After acting, Dave covered Susan's mouth to prevent her from making any noise. A minute later, he confirmed that her pulse had stopped. He removed his gloves, took out his phone, and called the police. After making the report, he placed the gloves and the folding knife into a prepared bag.
Following the plan, Dave walked to the window, using a towel to open it. He spotted a fishing line tied to a frosted glass rod. He secured the bag to the line and gave it a tug. The bag, containing the knife and gloves, was quickly pulled up into the room above.
He closed the window, tucked the towel into his pocket, and returned to the bedroom. He laid Susan flat on the ground, removed his jacket, and pressed it against her chest, pretending to administer first aid.
A minute later, there were footsteps and shouts from outside, "Police! Police! Hands up!"
"Help her! Help her!" Dave didn't raise his hands but instead pressed down on Susan's wound, looking at the officers who rushed in. "I'm with U.S. Special Operations! Help her!"
The Belgian police officers, who had their guns trained on Dave, hesitated. Initially intending to assist, they quickly changed their demeanor when they heard he was with U.S. Special Operations. Two of them stepped forward, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and forcefully threw him to the ground, handcuffing him.
They then called for an ambulance over the radio, paying little attention to Susan, who lay unconscious on the floor.
The rest was simple. When the ambulance arrived, the Belgian police refused to release Dave, even when personnel from the U.S. embassy came to request his handover. They dragged out the process. The initial investigation indicated that it was a robbery and murder. While there were some suspicions, Dave was quickly cleared of any involvement. After all, before Dave arrived in Brussels, Ali and the others had already planned everything. Surveillance footage showed that after escorting Susan upstairs, Dave had immediately gone back down to the hotel shop to buy chocolate.
Now all the suspicion fell on the two backpackers. However, the Belgian police were destined not to find them. Ali had been tailing the backpackers ever since they left the hotel. He followed them by car to their home, waited a few minutes outside the building, and then, wearing a mask and hat, knocked on their door.
Once inside, Ali took out a small package from his pocket and tossed it to the two men. He then accepted a phone from one of them and left without saying a word.
The two backpackers, who had been holding their guns nervously, relaxed when they saw Ali leave so quickly. They shut the door and opened the small package. Upon seeing the contents—pure white powder—they glanced at each other and burst out laughing.
Half an hour later, Ali returned. Using a lockpicking tool, he opened the backpackers' door again. He glanced at the two men, who were now nearly unconscious, and muttered quietly, "Idiots. That was 99% pure powder. Just a touch, and you're dead."
He picked up the package, walked to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and washed the remaining powder down the drain.
Meanwhile, McCall was anxiously waiting for a call in Thailand. Susan had last expressed concerns about Dave, and McCall had only known Susan and Dave from his time with the CIA. Desperate, McCall turned to William for help.
William, however, was a bit frustrated. Accidents always seemed to happen. Despite all his planning, he hadn't anticipated that Susan would coincidentally be on the phone with McCall right before her death. William had been happy when he heard about Zhang Ziwei and even more pleased when Susan cleverly exonerated him from suspicion. But just a few seconds later, disaster struck when Susan was attacked. Now, sending McCall to fight the Eight-Faced Buddha was out of the question. So, after a moment of reflection, William decided that McCall should go after Dave for revenge instead.
Though unexpected, there were still some positive outcomes. The CIA, being the largest special operations agency, having an undercover agent near the Eight-Faced Buddha wasn't surprising. Finding Zhang Ziwei would make locating the Buddha much easier.
It was a mixed result. After intentionally delaying for two hours, William finally called McCall.
A "ring, ring, ring" came from McCall's phone.
"Hello," McCall answered quickly. "What's the news, Mr. Devonshire?"
"Sorry, McCall. As soon as I got your call, I alerted the authorities. But by the time the police arrived, Susan Plummer was already dead. Over the past two hours, I gathered some information that I think you'll find interesting regarding the cause of her death."
McCall immediately responded, "Of course, I'm interested. Please, go on."
"Susan was killed by a single stab to the heart with a knife about the width of a finger. The knife was thrust from beneath the heart, avoiding the ribs, and piercing directly into it. That's not a skill an ordinary robber would possess.
What's even more intriguing is that I had someone check the hotel's guest records. About ten hours ago, a man named Kovacs checked into a room in the same hotel where Susan was staying. His room number was 1724, and Susan's was 1624. Quite a coincidence, don't you think?
Based on the timeline, Kovacs checked in just before Susan's flight landed. And Dave, who booked Susan's room, placed her directly beneath Kovacs. I don't think I need to spell it out any further, do I?"
"No, you don't. Thank you, Mr. Devonshire. I know what to do now," McCall hesitated for a moment before adding, "Mr. Devonshire, I know of an informant embedded near the Eight-Faced Buddha. If you can locate this informant, it will make finding the Buddha much easier."
"Forget it. You take care of Susan's situation. Good luck," William said, cutting the conversation short. After hanging up, he smirked. "I already know everything you and Susan are up to."
"Sunday, inform our Mr. McCall that Dave is being targeted. We wouldn't want him caught off guard."
"Understood, sir. The message has been sent."
"Good. Now, patch me through to the Church."
"Beep, beep, beep," the call to the Church connected.
"Tell me who killed Susan."
"Haha, is someone above you getting impatient?" William chuckled.
"Don't mess with me. A senior officer was killed, and it happened during an investigation into the murder of a veteran undercover agent. Headquarters just notified me that I need to find Susan's killer and the reason behind Carlbert's death within three days. William, I helped you, so now you need to help me. Otherwise, like you said before, if I go down, you're not getting off easy either."
"Relax. You can trust me to handle things. It was Susan's subordinate, Dave, who killed her. He also killed your undercover agent Carlbert. Susan, as his former boss, was very familiar with their team's methods. To protect himself, Dave had to silence her.
I'll send you the details shortly. My suggestion? Don't act just yet. Someone is heading to New York to cause trouble for Dave and his team. Since you already have the evidence, why not sit back and watch the dogs fight it out? Then, once it's over, you can sweep in and claim the credit."
"No way. If something goes wrong, I'll be the one to suffer. Tell me, who else do you want dead? As long as they're in New York, I can take care of it for you," the Church replied, pausing for a moment before lowering his voice. "Buddy, sometimes scheming too much can lead to unintended outcomes. I suggest you strike when you have the chance, and don't overthink it."
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