Chapter 7 Saturday, May 7

During the first week of May, a cold snap hit the Great Lakes region of North America, and rare ice formations appeared near beaches.News of Anne Carino's abduction made headlines in newspapers along the New Jersey shore.Today's front-page headline reads "Eco Enterprises Offers $50,000 Reward for Leads to Solve the Case." The hotline of the police station was about to explode, but no valuable clues were obtained.A truck driver called and said he had seen a girl who looked like Anne in Lewis Farner while driving from New York to Delaware.She was with an older man and was wearing a scarf that covered her hair, mouth and most of her forehead.He remembered a scar over one of her eyes. "May I ask what color are her eyes?" The police officer in charge of answering the phone asked. He really wanted to know how this man could tell that she looked like a missing girl based on his eyes.The truck driver again replied that he was not paying attention.Another useless clue.But the policeman thanked him nonetheless.

There were also many calls from people who said they had seen women who looked like Annie at stations, hotels, gas stations along the Garden State Turnpike in New Jersey, and at casinos in Atlantic City.But none of these leads proved worthwhile, or led to a single witness. As far as the police have got, the blood stains left on the drainpipe have been tested to confirm that the blood type is the same as that of Anne Carino.Hair collected at the scene also matched a sample taken from Anne's bathroom comb.The valuable gold watch, which was found in the mud beneath the water pipe, turned out to be a birthday present from her parents in February.Forensic Section Chief Gus Meyers found some unidentified residue on the clasp of the watch, which he sent to the FBI for identification.

Some green fibers were also found beneath the boardwalk, scratched by splinters.Mrs. Carino reminded that Anne had a dark green sweater that was not in the closet.Her boyfriend couldn't remember what color she was wearing the day of the accident, but he was sure it wasn't white.In addition to the watch, Anne also wore a gold ring with the three letters of AMC engraved on the ring.She wears four earrings in each ear, including a pair in the shape of a gold star.The police also included detailed descriptions of the ring and earrings in the missing persons announcement broadcast on the radio.They omitted the verification of the clues of the star earrings in the missing person announcement, so as to verify the testimony when collecting evidence in the future.

Police questioned more than a dozen teenagers who were on the boardwalk the night Anne disappeared, but they all confirmed that they had seen nothing unusual or noticed any unfamiliar vehicles.No witnesses could be found, and the police search for Anne has made no progress.There is nothing they can do now but wait. Every day when O'Shaughnessy came to work, he glanced at the Ford Explorer sedan parked in the police station yard.Every time she saw it, her heart became very heavy.A mechanic at the garage determined that the side wheel of the tire had been nicked by a half-inch blade. O'Shaughnessy couldn't stand the cold snap and caught a cold.There was a pile of pills on her desk.She kept sneezing, pumped a tissue with one hand, and hung the enlarged photos from the sewer on the wall of the office with the other.A week passed, and she still didn't know where to start to investigate the case.

She can already memorize the words scribbled on the photos: JM loves PJ, Ron and TS1983 forever, Sefus Derule and Eastern Hills Conference 81; neurotic Su74, Patrick and Jack, the Beatles, Ho Slee eat shit, thanks Dade.There are also some bloody handprints left by the victim on the drainpipe and some marks left by her bloody hair brushing the pipe wall. She could imagine two very different scenarios down the boardwalk.In one scene, a group of young people are drinking beer together, pulling each other's clothes and getting entangled.Another scene shows a terrified girl, badly wounded, possibly stabbed or shot by a hard object, crawling forward with difficulty on her hands and knees.She must have been scared out of her wits, trying to keep herself quiet while crawling forward desperately.She looked so terrified, so timid, every feeble breath, every heartbeat, seemed to take a lot of effort to complete.

To O'Shaughnessy's bewilderment, Anne must have also thought that hiding was better than running.Did she choose to hide in the dark hollow under the boardwalk because she was too wounded to have the strength to climb Atlantic Avenue?She must have known she was not capable of crawling across the sand to the other end of the drainpipe, so she was desperately hiding herself under the drainpipe.When she heard the footsteps of the murderer approaching step by step, she must have trembled with fright and held her breath, but she was finally found by the murderer. Another point that makes O'Shaughnessy wonder is whether Anne is a coincidental victim, or the murderer already knows that she is Jason Carino's daughter and kidnapped her for money?Carino's family was rich.Could this be a premeditated kidnapping case?If this is the case, seventy-two hours have passed, why didn't the murderer make any demands?

In order to get his daughter back, Jason Carino not only offered a huge reward for clues to solve the case, but also asked the mayor to ask the state for assistance.He is very dissatisfied with the local police's ability to handle cases, and wants to call more and stronger police forces to retrieve his precious daughter. O'Shaughnessy said in a statement to the media that unless there is evidence that the girl has been taken out of the area, the Wildwood police will not neglect their pursuit.But her statement did little to quell Jason Carino's displeasure. O'Shaughnessy wiped off the snot that kept coming out of his nose, picked up the file bag, and went through all the materials carefully again.The file bag became heavier and heavier, and turned into a big case; it contained the technical analysis report of the criminal investigation department, the interrogation transcripts of the detective team, the confessions of Anne's friends, as well as the informants and criminal records. Confessions of criminals.

Anne's boyfriend gave the police a written permission to search his car.The interior of his car was clean and he had an alibi.On the night Anne disappeared, he was seen drinking in bars all night.He was very calm and composed when he recorded the statement, and no doubts could be found on him.And another boy who was close to Annie, the mayor's son, stayed at home the night Annie died, and his mother can testify.After his mother made a sandwich that night, she watched him carry one into his room and didn't come out all night. The current situation is brutal.O'Shaughnessy thought to himself, it would be great if Annie's body could be found.Then the evidence can be found to prevent the murderer from continuing to commit crimes, at least to save another family's daughter from misfortune.Unless, of course, Anne Carino appeared alive and kicking in front of her parents one day, but as the days passed, the imaginary possibility became less and less likely.

