After hearing the answer he feared, Jack shook his head and looked at Larry once more. In his eyes, he could only see great determination and a desire he had never seen in him before.
"Even if you had refused, it would be impossible for me to let you stay in this place forever." Jack felt that Larry's skills were being wasted here, where at most there were one or two interesting cases.
"Well, this month I've handled two cases. Do you know about that?" Larry asked, knowing full well that Jack was his contact in the FBI and the one responsible for ensuring his psychological evaluations were taken into account.
Jack nodded, pulled a notebook from his jacket, and said in a serious tone, "A murder—man in the bathtub—no traces or leads to follow. The detectives were completely stuck, which is why they called the criminal profiler I recommended to the department."
"In the second case, two murders, one after the other. Tracking the killer was so easy that you even took the liberty of sleeping. My question about all this is the following: if you knew who the killer was, why did you take so long to catch him?" Jack knew Larry was far better than he had shown so far.
"I need the detectives to trust me. They don't know that since my early graduation, I've never made a mistake. But they barely know me and need all the real clues a case can provide."
"In my department, you wouldn't need something like that, Larry." Jack wanted Larry in his department, especially because he wanted to solve all cases much faster, just as he had been doing until now.
Larry's reputation was impeccable. His detailed investigations had been studied by Jack for years. Working alongside this man, the freedom Larry had in his investigations was extensive.
Of course, Jack's moral code could not be violated. But when it came to investigations, that wasn't necessary, especially because there were few things that could stop Larry from pursuing a case for this man.
"I'm here…"
"You're looking for the murderer who killed your family. I suppose you're in Miami because your private investigation has led you here, and you plan to hunt him down." Jack stood up, walked toward the window, and said, "You probably want to kill him, but is it really worth it?"
"Unless he commits a new crime and leaves some of his fingerprints behind, I won't be able to catch him. I know I'm closer than you can imagine." Larry leaned back on the couch, looking at Jack, waiting for his response.
"Do you expect me to stop you?"
"A word of advice about not killing anyone would be nice, especially from my former captain."
"That shit doesn't concern me. Just keep in mind that if you commit a crime, you'll be arrested." In simple words, Jack didn't seem to care about what Larry was after.
All brilliant people sought strange things, but Larry didn't. He was hunting, and his prey was closer than he imagined.
"How's your health?"
"I manage, though I'm still taking medicine," Larry said as he looked at the file in front of him and asked, "Is this serial killer dangerous?"
Jack turned around and watched Larry reading the special report he had prepared for him and said, "You studied all the cases we were involved in back when you were a student. You, more than anyone, know how to follow patterns to catch this killer."
"If I find a lead, I'll send it to you. But Jack, are you sure you weren't more involved in this than you should have been?" Larry asked, staring directly at Jack, who looked back at him, and both remained silent for a while.
"He's that man's sixth victim, Larry. I need your help, too."
"Just give me time to hunt down the killer I'm after, then I'll be the hunting dog you want so badly," Larry said, closing the file.
Jack, who was about to say something, received a call and said, "Well, Larry, I wish you the best of luck in your investigation. You have my number—call me if you need anything."
After saying that, Jack hurried out of the room along with the soldier.
Larry remained silent.
Without thinking much about what he had just heard, he left the room and walked aimlessly until he reached a cemetery.
After wandering for a long time, he saw a female figure standing in front of a grave.
"Are you planning to attack a girl at night in a place where there's probably no one around?"
Larry recognized this woman, then smiled slightly and asked, "What do you think?"