Chapter 313 Jingshan Park
Hotchner obviously knew how to deal with people in the military. He showed an attitude of not taking things personally and his tone was slightly softened, but there was no concession in the meaning of his words.
"General, I can exclude your laboratory, but I cannot exclude your researchers."
The general didn't speak, the two just looked at each other, and the atmosphere was a little anxious for a moment.
Seemingly feeling that this stalemate was meaningless except a waste of time, Rossi spoke from the side.
"Your Excellency General, our target is all those who have the ability to weaponize anthrax and create it. You know very well what this means. This is not targeted. No one wants to see something like 2001 happen again in DC."
"David Rossi, although I was only a colonel at that time, we all know what happened the last time the BAU team came to check on our people."
General Whitworth was obviously not talking about the "murderer" Professor Ivins who committed suicide. That was a topic that neither party was willing to touch.
He was talking about another professor, Stephen Hatfill. According to Rossi's notes, this virology expert once came into the FBI's sight, but was later eliminated as a suspect by the FBI.
But the subsequent problem lay with the attorney general at the time. Perhaps it was because of his loose words or the long-term investigation that had no results that the politician was under too much pressure.
At a press conference, the minister eagerly named Professor Hatfill as a suspect.
Although he used the ambiguous word "interested person" at the time, it subsequently caused an uproar in public opinion.
The angry Professor Hatfill went to court with the Ministry of Justice, and the two fought for several years. In the end, the Ministry of Justice paid $5.8 million to reach a settlement with the professor, which was regarded as paying for the big talk of its own minister.
"Your Excellency, the FBI ruled out Professor Hatfill as a suspect in the official report. Unfortunately, some people did not agree with this at the time, but the psychological profiling at the time was correct, and this was later confirmed."
Hotchner's words immediately made General Whitworth lose his temper. He sighed, "Well, who makes my position lower than that of the person who believes in your profiling ability?"
"I'll give you the list." After saying that, he left the conference room without looking back.
Fortunately, Jiejie's ability as a liaison officer is trustworthy. Under the guidance of an army captain, Jack and Jiejie entered the crime scene, Jingshan Park.
Some soldiers wearing protective clothing were still busy in the park. Jack noticed that at least 20 centimeters of soil had been removed in many places.
The disinfection work should have been completed, and the biological and chemical troops are trying to restore the completely destroyed grassland to its original appearance.
"How did you explain to the surrounding residents why the park was closed?" Jack asked curiously.
"The accumulation of sewage gas in the sewers poses a risk of explosion." The army captain, who looked very sophisticated, replied.
"High-risk areas and surrounding areas have been disinfected. You are safe here."
Jack nodded and was about to enter the field, but saw Jie Jie standing there hesitating.
"Do we really not need to wear a gas mask or something?"
"Yes, ma'am, all areas have been repeatedly sampled at least three times, and we only removed this after confirming that no anthrax spores were detected. We are not kidding with our own lives."
The Army Captain said, pointing to the gas mask hanging around his neck.
Jack did not doubt this. He fully believed in the professionalism and "rich" experience of these biochemical troops.
"Please provide your testing data. I need to know the distribution of germs in this area at that time."
It was just noon, the spring was bright and the sun was shining brightly, giving people a lazy feeling. No one could have imagined that in less than 24 hours, this place would turn into a bad land with hidden murderous intentions.
"The weather yesterday was about the same as today."
Jack looked around and sighed. Emily had just called from the hospital. In one morning, the number of dead had increased from 12 to 17.
The only patient Rhett found who was in relatively good condition, the two of them could not talk more than two or three sentences before the other patient developed symptoms of aphasia.
This proves that the anthrax bacilli infected in the lungs have broken through the blood-brain barrier through the blood and affected the brains of the patients. This means that the eight surviving patients do not have much time left.
Not long after, the army captain brought a simple map with various data marked on it.
"The wind direction yesterday was the same as today, southeasterly." Jack and Jiejie came to a small hillside.
"The test results say that the concentration here is the highest, so the murderer should be the germs released from here."
The two looked downwind. There was a large lawn with some children's play facilities such as slides installed on the lawn.
"There are 6 children and their parents in total." Jiejie whispered, her expression a little moved.
"And a couple of students from a nearby high school where they play football."
"It's strange, why is this park a target?" Jack rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
"With Washington, D.C., so close, and so many other iconic landmarks that could cause a stir, just throw a little powder into the air ducts and hundreds, if not thousands, of victims would appear."
Jiejie put forward her idea, "Perhaps this park has some special meaning for the murderer, and he chose this park because of personal emotional factors."
"If this is the case, then it can be inferred that this is a domestic terrorist. He is most likely a local and works or lives nearby."
Jack said, taking out his small notebook and writing this down.
The two walked around again and found no more clues, so they walked back together. Seeing no one around, Jack asked quietly.
"Honey, do you have something to tell me?"
Although a certain person occasionally becomes straight, most of the time, his emotional intelligence is still quite online. When we met at the airport in the morning, he discovered that Jiejie's mood was obviously not right today.
Although anthrax is indeed a bit scary, as an agent who entered the FBI two or three years earlier than him, Jiejie should not be so panicked. There must be something he doesn't know about it.
There was a trace of confusion on Jiejie's face, and she hesitated again and again before finally speaking.
"It was my parents, they'd been living in Silver Spring, and I didn't know what to do, and every afternoon they would go for a walk in the park."
Silver Spring is right next door to Washington, D.C., and less than 50 kilometers from Annapolis, where they are now located.