her up to the second floor of the apartment, where they might find something Anette had hidden.

But the second floor showed signs of having been searched, and Luo An and Reesi found no clues; items like laptops and journals had vanished, most likely taken by the assassin.

Soon, the Forensic Team arrived, and Luo An and Reesi handed the scene over to them, instructing them to clarify the three bullets that caused Anette's family's deaths and to give them the ballistic report as soon as possible, and then they drove the SUV back to the Special Investigation Team.

Taking the Sonic toy that Luo An had brought back, Mona busily fiddled with it for a moment before connecting the camera to a computer with a data cable.

After tapping the keyboard a few times, Mona looked up and asked:

"Everyone, I have one piece of good news and… two pieces of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"