Volume 1: First Arrival Chapter 010 A Clue
"Tie!"
The shout was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, splashing water.
The woman quickly took a few steps back, her eyes still fixed on Kirk. The corners of her mouth raised slightly in a smile, revealing a hint of cunning, and a series of laughs surged from the depths of her throat.
And then, a turn.
The long golden hair slid down like a waterfall, completely covering her proud and blooming face. The woman turned around like an agile antelope and dived into the surging crowd.
There was a low commotion, and the figure left a long ripple and moved away.
At the same time, Kirk could clearly sense the subtle commotion among the people around him. Different figures were blending into the crowd, and a rough look revealed that there were at least three of them. It looked like this was a gang crime, but judging from their proficiency, they should have been active in the subway station for some time.
Obviously, Kirk was too busy to take care of all the people by himself; however, they didn't need to worry, because Kirk was not prepared to chase.
Kirk didn't even plan to start, and just stood there and watched the show quietly from the beginning, which made those who fled in panic seem a little...
madness.
What’s interesting is that this commotion and chaos did not affect the citizens coming in and out of the subway station at all. They just followed the routine and continued to do what they were supposed to do. Not many people even stopped to move.
The bustling scene returned to calm in the blink of an eye.
It seems that this is not a freshwater lake, but a vast ocean. A few stones are not enough to cause any waves.
Of course, most importantly, Kirk has real things to do.
With big strides, Kirk walked through the crowd and headed straight for the corner.
They usually come and go in a hurry and never stop. The homeless people in every corner of the subway are like decorations like trash cans and benches, and it is difficult to attract attention.
If it weren't for the little episode just now, Kirk would not have noticed that he was just an ordinary member of the 70,000 homeless people in the corner, and naturally he would not have noticed that special little detail.
Seeing someone approaching, the homeless man remained indifferent. He didn't even lift his eyelids and treated the person as air. Even though the other person was squatting right in front of him, it still didn't attract his attention. He just kept smoking and enjoying the moment of having a cigarette after breakfast.
"Ahem. Excuse me, can I ask you a question?"
The tramp exhaled a long puff of cigarette, his eyelids still drooping lazily, and he was too lazy to even glance at her.
Then, a picture of "George Washington" appeared in front of his eyes.
This time, the tramp noticed it, and finally raised his eyelids lazily, looking at Kirk with contempt, "One dollar? Are you throwing money away? I have dignity and pride, too, okay? I am not someone you can summon and dismiss at will."
"No?" Kirk was not fooled at all. He pursed his lips, showing a regretful expression, and took the banknote back with both hands.
"Hey, wait, wait!"
The tramp immediately failed.
"Why are you so impatient? Young people are like this nowadays. They have no patience at all and are extremely impatient."
"How about two?"
The tramp held up two black fingers and tried to bargain.
Kirk didn't hesitate for a second and simply refused, "No."
Seeing Kirk was about to stand up, the homeless man grabbed Kirk's hands like a hungry tiger, took out the dollar bill in a flash, stuffed it into his collar, and then showed a flattering smile, "I am your exclusive lover, ask any questions you have, I have absolutely nothing to hide."
Kirk pointed at a yellow ribbon on the homeless man's right wrist and said, "Where did you get this?"
Kirk had just taken a quick glance from a distance and was still a little unsure and unable to make an accurate judgment; now that he had observed it closely, he could officially confirm it—
He noticed in the photos in the investigation files that the two victims, Seth Johnson and Isaiah Robinson, had yellow ribbons on their wrists.
The biggest difficulty in investigating homeless cases is the collection and organization of evidence.
Because they are displaced, it is difficult to confirm their whereabouts.
Also because they almost live in a garbage dump, and finding useful clues among the mountains of discarded items is as difficult as climbing to the sky.
Serial killer cases are more difficult.
Conventionally, the victims' characteristics or connections need to be cross-checked first, and then the common points, which are the reasons why they became prey, are identified.
Then, determine the direction of the investigation based on keywords such as location, time, or person.
However, the uncertainty of homeless people is an unknown factor. Even if some of the same evidence clues are found, it is impossible to determine whether they really belong to the victim, and whether they are directly related to the case.
Perhaps, some evidence has been with them for many years; perhaps, some evidence does not belong to them at all but is garbage thrown away by other homeless people; perhaps, some clues have been lost along with their wandering, or maybe they were picked up or thrown away by others as garbage after ...
Etc., etc.
The possibilities are truly countless.
In other words, the investigation process needs to deal with huge and complicated clues, and then sort them out, confirm them, and check them one by one. This is a daunting project.
Just imagining it makes my scalp tingle.
You can imagine how much manpower this requires.
It is precisely because of this that Kirk needs Adrian's help, and further, the help of the NYPD. Otherwise, if he relies on himself alone, even if the entire evidence library is fully opened without reservation, he will not be able to complete the entire screening by himself.
In the crime scene photos, Kirk remembered that both victims, Seth Johnson and Isaiah Robinson, had yellow ribbons on their wrists when they died.
However, they were the only two of the seven victims, so this was not a commonality.
Today, Kirk saw the yellow ribbon on the third homeless man again, and a guess came to his mind -
Perhaps, this yellow ribbon is a token, such as an event, a place, or a memorial; the other five victims have also appeared, but they did not accept the token, or they accepted it and then threw it away, or they threw it into the garbage dump and the evidence has not been found yet.
And that place is where the serial killer targets his prey.
This is just a possibility.
However, the homeless man in front of him at least proves that the yellow ribbon is not just a piece of trash.
Of course, whether this clue can lead Kirk closer to the truth still needs further confirmation and investigation.
"this?"
The tramp was a little disappointed. He didn't expect that Kirk was interested in an inconspicuous yellow ribbon. He didn't hide his expression and muttered a few words in a low voice -
If it was some exclusive clue or a major secret, the homeless man would probably have continued to try to blackmail the victim, even if he failed. However, the result was just an ordinary yellow ribbon. At least in the homeless man's view, this information had no value, and he could not hide his disappointment.
Without hesitation, the tramp gave the answer directly.
"Distributed yesterday at a soup kitchen in Harlem."
