28. Evil plan

"Have you searched the villa?" Elise pursed her lips as she continued to examine the dead man. 

"We are on it, Officer." The junior police officer replied. "We did manage to retrieve a few files from his study." He then handed the files to Derek who went through it immediately.

"Apparently, Craig was planning to build an AI lab where he could manufacture advanced weapons." Derek read the report aloud.

"I don't think he applied for the permits. Otherwise, we would have heard about it somehow." Elise's brows narrowed into a frown.

"Yes, Officer Winslow. He did apply for a permit but was rejected."

"Interesting. Although AI-based weapons could bring a lot of profits, they are equally harmful." Elise stated and stood up before removing her gloves. "May I take a look at the file?"

Derek had no qualms and handed it over to her, much to the junior police officer's surprise. He wanted to stop him but thought otherwise at the last moment.

Elise didn't miss the junior officer's dissatisfaction. But she didn't say a word and went through the file calmly. The vision and the plan were clearly mentioned. Craig had even explained all the weapons he wanted to manufacture in detail along with the process. 

It was an interesting concept, but only for the movies or for a visual impact. Making it a reality would bring nothing but destruction to mankind, especially the concept of autonomous missile systems. Not only could these systems adjust their flight path in real time or change their targets, but they could even be operated autonomously.

A master hacker was all it required to deploy them and the threat would befall them instead. A huge bane to society if not monitored carefully.

Elise understood why the permit had been rejected. However, what surprised her the most was that the idea had been already approved first, but was later rejected. And this happened only a few hours later. She stared at the two letters and smiled faintly, a notion sprouting in her mind slowly.

"Officer Blake, could you, perhaps, find out why the idea was rejected later?" Elise tapped her fingers on the file and smiled faintly.

"Could there be a connection between Craig's death and this matter?" Kai took the files from her hand and studied them carefully.

"Probably." Elise wasn't sure either. But she had an inkling this could be their key to solving the case.

"I'm on it, Officer." Even though it was his team leading the investigation, Daniel was more inclined to believe in Elise and follow her orders. After all, the case would soon be hers and their roles would be reversed. He might as well start acting upon it and get adjusted to it quickly.

Elise bit her lip and looked around as she started scanning the villa, leaving Kai to assist the police with whatever they wanted. She didn't know why but she had an inkling that they were missing out on something, that she was overlooking a crucial clue.

Right at that moment, her eyes fell on the cameras located at each corner of the house and it dawned upon her what she had missed. 

"Officer, I suggest you get an expert hacker to check the surveillance footage." She suggested from where she was as she stared at the cameras. 'Although I doubt we'll find anything.' She thought silently as she made her way towards the kitchen.

The modern kitchen looked amazingly clean as if it had been well-maintained for a long time. There was not a speck of dust on the counter, and even the pantry and the refrigerator were stocked.

"Who is in charge of the villa? Have you contacted them?" Elise looked at the junior police officer who had followed her quietly.

"Yes, Officer. We have already contacted them."

Elise hummed, not commenting on it further. After surveying the ground floor, she went up the stairs to the first level and started surveying it, making sure to leave no place unsearched.

From the master bedroom to the guest bedrooms and the study, she searched everywhere. But came up with nothing.

Not giving up even then, she went out of the villa and looked around. Since it was a private residence, there had to be a guard or more considering the power and status Craig held in the society.

"What happened to the guards? How come I didn't see one anywhere around the property?"

"That is what bugs us out too, Officer. There were no guards, not even a watchman when we came here. It was as if Craig was abandoned to die here." The police officer explained, his tone laced with worry.

It was a serious matter. Elise analyzed. If the guards around Craig too had met a similar fate just because they were protecting him and were at the same time when he was killed, then they were dealing with a lot more bodies than they thought.

'Unless..." Elise's eyes shook when a possibility entered her mind. "Do you know when Craig brought this property?"

"We'll have to look into it, Officer. Why? What's wrong?" The junior police officer, for the first time, asked her cautiously.

"If my intuitions are right, the property was registered in Craig's name only recently, probably within a month." Elise pondered over it as she tapped her fingers and continued to analyze the situation.

"If that's the case, then the murderers are a lot more evil than I thought." Elise mused and returned to the living room, leaving the confused officer outside the villa.

"Officer Blake, get someone to enquire when this property was registered in Craig's name."

Derek didn't understand the meaning behind her words. But Daniel did and his eyes rounded, utterly spooked to even think of the possibility Elise was hinting at.

"Oh my freaking hell!" Daniel cussed, the wickedness of the murderers making his head go blank.

"Kai assist them in the investigation while I am gone. I need to confirm something. I'll be back in a few hours." Elise nodded at the three men and left the place without another word. She had to investigate something, the one piece of information that could possibly be the trigger point of this matter.