"Rossi and Prentiss, head to the forensics office. Morgan and Jones, head to the dumping site. The rest of you, head to the police station," Hotch instructed. They split up to do their jobs.
Bruce and Morgan soon arrived at the place where the body was found. It was cordoned off, and there were signs on the ground.
It was a narrow alleyway, just one street away from the event venue. Bruce took out the photo of the body when it was found and compared it to the signs on the ground. He then looked around.
"The murderer should have killed the victim here." Bruce looked at the large pool of blood on the ground. "The victim's heart was penetrated, and he lost a lot of blood. If he moved here from another place, it's unlikely that there wouldn't be traces elsewhere."
"This is an alley. The victims are all tourists who came here from other places to participate in the event. They're not familiar with New York, so why would they come to an alley like this with others?" Morgan crossed his arms in front of his chest and thought.
"Maybe the murderer said that he was a local and was familiar with the area, so he could bring the tourists to a bar or hotel," Bruce guessed.
"Let's look back at the scene. It's night now, but it's not too late. The street next to us is brightly lit. The event has just ended, but it's still very lively. You could be walking through this alley with a new friend who has the same hobby." Morgan hypothesized the victim's situation.
"Then I'm the victim, and you're the murderer. I followed you or we walked side by side from the other side. When we reached here, you suddenly took out a weapon, a weapon that's not a gun, and stabbed me in the heart, killing me in one hit?" Morgan shook his head. "That's very difficult. “
"That's true." Bruce looked around and pointed. "The streetlights are over there. The alley should be darker. If I suddenly took out a weapon and turned around to attack you, my movement would be very big. That's why I could pierce through your body. But it's impossible that you didn't notice it. For someone who just met, the distance between us shouldn't be that close."
"And it doesn't make sense that it was a long-range weapon. If it was a gun, it would require more kinetic energy to pierce through your body. It's impossible for it to be silent. If it was a bow and arrow, it would be difficult to control it. Besides, how would you accurately hit the target's heart at night?"
"Then it can only be because we were very close to each other. You were caught off guard and couldn't react in time." Bruce shrugged. "Could it be that the murderer is a woman?"
"That's possible, but one of the three victims is a female."
Bruce and Morgan went to the place where the other two victims were found. Generally speaking, it was pretty much the same. They were all in alleys that deviated from the main street. The furthest one was only four streets away from the event scene.
Back at the police station, Bruce briefly explained the situation. Rossi and Prentiss had not made any progress with the forensic team. Apart from the fatal wound, there were no other traces of binding or drugs on the body.
"That's not easy. I mean, to accurately pierce the heart. Most people only know the general location of the heart, and the location of the heart is slightly different for everyone. How did the murderer manage to accurately pierce the heart?" Reid sat in front of the information board, tapping his forehead with a pen in his hand.
"The murderer and the victim must have had some kind of physical contact, the kind that was intimate enough to touch each other's bodies?" Prentiss continued, "So, the murderer and the victim know each other?"
"The victims came from different places and had no contact with each other. How did the murderer know all of them?"
"Through the Internet?" Bruce contacted himself. "I came to this gathering because I was invited by a netizen. If they were originally friends in the game, it would probably make sense. But a mere relationship as a netizen would not allow them to have any intimate physical contact. "
At this time, Hotch walked in and was making a call on his phone. "Garcia, I need information on the organizer of this event, Evan Beranke."
"Evan Beranke? What's wrong with this person? From the information, he looks very normal. Twenty-two years old, currently studying at New York University. His family is rich, and he has no criminal record. "Garcia's voice came from the phone.
"He refused to stop the event and refused to talk to us unless we got permission." Hotch looked at everyone on the hands-free phone.
"Bellanck is a fanatical fan of World of Warcraft. He has sponsored many game-related events. This event was initiated and organized by him," Garcia continued. Garcia continued, "He posted a lot of pictures of these activities on social media. Also, he's very cool. He's also a cosplay enthusiast. He's always cosplaying as one person. He's very handsome." He even sent them a picture. The person in the picture was dressed in dark red. Even his hair and eyes were red. He had pointy ears and was dressed as a blood elf in the game.
Bruce was speechless about this punk's image, not to mention that the person in the picture was holding a dagger to his mouth and pretending to lick it.
"Young people these days have such strange hobbies," Rossi said faintly.
Bruce felt like he had been shot in the knee and quickly changed the topic. "Garcia, we still need to find out who the victim is in contact with on the Internet, especially those related to this game."
After hanging up the phone, Hotch said, "Bruce, I need you to communicate with Bellanck. Ask him about possible information related to the case and understand why he refused to stop the event."
"Me?" Bruce was a little confused. Didn't Bellanck already refuse?
"Is there a problem?" Seeing Bruce shake his head, Hotch told him, "Bellanck will appear at the party tonight."
However, the theme party required people to disguise themselves. Only people dressed as in-game characters were allowed to enter. Bruce, who had seen the event process on the forum, sighed in his heart and thought of the costume in his backpack.
He hoped that he wouldn't be seen as having strange hobbies …
Bruce arrived at the party before eight o 'clock in the evening. The bar was already crowded with people, and there were all kinds of strange costumes. Warriors, Mages, and other professions aside, those who wore dog or minotaur masks were normal. However, Bruce also saw people who were dressed in green with strange tentacles and dressed as Treants. There were also people who wanted to dress up as Ethereals, but in reality, they looked more like Mummies.
At this time, Bruce was wearing leather armor, the kind that exposed his entire arm and abdomen. His lower body was wearing leather pants and boots. His hands were wearing black gloves and he held a dagger. His face was painted with simple but mysterious black lines, and his head was covered by a black cloak that covered his pointed ears.
At a glance, you could see that almost all of his clothes were black. Only the dagger in his hand reflected a silver light. His beautiful face was expressionless, but it looked cold. His black hair, eyes, and the lines on his face complemented each other. His slender body and exposed abdomen muscles made him look strong.
This was the perfect image of a Night Elf that one could imagine!
Almost everyone who saw him would feel suffocated. This was a Night Elf who had mistakenly entered this world from Azeroth.
However, at this time, Bruce only felt a layer of goosebumps on his exposed skin. It was close to Christmas. Although it had not yet snowed, the single-digit temperature in New York was quite unfriendly with this outfit.
"Yasuo?" A clear female voice sounded beside him. Someone walked over. "Oh my god, although I saw your high school graduation photos and knew that you would suit this outfit, I didn't expect it to be so … perfect."
The person who came was wearing a red robe and holding a staff in her hand. She looked like a woman about the same age as Bruce. Of course, most people here were around the same age and had the same hobby of gaming.
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