In no time, the group of detectives, followed by Larry, arrived at the Mayer family home.
The Mayer family lived in a grand mansion in an exclusive neighborhood, covering nearly three thousand square meters.
For this couple working in a government office, the price of such a house was obviously beyond their financial means.
"We're looking for items most closely related to the victim. Remember not to touch anything with your hands before it has been examined in the lab—I don't want to contaminate any potential evidence," Larry said. He knew that criminals sometimes planted evidence in places where the victim had never been.
In this case, items that could have been at the crime scene might now be in the Mayer home, so Larry didn't want to rule anything out in his intricate world of endless possibilities.
Everyone began a thorough search of Greta Mayer's room on the second floor.
But after searching for a long time, they only found Greta's laptop—her cell phone and school backpack were missing.
At that moment, Sergeant Doakes was speaking with the victim's parents, who had returned home to assist with the investigation.
Determined to get to the bottom of everything, Larry asked the parents to bring him all of Greta's diaries so he could fully analyze her life like a criminal profiler.
Larry removed his gloves and nodded slightly at Mr. and Mrs. Mayer, who had remained silent.
"In addition to the diaries, we will need to confiscate Greta Mayer's laptop for the investigation. Don't worry, everything will be returned intact."
Shortly after, Greta's mother approached Larry, looked at him, and said, "I have prepared my daughter's clothes. Please, dress her."
As everyone was leaving, Larry sat in the car without saying a word, while Sergeant Doakes sighed repeatedly.
"A girl that young, dying in such a cruel way... this world is getting worse and worse."
…
Ángel and the other detectives had just reviewed the surveillance cameras from the private area and discovered that Greta Mayer had left home in a taxi at two in the afternoon on the same day she was murdered.
The taxi's license plate was not clearly visible in the image, so they sent the surveillance footage to the technical team for analysis.
"It's time. Let's regroup and head to the school tomorrow for the real investigation. But this time, we'll take a warrant—those bastards will listen," Sergeant Doakes said. He had been treated like a nobody before, but this time, he would make sure those teachers cooperated.
When Ángel got into the van, he glanced at Larry, who was still silent.
Normally, in moments like this, Ángel respected Larry's opinions the most—after all, he was a criminal profiler and, as such, was leading the investigation.
"I want to be there when they interrogate the students. These kids are smart and can easily deceive average detectives," Larry said. Before coming to Miami, he had worked on a multiple-murder case where an entire family was massacred. The perpetrator had been a child under fifteen who had faked everything.
That was why, if they were friends of the victim, anyone needed to be questioned.
"Also, Sergeant Doakes, could you check the income of the victim's parents? It seems a bit unlikely that two government employees could afford such a mansion."
Ángel had also noticed this peculiar detail and added, "They have many luxuries, top-tier cars, and live in an enormous mansion. According to Greta's father, the five families of her friends are all close."
"Do you think there's some conflict between those families that we don't know about?"
"I think I have an idea about this issue. I'll explain when we get to the station."
…
The next day, Larry arrived at the school gates, followed by Ángel, just as they had planned the day before.
Sergeant Doakes, who was already at the school, greeted them from a distance.
As they approached, Doakes said, "I just got a call from the station. We now have the full report on the Mayers, and it's on its way."
A few minutes later, a police patrol arrived with the information folders, and Larry, as the lead investigator, took one.
Keller Mayer, Deputy Secretary of Urban Development and Deputy Director of the Miami Office of Planning and Zoning, had made relevant statements about the property, according to the available information.
The primary source of his wealth came from compensations received for the demolition of old housing units.
As for the victim's mother, Martha Mayer, a 43-year-old woman—
As Director of the Miami Department of Housing and Community Development, her work went beyond bureaucracy. She oversaw affordable housing projects, managed urban development funding, and regulated housing assistance programs. Although her position might seem low-profile, her decisions directly influenced the city's expansion and transformation.
