Sha Qing

Chapter 117: Blue Notice (1)

The Thanksgiving decorations one could see while walking on the streets didn't bring a hint of warmth to the day's gloomy weather, and the scattered fallen leaves were swept up by the wind and fluttered like dying butterflies against the hem of a long trench coat.

Leo just came out of the Orange County's post office. Although he was prepared for the result, he still couldn't hide his disappointment. It's basically been 20 years, so not all of the post office operators, postmen, street mailboxes, surveillance videos and other relevant evidence were available for inspection anymore. The manufacturers and sellers of the stationery had also changed long ago. The only thing he could do was to take a picture of the letter in question and send it to the headquarters, hoping that his colleagues in BAU could give him some profiling based on the handwriting.

As he was walking, Leo suddenly sensed a tingling feeling, like there was a sharp needle of malicious intent pointed on his back.

He realized that he was being secretly spied on, and immediately became vigilant. His trained eyes looked through his surroundings, while still maintaining a casual demeanor: not the chattering high school girls around the corner taking pictures nor is it the housewife inside the Volkswagen parked on the street who took a double glance at him while talking on the phone......

His eyes continued to scan rapidly in the crowd like a precision instrument, and he abruptly looked back at a tall building behind him- the moment he did so, the tingling feeling disappeared instantly, and the previous abnormality he sensed seemed to be just an illusion caused by too much mental stress.

But Leo knew it wasn't an illusion-even if it was just for a minute, he truly became a prey to a certain someone's line of sight.

That sensation wasn't unfamiliar at all during his eight-year career after all, he had sent countless criminals to prison. If those eyes full of malice directed at him could kill, his body would have long been riddled with holes.

Amidst his contemplation, his mobile phone rang. He accepted the call as he continued walking quickly to his car.

"Hey Leo, are you still in O.C.? I've got some news here, one bad and the other quite unexpected. Which one would you like to hear first?" His partner, who was on the other end of the line, said.

"In logical order."

"Aha, I knew you'd answer that way. Okay, there are no fingerprints on the envelope or the letter itself, so obviously that person was very cautious, and by relying on handwriting alone, the BAU side could only give a vague profiling. It didn't help us narrow down the scope of our investigation by much."

"How vague?"

"Between the ages of 18 and 50, right-handed, with a confident and cunning personality, strong-willed and fond of exacerbating conflict- that vague."

Leo sighed lightly, "I hope the other unexpected news carries a pleasant surprise."

"I can't guarantee, but it was a little strange. Last night, I was drinking at a bar with an old classmate I hadn't seen in years-"

"You still have time to drink? Do you know that this week I haven't slept for more than 6 hours a day?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to make you jealous. It's just that I had a good relationship with him in the past...He's an Interpol officer based in Europe." Rob said guiltily, "Last night, I was talking to him over drinks and somehow we brushed up on the "the Serial Killer- Hunter" topic. You know even after the verdict, the heat of the case still hasn't died down. Vinn, who's already a little drunk, started telling me about some "Blue Notice" a few years ago. He said that when he was working on the case, he got acquainted with an informant who worked as a go-between for the rich, tyrants, military, etc., in hiring some professionals to solve these people's problems."