Chapter 286

A suicide note?

A confession?

Why did you write it and then throw it in the trash?

“Guys, look around the house for the dead man’s handwriting before he was born.” Luke took a picture and sent it to the group.

Soon, the team found some documents with the signature of the deceased Herson Sweeney and some written words.

Luke had taught himself the skill of handwriting identification and after confirming the authenticity of the documents, he began to compare the handwriting on the documents and the paper mass.

After some careful study, Luke felt that the suicide note on the paper ball should be from the dead man’s handwriting and not a forgery.

The motive, the tools of the crime, the suicide note ……

The case seemed to be getting closer to the truth.

The vice squad came over and asked, “How’s the handwriting study going?”

Luke said, “The handwriting on the paper ball found in the trash can is the same as the handwriting on the other documents, it’s most likely the deceased’s handwritten suicide note.”

The lieutenant sat down next to the couch and did some comparing as well, “Do you think this case is a suicide?”

“What do you think?”

“You’re the captain, you call the shots.”

“You’re experienced and have worked more cases than I know what to do with, I want to hear what you think.”

The vice squad put down the file and tapped the table with their fingers, “There are no signs that the lock of the house door was broken, and combined with the scene and this suicide note, it is possible that the victim committed suicide.

However, considering Herson Sweeney’s connection to the two previous cases of headless women’s corpses, coupled with the fact that in the suicide note he admitted to killing Gretna Sweeney, the determination of whether it’s a suicide or a homicide is no longer limited to this case itself.

I think it should be considered holistically.”

The lieutenant didn’t put words in his mouth, but Luke understood what he meant.

If it was determined that Herson was a suicide, it would indirectly confirm the authenticity of the suicide note, and as Herson admitted to killing his wife in the suicide note, it was very likely that he was the murderer of the two cases of the headless women’s bodies.

Three cases were successfully solved.

If it is determined that Herson did not commit suicide, it was homicide.

Then the suicide note may also be problematic, and the murderer of the two headless women’s bodies is someone else, and all three cases will become unsolved.

Luke didn’t rush to judgment and continued to search the house, hoping to find more valuable clues.

The scene investigation continued until the latter part of the night, and the police found no evidence that a third person was present.

The following morning, Luke went to work as usual.

Instead of going to the Robbery and Murder Division office, he first went to the technical team and the medical examiner’s office to learn about the identification.

At nine-thirty minutes, Luke returned to the First Squadron office and called a meeting.

First, Luke walked over to the projector and showed the newly obtained identification results, “Last night, the technical team did an expedited DNA identification comparison, and the blood of two people was found on that saw, the two female victims of the headless case, Gretna Sweeney and Novena Jones.

We’ve found the murder weapon in the headless woman case.”

Luke replaced another piece of information, “Here are the results from the coroner’s office, the exact cause of death for Herson Sweeney was asphyxiation due to methane poisoning, in addition, alcohol and barbiturates were detected in his blood.”

Blackie asked, “What are barbiturates?”

The vice squad replied, “The main ingredient of sleeping pills.”

Blackie recalled, “As I recall, only alcohol was found on the coffee table at the Herson’s house, not sleeping pills.”

Luke said, “The tech team found sleeping pills in the nightstand in the bedroom.”

Black asked rhetorically, “Why would he take sleeping pills if he had already decided to kill himself with gas?”

The vice team said, “Two possibilities, the first possibility is that there were other people in the house, and the other party gave Herson sleeping pills while turning on the natural gas and the gas stove to fake Herson’s suicide.

The second possibility, Herson took the sleeping pills himself.

Most people who commit suicide are either completely desperate for life.

Either they have a poor ability to endure in their heart and do not have the courage to continue to face the world.

And such people are usually more vulnerable, and they may be more afraid of the pain that comes with the dying process than of death itself.

Many suicides take sleeping pills and choose to die in their sleep.”

The lieutenant gathered his hair with a comb, “When the day comes that I’ve lived long enough, and I mean after ninety years of age, if life is boring and I have to suffer from illnesses, I might as well lie down at the foot of my bed, open a bottle of whisky, take a handful of sleeping pills, and quietly leave this world.

