Legendary FBI Detective-Chapter 374: Discovering Connections, Specific Reasons, Doctrine
"Get in the car first."
Agent Luo An waved his hand, motioning Mona to quickly sit in the passenger seat. The SUV sped out of the parking lot toward the location mentioned by Morton York. After overtaking a few civilian cars, Luo An then asked:
"What exactly happened?"
"Do you know about the twelve disciples of Christianity?"
Mona explained with waving hands from the passenger seat:
"They are the twelve followers of Jesus recorded in the Bible."
Luo An didn't know much about Christianity, but he knew one thing:
"They are those people in the painting 'The Last Supper', right? Including a traitor named Judas."
"That's right, them."
Mona nodded with a grave tone:
"Based on your guess, I just did a quick review of the federal records on cult archives, and most of the cult doctrines did not reveal any connection to this case.
But there's one from Europe, called the 'Devil Worship Sect', which part of their doctrine teaches the congregation about how to transform their souls into devils to achieve eternal life after death.
One of the main requirements is to personally kill the twelve disciples of Jesus and drink their blood."
Luo An frowned slightly, not frightened by the content of the 'Devil Worship Sect', but unable to comprehend what was wrong with the minds of those who truly believed in such doctrine.
However, there were still some things unclear, and Luo An continued to ask:
"What do these twelve disciples have to do with the five victims?"
"Their professions and names match."
Taking a deep breath, Mona opened her laptop and explained:
"One disciple named 'Simeon' of the Zealot, it is recorded that he was sawn in half, which corresponds exactly with the name and profession of Chairman Hisman.
The two disciples whose translations are 'James' were respectively beaten to death and beheaded, with names and professions matching a church priest and a navy officer.
A disciple named 'Matthew' was a tax collector who was killed with many cuts, which corresponds to the victim Matthew we discovered working at the tax department."
After hearing Mona's introduction, Luo An grimaced. Were the death causes of Jesus's twelve disciples really so horrifying? He then asked:
"What about the leather factory worker Bartles? Which disciple does he correspond with?"
"A disciple named Bartolomaios."
Mona scrolled down on her laptop screen with furrowed brows:
"The translated name of Bartolomaios is Bart. He was martyred by having his skin peeled off."
Luo An sighed helplessly. These twelve disciples' names weren't originally in English, and their translations varied from their original names, plus his lack of understanding about the contents of Christianity, made the logic behind the killer's actions completely incomprehensible to him at the moment.
Mona felt equally helpless; they were not religious believers, and the entirety of the federal faith was predominantly Protestant, which they had been exposed to since childhood.
Protestantism emphasizes the participation of individuals and the church, focusing on praise, teaching, and prayer, and directly communicating with God. There is not much content related to Jesus and the twelve disciples. This is generally only taught in church schools.
In contrast, Catholicism in Europe emphasizes rituals, sacraments, mass, and communion, approaching God through the church and Jesus. Thus, the vast majority of federal citizens don't understand the names, translated names, and professional histories of the twelve saints.
It's like the 'Seventy-Two Sages' of the East; most people know at most three or four, apart from the students and experts in this field, the majority of ordinary people have no clue what the names, professions, and abilities of the remaining 'sages' are.
Seeing that there was still some distance from the new crime scene, Luo An took out his phone and called Group Leader Morton from the Special Investigation Team, directly asking:
"Group Leader Morton, have you determined the name and job details of this victim?"
"Of course."
At the crime scene, Group Leader Morton York gestured for an agent to come over, took the information passed to him, and replied:
"The victim is called Thomas, 44 years old this year, worked at a construction company, and was an architect.
This victim died in the bathtub at home, not only was his tongue missing, but his right hand was also chopped off and missing, likely taken by the murderer."
"His right hand was chopped off?"
Luo An's brows twitched, and he turned his head to look at Mona who was in the passenger seat. Mona pulled down the computer screen and after a few seconds, whispered:
"Indeed, among the twelve disciples there was one translated as Thomas, who, according to the Bible, did not believe in Jesus' resurrection until he saw and touched the wounds on Jesus with his hand.
The murderer cutting off this victim's right hand is very likely because of this story."
Luo An remained silent for a few seconds, then posed several questions to Morton York through his phone.
Morton York answered each one, and finally asked:
"How much longer until you get here?"
Luo An forcefully turned the SUV's steering wheel at the crossroad, directing it back towards the direction of the FBI Los Angeles Branch building:
"I'm not going."
Morton York: ???
Luo An chuckled. After all, Group Leader Morton York had gone to the crime scene with the agents from the Forensic Evidence Department.
The scene examination work was conducted by the Forensic Evidence Department agents; Luo An and Mona's visit there would only be to look at the situation at the scene.
Originally, Luo An hoped to identify the murderer and the motive through the clues left at the crime scene.
Now that the motive of the crime committed by the murderer is known and confirmed, they can try to identify the murderer through the investigations of the Forensic Evidence Department at the scene. Hence, it was unnecessary for him and Mona to go to the scene.
"You've worked hard, Group Leader Morton."
Luo An, with a smiling face on the phone, expressed his thanks to Group Leader Morton York, and finally said:
"After you return to the FBI Los Angeles Branch building, I will send someone to take over this case from your office area, thank you."
Click—
Hearing the dial tone on the phone, Morton York's face darkened. He had initially intended to tease Luo An a bit on the scene, but Luo An simply didn't come.
After a few seconds of silence, Morton York's mouth curled into a smile, not the type to become angry over such a trivial matter, but he was now increasingly finding Luo An interesting.
"So young and already the head of a Special Investigation Team..."
Putting away his phone, Morton York summoned an agent and said:
"Handle the scene well. When the Special Investigation Team comes to take over the case, remember to pass all details of this case to them."
Morton York no longer had the idea of tripping up Luo An; cooperation and communication were beneficial to both sides, and he was not averse to showing his goodwill first.
On the other side, after hanging up with Morton York, Luo An immediately called the rest of the Special Investigation Team.
First, to inquire up to what point they had investigated, and second, to order their return to the Special Investigation Team.
Mona's discovery just now had both good and bad points: the good news was that they had finally cleared up the murderer's logic in committing the crime in this case, and based on the names and occupations, the Special Investigation Team might find other potential victims.
The bad news, however, was that, according to the Bible, there were a total of twelve disciples of Jesus, and now six had already died, leaving six more.
Whether any of the remaining six were dead was a significant concern.
After receiving Luo An's call, the agents promptly returned to the Special Investigation Team. Reesi and Winslow returned first as a group, followed closely by the group of Michelle, Anwar, and Patricia.
Then, half an hour passed, Channie and Cooper had still not returned, and their phones had gone from immediate answers to unanswered. Luo An and the rest of the agents' faces all turned grim.
