Chapter 38: The List of Lost Faith

I couldn't hold back and said to Samuel.

"Is it worth it for us to go to the other suspects on the list if we already know that Riley is the killer?" I asked, restraining my anger.

He closed his eyes and remained silent for a few seconds.

"We'll have to," he said.

"Why?" I asked, raising my voice.

"We don't know who is helping him. We need to find his accomplice. Someone is definitely aiding him. Perhaps that someone is among them," he said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Then who should we go to?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," he replied.

"We need to change our search settings. I doubt the accomplice is a woman. I think it's a man. We should remove those who couldn't handle a woman from our list," I said, calming down.

"First of all, we need to remove those whose profiles don't match the method of the murder," Samuel said.

"Should we do this manually?" I asked.

"That's exactly what I was going to do. I think it will take me about half an hour," he said.

"If we do it together, it will take half the time," I suggested.

"Then I'll take profiles from number 2 to number 9, and you take profiles from 10 to 17. We need to sort them and exclude those that don't fit the case," he said.

"Understood. Should we exclude the profiles of women?" I asked.

"Not yet. I've seen several cases where women have shown a level of cruelty that not every man can commit. It would be too dangerous to remove them from the list," he said.

"Alright, let's get started," I said and began reading.

Before me, there were large notes collected by the AI through cameras, merged into single profiles. Here are some excerpts from such profiles:

"Mark Rivers, male, 45 years old, Catholic. Works in construction, often gets drunk and aggressive. Was previously convicted for assaulting his wife. Is considered a frequent visitor to nightclubs in the area where the body was found. Has been seen with Riley on several occasions."

Caitlin Smith, a 28-year-old Mormon woman, was known for her reliability and unobtrusiveness in the local church. However, traces of drugs were found in her home. She was seen with Riley on the street in the area where the murder took place.

John Harris, a 35-year-old atheist man, worked in technical support and had access to customers' personal information. However, he was not at work on the day of the murder. He was seen in Riley's company at a party a week before the crime.

Susan Thompson, a 41-year-old Protestant woman, had many contacts in the local community thanks to her work in a charity organization. She was seen with Riley in a restaurant on the same street where the murder took place.

Patrick Maloney, a 30-year-old Catholic man, worked in a bank and had access to sensitive information. He was at work on the day of the murder, but could have gained access to customers' data earlier. He was seen with Riley at a sporting event in the same area.

Christina Lee, a 25-year-old atheist woman, worked at an advertising agency and had access to information about competitors. She was seen with Riley at a party hosted by his friends. She did not know Riley before the party, but they started dating after it.

Brandon Smith, a 32-year-old Mormon man, worked at a shopping center and had access to video surveillance...

I read everything quickly, as if my life depended on it. With each profile, I realized more and more how easily AI finds information about us, but it also gave me relief.

The better and faster AI becomes in investigative matters, the easier it will be to catch criminals, which will lead to a reduction in crime due to the excessive quick response from the police.

When I finished reading, I noticed Samuel jotting down notes in his notebook. Feeling my gaze on him, he looked up at me.

"It seems like you're done," he said.

"Yeah, have you been finished for a while now?" I asked him.

"A minute ago," he replied.

"So, how many are you going to remove from the list?" I asked.

"I already removed them. There are only two people left on my list," he answered.

"Okay, so we're pretty much in agreement. I have three people left. It looks like we need to find out more about them," I said.

"Yes, but first we need to run their data through the AI and add new clues we got from Sheppard," said Samuel.

"Okay, here, take this," I said, handing him my phone. The selected profiles were marked on it.

"Thanks," he said, taking the phone.

"I think it will take about half an hour, or maybe more, to get the results. Now the AI will have to re-watch the recordings from scratch, taking into account the updated clues, and search for the silhouettes of people from the profiles in the cities where Riley was operating," he added.

"It's better than hanging around with no progress. You know, now I can't stop thinking about the girl who disappeared from the Protestant church. The time of her disappearance coincides with the beginning of the murders," I said nervously.

"Then it's worth finding out more about her," said Samuel.

"Yeah, maybe we could drive there?" I asked.

Samuel looked at the time and said, "Yes, we have time before we get the AI's answer. I think checking your hunch won't hurt."

I started the car and headed to the church where Father John serves. On the way, I thought more about my hunch. In my heart, I prayed that it would turn out to be a mistake, but my brain said otherwise. It would be easier for it if it turned out to be true, as we would be able to stop Riley today.

On the way to the church, I called one of the members of the council of that church, asking them to bring Polina from their council to the church. She was the one who, along with Sofia, talked about the girl who went missing.

When we arrived at the church, Rebecca and David were already waiting for us on the street.