If this is the way I die some day, don’t save me, and don’t investigate.

Let me go in peace.”

Blackie said, “But Herson Sweeney isn’t even forty now.”

The lieutenant said, “That’s right, and I don’t think he had a good reason for killing himself either.”

Jenny speculated, “Could he have been terminally ill?”

Luke said, “The medical examiner didn’t check his body for a major acute illness, and the tech team didn’t search the house for test reports.

Jenny, contact Helson’s family doctor and line it up.”

“I got it.”

Jackson asked, “Captain, if Herson really did commit suicide, doesn’t that close the case?”

Luke asked rhetorically, “You think Herson committed suicide?”

“Yes.”

“Tell us your analysis.”

“First of all, we found no evidence of anyone else being present, and the manner of the suicide makes sense.

Secondly, it’s also likely true that he admitted to killing his wife, Gretna Sweeney, in his suicide note.

According to our previous investigation, he had enough motive to commit the crime, he wanted a child very much, and his wife had an unwanted pregnancy and just aborted it without asking his permission.

If he found out, it might attract his resentment.

Secondly, he always thought his wife had cheated on him.

Thirdly, he has to pay alimony in case of divorce.

From the above three points, he had a clear motive for committing the crime, and the saw stained with the blood of the two victims was found in the backyard of his house.

With a motive, a murder weapon, and Herson’s admission in his suicide note, a more complete chain of evidence has been formed.

That’s my opinion, what do you think?”

Luke thought for a moment, “Herson did write a suicide note, but it didn’t mention the other victim in the headless woman case.”

Jackson thought hard for a moment, “Assuming that if it was Herson who killed Gretna, then the suspect vehicle goes back to Herson.

His car was present at the crime scene the night Novena Jones was killed, he could be the one who got into the altercation with Novena Jones, and, the saw found at his house had Novena Jones’ blood on it.

According to Wickedore’s confession, Herson was also in the habit of looking for silver-selling women, and he fits the profile of the murderer perfectly.”

Black said, “Good analysis, Rookie, but you’re forgetting one more key piece of evidence.

The heads of those two female victims haven’t been found yet.”

“I know to, but Herson is dead now and no one knows where he hid the heads. The fact that you can’t find all the body parts in a lot of body-splitting cases doesn’t affect the closure of the case.

If the body had to be put together in its entirety to close the case, then a lot of body-splitters would get away with it.” Jackson laid out past cases.

Luke didn’t interrupt the two men’s discussion because he was also considering whether or not to close the case.

Like Jackson had said, no evidence of homicide had been found in Herson’s case, and if the case wasn’t connected to the headless woman’s body, it likely wouldn’t have been such a hassle.

The case would be investigated by the precinct, and from the clues available, the odds are that it would be ruled a suicide.

Of course, there are doubts about this case. The first doubt is that Herson took sleeping pills before he died.

The second doubt is that Herson’s motive for suicide is not particularly sufficient.

Of course, these two doubts are not a big enough problem to prove that the deceased was killed.

This case, when linked to the case of the headless woman’s body, adds the additional suspicion that the head of the headless woman was not found.

However, like Jackson said, Herson is dead and that doesn’t affect the closure of the case at all.

Now Luke is faced with a choice, should he choose to close the case?

Before, Luke didn’t have a say in the matter, he just had to do as he was told and investigate the case.

Now as the first person in charge of the case, it was up to him to close the case or continue the investigation.

It’s a big responsibility.

These are two completely different directions, and a decision by Luke will have a decisive impact on both cases.

At this point, it would be fine if Luke ruled the case a suicide.

And it’s easy for everyone.

The first case after Luke became acting captain was also successfully solved.

But Luke always felt a little unsure in his heart, which had the reason of several previous suspicions, and more importantly, he had communicated with Herson yesterday morning and did not feel that the other party had the idea of lightening his life.

As a result, Herson committed suicide at night.

That was the biggest doubt in Luke’s mind.

This was also the reason why he was late to meet Reed today, because once Reed asked, he didn’t know how to answer.

Anyone would want to solve the case earlier, and so did Reed.

So did Luke.

From the evidence so far, it was in line with the closing procedure to determine that Herson had committed suicide.

