Chapter 1152 The murdered woman

Richmond is the capital of Virginia. If you drive, you need to travel through Maryland and Washington, DC, which is at least five or six hours' drive.

But for Bombardier business jets, it was just a matter of time. In less than two hours, members of the wanted criminal team arrived at the scene of the crime.

The local state police had already set up a cordon outside the house, and there were many neighbors watching the excitement. Jack could tell from his skin color and clothing that this was at least a middle-class community.

When the FBI got out of the car, the medical examiner and assistant from the local medical examiner's office were carrying the body out on a stretcher. Jiejie stepped forward to say hello to the police sergeant in charge of the scene and introduced herself.

Jack and Clay stopped the medical examiner and asked about the cause of death and related details. Jubal walked directly into the house with Hannah and Aubrey.

Twenty minutes later, everyone met again in the living room where the body was found, and exchanged the information they had just collected.

Jiejie spoke first, "The deceased's name was Valerie Barnes. She was a doctor by profession. She was 42 years old and her husband was Navy Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Barnes."

"Was it the body that my husband found?"

Jubal asked that for a woman who is murdered at home, the first suspect is always her husband, followed by her lover.

Jiejie shook her head, with a hint of sympathy on her face, "No, it's Rachel Barnes, the victim's ten-year-old daughter. She spent the night at a friend's house last night and found it when she came home today. The neighbor called the police.”

As she spoke, she pointed to the backyard of the house and said, "The poor girl is behind now."

Jubal looked at Jack, "Cause of death?"

"He was shot in the back, one shot fatal. The time of death should be between 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock this morning.

Clay judged from the shape of the bullet hole that it should be a small-caliber bullet such as .38, but the details had to wait for the forensic doctor to remove the bullet left in the body of the deceased.

After I bribed him with two servings of lemon sherbet pudding, the kind old gentleman said he would get rid of the body as soon as possible. "

Jack observed the scene while narrating. The body fell to the ground under the porch between the dining room and the living room. There was still a large pool of semi-coagulated blood on the ground.

The area around the body where the body fell was very clean. There were only two small bloody handprints and a trace of a knee moving around the pool of blood. This should have been left by the daughter of the family who found the body.

"What's wrong?" Clay knew that he had found something suspicious.

"Inform our forensic team to come over and reconstruct the scene. The deceased was shot a little strangely. The trajectory of the bullet does not seem to be straight, but slightly inclined from bottom to top."

Jack made a waist-shooting gesture, similar to the shooting action seen in western cowboy duels in movies.

"When I examined the body just now, I thought it was caused by the fact that the deceased might have been standing on the steps of a staircase that was higher than the level where the murderer was, but it was obvious."

He pointed around and said, "The height difference between the steps between the dining room and the kitchen is not enough to cause this situation."

"This means that the murderer is a guy who is quite confident in his shooting skills?" Clay understood, just like he and Jack did.

Hannah held the camera in her hand and was discussing in a low voice with Aubrey. When Jubal looked at her, she realized that it was their turn.

"No murder weapon was found and there were no signs of violent entry. When local police arrived at the scene after receiving information from the 911 call center, they found the back door of the house open.

There were no signs of being disturbed in the room, so it didn't look like theft had escalated into murder. "

"OK, Clay will contact the Navy and find the victim's husband, Ryan Barnes, as soon as possible, Jiejie"

Jubal scratched his head with a pencil in discomfort, "That little girl, ask her if she knows anything. Jack and I went to talk to the neighbor who reported the crime. Hannah and Aubrey went to find other neighbors to inquire about the situation. ”

——

"When was the last time you spoke to Mrs. Barnes?" As Jubal asked, Jack's eyes kept wandering between the man in front of him and the little boy behind him.

The neighbor who reported the crime was a white man close to middle age, tall and thin, handsome, with a somewhat uneasy expression. Judging from the tattoos on his arms and neck, he must have been a navy man before.

"It should have been last night, around six o'clock, when she sent Rachel to my house."

Seemingly sensing Jubal's confusion, he went on to explain, "She often had to work overtime until late, so I volunteered to help her take care of the children."

"So you are friends?" Jack carefully observed the other person's expression and found that most of his nervousness and anxiety were due to worries about the son behind him, so he added another question, "A single-parent family?"

"Ah, yes, my wife died of illness two years ago, and then I retired and returned home." The neighbor was a little surprised at Jack's insight.

"I have known Valerie for three years. Our children are in the same grade." As he said this, he looked back at his son.

The little boy looked a little scared, and there were tears on his chubby little face. He was obviously frightened.

"I'm sorry for taking you so long, one last question." Jubal smiled and signaled to his neighbor to relax.

More than three hours have passed since the report was made, and the father and son have been followed by the police. This is obviously the main reason why they are so uneasy.

"Can you tell me about Lieutenant Colonel Barnes?"

The neighbor looked a little embarrassed and said, "To be honest, I don't know him very well. I was just an ordinary petty officer when I was in the Navy.

He rarely comes home. He is either training or out on missions. I can probably guess some situations, but as you know, that is confidential information and I never inquire about it.

The last time I saw the Lieutenant Colonel was several days ago. "

After saying that, he turned around and hugged his son, "Can I take my son home now?"

Jubal smiled back, "Of course, thank you for your help, Mr. Curtis."

Unexpectedly, the neighbor did not leave immediately, but looked at the back of the house with concern, "Then, what will Rachel do?"

Jubal and Jack looked at each other, neither of them knowing how to answer this question.

After the on-site investigation and questioning came to an end, Jack and Jubal found Jiejie accompanying the little girl in the backyard.

The two of them were sitting under a hut made of wooden pallets and colorful plastic sheets. The girl hid in a corner, neither crying nor fussing, keeping a distance from Jiejie, with a strong expression of vigilance on her face.

Jack was a little surprised. This scene was rare. Jiejie's affinity was almost universal for both men and women. The psychological skills she learned from BAU made her communication skills reach the full level.

Seeing the two people approaching, Jiejie had no choice but to stand up, walked forward and whispered, "She just wants to see her father right away."