Chapter 16 Wednesday, May 25

In the last week of May, the police station received a total of more than 600 reports, of which 123 were about trivial matters; the other half were about motor vehicle accidents.The crime ranges from car theft, shoplifting and drug trafficking in public.O'Shaughnessy caught a bunch of drug addicts, two muggers and six supermarket thieves who specialized in stealing women's wallets.Summer was a week away, and the sun-faded picture of Anne Carino in the shop window was still missing. O'Shaughnessy also put the file of this case on the table, reminding herself all the time: this case has not been solved yet, and she and her subordinates still have to work hard to find evidence.

She also kept some old photos taken at the scene of the crime, most of which were graffiti written on the water pipes.She pinned them all to the wall, right in the middle of her daughter's pastel drawings. O'Shaughnessy wondered whether Anne died quickly that night, or after much torture.She couldn't help but imagine what would happen to herself in that situation.Do you want to die quickly, or will you continue to wait for a miracle to happen for the sake of the child or even for Tim? Tim?Why do you always think of Tim?She knew the answer, always knew, she still loved him, no matter how many hateful things he did, she still couldn't forget him.

The dark green Ford Explorer is no longer here.Annie's father drove it away.Regarding the case of his daughter's disappearance, he publicly condemned the ineffectiveness of the police department, and even asked the state's chief prosecutor to personally intervene in the investigation of the case.When he was interviewed by the TV station, he said that because of this incident, now every citizen is worried about their children, and all commercial communities should also rectify the order.He knows very well that the politicians will only pay attention to this matter if it makes the business world nervous.Everyone knows that this negative impact will not do any good to this small town whose main industry is tourism, but in order to find his daughter as soon as possible, Jason Carino is determined to implement this plan to the end.

O'Shaughnessy knew he desperately needed a break, and the sooner the better.At this moment, Gus Meyers unexpectedly stood at the door of her office. Gus Meyers was fifty-six, but still looked young, and he was about six and a half feet tall, so no matter where he sat, there seemed to be no room for his legs.He has silver-white hair, brown skin, and always wears a dark blazer with patches on the elbows, a colorful cardigan, and charcoal pants.If you want to categorize Gus' hobbies, you can't count the days and nights.In fact, Gus likes to study antiques best, and there is a china plate from Andrea Doan on the bookcase in his office.

O'Shaughnessy had met Gus in his father's office when he was a toddler.Gus did look much older now than when she remembered seeing him for the first time. "What's the matter with you?" she asked with concern. Gus nodded, smiling, and pulled a plastic envelope from his jacket.O'Shaughnessy immediately recognized the contents of the bag as Annie Carino's watch, the same one she had found under the boardwalk on May 1st.Her initials were engraved inside the shell of that magic sign. "You remember this?" He shook the watch in front of her. O'Shaughnessy nodded.Anne's mother once identified in her room.

"And you remember that residue I found on my watch strap? The one I sent to the FBI for testing?" O'Shaughnessy nodded again, her heart beating faster. Gus threw the watch on the table in front of her. "Those are GM paint." "What? Paint?" She frowned. "Yes. From 1993 to 1997, the paint manufacturers gradually changed the composition of the car paint. The color is a dark orange, which is not common, but it is easy to find. Usually only used by the fleet, Ordinary cars don't use this color." "Fleet paint," she repeated. "Yeah, maybe a truck, or a van from a construction site. Maybe a taxi, but taxis haven't been painted orange in ages. I'm looking up all the dark orange paint The team information, but this work is more difficult than imagined. It may take several weeks, but at least we have an idea.”

O'Shaughnessy was lost in thought, not of Gus Meyers' words or the FBI report, but of Annie Carino, pissed after an argument with her boyfriend on the boardwalk He ran back to his parents' car, only to find a flat tire.Maybe she knew someone was going to hijack her as soon as the orange car pulled into the parking lot, but why didn't she run out into the street? Was that car waiting for her in the parking lot beforehand?Seeing that her tire had a flat tire, she pretended to go over to help her, and then took the opportunity to do it?Or had the killer been waiting for her in the parking lot, and had kidnapped her when she passed the killer's car?Could it be that the murderer had parked the car next to the drainpipe beforehand, and just started there?Judging from the paint on Anne's watch strap, she should have struggled near the murderer's car, so the last inference is not impossible.