At the same time, the suspect vehicle, suicide note, saw and other evidence can also identify him as the murderer of the headless woman’s body case.

The 3 cases were successfully solved, which was favorable for everyone.

But Luke always felt a bit unsettled.

In case his feeling is right, Herson did not commit suicide and there is a real killer behind the scene.

Once the real culprit commits another crime, Luke will bear the brunt of the responsibility.

After thinking clearly, Luke decided to stabilize for a while, temporarily rejecting the temptation to close the case.

Luke looked at the crowd, “Jackson, you think Herson committed suicide?”

“Yes.”

“Anyone else think the same as him?”

The crowd looked at each other, no one responded.

“Who thinks Helson killed himself?”

“Me.” Blackie raised his hand.

Luke instructed, “Jackson, after the meeting is adjourned, you’ll be in charge of gathering evidence to close the case on Herson’s suicide.”

“Just me?”

“Yes. The opportunity to prove you is here.” Luke made two preparations, one part of the team investigated the possibility of his murder, and if they couldn’t find evidence that Herson was killed by him; they could just use Jackson’s closing evidence without delaying anything.

“OK, I’ll do it right.”

“Very well, as for the others join me in lining up a few suspects in the case.” Luke furthered his analysis, “Let’s hypothesize, if Herson was murdered, what was the reason for his murder?”

Blackie said, “It’s simple, the real murderer of the headless woman case wanted to frame him.”

Luke pursued, “What about the motive of the murderer of the headless woman case?”

“Could it be a psychopathic killer?”

Luke said, “If it’s a psychopathic killer, why would he be involved with Herson, from the way he framed Herson, he was familiar with both the Herson couple.”

“I suddenly have a guess, could it be because of benefit killings?” The lieutenant stroked his chin, revealing a thoughtful look, “The first person we found dead was Novena Jones, she was a silver seller.

But in fact the first one killed was Grina, could it be that she is the real target, and the silver seller woman Novena Jones is just an accident or the murderer is trying to disturb the police’s investigation line of sight.”

Luke analyzed smoothly, “Do you think the couple of Gretna Sweeney is the real target of the murderer?”

The vice squad nodded, “They are a husband and wife, and a husband and wife being killed one after another would have been suspicious.

And we didn’t suspect it before because Herson was mistaken for the murderer and there was a possibility that it was a suicide.

According to your hypothesis, if Herson was also killed, then the couple is probably the real target of the murderer.”

Luke found the speculation interesting, “Matthew, find out who the beneficiaries of Herson’s estate would be if he was killed.”

“OK.”

Jackson seemed to remember something, “Captain, do you suspect that someone killed someone in order to gain access to the inheritance of Mr. and Mrs. Herson Sweeney?”

Luke picked up his teacup and took a sip of water, “The reality is this.

They had no children, and their estate does go to someone else when they die.”

Jackson reminded, “Remember the statement we gave Wickedore?

According to Wickdor, Gretna Sweeney’s mother is still alive.

If Gretna dies, her mother is also the legal beneficiary. And according to Wickdor, the mother and daughter were not on good terms.

Could Gretna’s mother be a suspect as well.”

Luke said, “It’s a possibility, but I still think Herson’s relatives are more suspicious.”

“Captain, how do you judge that?”

“The order of death.

Even a minute’s difference between dying first and second can have a huge impact on the distribution of property.

If I were Gretna’s mother and I were to kill someone to obtain the inheritance, I would definitely kill my son-in-law first, not my own daughter.

That’s the way to maximize the benefits.”

Matthew came over, “Captain, Herson Sweeney’s parents are dead and he has a brother who is also his legal beneficiary.”

“Notify him to come and identify the body, I want to talk to him.”

“YES, Sir.”

Three o’clock in the afternoon.

A white man in his thirties was brought into Squadron One of the Robbery and Murder Division.

The white man bore some resemblance to Herson Sweeney, with red eyes, looked a little younger, and carried a duffel bag behind him.

Luke sized up the other man and introduced himself, “I’m Luke, Captain of Squadron One.”

“Rickon.”

“You’ve met Mr. Sweeney?”

