Chapter 781 Heinous Crime
The kitchen was large, with a transparent structure from front to back, and there was a door on the other side that led directly to the chapel. Looking at the mess in front of him, Jack knew that they were probably late.
"There should be no one in the church," a CMPD officer reported.
After confirming safety, Aubrey and Hannah, who were guarding the back and side doors, also led the team into the church. There were many large and small rooms in the church, and the police were still checking them one by one, but if anyone had heard the movement, they would have heard the noise long ago. .
"We found the Subaru that Ronnie had snatched in the back parking lot, but no other vehicles were found in the parking lot, including Pastor Jennings' car, who was known to the police," Aubrey reported.
"The bedroom upstairs has also been checked. There is no one there and there is no sign that it has been disturbed. Is there something wrong?" Hannah asked with some confusion.
It was impossible to make a mistake. There were two vague handprints on the cooking table, as well as some other traces, all indicating that someone was pressed on it and some indescribable things were done.
It's just that this is somewhat inconsistent with Ronnie's crime habits. The traces left at the scene of the first two cases showed obvious ritualized behavior. Could there be other cases that got involved? Is this all just a coincidence?
Just when Jack was puzzled, a thumping sound suddenly came from the corridor on the other side of the kitchen. Everyone followed the sound to the corridor and found that the sound was coming from behind an inconspicuous small door on one side of the corridor. It seemed that It's a storage room.
Jack drew his gun from his waist and stood against the wall, placing his hand on the door handle. At the same time, Clay stood opposite him in tacit agreement, and Aubrey stood beside him.
"Uh! Uh!"
The door of the storage room was suddenly opened. Inside, a tied-up, gray-haired old white man saw the FBI and police holding guns against him. His struggle became even more intense.
"Pastor Jennings?" Jack quickly put away the gun, helped the old man out, and tore off the tape on his mouth.
"Emma. Cough. Emma, they took my granddaughter and my car."
Jack helped the pastor, who was covered in flour and ketchup, to the bench next to the corridor, and let Aubrey continue to hold his shoulders. He squatted in front of him and opened the photo of Ronnie and Raylene on his phone. .
"You're safe. Don't be impatient and tell me slowly. Did these two people do it? What were your granddaughter Emma wearing at the time?"
There was a wound on the old priest's forehead caused by a violent blow. The blood that had just solidified in excitement flowed down his cheek again. However, it was not just his forehead that was bleeding. Jack's eyes swept across his waist and crotch. , I had some bad associations in my mind.
"Yes, that's them. Emma is wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and a sports coat, a dark green sports coat with a hood, and gray sports shorts."
The old pastor said with a cry in his voice, "They also took away my gun, my gun, a revolver. I'm sorry, I know. I shouldn't"
Jack stood up and motioned for everyone not to crowd around, then put his arm around Jiejie's shoulders and walked aside and whispered, "Have 911 notify the emergency personnel to come quickly, and also tell them to bring a rape evidence kit."
"Walter." Jiejie's eyes widened in surprise, and she almost cursed without maintaining her usual ladylike image.
Behind her, Hannah and Clay looked at the old priest sitting on the bench crying in surprise, and then looked away unbearably.
Yes, that's right, Jack did find signs of violence on the kitchen counter just now when someone was pressed on it, but the victim seemed not to be the old pastor's granddaughter Emma, but Pastor Jennings himself.
Everyone's outlook was greatly shocked for a moment, and they were speechless. Although the joke about the priest and the little boy was equally popular in Europe and the United States, seeing such a subversive and devilish scene in reality still left people speechless. I find it hard to accept that what kind of lunatic would do this to a sixty or seventy year old pastor.
At this time, Aubrey, who had been holding Pastor Jennings' shoulders to comfort him, also noticed something was wrong, because the old pastor's hand was holding on to the waistband of his trousers, and blood had soaked half of the trousers' legs.
"He kept asking about cash, asking if there was any cash in the church, and I only found less than $10. I said I could take them to get the cash. I also told him that God would forgive people, but it pissed him off.
Emma keeps telling me that I can't save everyone, but I think I have to try. I have to. I have to."
The old pastor burst into tears as he spoke, and Aubrey could only hold his shoulders tightly, press her forehead against his, and keep whispering comfort.
"You will be fine, you know? We will bring Emma back, and there will always be kind people by your side, trust me."
——
"This bastard has no limits!" Aubrey, who has always been good-tempered, packed up his equipment and slammed the rear door, trying hard not to curse more outside the church.
The United States is a country with a strong religious atmosphere. Even if no one here is a devout believer, they will have a certain degree of respect for the clergy. Even Jack, out of the traditional virtue of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, felt sorry for the misfortune of Pastor Jennings. Feel sympathy for the encounter.
Clay was also furious, "Although I know it's inappropriate to say this in my current capacity, if I catch this bastard, I will definitely break his neck with my own hands."
"There's nothing inappropriate, I think so too." Hannah said angrily as well.
"Before we caught him and Lei Lin, such words were meaningless." Jack said coldly. It's not that he has seen too many perverts and has become numb. Now that he is the one leading the team, he has more things to consider than before. Much more, everyone can get excited, but he can't.
Jiejie has really seen a lot of perverts in the BAU, and she is the fastest among everyone to withdraw from her emotions. "So far, our analysis is basically correct. The reason why Ronnie chose to kidnap Emma this time is simply I was just alerted by a passing police car.”
The shootout not long ago attracted most of the police forces around Charlotte for reinforcements. Everyone had just confirmed that there was indeed a police car passing near the church with its siren on.
"Is it possible that Ronnie is hiding nearby, or finding a no-man's land to violently attack Emma?" Aubrey said and looked around, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the other party at a glance.
Jack frowned in thought, "Who knows, but we know he only has two options to go to now, go back along Route 77 to Marietta, or go to New Jersey.
I bet he would go back the same way. He didn't know we existed, but he must have known that the police were following him, otherwise he wouldn't have been scared away by the police car. Ronnie is crazy but also very smart. He knows what he is doing? "
"I immediately contacted the state police and focused on the gas stations along the way." Jiejie understood and immediately made a call.
"There is a question that I have not thought about." Clay asked humbly. "I can understand what you said about Ronnie gaining a sense of power through that kind of behavior to make up for the powerlessness and catharsis he felt when he witnessed his mother engaged in the flesh business. Angry, but why did he do that to Pastor Jennings and not kill him afterwards?”
"Assuming that the female victim represents his mother, then the priest represents a man who has hurt him. Ronnie not only violently assaulted him, but also gave him a knife afterwards, and even worried that he would die due to excessive blood loss. He simply stopped the bleeding because he thought castration would make the priest feel worse than death.
Think about it, since Ronnie's mother didn't mind her son witnessing that kind of thing, there might be some guests who had done something unacceptable to Ronnie. "
Aubrey's talk attracted everyone's attention. He shrugged helplessly, "Have you forgotten that I also have a degree in psychology?"
"No, I'm just curious about your association ability in certain aspects." Clay showed a disgusted expression.
"You don't know that I worked on Wall Street? I've seen some perverts." Before Aubrey could finish his words, Hannah raised her hand and interrupted, "That's enough, we all understand you, really."
