Time passed by the second, and the pursuit of Darcy Ross continued relentlessly.
At 2 a.m., Pearce's phone was silent, and the police tried once again to track Darcy's mobile number, but it was still out of contact.
At 2:30 a.m., still nothing.
At 3 a.m., the phone was still unreachable.
Luke knew there might be a problem.
Darcy might have sensed something was wrong and had fled earlier than expected.
The only lead left was a black Volvo sedan.
After 3 a.m., Luke was struggling to stay awake and decided to catch some sleep.
The break room was already occupied by others, so he had no choice but to head home.
On his way back, Luke didn't drive but caught a ride with David.
Luke reclined his seat and yawned, "I knew I should not have waited this long; should've gone home to sleep earlier."
David sipped his coffee, "Stop complaining, at least you don't have to drive."
"Do you really think I just caught a ride with you because I didn't want to drive?"
"Of course not, my Mercedes G500 is spacious enough. I could even make do there for the night. I just had something to tell you, which is why I hitched a ride."
"Can you appreciate my good intentions now?"
"Then spill it, move me a bit."
Luke glanced at David, "How well do you get along with Captain Jones from the Narcotics Division?"
"We've met a few times, but not very familiar, what about him?"
"He came to me a few days ago, inquiring about you. Their deputy has been transferred, and he wanted to recommend someone for the position, interested?"
David was somewhat surprised, "He wants to recommend me for the deputy chief?"
"Yes, he's heard that your hands-on style in handling cases could be a good fit for the Narcotics Division," Luke yawned again. "I've been a bit busy and hadn't mentioned it to you.
Now that the case might involve the division, I thought it was necessary to inform you."
After a moment of silence, David asked, "Do you think I should go for it?"
"It's really about what you think?"
"I certainly don't want to be transferred, but if it's for a promotion to deputy... it's a good opportunity.
Luke pondered for a moment, "If Jones does bring it up, you might want to gauge his intentions. See if he's just looking for someone to be on the front lines or if he genuinely needs an assistant.
If it's the former, I'd advise you not to go."
"Don't mention it, I didn't really say anything nice about you."
David shook his head, chuckling.
Susan convened a brief case briefing.
Afterward, everyone's investigation focused on the black Volvo.
The Volvo was an older model and did not have a tracking device installed, making it impossible to trace through the manufacturer.
They had to rely on the most primitive and straightforward method: checking the surveillance footage.
The team started reviewing the footage, with Luke moving through it much faster than the others.
In the afternoon, Luke found the black Volvo sedan with the license plate number 8Aeb392 in the road surveillance.
The Volvo headed towards the suburbs and entered Highway 1.
It disappeared about ten kilometers from the entrance of Highway 1.
More precisely, the car vanished between surveillance spots A113 and A114.
Luke guessed that the person might have abandoned the car to flee.
An hour later, Luke and others drove to where the car had last been seen on Highway 1.
Considering that the car might contain plasma, the police also brought a bloodhound.
The bloodhound is particularly sensitive to the scent of blood and is often used for tracking and capturing suspects.
With the bloodhound's help, the police were no longer grappling in the dark. Combined with the tire tracks, they quickly located the car's trail.
After searching for nearly an hour, they found the black Volvo sedan at the base of a steep cliff.
This place was far from the highway, rarely visited by people. If it were not for the bloodhound, it would have been difficult for the police to find this spot.
Not to mention someone finding it and reporting it.
In the desolate parts of America, many similar cliffs are prime spots for dumping bodies.
The cliff was steep, with some short trees growing on the slope. The Volvo sedan had broken several thinner trees and was stopped by a thicker tree.
To inspect the car below the steep slope, they first needed to secure themselves with safety ropes.
David was the first one down.
Luke was the second, still holding a dagger to chop through obstructing branches.
Although the police wanted to keep the scene as intact as possible, they couldn't risk officers getting scratched by branches.
Luke, secured by a rope, approached the car but didn't get too close; the car was merely stuck on some short trees and wasn't very stable.
Through the car window, Luke saw a Caucasian man inside.
More precisely, a corpse.
He recognized the identity of the person—Darcy Ross!
An hour later, the car was hoisted up from the steep slope, and the body was also lifted up, which simplified the forensic examination.
But the survey team wasn't as lucky. Inside and outside the car were both part of the crime scene, and they too had to descend the steep slope to collect evidence.
The car was placed on the ground, and upon opening the car door, they finally saw the condition of the body clearly.
The hands of the body were tied, there was a noticeable bloodstain on the right side of the neck, and a puncture-like blood hole.
Unlike the previous bite marks with double punctures, this time there was only one hole and the wound appeared deeper.