The information on the system was extremely simple; Diego didn't have any criminal records, not even a traffic ticket in the system—suspiciously clean, and Jimmy definitely didn't buy it.

Are there people in the United States with absolutely no criminal records? Certainly, there are many, but Diego is firstly of Mexican descent, and unless one was very wealthy during childhood, it's almost inevitable to have contact with gangs or delinquents, usually leaving some record in the police information system. Having seen too much gang information on Ruiz's side, where most of the people are more or less the same, with some records remaining, Diego, however, was exceptionally clean. Moreover, as a plastic surgeon, he was shot dead directly at home, and without any signs of burglary, it indicated that the assassin's target was him specifically, and he must have done something unforgivable. It's unrealistic for such a person to have no criminal history.

The second taxi driver seemed like an accident; records in the system showed that he had served time in jail twice in his youth for theft and had been driving a taxi ever since. This record seemed more like that of a normal American.

The third was a small figure in the Latin Kings gang; the system only showed his incarceration history: theft, assault, possession of contraband during parole, etc. At over 30 years old, he spent at least half his time in prison from his youth. Why would someone like this be targeted for a shooting? Gang warfare? But they shouldn't be targeting a mere underling either.

After checking the information of the three people, Jimmy went to Ruiz to understand the situation with the Latin Kings. Ruiz was also surprised; there had been no recent battles between gangs and he had no relevant information here, necessitating further investigation.

With Ruiz's help, Jimmy was relieved. He decided to put aside the third case and visit the scene of the first incident, Diego's apartment. Nearly two weeks had passed since Diego was shot, and the scene was surely tampered with, but a visit might still offer some observations. Since it was a shooting, people nearby should have noticed the gunfire, unless it was again the use of subsonic rounds with a silencer.

He called Detective Chuck, but Chuck was already out and Jimmy could only contact another officer to accompany him to the scene. It would be more convenient to conduct their own investigation if Chris were here.

Jimmy drove to Diego's Brooklyn apartment; the doctor indeed seemed wealthy, owning a house on Long Island and a three-story row house here. Jimmy waited at the door; a police officer arrived in a car and opened the door with a key. Since a murder had occurred here, they had already contacted Diego's family. The apartment couldn't be occupied for the time being and had to wait for the police investigation results. Although two weeks had passed, no one had entered and disturbed the scene in this apartment.

Jimmy's scene investigation was different from others, starting with the use of "Heart Eye Observation" on the room. Since he was convinced that Diego was not clean, surely there would be something different in his home—let's consider it a presumption of consciousness.

Soon, Jimmy discovered two hidden spaces, one in the study; the wall behind the bookshelf was shared with the bedroom behind it, but the thickness was unusual, reminding him of the wall cavity discovered in Romany's haunted mansion on Long Island. Such thickness suggested at least the presence of a safe or even a storage space.

Another was on the second floor, where the wall cavity found on the first floor extended to the second, but separated from that of the first floor, and the space on the second floor appeared empty with some items inside, though it wasn't clear what they were.

Thanks to the fact that many people in America like to use wooden frames to erect walls for soft fittings inside houses, creating separate spaces here makes it hard for people unfamiliar with the layout to notice anything amiss with the walls, feeling instead that the rooms are a bit small.

Jimmy continued to observe; he had already found something unusual, but where was the entrance? Heart Eye was not as direct as visual observation. With the walls isolated, he hadn't discovered where the door to the interior of the walls was.

Another point, Diego was killed in the living room, and Jimmy didn't have a sufficient reason to search the inner rooms thoroughly, which was a trouble. However, just finding the partition would be a reason enough to explain away at that time.

Jimmy greeted the police officer and entered the study for inspection. Wearing gloves, he touched the bookshelf in front of the partition and carefully observed the floor, finally spotting an issue. The bookshelf seemed to be placed on the floor, but on the right side of the floor, there were slight friction marks. It appeared that this bookshelf was meant to move to the right.

Jimmy tried to push the bookshelf directly to the right; it wobbled slightly but didn't change position. Looking from behind the bookshelf, he finally located the hook and, upon pulling it, a corresponding porcelain vase on the shelf allowed the bookshelf to move.

"I've found something here," Jimmy called out. The NYPD officers standing in the living room walked over; this was their first time seeing the wall compartment.

Jimmy asked for a flashlight from the NYPD, and with a gap of several tens of centimeters opened by the moved cabinet, he shone the light inside. There was only a hard-shell suitcase, a waste of space considering the poor utilization rate. While observing, Jimmy couldn't help but criticize in his mind how such a feature would be impossible to replicate in his recently purchased apartment; otherwise, he could have created some extra space in his house as well.

The suitcase wasn't locked, and lifting the lid just a crack, Jimmy took a quick look and then closed it again. Inside were two oil-paper packages, one of which was opened, revealing white powder through the tear. Stepping away from the compartment entrance, he said to the NYPD officer, "Call Detective Chuck and get him over here quickly; there's a new development."

Chuck hadn't handed the case directly over to the FBI; Hughes had intended for him to assist Chuck, so Jimmy didn't plan on overstepping his authority. This case was shaping up to be more than a simple murder; a big fish was likely involved. However, the case probably wouldn't stay with Chuck for long and was expected soon to be transferred to the DEA. While combating drug traffickers fell within FBI jurisdiction, the DEA was more suited for the task.

Chuck didn't waste any time; he arrived in just half an hour. Jimmy didn't indulge in small talk; he simply showed Chuck the suitcase and left the rest for him to worry about.

Jimmy: "Chuck, I suggest a thorough search of this apartment. This is just what I found; there might be other things we've missed. You have more people; bring more in to search together."

Chuck nodded, his gaze still fixed on the wall compartment. Before, seeing no signs of disturbance in the room and having talked to Dr. Diego's family, who reported nothing missing, they hadn't bothered to search the room further. It seemed they had missed a lot.

Jimmy: "OK, I think my job here is almost done; I'll leave the rest to you. Goodbye, Chuck."

Chuck reached out to shake Jimmy's hand and shook his head. "Thanks, Chris said you were great, and he wasn't kidding. It looks like we really are getting old; the future is yours."

Jimmy said with a smile, "Don't compliment me; I just got lucky. I've read through a lot of material, and it was clear something was off with Diego's clean record—how could someone of Mexican descent not have any legal or traffic violations from a young age? So, I guessed something here had been overlooked. By the way, you should also check his studio, especially the patient records; there could be something there. Also, the third victim was of Latin American descent; you might want to look into that as well; it could be related to Dr. Diego."

Chuck nodded. "Thanks, Jimmy, you head back. I'll take care of things here and report back to Hughes later."

Jimmy nodded, turned, and left Diego's apartment, driving back to the office. Now that they had found an issue with Diego, following this lead might lead them to the guitarist assassin.

Whether it was because of some drug-related business or an issue with Diego's medical practice, they had a clear direction now. Jimmy believed the NYPD would find something, and if not, the DEA was ready to take over; they were well-resourced and in their area of expertise.

(It's been four days, and the antigen is still negative; it's almost certain to be a cold, although my nose is still a bit congested. Lucky me.)

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