After completing the transcript, I returned to the Robbery and Murder Department at five in the afternoon.
It had only taken five hours from the discovery of the body to the finding of the deceased's belongings, a relatively fast pace for the investigation.
Once the deceased's belongings were found, confirmation of the victim's identity could be expedited.
Luke examined the blue leather bag found and discovered the deceased's driver's license inside.
Phone number, 626 836 348*
This phone number was a dead line and could not be dialed.
The age listed on the driver's license was 21, but based on the preliminary assessment by the forensic doctor, the victim's age was around 16, a whole five years apart.
The chances of the autopsy results being erroneous were minimal, so the problem likely lay with the driver's license. Luke considered two possibilities, the first being that the driver's license belonged to someone else and was just placed in the victim's purse.
Since the victim's head had been sawed off, facial comparison was not possible.
The second possibility was that the driver's license was fake.
It was common for minors to forge driver's licenses, and they would typically pick the age of 21.
Luke handed the driver's license over to Matthew for verification.
Besides the driver's license, some female products were found in the purse, but they were not of much value for identifying the person.
The most important piece of evidence was an apple phone with a pink case, found in the tent.
Luke handed the phone over to the tech team to unlock it.
For professional matters, trust the professionals. By the time Luke had finished a pot of tea, the tech team had cracked the iPhone's password.
The SIM card was missing, but valuable clues, such as call logs and home addresses, could still be retrieved from various phone applications.
These clues could help the police confirm the victim's identity more quickly.
Soon, Matthew also had results—the driver's license was fake, and the information was stolen.
However, the photo in the driver's license and the photos in the phone were of the same person, which should be the real appearance of the deceased.
After a day's investigation, the police finally knew what the headless woman looked like, a significant breakthrough.
Luke reassigned the tasks.
Deputy team leader Raymond was to interrogate the white vagrant to see if he was hiding any other important clues.
Jackson and Jack were to check the family address found on the victim's phone to see if it was her real residence.
Jenny was in charge of contacting the numbers in the phone's directory.
Everyone took action separately.
Luke first studied the phone directory for a while, and upon seeing the notes in the contacts, he roughly guessed the victim's occupation.
Most of the victim's call logs were in the late hours, with some notes represented by initials followed by some preferences, such as uniform fetish, foot fetish, leg fetish, etc.
Luke found the last person who had a call with the victim last night in the call logs.
The victim's last phone call was at 10:30 PM, and the note for the contact was "Mr. Corien."
This person had called the deceased twice last night, the first call was connected, the second was not.
Pointing at the number, Luke said to Jenny beside him, "Call this number first."
Jenny glanced at the mobile number, dialed it with a spare card, but the phone was temporarily unreachable, with no voicemail either.
The first number didn't work.
Luke chose a second number, which had also contacted the victim at ten o'clock the previous night and had called several times before; it was likely a 'regular customer.'
Jenny dialed the number, and after it connected, a man's voice came through, "This is Tony."
Jenny said, "I'm a friend of Novina's, she said you were great and referred you to me."
"That damn woman, why wouldn't she take my business? I called her last night, and she refused me.
I always tip her generously, such an ungrateful woman."
"Hey, you free? Maybe we can meet up."
"Send a photo first, I'm very picky."
Jenny probed, "Did you see Novina last night?"
"No, that stinking woman stood me up, acting like she's the only one selling in LA, fuck, and she passed me on to you. What does that mean?
Is she not satisfied with my performance?
I want to complain about her."
"How do you plan to complain about her?" Jenny asked with a worried tone.
"I will complain to Mr. Petrov about her, teach her what respect means, I'm not someone she can toy with."
Jenny noted down the name and continued, "Can you give me your zip code? We're providing house calls now."
"No, no need for a house call, my wife would kill you, crush you dead with her 200-pound ass, wait for my call.
Oh, right, send a photo first." The man said and then hung up the phone.
Jenny looked disgusted, "Can I give his mobile number to David? Maybe they haven't met their quota for the month."
"If that makes you happy," Luke shrugged, inferring from the conversation that this man wasn't a major suspect.
However, he had mentioned a name, Petrov, and if Luke wasn't mistaken, Novina was likely a prostitute, and Petrov could be her handler.
After some thought, Luke took out his phone and dialed Petrov's number.
Moments later, the phone was answered, and a deep voice sounded, "Who is this?"
"Is this Mr. Petrov?"
"Yes, what do you want?"