Chapter 1192: Confirming the Killer and the Motive

“Mary Strong, retired two years ago, used to be a human resources consultant. Widowed many years ago, her son is a dentist in Montgomery. He’s married and has a son. A Puritan, very active in her church. Based on her profile, I don’t see any high-risk factors,” Jubal murmured as he flipped through the victim’s records in a meeting room provided by the local FBI office in Montgomery.

Aubrey sipped his coffee. “But it’s clear she and the Bodet couple were killed by the same person or group. Cutting off ears implies they refused to listen, and the tongue—means she refused to speak?”

Just then, a notification sounded on Alice’s computer. She quickly opened the screen, her face lighting up. “We’ve got a facial match. The person we’re looking for is Wyatt Hammond. He lives in Cleo, less than ten miles from Blue Springs. The property belongs to a Greg Hammond—Wyatt’s older brother. He has a wife and daughter, all living together. I’ve sent the full address to your phones.”

—

“FBI, open up!”

Aubrey banged on the door. Beside him stood a fully armed Jack, and behind them were JJ, Clay, Jubal, and Hannah, who had already circled around to the backyard.

Cleo wasn’t even big enough to be called a town—it was a typical rural area in a southern state, with fewer than 500 permanent residents spread out across nearby small farms.

A woman in her early thirties opened the door and was immediately startled by the guns, retreating behind the door in fear.

“We’re looking for Wyatt Hammond.” Jack glanced at her once, determined she wasn’t a threat, and moved past her into the house.

“He’s my brother-in-law. What do you want with him? I’m the only one home.”

The woman was secured by JJ as Aubrey went upstairs. Jack moved through the hallway and opened the back door to let Clay and the others inside.

“All clear!”

After searching every room, including the attached garage, the agents finally holstered their weapons.

“You’re Greg Hammond’s wife?” Jubal asked as they returned to the living room.

“Yes.” She looked confused and frightened, clearly having no idea why the FBI was there.

“Do you know where they are? Your husband and his brother?” Jubal pressed.

The woman had a slightly plump figure and was dressed like a typical farm wife—wearing a blue denim jacket suitable for chores and a yellow headscarf. Though the house was old, it was extremely tidy. When Jack sat on the sofa, he could smell the faint scent of lavender from the well-washed sofa cover.

“I don’t know. They said they were going camping,” she answered nervously, wringing her fingers as she sat on the single-seater couch across from them.

“With your daughter?” JJ asked.

“No, our daughter passed away recently from an illness.” That answer shocked everyone.

Upon learning her husband and brother-in-law were possibly involved in two murder cases, the woman was stunned for a moment, completely losing control of her expression.

“You’re saying my husband, who’s never even been in a bar fight, and his brother Wyatt, are suspects in two murders?”

“Yes. We have surveillance footage showing Wyatt hiding inside the Bodet couple’s trailer,” JJ replied. The woman covered her face in pain.

“Do you know why? Was it revenge?” Jack had been closely observing her expression—she clearly knew something.

“Maybe,” she said, looking at a family photo on the table. “Because of our daughter Rose. She died of cancer three months ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Can you tell us more?” JJ gently took her hand.

“We’ve been involved in a class-action lawsuit over Rose’s illness. Greg was furious and said he wanted justice. But we always meant to fight through the courts.”

It seemed they had just uncovered the motive. Jack looked away from a bookshelf filled with law and medical books and fixed his gaze seriously on the woman.

“What was the lawsuit about?”

“It was against a coal power plant and factory owner here—Griffin. For years, they illegally dumped coal ash on nearby land. Many people around here developed cancer.

Our daughter Rose... Greg and Wyatt’s parents... they all died from cancer.

Greg used to drive trucks for Griffin’s coal power company and later became a whistleblower. We filed a class-action lawsuit. The case went on for three years, and just last week, we lost the final appeal.”

By the end of her explanation, the woman’s voice was tinged with bitterness.

“Then why did you think they went camping?” Jubal asked. “Was that a form of mourning?”

It was a calculated question. Though she hadn’t shown any signs of being an accomplice, it needed clarification.

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s what I hoped in my heart.” Her expression was filled with grief. “He was so consumed by the lawsuit—especially after Rose died. I hoped he could let it all go.”

Tears streamed down her face, and the more she wiped, the more they came. “Greg loved that book by Thoreau—‘Walden.’ He used to say, ‘When civilized society becomes a nightmare, maybe it’s time to go into the woods.’”

After letting Greg’s wife take a moment to cry, Jubal continued. “So Greg and Wyatt both worked for Griffin’s coal company?”

She shook her head. “No, Wyatt worked for the Barron family. They run an agricultural supply store.”

While Jubal jotted that down in his notebook, Jack took out his phone and showed her a photo of the Bodet couple. “Do you know these two?”

“Yes,” she said after leaning in for a closer look. “That’s Teddy and Janice. Teddy used to be Greg’s supervisor.”

“And this one?” Jack showed her the photo of Mary Strong, the victim from that morning.

“I don’t know her name, but she brought a pretty good pie to the company barbecue once.” She nodded again.

With the motive now mostly clear, they asked Greg’s wife to come to the FBI office for further questioning and began digging into Griffin Power’s background.

“It checks out. Teddy was a mid-level manager in the transportation department at Griffin Coal Power, and Mary Strong was their HR head,” Alice confirmed.

“Then we can assume Greg, as the whistleblower, initially tried to report the issues through internal channels. That means his immediate superior in the matter was Teddy Bodet.

Above that would be HR—Mary Strong,” Jubal said as he habitually spun his pencil.

“Clearly, Teddy ignored Greg’s complaints, hence the missing ear. And Mary likely tried to silence him, so her tongue was cut out,” JJ added.

Just then, her phone rang. After a brief exchange, her expression turned grim as she hung up. “ERT received some physical evidence from the state police. Remember those footprints you had them check?”

Aubrey nodded. “Yes, I found them inside the trailer. What about them?”

“They detected sodium chlorate and nitrobenzene on them,” JJ replied.