With the efforts of Holz and his colleagues, they had been busy from noon until around seven or eight in the evening before they were roughly done inspecting the surroundings of Mrs. Haas.
In the meantime, Dean had gone back downtown to make some preparations. Once he had confirmed the target’s location, he drove back to Mrs. Haas’s place, bringing food and drinks for everyone.
"Guys, how’s it going?" Dean asked.
"I feel like I’m going to have nightmares tonight..."
Harry and Robert, looking pale, stood up from the ground.
Harry, with a distressed face, pointed at bags filling three pickup trucks. "Those are all bone meal. Holz said that if we exclude the parts that have already decomposed, there are more than two thousand people’s worth here."
Robert pointed to the vehicles that had arrived later. "All the early buried bodies are up there—seventeen in total, all buried in the forest, found with detectors."
"That’s normal," Dean commented. "With such a large number of bodies, they would typically be processed to separate flesh from bone for concealment, which is why there’s so much bone meal here. If I’m not mistaken, there’s specialized machinery for this in the apartment."
"Yes, in the kitchen. A professional flesh-bone separation production line, including ovens and high-power air purifiers. It’s practically a slaughterhouse," Holz said palely as he walked over. "Honestly, Dean, the cases I’ve experienced with you in this short time are more thrilling than a whole year’s worth in the past. But this case is too big; I’ve got an ominous feeling."
"I know what you mean," Dean sighed. "We stumbled upon it. We can only hope some fool jumps out to take the fall; otherwise, it’ll be a headache for the higher-ups at the detective bureau."
Watching the two of them speak cryptically, Robert and Harry exchanged glances. Then, they suddenly walked up to Holz, grabbed him, and started shaking him, demanding, "Come on, what ominous feeling?"
They didn’t dare mess with Dean. But Holz? Heh. The good are always bullied.
Holz rolled his eyes. "Do you think this is bone meal from two thousand pigs? With such a big case, who do you think will jump out?"
Harry and Robert chorused, "FBI?"
"Yes," Holz chuckled. "Normally, they’d have been here by now, drawn by the scent. Since they haven’t shown up, I’m afraid this case is too thorny, and they’ve decided to hide their heads in the sand."
The FBI’s powers within the United States are indeed significant. But the number of FBI members dying on duty or encountering accidents is not small either; otherwise, they wouldn’t need to recruit new people so often. In this regard, they are far less arrogant than the CIA. After all, a dog is always more ferocious when biting strangers.
「The scene processing was now complete.」
The implications were enormous. Dean immediately relayed the information to Monet and Old Hunter.
Monet’s reaction aside, Old Hunter sounded very downcast and embarrassed, hanging up the phone hurriedly with no intention of getting involved.
Before receiving a response from his superiors, Dean investigated the situation further. Currently, over one hundred and twenty elderly residents were living there. According to statements from the female helpers, residents at Mrs. Haas’s charitable nursing apartment came and went frequently, rarely staying for more than three months. The turnover of female helpers was also high; after all, caring for so many elderly people was no easy task. So, apart from Arthur, whose limbs Dean had broken, no one currently knew just how many solitary elderly individuals had been buried underground here.
However, the surviving elderly residents were not in good condition. It was unclear whether their dazed state was due to their own drinking and drug use or the "nourishment" provided by the food there.
Dealing with these matters was too much for the detective bureau and the local precinct alone; they had to involve other government officials.
「At nine in the evening.」
Everyone was fretting over how to deal with these elderly people so they could finish up and go home early. Dean finally received a call from Monet.
"Dean, about this matter, the higher-ups have made a decision. Someone will come to you to handle this. Don’t let anyone leave before they arrive!"
"Is it very troublesome?"
"Such a scandal should not surface in a major city like Los Angeles; it would bring shame upon everyone."
"Understood, I’ll handle it."
After hanging up, Dean smirked coldly. This was why he had deliberately made Harry and the others call so many people over. With fewer people, he feared he might die a hero’s death. Now, it was just a matter of seeing what price those in charge were willing to pay to resolve this.
This was different from the Lincoln Farm incident, which had been entirely under the Carmen Family’s control. This time, things were completely different. Some wanted to cover up the matter, while others eagerly wished to escalate it, preferably dragging everyone involved down and crushing those hidden behind it underfoot.
To quell this incident, those stained with blood money from the dead would have to pay a hefty price in cold, hard cash.
The forensic team and the bald Hawk were both well-acquainted with Dean, so at his subtle hint, they reluctantly continued to wait there.
「At ten-fifteen in the evening.」
More than twenty fire engines and buses, led by several cars, arrived at this secluded nursing site.
Three stern-faced men got out of a car and addressed the ragtag group, who were puffing clouds of smoke, "Who’s in charge here?"
"Me!" Dean stepped forward. "The fourth squad and I initially came across this place by chance. But the reality was far more horrifying than we imagined. I felt the matter was too big, so I reported it."