They just waited until the afternoon, and Jimmy, checking the time, thought Nia should be almost back, so he started the car and left. Waiting any longer might not result in contact with Seventeen, and it would be better to deal with his own matters first.

Arriving at the precinct, Nia had not yet returned, so Jimmy waited in Chuck's office, which didn't take long. Chuck had already de-prioritized the homeless homicide case on his end and moved on to other cases.

The detectives at the precinct had many cases to handle: burglary, robbery, homicide, disappearance, and more. Even though there were quite a few detectives at the NYPD, each one was still assigned many cases. Unless it was an extremely important case that needed prioritization, they usually wouldn't spend too much time on it.

The same type of homicide cases, the death of a homeless person, and that of an ordinary citizen were treated with different priorities. To put it in politically incorrect terms, citizens are taxpayers, they pay taxes to support the police, while the homeless are often synonymous with trouble. They haven't contributed a cent to the police but have caused many problematic cases, so it would be surprising if the police showed them any goodwill.

So after investigating for a few days, Chuck decisively gave up and adjusted the priority to handle other cases. It wasn't that he was shirking his responsibility, but rather that was the reality of the situation. The reason he was so keen earlier was because these two cases might be related to a serial killing. Now that there's no direct correlation, it didn't matter anymore.

Finally, Nia returned. As she walked into the office, Jimmy had already approached, spread his arms wide, and with a bear hug, lifted Nia, spun her around, and then kissed her.

Jimmy, "You're finally back, Nia. You all must have worked hard these past few days, huh?"

Nia managed a smile and said, "Actually, it was okay. I didn't do much, just followed Agent Lars. But unfortunately, the outcome was not good. Wait for me a moment, I'm going to change my clothes."

Having said that, Nia placed her bag on her spot and turned to go to the changing room.

Nia's expression was still not great, although it was clear she was happy to see Jimmy, it was only for a moment, and soon her demeanor became somewhat despondent. It seemed that the shock of the little girl's death still hadn't faded after these two days.

Jimmy waited a long time, and Nia came out, having taken a shower in the precinct's bathroom and changed into a set of spare clothes kept in the changing room. She now looked much more refreshed than when they had first met earlier.

Jimmy, looking at Nia, said with a smile, "It seems you really did have a tough couple of days. You look much better now. Have you notified the family yet?"

Nia, back at her desk, "Not yet. Agent Lars has arranged that. They should probably meet with the girl's family tomorrow. Autopsies have already been conducted on the three of them locally, and we are waiting for the reports to come back before arranging the return trip."

Nia opened her bag and took out a stack of papers, handing them to Jimmy, "Take a look at this yourself."

Jimmy took the stack of A4 papers, which were organized research materials, followed by photocopied crime scene photographs and the autopsy reports of the suspects.

Those two suspects really could run, since investigating surveillance footage takes time, so the police were always a step behind them timing-wise. They then stole three cars, switching vehicles to continue their escape. Each time, they were identified by police investigations and public reports, and with the FBI assisting on the side, Agent Lars never lost track of their escape direction.

From New York to New Jersey, they initially headed west before, inexplicably, turning north. There was a possibility they were considering crossing the US-Canada border into Canada if they kept running.

After stealing a car at a gas station, they were relentlessly pursued by the police and had no choice but to enter the Green Mountain National Forest. What followed was more than a day of pursuit, with the assistance of K9 units, the police managed not to lose their approximate direction in the forest. Eventually, them falling from the cliff was a bit strange, as all three of them fell, with no wounds caused by anything else on their bodies except for the fall injuries and head trauma from hitting the rocks below.

Agent Lars conducted a search around the top of the cliff and found no signs of a fourth person, nor evidence of large animals like bears. In the end, it had to be attributed to an accident; they either didn't see the cliff or lost their footing while examining the terrain at the cliff's edge.

Jimmy, "Does Lars plan to continue the investigation?"

Nia, "Continue the investigation?"

Jimmy nodded, "Investigating who wanted to kidnap the little girl based on the identities and information of these two kidnappers. Their escape route didn't involve leaving the little girl behind, which doesn't seem like a run-of-the-mill kidnapping case."

Nia shook her head, "I don't know, all the materials are with Agent Lars, and I didn't really play a role this time."

Jimmy placed the materials on Nia's desk, "Let's go. Chuck is not here, and you've been busy for so long. It's time for you to get some proper rest."

Nia looked at her watch, nodded, packed up her bag, and then left the precinct with Jimmy, getting into his car.

Jimmy had already booked a restaurant in advance, as Nia had just concluded her first major case since becoming a detective, and it was a good opportunity to celebrate. Initially, Jimmy had planned to cook at home, but considering his own culinary skills weren't exactly up to par, he eventually gave up on the idea.

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