“Yes, I didn’t think …… it would be the way to meet. Who killed my brother?” Rickon showed a sad look and was a little emotional.

“From the evidence so far, he most likely committed suicide.”

“Why would he kill himself?”

“We’re investigating why as well. We’d like to give you a statement and ask some questions about Mr. Sweeney.”

“OK, you guys ask.”

“How was your brother’s relationship? Did they come and go much?”

“We’ve always been close, but I live in New York, and because of the distance, we don’t count on too much back and forth.

But we talk on the phone a lot.”

“You live in New York?”

“Yes.”

“We just got in touch with you this morning, why did you get here so fast?”

“Last night, Helson called me and told me that Gretna had died, and that although they were not on good terms, she was my sister-in-law after all.

I bought a plane ticket and immediately rushed over, who knows I got off the plane and received a call, Herson ……” Rickon’s voice choked, covering his eyes with his hand.

“It was so sudden, he was the only family I had left in the world.

I’m having trouble accepting it.”

“What time did you guys call last night?”

“I think it was around nine, I was just entering the house.”

“Did he call you?”

“Yeah, he was a little down, so I took a couple days off to spend more time with him.”

“Was he drinking at the time?”

“It sounded like he was drinking.”

“Any state of intoxication?”

“No, he was sober and a good drinker.”

“Did he have any light thoughts at the time?”

“No, absolutely not.

They were married, but they were not in a good relationship and were on the verge of divorce.

To put it bluntly, Gerina’s death wasn’t a bad thing for my brother, he didn’t need to pay alimony anymore and his life would be much easier in the future.

Even though it might be hard for the time being, he definitely won’t kill himself.

I think there must be something wrong here.”

Luke said, “If Mr. Sweeney didn’t commit suicide, then the person who killed the couple could be the same murderer.

Do you have any he guesses about that?”

Rickon thought for a moment, “We were close, but after all, we were so far apart that I don’t know much about his life.”

Luke pulled out a picture of Novena Jones, “Do you recognize her?”

Rickon shook his head, “No.”

“Does Mr. Sweeney have a habit of visiting prostitutes?”

“No…… least, he didn’t used to.”

Luke pulled out the picture of Wickedore again, “Do you recognize him?”

“No.”

Luke had been watching Rickon’s expression; he looked sincere, not like he was putting on a show.

Through the questioning just now, Luke also didn’t see any signs that the other party was lying.

Moreover, he was quite certain that Herson would not commit suicide, and if he really was the murderer, he should not have expressed such a clear attitude.

Many times when the police were determining suicide and homicide, the attitude of the family would have a great influence.

To put it mildly, the family doesn’t take it seriously, the people don’t report the crime, the police just rule it a suicide and everyone saves themselves the trouble.

If the family is more assertive and believes that the victim will not commit suicide, the police will also be cautious in consideration of the family’s emotions.

Although it may sound uncomfortable, every industry has its own rules, and crows don’t laugh at boars.

Luke lowered his suspicion of Rickon and asked at length, “Was there anyone else in Mr. Sweeney’s house when you called?”

“No.” Rickon answered, then seemed to remember something.

“By the way, someone called the door while we were on the phone, and he went to answer it, then hung up his cell phone.”

Herson Sweeney’s time of death was between ten and ten-thirty p.m., and the time of their call was nine p.m. This person who called the door was as likely to know something, if not the murderer.

“Do you know the identity of the visitor?”

“Uh, I didn’t ask.

Herson said something about a friend coming over.

Then I vaguely heard him call the other man Henry, I think that was the name.”

“Did you hear that Henry?”

“No.”

“Does your brother have a friend named Henry?”

Rickon sighed, “SORRY, I don’t know.”

Luke pressed, “What are your brother’s usual hobbies?”

“I don’t think so, he’s a pretty uninteresting guy.”

“Come to think of it, that’s important.” Generally speaking people usually have three circles, the circle of colleagues, the circle of neighbors, and the circle of friends with similar interests.

The first two circles had set locations and just had to be asked from one to the next, the latter circle had a wider range.

Rickon frowned and pondered for a while, “If …… have to say one hobby, it’s drinking.”