But one thing is certain.There was still some distance from Atlantic Avenue to the parking lot, so no one could hear Anne even if she yelled.She saw the drain pipe in panic and wanted to go in and hide for a while. She might have thought that the murderer would leave if he couldn't find her.But unexpectedly, instead of leaving, the murderer followed her into the sewer and found her under the drainpipe. "Of course, that car could have been parked there by someone else," Gus continued, "and the victim happened to walk by the car and accidentally touched the wrist with the watch on the car and got the paint on it. But all The news media have reported on this case. It stands to reason that someone should provide clues. Even if we don’t see any useful clues, we should at least let us know that someone parked in that parking lot that night. But now there are no ghosts. None came."

Gus shifted his crossed legs and continued, "I found something on the watch that wasn't there. I think it might have been from when she was attacked. Kelly, If you can find a vehicle with that paint composition, you can be sure it must have been near the crime scene on the night of the crime." O'Shaughnessy nodded and thanked him.At this time, she looked at the photos on the wall at the scene of the crime, and it seemed that those scenes had come alive again.The orange-colored vehicle has never been featured in media reports.But maybe this clue will remind people around Anne of something.She immediately sent her agents to interview Annie's boyfriend and anyone who had been on the boardwalk that night.She had to find out how many orange cars there were in Cape May County or in all of New Jersey.

When Gus opened the door to go out, O'Shaughnessy saw McGuire standing outside. "McGuire, I think we've hit the nail on the head." But McGuire's reaction was not very happy, "I think we are in trouble again, Lieutenant. Officer Ross came here in the middle of the night last night and has been with me. I think you'd better see him too." He opened the door as he spoke. "Ross, it's almost ten o'clock, shouldn't you go home and go to bed?" When O'Shaughnessy first wore a police uniform, Ross was already an officer on her unit.The time for the night shift change is seven in the morning, so he should have been home for a few hours.

"I hope so too." Ross smiled wryly with a weary face. "I've brought you another trouble. McGuire asked me to come straight to you. Last night we received another missing person report. Missing The other was a tourist, sixteen years old. The whole family came, but no one knew where she had gone. They had planned to leave this morning. Her mother said that her daughter had never been out of the night before. Her father also agrees with his wife that this is the first time this has happened to his daughter." "When was the last time they saw her?" "After eight o'clock last night. She went to the boardwalk to play with children her age. Her father called me at three o'clock in the morning, and I stayed with her family the whole time." "Then what action did you take?" "I filled out a detailed missing person information card. I also checked all the places she might go, including hospitals, clinics and shelters. I posted the information card on the work column of the police station. So that every policeman on patrol can pay attention. I also checked the places where hooligans haunted, but they are all sleeping at home now, and only come out at night. We can go and check again tonight." "Okay, well done," O'Shaughnessy said. "The girl's father was out looking for her in the middle of the night. He said he drove up and down town and walked the boardwalk twice. I asked them for pictures of the girl, but they didn't There's only one undeveloped roll of film in there. I took it to the quick launderer this morning to have it developed. I figured if she didn't show up, at least we'd have a clue." "Good job." O'Shaughnessy nodded approvingly. "On top of that, I kept her family in the room waiting for her to come back. I gave them the direct number for the teen help station. Nobody knows what's going on in a case like yours. But now I always feel like something is wrong." O'Shaughnessy knew what he meant.Anne Carino flashed into her mind again. "Picture developed and brought to my office. I need the agents to have a copy. Shall I call the Youth Help Desk?" "I've notified them. I sent Celia Davis to meet them, she's on her way now. She has a great relationship with the parents of the troubled youth." "Well, it sounds like you've got things sorted out. So where are the missing person's parents living now?" "Dunes Hotel, Room 1212." She scribbled in her notebook, "Thanks for taking the lead, Rose. I'll let Celia keep me updated." "Thank you Lieutenant," Ross said. A missing sixteen-year-old girl, even if she stays in a hotel with her parents, may meet some peers, hang out with them, and wake up to find herself lying in a strange room.She wished it was as simple as that. She looked at the photos on the wall taken at the scene of the crime. Silently pray that this matter will simply end.