Chapter 90: Searching the Mountain (Part 2)

Rosalind seemed completely unaware.

"Oh, how amusing, people look at me as if I'm a monster. I see them the same way. Killing has nothing to do with brutality, and saving lives isn't necessarily out of kindness."

She kept smiling until her gaze met Jack's, causing her expression to stiffen slightly.

This young officer's eyes held no anger, no disgust, no fear; he just looked at her calmly, as if she were a lifeless object.

Rosalind's mouth twitched, forcing a smile back onto her face. She casually glanced at Tyler Kelly standing next to Jack.

"Officer Tavler seems to have quite the charm with the opposite sex?"

"Huh?" Jack thought to himself, "Why drag me into this?" He discreetly shut down his System in his mind, refocusing his gaze.

He had been contemplating whether to save up enough System coins to upgrade his rifle skills. After all, he'd likely undergo training at Quantico like Hannah mentioned. She said there were many experts there. His skills with a handgun and in combat were already at a proficient level, definitely better than half of the people there, but his rifle skills left much to be desired.

"Don't bother me. You're too old for my taste. I don't like the rough texture."

Tyler Kelly glanced down at her arm instinctively. She had just gotten a beauty treatment, and her skin was smooth and fair.

Rosalind snorted, deciding not to waste any more words.

The group continued their difficult trek through the forest. This time, it didn't take long before Rosalind stopped under a tree, signaling they had arrived.

Jack clicked his tongue. Rossi, the seasoned agent, seemed to know his stuff.

"Haha, this is the place. I buried the anesthesiologist at the roots of this tree. I even used anesthetics on him, put it in his iced tea. Isn't that a bit ironic?"

"Then, I watched the sunset with him while chopping off his hands and feet. It was quite a memorable day."

Everyone ignored Rosalind's gruesome rambling. Inspector Grey signaled to start digging. John and Tim took portable shovels from their backpacks and began excavating at the base of the tree.

Jack, meanwhile, took Tyler Kelly and her cameraman aside. After the cameraman captured some footage of the digging, Jack instructed him to turn off the camera. Filming was prohibited from that point onward.

"Found something." John hadn't dug much before he uncovered bones. With a push, he cleared a layer of dirt, revealing a skeleton almost entirely reduced to white bones.

"No hands or feet. It's the anesthesiologist," John said, his voice tinged with excitement. Other officers, including the assistant prosecutor Del Monte, visibly relaxed.

"Something's not right," muttered Inspector Grey, the most experienced among them, frowning deeply. Beside him, David Rossi displayed the same evaluative expression he had when assessing Jack earlier.

"Officer Tavler, what do you think?"

Jack stepped forward, joining them. In a low voice, he remarked, "The body is buried too shallowly, less than two feet deep. And besides some clothing, there's nothing wrapping it. Griffith Park has coyotes at night and other small carnivores with keen senses. If this were the primary burial site, it would've been dug up long ago, with bones scattered everywhere."

Jack recalled a TV show he had seen in a previous life called "Six Feet Under," which was about a family in the funeral business in the USA. In Western culture, six feet is the standard burial depth, similar to the concept of "nine layers underground" in other cultures. This depth wasn't arbitrary; only a sufficiently deep burial prevents wild animals from digging up the body.

"Ah!" Nearby, Lucy, who had been helping to clear dirt while wearing gloves, suddenly screamed and fell back onto the ground.

Tyler Kelly, who had been curiously peeking, covered her mouth and stepped back. The group gathered around to find another body beside the skeleton John had discovered. This body was in a semi-decomposed state, emitting a nauseating stench.

Inspector Grey took one look and made a quick assessment. "Six months, no more than nine."

All eyes turned towards Rosalind.

"Don't look at me. I've been in prison for the past four years."

The deranged old woman laughed gleefully, like a chess player who had just gained the upper hand.

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Separation Line

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"How is this possible? The only person who knew where Rosalind hid the bodies was herself, and she's been locked up for four years. How could there be a body killed less than a year ago at the same spot?"

On the way back to the station, Tyler Kelly abandoned her cameraman and squeezed into Jack's police car, bombarding him with questions like a curious child.

Jack sighed and glanced at her. "Haven't you had enough for today?"

"You must know something. I noticed that only you and that old handsome guy from the FBI didn't look too surprised."

Tyler Kelly's face showed a hint of pleading, revealing that today's unexpected findings were not enough to satisfy a reporter's insatiable curiosity.

"If Miss Kelly wants to be locked in the holding cell until we solve the case, I don't mind telling you some inside information."

Tyler Kelly pouted, seeming a bit disappointed, but soon perked up.

"Call me Tyler. We're friends now, right?"

Seeing she had stopped trying to pry information out of him, Jack decided to go along with it.

"Alright, Tyler."

"Since we're friends now, can you share some of your thoughts? You could lock me in your place instead."

"Hah, women." Jack chuckled coldly, deciding to ignore this cheeky lady's wishful thinking.

Back at the Wilshire police station, Jack took Tyler straight to Zoe's office, hoping Captain Anderson could handle this restless journalist.

Just as he was leaving Zoe's office, Jack was called over by Rossi, who was approaching.

"Jack, mind if I call you that?"

"Of course not. What do you need me to do?"

Jack maintained his respectful demeanor. With the case taking such a dramatic turn, Assistant Prosecutor Del Monte had finally realized that he had been manipulated by Rosalind and stopped trying to assert his presence.

Naturally, David Rossi, the supervising FBI agent, took control of the case and began issuing directives.

"Inspector Grey agreed to assign you as my assistant. Come join us in the meeting."

Rossi seemed to remember something and pulled out a small box from his pocket, handing it to Jack.

"These are the tracking devices you requested. The FBI's LA field office just delivered them. They're all in here."

Jack opened the box to find a dozen or so small black discs, about the size of buttons, along with a tablet.

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