"But the police didn't find anything in the house at the time. My God, are you saying there's a body hidden in our house?"
The male homeowner's words made his wife, who had just sat down on the sofa, immediately stand up again.
"My God, is this true?"
"That's what we're trying to confirm. The suspect used to work here. Can you recall if anything unusual happened during the renovation of the house?" Emily nodded.
"For example, someone acting particularly aggressive, an argument, or maybe someone who suddenly disappeared without completing their work," Hotchner prompted.
"Think carefully. I know it's difficult, but this is key to the whole case."
Rossi's voice was always so calm and measured, with clear enunciation that seemed to reach deep into people's hearts, soothing their emotions.
His words caused the Black couple to fall into deep thought. After hesitating for a long time, the male homeowner shook his head helplessly.
"I really can't remember. In fact, we only dealt with the contractor. He was very friendly, and our communication was smooth."
"Oh no, my God," the wife interrupted her husband.
"I remember, that contractor. After the incident, we tried to contact him to continue the repairs, but he never returned our calls."
Everyone exchanged glances; it seemed they were close to the truth.
Boyd couldn't hold back any longer and asked directly, "According to the police report, there were signs of damage in every room except one, right?"
"Yes, except for the nursery. Everything else was smashed and only recently repaired. We've only been living here for less than a week," the male homeowner nodded.
"Mind if we take a look?"
"Of course not." Saying this, the male homeowner led them to the nursery. The others stayed at the door while only Jack and Reid entered the room to inspect it. Boyd glanced around and then followed them inside.
The room wasn't large, about ten square meters, and was decorated very warmly, with soft-colored walls and pictures of cute little animals. It was clear that the couple had put a lot of thought into it.
At the far end of the nursery, a small storage room had been partitioned off with drywall. Reid poked his head in to check but found nothing. Then he looked up at the ceiling.
Jack heightened his senses, especially his sense of smell, but was somewhat disappointed. Apart from the slight smell of eco-friendly paint, he didn't detect any blood or the odor of a corpse.
This was when they needed a professional. Although Jack was skilled in carpentry and had done all his home renovations himself, he wasn't as knowledgeable about the structure of houses as John.
"John, sorry to bother you at this hour, but it's urgent," Jack said, sending some photos of the room to John before calling him and putting the call on speaker.
"I suspect there's a body hidden in this room. Can you tell me where it's most likely concealed?"
"Yes, I know that construction workers have a tradition of leaving little things in walls, like time capsules. But there are too many walls here. I can't break open all the drywall."
"Wow, you've come to the right person. Hang on a sec; I'll turn on the lights in the living room. Garris has work early tomorrow and is already asleep," John's voice sounded excited, clearly pleased that he could help.
It wasn't long before his voice came through again. "Well, if it were me, there's only one possibility—the structural wall near the entrance."
Before John finished speaking, Boyd, who had already lost patience, started tapping lightly on the wall.
The inside of the structural wall was hollow. Most of the areas he tapped produced a dull echo until he hit a spot where the sound was different.
"Bang!" Boyd drove his elbow into the thin layer of drywall, breaking it open.
"Oh no," the male homeowner was too late to stop him, and the sight that followed stunned him.
"Sorry, but I think you'll need to find another place to stay tonight," Boyd shrugged.
Behind the wall was an object wrapped in thick plastic. Though it wasn't entirely clear, everyone had already prepared themselves mentally and could easily tell that it was a human head.
The spot Boyd broke through was about the height of a standing person. Someone had wrapped an entire body in thick, transparent plastic and then built it vertically into the wall.
"Ugh," the male homeowner covered his mouth and ran out of the nursery. A moment later, his wife's startled voice came from outside, "Honey, what's wrong?"
——
Flashing police lights illuminated the lawn outside the villa. The two homeowners were escorted into a police car, where they would be taken to the 21st precinct to give a brief statement. Afterward, someone would help them find a hotel to stay in temporarily.
"This is a nightmare," JJ said sympathetically, watching the couple leave.
"They finally finished renovating their new home, were eagerly awaiting their baby, and were about to start a new chapter in their lives, only for something like this to happen."
"I think they should be grateful to Jack. If they'd moved in with the baby and then found the body, oh, that would have been a lifelong nightmare."
Emily shuddered involuntarily as she tried to imagine the scene.
"Alright, how do you plan to identify the killer?" Boyd asked impatiently.
The next moment, everyone's eyes turned to Jack.
"Come on, haven't any of you ever done a bit of simple home renovation?"
Jack looked at them in confusion. The two ladies were understandable, and Reid, being the weakling he was, probably wasn't any good at it either. But were none of the others capable? Even Hannah could help him plaster a wall.
"Don't look at me. All it takes is a phone call, and I have plenty of guys willing to do that kind of work for me," Boyd shrugged, as usual.
Jack turned his gaze to Hotch and Rossi. The former rarely avoided eye contact, while the latter looked perfectly justified.
"Do you know where I live? How could I possibly worry about such things?"
Damn it, living in Beverly Hills really is something, Jack thought as he reluctantly took out his phone and dialed Garcia.
"Hey, gorgeous, pull up the address of the vandalized villa and open up the contractor's work records for me."
"Sure thing, handsome," Garcia responded cheerfully.
"It's James Morris. Is he the killer?"
"No, but he might be the first victim. Next, pull up the list of Morris's subcontractors, and then find the names and addresses of the workers responsible for the walls, wiring, and painting."
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