O'Shaughnessy hadn't slept well since Labor Day, dreaming about the black hole under the boardwalk.In the dream, someone was chasing after her, and she could hear heavy breathing behind her.Water splashed down the pipe overhead, and she threw herself into the drainpipe to hide, sinking her knees into the sand and mud.She reached out a bloody hand to the hose, trying to stay still.She was trying to hold her breath when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Route One, Lieutenant." She woke up, sat up, and quickly grabbed the receiver from the phone. "Hello. Lieutenant O'Shaughnessy. This is Detective John Penn of the Philadelphia Police Department. We are dealing with a homicide that occurred last night. We Trying to find the relatives of the deceased. You have a nursing home called Yulinli, right? I found out that the father of the deceased may live in this nursing home, but the staff of the nursing home did not tell me anything and suggested that I To get in touch with you. Can you tell me something about the deceased's father?"

"What is your name?" "Andrew Marco." O'Shaughnessy narrowed his eyes and said, "He died on May 1st, fell down the stairwell onto the concrete and broke his head." There was silence over the microphone. "Inspector Payne?" "My God. Lieutenant, is it a purely accidental death?" "I haven't read the autopsy report, but my assistant was at the scene and he said it looked like a normal death." She made a face, and then said, "We heard he has no relatives." "Well, I think there must be some problem between the father and daughter. The deceased's husband said that the deceased had been refusing to admit that she had such a father. Then, how did he fall to his death?"

"He opened a door to the storage room and fell down a dark flight of stairs. Staff said the door had been locked at all times, but it was found unlocked that day." "No witnesses?" "Yes." O'Shaughnessy found that she gradually became less and less sure about that "accident". "You know, he's been in prison." "I said something. But it was a long time ago, maybe the mid-seventies?" "Have you ever heard, then, that he ever testified against his associates?" "I haven't heard of that," she said. "One of the accomplices was named Anthony Scalney." "Skani?" "Yes, he is now the second boss of the Gambino family, the heir to Pete Gotti." "It's been so long, Skani probably won't hold grudges like this." "I don't know that either," Payne said. "But their last two organized crime operations in New York City were a little odd." "Tell me about your victim." "The name of the deceased was Susan Paxton, her maiden name was Marco, she was white, she was forty-five years old, and she was the manager of a high-end women's clothing store before her death. Arrested for marijuana. Since then, other than a traffic ticket, she has never appeared to commit anything else. Everyone who knows her says she is a moral person. She has many friends, social activities A lot too. She is generous and passionate about philanthropy. The pastor said it would take a long time to re-chair all the organizations she leads. If there is any mystery about her, it is that she once had a period of haze in her life In short, the murderer shot her three times at the scene: one bullet hit the head and the other two hit the upper body. Then the murderer left the scene without taking anything. It was not a rape, it was not a robbery, and no There was no motive for the killing, but every shot hit the nail on the head. So I think the killer was someone she knew." "Has she been connected with anyone in Wildwood besides her father?" "Oh, yes. She hasn't said a word about the New Jersey Shore or her childhood for the past twenty-six years." "I'll look up Andrew Marko's autopsy report. Please give me your fax number and I'll get back to you within 24 hours." "Lieutenant, could you please help me to freeze Marko's body?" O'Shaughnessy pondered for a moment, then decided that it was necessary for her to consult with the medical examiner herself.She said to Payne, "It shouldn't be a problem. How long do you want to keep it?" "Just a week or two. It shouldn't be long." "The use of the mortuary is very tight. But as long as the relatives do not object, I will try my best." "I think you may not be able to find his relatives, but if you do, please let me know. I would like to meet them too. Thank you for your help." Payne told O'Shaughnessy the fax number . The shutters to the outside office were open, and O'Shaughnessy saw McGuire sitting at his desk, talking with a microphone in his ear, staring at the ceiling, holding a coin in his hand. Turn around. McGuire was tall with curly hair; he had been a detective for twelve years.When O'Shaughnessy's former lieutenant retired, it was assumed that McGuire would take over as lieutenant.But O'Shaughnessy scored high on the promotion exam, and the department had no choice but to let her take over as lieutenant. O'Shaughnessy never forgot the advice Commissioner Loudon gave her on the day she took office: "As long as McGuire is subdued, the rest will obey you obediently. He is the key person for you to carry out your work smoothly." Winning McGuire was easier than she thought.He has no selfish motives.They had a great time working together.As long as it's a matter of work, McGuire doesn't seem to mind being bossed by a woman.From the time she took over as lieutenant, she had McGuire on everything.When she wanted to hear his opinion, she would ask him without hesitation in front of everyone.She knew that McGuire had authority in this masculine office, and when O'Shaughnessy ordered the other officers to do things, they all watched McGuire's reaction. It's her third week of quitting smoking, and McGuire joked to her this morning that everyone is going to chip in to buy a pack of cigarettes to celebrate.She knew she had been irritable since the Carino case came out on Sunday.She knew McGuire was joking.But she is also very clear that they are all watching her to see if she is a person who will collapse when encountering difficulties. This is a critical moment to test whether she is qualified to be their boss.She has to get through it. She pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking about Andrew Marco.She looked again at the accident investigation report that Randall had sent.Considering the age and mental ability of the deceased alone, there seems to be nothing suspicious. When McGuire hung up, she pressed the number on McGuire's desk, "McGuire, tell you something, you won't believe it."