Luke's guess had been confirmed.

At the same time, more doubts had also arisen in his heart.

If Muriel Balldini was the mastermind behind the North Hollywood Bank incident, why would the two robbers kidnap her?

Luke felt there were two possibilities. The first possibility was that due to some unpredictable reasons, a conflict of interest had occurred between Soster and Muriel Balldini after the robbery at North Hollywood.

To achieve his goal, Soster turned to kidnap Muriel Balldini.

The second possibility was that there was no kidnapping at all. The robbers going to Muriel Balldini's house was not to kidnap her, but to divide the loot. It was merely an accident that the police blocked them outside.

After some discussion, they decided to put on a charade of pain and suffering. Muriel Balldini drove the two robbers out of the house secretly. Even if they were discovered by the police, they could pretend to be kidnapped by the robbers.

After careful thought, Luke believed the second possibility was more likely. However, there was still something that didn't add up. Luke had personally recorded Muriel Balldini's statement asking about the incident's process and had not detected any signs of her lying.

Luke's analysis of micro-expressions was relatively accurate. He had identified issues whenever previous suspects lied.

Yet, in his conversation with Muriel Balldini, Luke didn't find any trace of lying.

This woman was not simple.

Hope pulled over to the curb, the victim had turned out to be the mastermind behind the case, leaving him somewhat confused, "What should we do now?

Should we just arrest her?"

Luke looked in the direction of Muriel Balldini's house, thought again and again, and decided against the idea of making an arrest.

It's easy to arrest someone, but difficult to convict.

They couldn't just say Muriel Balldini was the mastermind behind the case just because she had seen Soster's attorney.

Investigations are all about evidence.

Right now, Luke lacked the evidence to point out that Muriel Balldini was the mastermind.

...

The next morning.

Luke led the team to the house of Jacob Johnston.

Jacob Johnston was an employee of the Balldini Investment Management Company. His death was likely related to the North Hollywood Bank robbery, or rather, his death might have triggered the robbery.

Luke had someone contact Jacob Johnston's family. Jacob had never married, and his only direct family member was his mother, who, distressed by his disappearance, had been hospitalized.

Jacob Johnston lived in a middle-class white community. According to the officer responsible for the missing person case, their previous investigation at Jacob's house revealed nothing suspicious.

Luke was prepared to reinvestigate, not because he doubted the ability and dedication of the officers investigating the disappearance, but because the focuses and intensities of investigations could vary between different departments.

Aside from a squad of officers, the technical team was also present this time at Jacob Johnston's house. Luke gave a few simple orders, and the group split up to investigate.

Luke toured the house. Since it was a single occupancy, there wasn't much stuff. Apart from the master bedroom, the guest room and the study had only some simple furniture, and the kitchen did not have many cooking utensils. The whole house gave Luke a sense of simplicity.

Luke searched the house once but found nothing suspicious. He then went out to search the yard. The lawn was somewhat disheveled and had not been trimmed for a long time.

Luke did not find anything unusual and could only pin his hopes on the technical team.

Just then, a black SUV stopped at the curb. Anthony stepped out from the passenger side and called out, "Luke."

"How did you find me?"

"You're a busy man. I wanted to have a chat, so I had to follow closely," Anthony replied.

Luke pulled out a box of chewing gum, took a piece for himself, and asked, "Would you like one?"

"Thank you."

Luke handed him a piece of gum, "Any progress in the investigation against Soster?"

"We have indeed found something."

"What is it?"

"Uh, Luke, you previously said that if I could find evidence to convict Soster, you would hand him over to the FBI for interrogation."

"Anthony, even if Soster is at the police station, you can interrogate him right beside me."

"It's not the same." Anthony glanced around and whispered, "He killed one of my agents, and now two others injured in an explosion are hospitalized. I must seek justice for them.

Interrogating him on FBI turf would put a proper end to this matter."

"Aren't you worried about people speculating that you're mixing personal feelings into this? Having the police handle the interrogation would save you from some unnecessary trouble."

"To be honest, I have had those concerns.

But in this world, there aren't any perfect situations. To gain something, you must lose something.

In my view, the idle chatter of outsiders is far less important than the trust my team has in me; I need to seek justice for them myself." Anthony pointed at a bird in the tree,

"Just like that bird, always making noise, indeed affecting people's lives, but no one moves houses because of a bird."

Anthony picked up a stone and threw it toward the treetops.

"Chirp, chirp…" The bird flapped its wings and flew away.

"Problem solved."

"Your team has a good boss," Luke had to admit, the FBI handled things on a larger scale than the police did.

"If you want to switch, you're always welcome."

"Forget it, Reid treats me well."

Anthony turned serious, "Luke, hand over Soster to me, consider it a favor you owe me."

If it had been yesterday morning, Luke would not have handed Soster over to the FBI, but today's situation was a bit different. Behind Soster, there was another mastermind, and from the entire case point of view, Muriel Balldini was the most important.

"First, tell me about the evidence you found. If it's credible, I might consider it."

Anthony whispered into Luke's ear.

Luke's expression changed slightly. The evidence Anthony mentioned indeed had some value, but… it was a bit damaging.

Luke wasn't too keen on using it.

"I can hand over Soster to the FBI for interrogation, but I have one condition."

"What condition?"

"If during the interrogation, other people involved in the case are implicated, they must be handed over to the police for investigation."

"No problem," Anthony agreed readily.

At that moment, he was unaware of another mastermind involved in the case.

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