At night, a full moon hung in the sky, its bright moonlight illuminating the road.
On Kelm Street, a teenager wearing headphones was cycling from east to west.
The youth had dark skin and was carrying a heavy-looking brown backpack on his back.
The night wind was a bit chilly, and there were no pedestrians in sight, only the occasional car passed by.
Up ahead was a crossroad with no streetlights, the teenager looked left and right, saw no cars on the road, and proceeded to cross directly.
Suddenly, a black Volkswagen sedan came up from behind and struck the cycling teenager from the side.
With a "bang!", the teenager was flung into the air and crashed heavily onto the ground.
The Robbery and Murder Department's first squad.
Luke held the morning meeting as usual, standing beside the whiteboard, marking up the newly obtained clues.
At this moment, the whiteboard displayed two tree diagrams, each topped with the name and photo of a victim.
The first victim was Hashimoto Yumi.
The second victim was Ma Jiehui.
Several suspects were also marked,
These tree diagrams helped the police analyze the case and made the relationships between the suspects clear at a glance.
Seated next to the whiteboard, Luke said, "Everyone, tell me about the clues you've gathered."
Jenny said, "We searched the car of the second victim, Ma Jiehui, and examined his dashcam. He spent most of his time at the restaurant and didn't drive much.
He also hasn't visited the street or the vicinity of the apartments where the first victim, Hashimoto Yumi, practiced prostitution."
Before, Luke had speculated that the second victim, Ma Jiehui, might have been a client of Hashimoto Yumi, which would link the two, but now it seemed this conjecture was unlikely to stand.
"Does anyone else have any new investigative leads?"
Lil' Black said, "We've been looking into the victim Hashimoto Yumi's assistant, Melanie Hickman. Recently, she had seen a psychologist."
This lined up with Luke's own deductions; during his earlier questioning, he noticed this woman seemed somewhat paranoid.
She was Hashimoto Yumi's assistant and had failed to complete the tasks assigned by Hashimoto Yumi on time. Normally, one would just inform their superior and face a possible scolding.
But Melanie Hickman was different; to conceal this, she lied about the office being robbed, an approach which Luke found abnormal.
The deputy chief said, "If Melanie Hickman really has mental health issues, then we can't understand her behavior through the lens of a rational person.
Even if she doesn't have a strong motive for murder, she may still kill.
Looking at her previous false police report, she's the type to cover up a minor issue regardless of the consequences.
Suppose her mental issues had worsened, becoming more paranoid.
And this time, she again failed to complete a task given by Hashimoto Yumi, and she was unable to honestly tell Hashimoto Yumi, or even face her. To avoid such a situation, could she have killed Hashimoto Yumi?"
Luke frowned in thought. Murdering someone because of failing to face a leader over uncompleted work?
A normal person would never do such a thing, but was Melanie Hickman still sane?
Probably only the psychologist would know.
"Marcus, look up Melanie Hickman's psychologist."
The door to the office opened, and forensic doctor Hila entered, "Good morning, any progress on the case?"
Luke replied, "We've looked into the relationships surrounding the two victims and haven't found any direct link between them, nor a clear motive for any of the suspects.
We've just found that one of the suspects might have mental health issues, which might be a direction worth investigating.
Have you found anything new on your end?"
Hila pulled up a chair and sat down, "The autopsy on the second body is done, but the report won't be ready until the afternoon. However, I did come across something new, or should I say, a new body."
"Last night, there was a hit-and-run on Kelm Street. The victim was a twelfth-grade student who was stabbed in the chest, and his face was carved with the letter 'M.'
Considering that the previous two victims also had letters inscribed on them, I think this new case might be related to the earlier ones.
Of course, that's just my speculation."
"Did the victim die from being hit, or from being stabbed?"
"I'm not sure; another forensic doctor is responsible for that autopsy. We just exchanged some 'informal' information."
Luke asked, "Who's handling this case?"
Jeff Brandi, captain of the third squad of the Robbery and Murder Department.
"OK, I'll have a talk with him."
After sending off the forensic doctor Hila, Luke didn't go straight to Jeff Brandi.
The Robbery and Murder Department had four squads in total; the first and second squads were directly managed by Reid.
The third and fourth squads were overseen by the deputy chief of the department, Magna Meit.
According to the deputy chief, there seemed to be some tension between Magna Meit and Reid.
Though the rumor was unconfirmed, Luke felt it had some merit.
After thinking, he decided to first talk to Reid to coordinate...
A white man walked into the first squad's office.
He appeared to be around fifty, tall, with short stubble and slightly flushed cheeks, calling out loudly, "Ladies, your guests have arrived."
The deputy chief waved his right hand, "How long has it been since you brushed your teeth, you idiot? You smell like you've eaten dog shit."