Chapter 417 Homeless Camp
"Their biggest trouble comes from their own kind." The bald man pointed to a train of freight cars parked not far away.
This kind of loading carriage is often seen in Western movies. There is an open door on each side. As long as the speed of the carriage is slow enough, people waiting by the track can easily run a few steps and climb onto the train. Get into it.
Jack probably understood what he meant, "You mean, they will grab territory?"
"That's right." The bald man replied, "If two people are interested in a carriage at the same time, it will not be a good sight."
"If a homeless person takes a train and comes to a new place, where do they usually go first?" Emily then asked.
"In the woods." The bald man muttered in the direction where the railroad tracks extended. "They call it the camp. Less than half a mile ahead, there is the local camp."
"Come over and take a look?" Jack wanted to leave.
"No, we have to buy something first." Rossi stopped him with a smile, then turned to the bald man and asked, "Can you tell us where the nearest store is?"
——
Half an hour later, Jack stopped the car in a woods not far from the railway embankment. He and Emily moved a large bag from the back of the pickup truck. Rosie carried a pot and several bags of spices, and the three of them moved together. Go into the woods.
"We don't need Jesus today." There was a bonfire in the woods. A few homeless-looking guys were cooking something by the fire. Others were lying lazily in a few tattered tents.
An old white man with a slovenly beard and a peaked cap looked up and saw the three of them and shouted loudly.
"We are not from the church." Rossi took out a pack of cigarettes and waved them at a few people.
"How about we make a deal."
"Not interested!" The sloppy old man with a red rosacea squeezed the empty can in his hand and threw it away casually.
There was rubbish everywhere in the woods, and it was hard to tell which ones they had picked up and which ones they had discarded.
A few younger-looking guys around the sloppy old man were somewhat interested. Jack mouthed to one of them, signaling Emily to pay attention.
It was a thin white boy, holding a plastic bag in his hand. He was bringing it to his mouth and breathing hard into it. Apparently this guy had the same hobby as their suspect.
"What about this?" Emily took out a dozen small bottles of cheap whiskey from the bag.
Including the sloppy old man, almost the seven or eight homeless people in the camp started to make a commotion.
"Huh?" Jack put down the bag in his hand and deliberately exposed the pistol at his waist and armpit.
"Please, be nice ladies, we just want to chat and maybe make friends."
"We welcome friends, but not the police." The sloppy old man said with some hostility, obviously dissatisfied with Jack's threat.
"We are the FBI, not the local police." Rossi flashed his ID. "We are looking for a burglary suspect."
"No, not me!" The drunk guy screamed loudly and wrapped his head in his coat while shivering.
Rossi glanced at him and continued, "He recently wandered around Modesto and just completed a case. He may have some stolen goods such as jewelry and silver tableware waiting to be sold."
There was a silence in response to him. At this time, Jack was not idle either. He walked to the pot on the campfire and took a look inside. He also smelled the smell. It was not bad. It felt a bit like going to the countryside to eat stew in a clay oven when he was a child. flavor.
"Want to try something?" A homeless man brought over two upside-down plastic buckets, which were their "chairs."
"Thank you. If you don't mind, I would also like to treat you to a try of my craftsmanship." Jack picked up a few stones to build a simple stove and put the pot Rosie was carrying on it.
Although he himself is immune to all poisons and can solve any problem with a single treatment, he is still mentally unable to accept this kind of random stew that looks like the raw materials are suspicious, so he might as well do it himself.
Stewing curry is simple and easy. Just cook all the ingredients and add the curry and stir frequently to avoid burning the pot.
Soon the whole camp was filled with the aroma of curry. Jack took out disposable cutlery and shared some with everyone.
The principle of cannibalism seems to be universally accepted, not to mention there is a dozen cheap whiskey, and soon the homeless people are talking.
There was no shortage of food for the vagabonds wandering around the fields, but good food was scarce, not to mention the more attractive liquor and cigarettes.
Soon, even the sloppy old man who was the most resistant at first became much friendlier.
Although no information about the suspicious suspects was obtained from them, everyone had a rough idea of the life trajectories of these homeless people.
They did ride freight trains and wander along railroad lines, but it wasn't aimless.
There are large and small agricultural towns along the railway, and they will move like migratory birds with the harvest time of plants in various places.
Because when farming is busy, many people don’t mind hiring a few more odd-job workers. Sometimes they don’t even need to pay, as long as they provide a bathing place, a comfortable bed, and a few delicious meals.
However, homeless people also complain that most of the paying jobs have been taken away by the old immigrants who entered the country legally, especially those working on large farms. Officials will manage these old immigrants.
Every harvest season, officials will set up some legal camps. They will verify identities and carry out some management. Those large farms can also obtain a more reliable and stable labor force.
"So, what is he doing?" After they had had enough wine and dinner, the situation was almost understood. The three of them were about to stand up and leave, but Rossi noticed that the glue-sucking poisonous dog was carving a character with a knife on a nearby tree. Weird mark.
"He is reminding the next group of people who come here to be careful about the note." The sloppy old man who was already drunk now knew everything.
Jack looked around. There were such marks everywhere on the surrounding rocks and trees.
"Do you mind telling us the meaning of these marks?" Rossi handed him the remaining half pack of cigarettes.
After staying half an hour longer than expected, the three of them left the homeless camp that smelled of curry. As soon as Jack returned to the car, he received a call from Red.
After they determined that the suspect committed the crime along the railway line instead of Highway 99, Reid asked Garcia to help investigate all the agricultural towns near the railway line in the Central Basin. Unsolved nighttime incidents that occurred in the past two months Home invasion and robbery.
Bad news just came, Garcia discovered three home invasions and robberies that left the same DNA behind.
