Volume 1: First Arrival Chapter 042 A Doubt
"So, this is indeed a false report as a prank?"
After receiving the alarm call and arriving at the scene, the police must quickly organize and judge the situation based on the scene with limited resources and time.
Maybe they don't get it right every time; but that's their job.
Judging from the comprehensive information currently available, everything points to the fact that the case was a false report as a prank.
If so, it's not surprising.
Especially during holidays, it is likely that naughty kids will report false crimes and play pranks more than once or twice in a day.
Kirk's mouth curled up slightly, "That may not be the case."
Callum: ?
Alex's head snapped up, grasping at a straw, "Really?"
Kirk did not keep it a secret. "Although Mr. Johnson did not lie and he should be cleared of suspicion, the curtains and carpets in the room have indeed been changed."
"One of the curtains is a slightly darker color and doesn't match the curtain next to it."
“Also, the placement of the carpet was slightly offset, so you could see the sun marks on the wooden floor.”
"I can't say what this means, there are many possible interpretations."
"For example, when the curtains were replaced and cleaned last week, the cleaner did not match the correct curtains; for example, the cleaner accidentally slipped while cleaning the room, causing the carpet to move out of position."
"And so on and so forth."
"But there is also a possibility that if there was indeed an accident in the room, the curtains and carpets were stained with blood, and someone replaced them immediately, then it would make sense."
Alex was very excited, and his decadence was swept away in an instant, and he became full of energy again.
Callum had different ideas, and frowned slightly, "Kirk, from the time the incident occurred to the time I arrived at the scene, it was only twenty-five minutes, thirty minutes at most."
"You are saying that someone not only killed someone in such a short time, but also hid the body and cleaned up the scene to conceal the truth."
“It’s simply an impossible task.”
"Also, where is the body? How did the murderer hide the body in such a chaotic and high-profile situation? We didn't see the body."
In just a few words, Callum grasped the key point. The matter was indeed full of doubts, with inexplicable contradictions everywhere, and the whole incident seemed strange.
According to normal procedures, the police should ask the Crime Scene Division to collect evidence, draw inferences from clues, and finally obtain key evidence; but the problem is that everything is normal at the moment, there is no body and no victims, he cannot file a case, and naturally there is no Crime Scene Division.
Kirk nodded slightly in agreement, "So, we need to find witnesses."
Things, hidden strangeness——
Originally, the police had completed their work. They confirmed the scene and questioned the parties involved. Based on the existing evidence, it was very likely that the child had played a prank.
There has always been a saying in the North American law enforcement system: "No body, no case."
To give a simple example, a serial killer surrenders himself and claims that he has murdered thirty people, but this does not count; in the end the court must sentence based on the number of bodies found. Even if he says thirty, if the police only find eight, the sentence is based on eight.
Of course, there may be variables depending on the specific circumstances of a particular case, but this is the basic rule.
The situation at hand is the same.
Despite the presence of witnesses, when police arrived at the scene, they found neither a body nor a victim, which meant they were unable to build a case.
If Callum leaves the Plaza Hotel now, they won't have to bear any responsibility because he has completed all the procedures according to the rules and regulations.
However!
The key point is that there are indeed some things that are a little strange; but it’s hard to explain why.
The details Kirk captured were indeed a point, but they were too weak and far-fetched to be enough for the NYPD to file a case. What Callum said was not without reason.
For the NYPD, it is now in an ambiguous position. Callum can turn around and leave to avoid offending the powerful and ensure that the Plaza Hotel can restore order as soon as possible. He can also continue to block the hotel and investigate to see if he can dig up more suspicious points. Any choice has its reason.
You can check it or not.
But that wasn't the case for Kirk.
As a private detective, one doubt, one anomaly, is enough. Even if there is insufficient evidence, he tends to believe the child's statement.
Of course, Kirk also understands that there is insufficient evidence and he cannot paint a complete picture, so he needs to find eyewitnesses, that is, his clients.
Memory is a very interesting thing. Many times, eyewitnesses think they saw nothing, but in fact, their sense of smell, hearing, taste and visual blind spots often retain details that they are not aware of. Kirk needs to discover these through face-to-face conversations.
-Callum glanced at Kirk and paused for a moment, "Where do you think the child might be hiding?"
Looking towards Alex.
Alex was a little embarrassed. "After the child contacted us, we left him in the lobby and left a security guard with him. We were going to contact his parents. We needed a guardian to be present, but obviously, his parents were not in the hotel. Neither of them answered the phone, so we couldn't get in touch with them."
"At the time, the scene was a bit chaotic and we had to control the situation."
"Then……"
Alex was too embarrassed to continue talking, but the facts were clear:
The child took advantage of the security guard's distraction to escape the scene, and may even have fled the Plaza Hotel directly before the hotel lockdown was completed.
No wonder the lobby manager was convinced that this was a prank. If it wasn’t a false report, why would the child run away?
But in Kirk's view, there are other possibilities.
Seeing that Alex couldn't help, Kirk thought about it carefully and gave an unexpected answer, "Central Park."
Callum: ...
For a moment, I didn't know where to start complaining. Where did this idea come from?
Kirk, "I mean, there are two possibilities, one is Toy Town, and the other is Central Park."
"Remember? The kid trying to recap the plot of 'Home Alone 2' and looking back at the hotel through a telescope in Central Park and accidentally discovering the incident?"
"Imagine an eleven-year-old child witnessing a murder - assuming for the moment that everything is real, how would he deal with it?"
"Either, look for his parents or stay in the crowd to avoid being alone. Now it seems that his parents have forgotten him, and he is just like Kevin in 'Home Alone'; or, flee the scene to ensure your own safety ."
“Toy Town and Central Park, those are two iconic locations in the movie.”
I see.
Central Park really exists in real life.
But the Duncan Toy City in the movie is fictional, and was based on the Schwartz Toy City located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street; and the actual filming location of the movie was not in New York, but in Chicago.
It is conceivable that when a loyal movie fan is ready to retrace the movie route, Central Park will be more realistic than Toy Town.
So Kirk gave his own guess, "Central Park is more likely."
But Callum was embarrassed. "Kirk, you should know how big Central Park is, right? If we want to search for a child in Central Park, the police force of the 14th Precinct is far from enough. We need backup. But now we don't even have a case. How can we apply for backup?"
"No, no, no, no." Kirk shook his head repeatedly, "In 'Home Alone 2', there is a pigeon lady like this..."
Kirk looked at Callum, only to find that Callum looked confused:?
Kirk was a little depressed, "Callum, haven't you seen that movie?"
"No, I didn't." Callum's eyes were full of innocence.
Kirk, “You didn’t have a childhood.”
Callum, "Are you sure? When was that movie? Maybe, that wasn't my childhood."
Erics, "1992."
Callum suddenly realized, "Oh, that year, I was only five years old. It was definitely not my childhood."
Kirk's back was riddled with arrows.
