The Blacklist

Chapter 377: Capricorn Killer Appears Again
Gina suddenly realized and said, "Doesn't that mean that the killer's reappearance proves that your judgment at the time was correct?"

"Not necessarily." Elizabeth shook her head and said, "According to Agent Graves, the detectives and police officers who were involved in this case at the time all believed that this was just an imitator, not the real 'Capricorn Killer'!"

"Then why should we let you go?" Gina asked puzzled.

"What if it's true?" Elizabeth said, "No one can be 100% sure. What if the 'Capricorn Killer' has been silent for a few years and his methods have changed?"

Gina was speechless, but Carrie spoke at this time: "Liz, go if you want! But, take Nawabi and Demby with you, and be careful... Well, if necessary, you can also take the case directly and start the investigation in the name of SER!"

"I understand!" Elizabeth said happily, "Thank you, Lee, I'll go right away!" After that, she stood up and jumped out.

Watching her walk out, Gina looked at Kerry, who nodded and said, "Call Tom and ask him to send Matt to take some people there. Make sure Liz's safety is guaranteed."

"Understood." Gina agreed and immediately took out her cell phone.
-
Huntington County in south-central Pennsylvania has an area of ​​more than 2300 square kilometers, but its population is only about 5, making it sparsely populated.

At around 650:12 p.m. that day, the Gulfstream G carrying Elizabeth, Nawabi and Denby landed at the Pittsburgh Air Force Base, the nearest airport to Huntington County. Vehicles prepared by the Pennsylvania CTU State Bureau and a -member field operations team were waiting, and they immediately drove to the crime scene.

More than an hour later, the convoy arrived at a forest far away from the city but next to the interstate highway. Graves, a senior agent and profiler of the FBI Pennsylvania Branch who had been notified in advance, came forward to greet them.

"Agent Keane... Oh, no, it's Deputy Director Keane, long time no see!" Graves took the initiative to extend his hand and said, "Do you remember me, Brandon Graves, also a profiler."

"Of course I remember. You were in the Memphis branch." Elizabeth stretched out her hand and shook his. "But we haven't seen each other for five years! Oh, these two are SER senior agents Sama Nawabi and Dembe Zuma."

After the four of them greeted each other, Graves led them deeper into the forest, introducing them as they walked: "Last night at about 6 o'clock, a young couple who lived in a motel not far away went out for a walk after dinner. They walked a little further into the forest and found a body. They were so scared that they hurriedly called the police...

"At around 7 o'clock, the county police department conducted a preliminary investigation of the scene and felt that the situation was serious and that it happened on the interstate highway, so they notified the state police... A detective from the state police homicide squad had seen the information about the 'Capricorn Killer' and suspected that he had reappeared to commit crimes, so he notified the FBI, so I brought people here..."

After Elizabeth had listened to his introduction, she asked, "According to your judgment, is he back?" "I think so." Graves said seriously, "You'll see in a moment that the scene is completely consistent with his previous modus operandi, tied up and strangled, abandoned in a desolate place, organized and ritualistic... It's basically exactly the same as the previous seven cases!"

Since being promoted to the position of deputy director of SER by Kerry, Elizabeth has been unconsciously imitating Cooper and Donald before her - forget about Kerry, she feels that she can't learn it! Now when she comes out to handle cases, she has become much calmer. She doesn't comment on what she hears. She will wait until she sees the scene before making a judgment.

As a bodyguard, Demby would not speak in such a training session as usual, but Nawabi asked politely, "I heard that you had profiled this 'Capricorn Killer' several times a few years ago. What was your conclusion at that time?"

As the chief profiler of the FBI state bureau, Graves was very satisfied with this question and answered immediately: "From 2010 to 2013, in the past four years, it has been confirmed that the 'Capricorn Killer' committed a total of seven crimes. The first crime scene was in Tacoma, Washington, and six months later it was in Twin Falls, Idaho. Then after a period of time, it was in Memphis, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina, etc....

"This large geographical span led us profilers to believe that the suspect was likely a long-distance truck driver or other blue-collar worker who needed to travel frequently...

"Based on his modus operandi, the suspect should be a white male with special religious beliefs, about 40 years old, short and strong, very organized, he acts and works alone, staying in each place for a very short time. This rapid mobility gave him great confidence, allowing him to gradually indulge his evil thoughts. After gaining a perverted sense of satisfaction from his first crime, his speed of evolution in killing has been astonishing..."

After listening to his description, Nawabi continued to ask: "I heard that you had a big disagreement with the genetic agent's profile. What was the reason?"

Graves looked at Elizabeth next to him and found that she had no strange expression, so he smiled bitterly and said, "At that time, I and other profilers believed that the evolution of the 'Capricorn Killer' was too fast. The mental tension and stimulation caused by this speed would cause him to quickly lose control. He would either collapse or lose control for other reasons. He would most likely commit suicide or be arrested for other violent acts...

"At that time, only Agent Keane thought that the killer's mind was calm enough. He would sense the danger of losing control, so he would temporarily stop, calm down for a while, and come back later!
"It turns out that Agent Keane's judgment was correct - he really is back!"

Hearing this, Nawabi and Demby began to look at Elizabeth with new eyes. You know, before 2013, she was just a junior agent and a part-time profiler, but she could make such accurate judgments!

Elizabeth waved her hand and said, "It's hard to say now. I need to see the scene before I can judge whether he is back!"
-
As expected, when they arrived at the scene, Elizabeth realized something was wrong after just one look!
Although the scene was very similar to the previous case, she spotted the flaw at a glance - the sword inserted into the victim's mouth was symmetrical and flawless, like a product from an industrial assembly line, and did not conform to the characteristics of hand-forged swords in previous cases at all!

Graves was very surprised by this, but he had no way to refute it!
(End of this chapter)