Chapter 70: A Pillow When Drowsy

Jimmy returned to the precinct and immediately called the dispatch center to inquire about the progress, only to hang up in disappointment. They were not working overtime that evening, so he had to wait until daytime to continue.

Since he was still assigned to the case, Jimmy was excused from patrol duty for the past couple of days, and his patrol car had even been driven off by someone else. While waiting for the dispatch center's investigation results, Jimmy went to the lounge for a short rest before Chief James woke him up.

"Jimmy, the feedback on the new police light from all aspects has been quite positive. You need to contact the manufacturer as soon as possible. I've already spoken with the county commission, and next month the council members will hold a hearing on this procurement project."

"Thank you, Chief. That is truly good news. Does this mean all the patrol cars in our department will be upgraded?" Jimmy was delighted, as this was his first order that could genuinely improve his life. Then, his smile vanished. "However, Chief, Cragg just handed a homicide case over to me, and right now I simply don't have the time to look for a factory."

Chief James was somewhat speechless; he couldn't very well just tell him to drop the murder case and focus on the procurement instead.

"Handle the case first. The hearing is still nearly a month away, so there should be plenty of time." With that, the chief returned to his office, leaving Jimmy standing there to fend for himself.

Jimmy felt quite helpless. He genuinely wanted to set the case aside and get the business rolling first, but he was already halfway through the investigation and just waiting for the dispatch center to provide the travel route to continue the pursuit. Putting it on hold now meant there was no telling when it could be resolved.

The dispatch center performed quite efficiently this time, returning results in just over two hours.

The last recorded sighting of the blue sedan was on the route heading toward Emerald Mountain State Park. Because there were subsequent blind spots without traffic cameras, further monitoring was impossible. Furthermore, calculating based on the timestamps of various intersection cameras, the vehicle likely did not make any stops along the way.

Jimmy scratched his head in frustration. The insufficient coverage of traffic cameras was something he hadn't anticipated. To continue tracking, he would have to go to the area and make inquiries in person. If the suspect's vehicle had continued driving along Highway 300, it would have crossed out of Pulaski County, requiring coordination with other police departments to obtain information. Such cross-jurisdictional cooperation would either require the Chief to step in personally or necessitate handing the case directly over to the state police.

As a rookie, Jimmy was completely unfamiliar with personnel in other police departments. Yet, having just talked back to the Chief earlier, going to him now would be troublesome. Should the Chief still be angry, and consequently ruin the police light deal, the outcome would be catastrophic.

After much deliberation, Jimmy thought of someone. He pulled out his phone and found Frank Moses's number.

"Hi, Moses, it's me, Deputy Jimmy."

"Hi, Jimmy, what's up?"

"Well, I remember you mentioned a friend of yours who is a park ranger at Emerald Mountain, right? He came to the barbecue last time."

"Yes, Pat Bright. What about him? Is something wrong?"

"Here's the thing. I'm investigating a case, and a suspect's car apparently headed toward the Emerald Mountain area. I'd like to ask him for a favor."

"Alright, jot down this phone number."

Jimmy obtained Pat Bright's number and dialed it directly. Because it was a landline, and Bright might currently be patrolling the park, the call went unanswered.

Jimmy waited another half-hour and redialed. This time, someone picked up.

"Hi, this is the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office. Am I speaking with Mr. Pat Bright?"

"Yes, what can I do for you, Officer?"

"Hi, Bright, I'm Jimmy. We met a while back at Frank Moses's gathering."

"Oh, I remember you, the young Asian fellow, Jimmy."

"That's me. I got your number from Moses and need a little help with something."

"Go ahead."

"There was a homicide here the day before yesterday. The suspect fled in a blue sedan with fake plates, heading in the direction of Emerald Mountain. I wanted to ask if you've noticed this vehicle, or if you have any surveillance footage there that could help us check?"

"I don't recall any blue sedan. As for surveillance, it's not operating normally right now; the cameras at the intersections are just for show."

"Alright, thank you for your help. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Jimmy hit a dead end and, having no way to proceed further, was forced to knock on the Chief's office door.

"Chief James, there is a new lead on the homicide case, but we've hit a dead end and can't go any further."

"Tell me the details."

"Right. Yesterday, I returned to the crime scene to follow up with a few neighbors who hadn't been interviewed the day before. One of the neighbors provided a new clue: when heading out, he noticed a white male getting into a blue sedan at the intersection."

The dispatch center provided the footage, and yesterday three cars matching the criteria were found—two with genuine plates and one with fake plates. I focused my target on the vehicle with the fake plates.

Today, the dispatch center provided the latest investigative results. The last monitored location of that car was near Emerald Mountain. I contacted a friend to inquire, but there are no local camera records there, and the next camera-equipped location down Highway 300 is outside our jurisdiction. We lack the authority to investigate further.

"What are your thoughts?"

"I'd like to ask the Chief to contact the Perry County Sheriff's Office to see if they can provide the route taken by this car."

"Even if the route is found, we won't have the capacity to follow up on it. If all current leads in this case are concentrated on this vehicle, what we ought to do is hand it over to the state police to handle. Do you understand?"

"Understood. I'll go organize the materials right now and wait for the state police to take over."

Jimmy stepped out of the Chief's office, returned to his desk, and began organizing the materials, including his written case report, the tapes sent by the dispatch center, and the records of the vehicle's subsequent path through various intersections.

Once everything was organized, Jimmy filled out an evidence transfer form, had the Chief sign it, and waited for the state police to arrive so he could retrieve the physical evidence collected at the scene from the evidence room.

Little Rock was both the state capital of Arkansas and the seat of Pulaski County, so the state police arrived at the precinct quickly. Jimmy cooperated in transferring all the documentation, and the case was officially no longer his concern.

Jimmy actually felt somewhat dejected. This was the largest case he had handled since becoming an officer, and he had been on the suspect's trail from the very beginning. Unfortunately, due to county lines, his efforts had all been rendered completely in vain.

As Jimmy sat daydreaming in disappointment at the precinct, his phone rang.

"Hi, this is Apex Lighting Company from Nebraska. Am I speaking with Mr. Yang of Atlas?"

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"We noticed that one of your company's patents has just been approved, and we'd like to schedule a time to meet and discuss it in person."

"Alright, how about next Tuesday afternoon, in Little Rock?"

"Very well, our representative will attend punctually."