Police in America

As the old chief said, Randy Whitehurst, the coroner, was beyond reproach in his position; he was merely constrained by the system. After receiving a subtle hint from Jack, he straightforwardly stated that due to his heavy workload, the official report would take at least three weeks to complete.

Unlike Jane, Jack didn't believe that bringing in a specialized FBI team to comb through the reservation would significantly aid in solving the case. 

Although Native American women are not included in federal missing persons statistics, and the data on sexual assault is vague, a coroner who has worked in the area for over a decade would inevitably know something.

The questions Jack had just asked were of this nature, particularly about the bodies found in the wild. Excluding those who froze to death by the roadside due to drunkenness and related traffic accidents, every year there were three or four, sometimes as many as seven or eight, unidentified female bodies found near the reservation. 

According to the coroner, he could more or less find signs of possible sexual assault in some of these cases, including Cory Lambert's daughter, Emily. 

Although her body had been almost completely devoured by wolves, the coroner still found signs of possible binding and abuse on some parts of the remains. 

Though the deaths of these two girls might not be connected, as they were three years apart, Jack's instincts told him that someone—or perhaps a group—was recklessly targeting local women to satisfy their animalistic desires.

---

When the three arrived at the home of the victim's parents, the Hanson couple, the hunter Cory Lambert had already arrived. Braxton and Aaliyah, who had been freezing outside in the snow for over two hours, were finally allowed inside.

"Our parents were forcibly taken from their families at the age of five or six. Some were sent to boarding schools, while others were adopted by white families."

"This forced assimilation policy didn't eliminate white people's discrimination against those with red skin. They couldn't integrate into white society, and they lost their cultural heritage as well as the concept of a normal family."

"For our generation, we've been fighting this damned life since birth. We've spent our entire lives grazing and farming on this barren land, trying to teach our children..."

"But clearly, we've failed."

Jack, the hunter Cory, and Aaliyah's father, Martin Hanson, sat in the snow-covered courtyard, smoking and talking.

After the two fathers who had lost their daughters wept together, they were finally able to sit down and talk calmly.

Cory's recounting gave Jack a deeper understanding of the Native Americans on this reservation, but it did nothing to aid the investigation. 

Because of the despairing life on the reservation, Aaliyah had longed to leave ever since she became an adult. However, the outside world wasn't kind to Native Americans, until she luckily met Braxton.

Aaliyah's sister, Natalie, similarly left her parents after becoming an adult, living on her own in hopes of following her sister's path, finding someone she could trust with her life, and leaving this barren land.

Therefore, the Hanson couple didn't know much about her recent life and couldn't provide many useful clues.

"I'm so tired, Cory. I'm sick of this hopeless life," Martin Hanson said, taking a deep drag of his cigarette.

"Think about your son, and Aaliyah," Cory tried to comfort him.

"Hah, my son? His family now is the drug addicts; he left this home a long time ago," Martin Hanson said, his tone filled with bitterness.

"I hope you find out he's involved in this and send him to prison. Maybe that's where he belongs."

"Is he still hanging around with that junkie, Sam?" Cory shook his head, sighing.

Martin Hanson nodded. "Yes." He then turned his gaze to Jack.

"Are you a cop?"

"Just a cop on vacation, and a friend of your son-in-law," Jack said, trying to establish a connection.

"Son-in-law? You mean that bastard who tried to insult me with money?" Mentioning Braxton still left Martin Hanson a bit angry.

Jack had just learned why the young couple had been locked outside. When Braxton took Aaliyah away, he had offered $100,000—and that was the end of it. Although the Hanson couple later learned that Aaliyah was doing well in Los Angeles, they had never forgiven Braxton.

Jack managed to calm Martin Hanson's anger with a single sentence. "Braxton has only one brother. They were separated for over twenty years due to certain reasons, so he cherishes his family greatly, but he's not very good at expressing his feelings."

Martin Hanson seemed surprised, his lips trembling, along with the cigarette butt between them. In the end, he said nothing more.

---

Leaving Braxton and Aaliyah to keep the Hanson couple company, Jack drove the car, with Jane in the passenger seat, while the old chief and the hunter Cory led the way in two separate vehicles.

The junkie Sam's house was less than four miles from where the body was found. Yesterday, the old chief had said that Natalie wouldn't mix with those guys, but since her brother was now living there, they all agreed to check it out.

By the time they arrived at the rundown tin house, snowflakes were falling again. Fortunately, there wasn't a strong wind like the day before, so it wasn't too much of a problem.

"Sam Bart and Frank Walker live here—two complete scumbags. Hanson's son is just an idiot. The other two are no better than the pus on a sore, so be careful," the old chief said, his attitude toward Jane having taken a complete 180-degree turn, making him more talkative.

"Shouldn't we have brought more backup?" Jane looked around. There were only four of them, while there were at least three on the other side. Considering that junkies often hang out in groups, it was hard to say how many were actually inside.

"Sigh, Jane, in a place like this, there's no such thing as backup. We can only rely on ourselves," the old chief sighed.

"I'll go around the back," Cory said, taking a look around with his binoculars and finding nothing, then retrieving a shotgun from his car and heading around the back of the tin house.

Jack followed at a moderate distance behind the two, even though he was carrying two guns. Given his current awkward status, he preferred not to use them unless absolutely necessary, as it would be detrimental to the investigation.

The tin house was in terrible shape, with the outer walls haphazardly patched with wood and even cardboard, barely keeping out the cold wind.

Standing at the door, they could clearly hear the loud music coming from inside. Without a word, the old chief stepped forward and began pounding on the door.

"My schedule is messed up again. Writing this chapter was tough; I've felt sluggish all day."

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