When Larry read this almost perfect information, he frowned. From what he gathered, even though they worked in two different offices, they had many connections to each other.
Larry handed the folder back to Sergeant Doakes beside him.
"This is information provided by the department. It would be more precise and detailed if we got more data from external sources."
Sergeant Doakes ran a hand over his shaved head, looking frustrated.
"We don't have enough personnel! Another team is investigating the murder weapon, so I sent an investigator to their department to verify everything."
"Do you think the case is related to their parents' occupations?" That was the only reason Doakes could think of for Larry's insistence on investigating the victim's parents.
But Larry shook his head, still not explaining anything. "Forget it. Let's go to the school first. I'm swimming in a sea of possibilities, so I doubt everyone until things are clear."
The group made their way to the school's security booth.
Even with the warrant in hand, Sergeant Doakes had to call multiple times before they were allowed in.
Nowadays, every successful family had at most one child, and they were all sent here. So the school was extremely cautious—after all, they didn't want more children to be affected.
This is a prestigious high school, well known, which is why parents with certain means go to great lengths to send their children here. Any child selected for this school comes from a wealthy family.
Moreover, as the end of the semester approaches, each student's grades are tied to the teacher's income, so some don't bother wasting time.
However, this case had to be handled, leaving Principal Bob with no choice but to comply.
Still, a request was made to minimize the impact on the students. If any inquiries were needed, they had to be completed today, and a teacher from the school had to be present.
Sergeant Doakes immediately agreed and led his men quietly onto the campus.
None of them wore police uniforms, but anyone with sharp eyes would notice the guns on their belts, especially Sergeant Doakes, who always carried his weapon in a shoulder holster.
Following Principal Bob, they were all led to the teaching department on the second floor.
The teaching department and three adjacent offices were temporarily requisitioned. After waiting for a while, the principal arrived, rushing in with a stack of textbooks under his arm.
"Alright, here's what you asked for, and this is Professor Wilson from Greta's class," Bob said before hastily leaving.
"Sorry for the delay! I was discussing exam preparations in the classroom and didn't make it in time."
Sergeant Doakes smiled and waved his hand. "Professor Dave, don't be so formal. We've delayed your class, so we're the ones who should apologize."
"However, since we all have tight schedules, please call Alejandro Hernández, Nicolás McFly, Valeria Parker, and Camila Wells."
Dave checked his watch and said, "Yes, we have time."
Less than five minutes later, someone knocked on the door, and two students, a boy and a girl, walked in.
They already knew these students—Nicolás and Camila—both well-presented, but they hadn't expected Valeria and Alejandro to be similar.
Alejandro was over 170 cm tall, with the popular long bangs that completely covered his eyebrows, and his narrow eyes were slightly downturned.
As Alejandro entered the room, he greeted Professor Dave but said nothing and shoved his hands into his pockets.
As for Valeria, the sweet-looking girl seemed kinder. Her large eyes held a shadow of fear, and she kept glancing at the silent detectives since stepping through the door. With her hands behind her back, her toes kept rubbing against each other as she stood there.
The petals of her white leather shoes trembled with her movements.
It was evident that she was nervous.
But there was nothing wrong with that kind of tension.
Normal people get nervous when they see detectives because beyond the badge, there's a strong sense of justice that carries an oppressive presence.
Sergeant Doakes made some arrangements and asked the professor to take the other students to the adjacent classroom while they spoke with Alejandro in the teacher's presence.
"We'll stay with him. You can interrogate the other students," Larry's words piqued everyone's interest. So, as he said, instead of wasting time, they all began preparing for the separate interrogations.
"Come on, Alejandro, we just want to understand the situation a little better."
But Alejandro still said nothing. He sat in a chair, staring at the table. Larry and Sergeant Doakes sat across from him.
Sergeant Doakes opened the transcript and began the interrogation.
"Do you know Greta Meyer?"