American Detective: Starting as a Rookie Cop in an American TV Show

Chapter 1418 Fire Scene
Jack usually doesn't even bring a bag when he goes out, but now that he has become a dad, he not only has to prepare a big backpack and put a lot of things in it including baby bottles, diapers, wet wipes, thermos cups, etc., but even his usual Audi supercar has to be replaced by a Subaru.

Because the Audi R8 only has two seats, it cannot be equipped with a safety seat.

Jack and little Lila's first stop was naturally the 12th Precinct of the NYPD. Cassel was sitting idly in front of Beckett's desk, flipping through the newspaper.

Seeing someone coming in with a baby hanging on his chest, Mr. Writer was surprised but also gloated, "Do Jiejie and Hannah know that you had a daughter after you came back from Los Angeles?
Oh, she is so cute, not like you at all, hello, little angel, what is your name?"

Jack regretted bringing the leftover tea eggs from last night to this guy. They were good stuff and cost at least $3 each.

Little Lila was not shy at all. When she saw the strange uncle, she kept waving her arms and legs and babbling, asking for a hug.

Even though Cassel seems like a playboy, he raised Alexis from scratch and it is easy for him to deal with a 6-month-old baby.

Beckett, on the other hand, had absolutely no experience at all. He held the baby with his whole body stiff, as if he was under a spell.

After hearing Jack's explanation, Beckett quickly handed Little Lila to Cassel and took out a file, "According to the fire investigator, the fire in the apartment seems to have been caused by an overturned candlestick.

The smoke alarm was out of power, so the fire burned for nearly 15 minutes. After the firefighters put out the fire, they found a charred body on the bed and confirmed it was the owner of the house, Claudia Cruz.

She glanced at the giggling little Lila in Cassel's arms, her eyes showing pity, "Are you sure the deceased is the biological mother of that child? That child is so pitiful."

"It's basically confirmed." Jack patted his chest, which contained an evidence bag. It contained the DNA sample he collected from Lila's mouth with a cotton swab when he went out today.

"Little Lila will stay here for a while. I'm going to the CSI lab. Let me first tell you why you rejected the investigation report. I noticed that the forensic doctor said in the examination report that no evidence of homicide was found."

"Lani (forensic doctor) did not find any evidence of homicide. There were traces of cigarette ash in the deceased's respiratory tract and alcohol residue in his body, which is consistent with the fire accident.

But after seeing the scene, I always felt that something was wrong. It was as if all the evidence was deliberately placed in front of me waiting to be discovered. For this reason, I made an appointment with an experienced retired fire investigator, who promised to go to the apartment today to check the situation. "

Beckett tore off a piece of notepaper, wrote a string of numbers on it and handed it to Jack. "The time will be about half an hour later. You can just call him Old Donny. He is the best fire investigator I have ever met."

Jack took the note and put the big bag he was carrying on the ground. "Please ask you and Cassel to help me take care of Lila. Just treat it as advance practice. Everything you might need is in here.

Remember not to let this child out of your sight, I am sure someone is plotting something bad."

Cassel, who was teasing little Lila, pricked up his ears all of a sudden, while Beckett's cheeks turned slightly red, and his eyes became a little vague, "Practicing what in advance?"

Jack snorted and didn't answer the silly question. He waved goodbye to little Lila.
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Old Donny was a short, fat white man with a kind face. He had a big beer belly and a pair of small metal-framed glasses on his big nose. He looked a bit funny and reminded Jack of the famous late comedian Robin Williams.

The old man looked to be in his seventies, but he was very strong. He carried a heavy-looking toolbox and climbed the stairs very quickly. The burned apartment smelled bad, but fortunately, the old brick-concrete structure houses built in the early 20th century in New York were of good quality, and the firefighters arrived in time, so the fire did not spread to other floors.

If it were one of those wooden houses in Los Angeles that are made of wood shavings and drywall, there would basically be no need for an on-site inspection.

After exchanging a few brief greetings with the young FBI agent in front of him, Old Donny put down his toolbox, opened it, took out gloves and put them on, then took out two brick-sized portable high-intensity flashlights and handed one of them to the other party.

Jack didn't have much experience investigating fire scenes like this, but he could tell that the fire started in the bedroom.

The Simmons mattress on the bed was burnt to the point where only the steel wire was left. A faint stench of burnt protein residue could be smelled, and the carbonized floor surface made a creepy creaking sound when stepped on.

"It certainly looks like that. There's some candle wax left at the head of the bed, and one of the candlesticks has fallen over on the carpet."

Old Donny muttered, his eyes following the beam of light from the strong light around the house, finally stopping on the wall where hung a smoke alarm whose plastic casing had melted due to the high temperature.

"The fire department said the batteries in the smoke alarms failed," Jack said, flipping through the report in his hand.

Old Donny shook his head and pointed to the wires connected to the alarm. "The problem is not with the battery, but with the wires."

He reached out and fiddled with the wires. "Look, the flame-retardant outer sheath is still there, but the copper wire inside is gone. There's no connection and no alarm. Someone tampered with it. The person who did this is an expert."

Although he had expected this, Jack still couldn't help but feel angry. "Are you saying that the person who did this is a professional?"

Old Donnie frowned and shook his head. "I tend to think that the people who set up the scene are professionals. Look here."

Jack looked at the charred wall in the direction his finger pointed, a little puzzled, "What's the problem here?"

Old Donny pointed his attention to a piece of black wallpaper that was curled up due to the burning. "Don't you find it strange? The wallpapers around it were all burned, so why is there a piece that survived here?"

Jack's heart moved, and he reached out and carefully tore off the burnt wallpaper, and found a small piece of black gelatinous substance underneath.

He leaned forward and sniffed carefully, discovering the same smell of burnt protein. He asked uncertainly, "Blood?"

Old Donny nodded. "There are traces of burnt blood. Although the deceased died in the fire, he should have been in a coma before that. Professionals would not do this so crudely. Only by strangling him and then setting him on fire can they leave no traces to the greatest extent possible.

If I had to guess, I would tend to think that the deceased had a conflict with someone before her death, and after she was seriously injured, the person she had a conflict with found professionals to set up the accident scene. "

(End of this chapter)