American forensics, but the gourmet system

Fortunately, when Russell and Aina walked out of the funeral home, they did not encounter old Fitcher, who was holding a baseball bat and trying to keep them there.

Instead, Fitcher sat in the funeral home's duty room, waving goodbye to them warmly.

Russell opened the door for Aina; outside, the wind and snow were howling.

"He doesn't seem like a bad guy, does he?"

As Aina passed by Russell, she said in a low voice.

"Dr. Simmons doesn't seem like a bad guy either." Russell followed Aina into the snow outside. "I've sent Jesse the photo of the girl who was cremated as Jennifer. Hopefully, the NYPD's facial recognition system will work this time..."

The two wrapped their clothes tighter and walked towards the car, braving the cold wind.

Aina renewed her lease on the Cybertruck, so they could continue using it as their mode of transportation until they returned to New York.

"Actually, the hearse driver is the most likely culprit," Russell said as he got into the car. "Did you hear what old Feicher said? The hearse driver, Andy, is Dr. Simmons' cousin..."

"It's complicated." Aina climbed into the car as well. "But we can't convict anyone right now, can we? Even if your colleague finds out the identity of that unknown girl, it's still the same... because our evidence was obtained illegally."

"You've found a blind spot, Aina," Russell said as he backed up. "That's right, we're conducting an illegal investigation... Now the question we need to think about is how to turn illegally obtained evidence into legal evidence... I think we should start with that hearse driver."

……

The stainless steel behemoth pierced through the wind and snow, its lights illuminating the swirling snowflakes and creating a pair of bright beams.

The drive from Kingston back to the farm is 40 minutes, but due to the complicated road conditions caused by the snow, Russell deliberately kept his speed down to 40 miles per hour, turning the 40-minute drive into almost an hour.

Russell's stomach had already rumbled a few times; he was starting to miss the American-style barbecue at the farm restaurant.

In such terrible weather, both Russell and Aina wanted to get back to their warm and comfortable rooms as soon as possible.

But in any case, safety is the most important thing.

Russell controlled the car's speed as he drove on the narrow two-lane road leading to the farm.

This highway only gets busy during the peak tourist season, and now, the tire tracks left by the previous car are being buried by the wind and snow.

"It'll be another half hour before we get to the farm," Russell said, glancing at the navigation information on the central control screen. "What would you like to eat, Aina?"

"Can we order?" Aina's eyes lit up immediately. "I want to eat—"

boom!

A muffled thud.

  

The heavy Cybertruck immediately veered to the left.

Russell felt the steering wheel in his hands being pulled sharply to the left, and the whole car veered sideways into the deep ditch outside the roadbed.

Oops!

Russell immediately released the accelerator pedal, the motor reversed, and the kinetic energy recovery system instantly generated braking force to slow the vehicle down.

But the braking force was too great, and the rear of the car began to spin again.

Russell had no choice but to lightly tap the accelerator pedal again, allowing the forward traction to counteract the car's tendency to spin.

At the same time, Russell gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, constantly making minor adjustments and resisting the sudden dragging sensation.

Elite-level wok-flipping and pan-holding techniques have been put to the test.

Russell's hands were as precise as a machine, every minute adjustment was just right, and although the car veered from the right lane into the left lane, it did not actually go off the road.

The car finally stopped.

The carriage was completely silent; Russell could even hear his own heartbeat clearly.

The moment the car veered off course, Aina had already crossed her arms over her chest, ready to withstand any potential violent impact.

Her reaction speed and coping methods were already excellent, but even so, Aina was still so frightened that her face turned pale and her shoulders trembled slightly involuntarily.

Russell felt a layer of cold sweat seeping from his back, soaking his shirt.

"Are you alright, Aina?"

Russell opened his mouth to ask, but to his own ears, his voice sounded hoarse and unlike his own.

"I...I'm fine."

Aina's voice trembled slightly.

Silence returned to the carriage. Russell took deep breaths to calm his pounding heart.

He looked out the window. The wind and snow were still howling, and it was pitch black all around. No men in black with rifles jumped out of the woods, and no guns spat fire anywhere.

"It's a flat tire." Russell's heart was still pounding. Just a hair's breadth away from the two of them rolling off the road and into the deep ditch by the roadside.

Da da da da.

The ringing of his phone interrupted Russell's next words. When Russell took his phone out of his pocket, he realized that his fingertips were also a little numb.

It's Jesse.

Russell took a deep breath and answered the phone.

"Hey, Russell," Jesse's voice came through the phone. "I found the photo you gave me. The girl's name is Rachel Francis. She went missing on April 12th when the owner of the convenience store where she worked reported her missing to the police. Rachel has almost no living relatives and lives in a tiny attic on $300 a month, working odd jobs and selling her blood... Are you still listening, Russell?"

"Yes." Russell cleared his throat. "So, she's a social outcast?"

“Yes, you could definitely say that,” Jesse said. “But… there’s something wrong with your voice, Russell. Have you been drinking? Why does your voice sound so strange?”

"It's nothing," Russell said, trying to sound nonchalant. "I just had a flat tire on the road, it gave me a fright... Thank you so much, Jesse. I'll contact you again if I need anything."

"Wait, wait!" Jesse shouted on the other end of the phone. "Should we investigate Rachel's disappearance? We can do both at the same time..."

“Too slow, Jesse.” Russell’s voice turned serious. “I don’t have much time left… No, what are you thinking? I don’t have cancer, and I don’t have leukemia… I mean, I don’t have much time left in Ulster County. Investigating an eight-month-old disappearance is too slow. I’ll think of something else…”

After hanging up the phone, Russell turned to look at Aina, who was looking down at her phone sending messages.

Aina noticed Russell watching her, raised her phone and waved it at him, a smile spreading across her face.

"I texted the farm manager, and he's already sent a tow truck and a mechanic... Thank goodness it was just a flat tire, right? The person who caused the accident didn't seem to be planning to kill us..."

Russell tilted his head and looked at Aina:

"You also don't think it was an accident?"

"Absolutely not," Aina said firmly.

"Someone's going to be in big trouble," Russell said through gritted teeth, his voice filled with murderous intent.

"One day, that person will definitely regret not killing me. Because I will make him sit on the execution chair and say goodbye to this world in despair..."