Chapter 1192 Confirming the murderer and motive

"Mary Strong, retired two years ago, was a human resources consultant, lost her husband many years ago, her son is a dentist in Montgomery, married and has a son.

She is a Puritan, and is keen on participating in church activities. I can't see any high-risk factors from her information."

Sitting in a conference room provided by the FBI's local office in Montgomery, Jubal flipped through the deceased's information and muttered to himself.

Aubrey sipped his coffee, "But it's obvious that she and the Baudettes died at the hands of the same group of people. Cutting off the ears means unwillingness to listen, and cutting off the tongue means unwillingness to speak?"

At this time, Alice's computer suddenly sounded a prompt. She quickly opened the screen with a look of joy on her face, "The portrait has been matched. The person we are looking for is called Wyatt Hammond, and he lives in Cleo, less than 10 miles from Blue Springs.

The owner of the property where he lives is named Greg Hammond, Wyatt's brother. He has a wife and daughter, and they all live together. The detailed address has been sent to your mobile phone."

——

"FBI, open the door!"

Aubrey knocked on the door loudly. Next to him was the fully armed Jack, and behind him was Jiejie. Clay, Jubal and Hannah had already gone around to the backyard of the house.

Cleo is not even a town, but a typical large rural area in a southern state, with a permanent population of less than 500 people, scattered in small farms nearby.

A woman in her early 30s just opened the door and was frightened by the guns of the three men and hid behind the door.

"We are looking for Wyatt Hammond." Jack only glanced at her, confirmed that there was no threat, and let her go, and continued to search the house.

"He is my uncle, what are you going to do? I am the only one at home."

The woman was controlled by Jiejie, who came in last. Aubrey went upstairs, and Jack went straight in, walked through the corridor, opened the back door and let Clay and the other two in.

"Safe!"

After searching all the rooms, including the connected garage, the FBI put away their weapons.

"Are you Greg Hammond's wife?" Jubal asked when he returned to the living room.

"Yes." The woman looked confused and a little panicked, and she didn't understand what the FBI was going to do.

"Do you know where they are? Your husband and uncle." Jubal asked.

The woman was slightly plump, dressed in an American farmer's style, wearing a blue denim jacket that was convenient for work, and a yellow square scarf on her head.

Although the house was old, it was very clean inside. When Jack sat on the sofa, he smelled a faint lavender scent from the sofa cover that had been washed to a white color.

"I don't know, they said they went camping." Greg's wife twisted her fingers uneasily and sat down on the single sofa opposite everyone.

"With your daughter?" Jiejie asked.

"No, my daughter died of illness not long ago." This answer surprised everyone.

After learning that her husband and uncle might be suspected of two murders, the woman lost her ability to control her expression for a while and was stunned for a while.

"Are you trying to say that my husband, who has never even participated in a bar fight, and his brother Wyatt participated in two murders?"

"Yes, we have surveillance video evidence, and we saw Wyatt hiding in the truck compartment of the truck couple." Jiejie's answer made the woman cover her face in pain.

"Do you know the reason? Are they seeking revenge?" Jack has been observing her expression, and it is obvious that she should know something.

"Maybe." The woman looked up at the photo of the family of three on the table, "Because our daughter Rose died of cancer three months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear this. Can you tell me more?" Jiejie held the woman's hand and whispered.

"We have been conducting a class action lawsuit for Rose's illness. Greg was very angry before and said he wanted to fight for justice, but we have always intended to fight for justice in court."

As if he had found the motive for the crime, Jack turned his eyes away from the pile of legal and medical books on the bookshelf and looked at him seriously.

"What is the lawsuit?"

"Against the owner of a thermal power plant and factory here, Griffin, they have been illegally dumping fly ash on nearby land for many years, and many people nearby have cancer.

Our daughter Rose, Greg and Wyatt's parents all died of cancer.

Greg used to drive a truck for Griffin's coal power company, and then became a whistleblower. We filed a class action lawsuit, which lasted for three years. Just last week, we lost the last appeal."

At the end, the woman seemed to be gritting her teeth.

"Then why did you think they were going camping?" Jubal interrupted, "Is that some kind of mourning?"

His question was of course purposeful. Although the other party did not show any complicity, he still needed to confirm it.

"I don't know, maybe that's what I expected in my heart?" Greg's wife said sadly, "He was too focused on the lawsuit before, especially after Rose's death. I hope he can get rid of it as soon as possible."

A correct version of the book in 1619!

The tears on the woman's face became more and more, "Greg likes Thoreau's book, Walden. He often said that when civilized society becomes a nightmare, it is better to try to go into the forest."

Waiting for Greg's wife, who was crying again, to recover a little, Jubal continued to ask, "So did Greg and Wyatt both work for Griffin's coal and power company?"

The woman shook her head, "No, Wyatt worked for the Barrons, and they opened an agricultural supplies store."

While Jubal was writing in the notebook, Jack turned on his phone and showed her a photo of the Bodettes, "Do you know these two people?"

"Yes." The woman took a closer look, "It's Teddy and Janice, Teddy used to be Greg's superior."

"What about this?" Jack continued to show Mary Strong, who was just killed this morning.

"I don't know her name, but she brought a pretty good pie to the company barbecue." The woman nodded again.

The motive for the crime was basically clear, and Greg's wife was temporarily invited back to the FBI office to assist in the investigation. Everyone began to dig deeper into the situation of Griffin Coal and Power Company.

"The situation is true. Teddy was once a small supervisor in the transportation department of Griffin Coal and Power Company, and Mary Strong was the director of human resources." Alice confirmed.

"Let's assume that Greg, the whistleblower, initially reported the situation to his superiors through workplace complaints, that is, reporting it up the chain of command. In this case, his direct superior is Teddy Bodette.

And above that, it's the human resources department, that is, Mary Strong." Jubal turned his pencil habitually again.

"Obviously, Teddy ignored Greg's complaints, so he had his ears cut off, and Mary may have told Greg to shut up, so he lost his tongue."

Jiejie's phone rang at this time. After a brief conversation, she hung up the phone with a somewhat ugly expression. "The ERT team received evidence from the state police. Do you remember the footprints you asked the state police to check before?"

Aubrey nodded, "Yes, I found it in the trailer compartment. What's wrong?"

"They detected sodium chlorate and nitrobenzene on it." Jiejie replied.