Office area of Team Five investigations.
After a moment of contemplation, Luo An signaled Mona to print out the information and photo of the girl from the computer.
He planned to hand it over to Philomena to inquire if the girl was the sister Philomena was searching for.
If she wasn't the sister, there was no need to inform Philomena about this case; Mona could continue the investigation.
Seeing the looks from Reesi and Mona, Luo An said expressionlessly:
"We must inform Philomena of the girl's death, since she is a relative after all."
The information in the computer indicated that no one had claimed the girl's body to date.
Even for the sake of the girl's funeral arrangements, they should inform Philomena about this.
A few minutes passed, and Mona had prepared all the necessary information and photographs; Luo An took the folder, tilted his head towards Reesi.
Reesi patted her cheeks, stood up, and walked into the interrogation room with Luo An.
The girl indeed was Philomena's sister.
Upon hearing of her sister's death, Philomena sat in the chair, stunned for a long time, then covered her eyes with her hands and quietly began to weep.
Hearing Philomena's words, Reesi quickly comforted her, and once Philomena had calmed down, she handed her a sheet of paper and asked softly:
"Phil, what exactly happened?"
Luo An was also somewhat puzzled by Philomena's reaction.
He had speculated that upon learning of her sister's death, Philomena might instinctively deny it.
Shouting, or even refusing to reveal who was behind Brent Hughes' murder, was within his expectations.
Luo An had already thought ahead about solutions for this scenario.
But unexpectedly, Philomena seemed to have already guessed the possibility of her sister's death.
And she attributed all the reasons to herself.
Hearing Reesi's question, Philomena was silent for a while, repeated that phrase, and then said in a low voice:
"After I made some money for him, he treated me much better.
One night a long time ago, after he was done with his business on me, I took the opportunity to suggest sending some of the money I earned back to my family.
Not only did he agree, but he also allowed me to sit in front of him and talk to my parents over the phone."
At this point, Philomena's expression became incredibly complicated.
Hearing the man's words, Philomena was very happy, as she hadn't spoken to her parents for a long time, only being able to text them.
Because the man was sitting in front of Philomena, she didn't dare to reveal what she was going through over the phone.
She could only tell her parents that she was doing well, that her food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all fine, and that she had made quite a bit of money, so she was sending some back to help support the family.
But what Philomena didn't expect was that her cousin, who had just turned 18 that night, happened to be visiting her house.
Hearing her cousin saying she was modeling in New York and living a colorful life every day over the phone, the idea of joining her cousin instantly sprang into her cousin's mind.
Philomena couldn't let her cousin fall into this trap, so she quickly hung up the phone.
"But I never expected, she still came to New York."
Philomena, with her hands covering her cheeks, said tremblingly:
"Three days ago, suddenly a strange call came to my phone, and when I answered it, I found out it was my cousin!"
On the other end of the phone, her cousin was very anxious, telling Philomena that she had already arrived in New York but had been deceived and was now being forced into prostitution.
This phone call was made while the sex client was busy with a friend and she secretly took his phone, hid in the bathroom to call Philomena.
Philomena's cousin wanted her to save her through the phone, but before Philomena could ask where her cousin was, a man's reprimand suddenly came through the phone, and then the line was disconnected.
Philomena was extremely panicked and urgently wanted to rescue her.
However, she had no idea where her cousin was and couldn't call the police; moreover, she couldn't leave as there were men assigned to monitor her constantly.
It wasn't until today that Philomena finally managed to break free from the surveillance by taking a risky leap from the balcony while a Wall Street old man took a bath, and she ran to the NYPD police station…
After hearing Philomena's account, Reesi looked grim, feeling very complex inside.
Sitting next to her, Agent Luo An also looked uneasy, but he caught an important point.
The seaside pit female corpse case was discovered the day before yesterday, while Philomena's cousin made the call three days ago, the body was numbered 21 out of 22.
Agent Luo An, resting his chin in his hand, muttered to himself:
"Philomena's cousin must have been killed by the murderer shortly after making the call."
But Agent Luo An didn't speculation with Philomena as he had a more pressing question to ask:
"Philomena, who is this man you spoke of? What's his name?"
"His name is Salbato Cristo."
Upon hearing Agent Luo An's question, Philomena didn't hesitate, she looked up immediately and said through gritted teeth:
"His father is an immigrant from Europe, and he himself is connected with many European-led gangs in New York.
Salbato Cristo's public identity, though, is the owner of a high-end jewelry rental store!"
After uncovering the identity of the mastermind behind Brent Hughes' murder, Agent Luo An nodded decisively, stood up, and prepared to leave the interrogation room.
Just as he pulled the door open, Philomena, looking at Agent Luo An's retreating figure, pleaded loudly:
"Agent Luo An, I beg you, please help catch the murderer who killed my cousin!"
Agent Luo An paused upon hearing this but did not answer and still quickly walked out of the interrogation room.
Seeing this, Philomena staggered slightly, her face paling, then turned her gaze anxiously towards Reesi.
Philomena was not very familiar with the speed at which the FBI handled cases.
But with this group of agents clearing up the Brent Hughes case so quickly, Philomena believed they could also swiftly find her cousin's murderer.
Seeing the look in Philomena's eyes, Reesi's brow twitched, but she made no promise either.
Although Reesi sympathized with the plight of the Philomena sisters, that case wasn't hers to take on demand.
Reesi asked herself, and even in Unit Five, she wasn't at the level to decide.
Only two people in Unit Five had the authority to decide whether to take the case: Augustus, the team leader, and Agent Luo An.
Augustus as the leader naturally had the power.
While Agent Luo An, the actual leader on case-solving, not only could solve cases but also brought the team bonuses.
All agents of Unit Five didn't say it out loud, but deep down, they had already figured Agent Luo An as the deputy team leader.
So, naturally, Agent Luo An also had the power to decide whether to take this case.
Thinking this, Reesi pretended not to see Philomena's red-eyed pleading look and followed quickly behind Agent Luo An out of the interrogation room.
Upon leaving the interrogation room, Agent Luo An did not waste words and immediately asked Mona to find out Salbato Cristo's current location and instructed Reesi to apply for a search warrant.
Hearing Agent Luo An's words, Mona immediately nodded and began typing swiftly on the keyboard.
Reesi put the files back on her workstation, prepared to leave the office area to apply for the search warrant, but hesitated for a few seconds; then, she tilted her head to look at Agent Luo An and asked quietly:
"Agent Luo An, that serial killer case at the beach, what do you think?"
Beside them, Mona, upon hearing this conversation, paused her typing and also turned to look at Agent Luo An.