Chapter 3: George Stacy Hates Spider-Woman
Communicating with spirits was troublesome. Not because the spirits would hurt people.
But because under normal circumstances, spirits are just vessels for their lingering obsessions. Most of them don't remember their lives.
Lynn rarely encountered spirits he could communicate with normally.
The only information he could get from them was the deepest obsession in their hearts.
Just like now. Lynn used his Phantasm ability to communicate with this translucent soul.
But its eyes were blank, just staring silently at its own corpse in the suitcase.
Just when Lynn thought this was another one he couldn't communicate with...
The spirit suddenly looked at Lynn, a trace of anxiety flashing in its eyes, and then pointed at itself in the suitcase.
Lynn thought the male spirit had realized he was dead and couldn't accept it.
But then the male spirit, with his left hand, pointed to the clenched right fist inside the suitcase.
'Is this the clue he's giving me?'
At this thought, Lynn took the gloves from an officer and put them on.
He had just squatted down by the suitcase when George Stacy also leaned in and squatted. "What are you looking at? Everything's been washed clean by the rain, there are no tracks. We should have them take the body and the suitcase back first, let the M.E. check it."
Hearing this, Lynn pointed to the right hand pinned under the corpse's abdomen. "The body's left hand is open behind its back, but the right hand is clenched tight. I think there's something in it."
As he spoke, Lynn reached out and forcibly pried open the clenched fist.
In the palm, a slightly rusty metal tag appeared before them.
Looking at the tag in the corpse's hand, George Stacy said with admiration, "Lynn, if you weren't always so focused on good food and beautiful women, with sharp observation skills like this, you'd probably have been promoted long ago."
"Oh, come on, George. What's the point of living?"
Lynn took the metal tag from the palm and held it up to the light.
The letters [ZORN] were on the tag, and below it was a picture of an elephant.
"Is the body's name Zorn?"
"Who knows? Let's have the M.E. take it back and run some tests first."
Lynn stood up, motioned to the patrol officers nearby, and told them to take the body back to the precinct.
He then hitched a ride in George Stacy's car back to the precinct.
In the car.
"You didn't go get your idol's autograph?"
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lynn asked curiously while sipping his coffee. "I remember when the Battle of New York happened, you were so excited when you saw Cap on TV."
"If I hadn't held you back, you probably would've grabbed your gun and charged straight into Stark Tower to fight those aliens."
Faced with Lynn's question, George Stacy shook his head with emotion. "Forget it. Just seeing my idol from a distance is enough. He was frozen for seventy years... I don't think he's fully adapted to this world yet."
"Even though he saved the world again, I think he'd rather live an ordinary life instead of being bothered."
"So I'd rather not cause him any trouble."
Hearing George Stacy say something so considerate, Lynn took a sip of coffee. "Fine. I'll never understand you fans."
"But speaking of superheroes, how come you have so much hostility for the Spider-Woman who just showed up recently?"
"You don't understand!"
At Lynn's question, George Stacy's expression turned serious. "Even though Spider-Woman has done a lot of good in New York, catching bad guys should be our job, the NYPD's. And criminals should be judged by the law, not by a vigilante like her!"
"If everyone acted like her, wouldn't that disrupt social order?"
Hearing George Stacy's righteous words, Lynn shrugged.
He was really looking forward to the look on George's face when he found out Spider-Woman was his own daughter, Gwen.
Through the rearview mirror, he saw the male spirit sitting in the back seat, his eyes vacant, lost in thought.
Lynn was practically drooling over the pure red obsession energy that represented!
At the precinct.
They helped the medical examiner move the body out of the suitcase.
The M.E. checked the body and then said to Lynn and George, "There are only a few bruises on the body's surface, no fatal wounds found. There is a lipstick mark on his neck."
"Unfortunately, the DNA on the lipstick mark was washed away by the river after being soaked."
"No fatal wounds?"
George Stacy took the coffee Lynn handed him and fell silent for a moment. "Greer, please run a full scan on the body. Find out the cause of death."
"No problem."
The M.E. nodded and pushed the body into the examination room.
"Lynn, have someone run the name [ZORN] and the elephant logo from the tag."
"And then run the victim's face through the database, check his identity."
"I already had the tech department start the search. We should have results soon."
Just as he finished speaking, Jennifer, her blonde ponytail high and her blue uniform tracing her alluring curves, walked in.
"Captain Stacy, Lynn. Here's the information from the tech department."
She handed the file to Lynn, and as he took it, she lightly scratched his palm.
George Stacy was long past being surprised by this sort of thing.
His partner was like a walking charm machine, and his silver tongue was an expert at winning girls' hearts.
If not for that, he wouldn't be so hyper-vigilant about Lynn, never letting his precious daughter Gwen get too close to him.
George took the file and glanced at it, then looked at Lynn, who was busy flirting with Jennifer, and cleared his throat.
"Well, I'll get back to my desk."
Giving Lynn a wink, Jennifer swayed her slender hips and left.
After Jennifer left, George Stacy's expression turned serious. "A search based on the victim's photo came up with no matches in the database."
"But they did get a hit on that metal tag's logo. It belongs to a circus called [Kryle's]."
"This circus doesn't just perform in New York, though. They tour the whole country. As it happens, the circus is in New York right now."
As George said the circus's name, the spirit, who had been following them, suddenly trembled.
Based on the spirit's reaction, Lynn knew its obsession was probably related to the circus.
"In that case, let's wait for the M.E.'s report, and then we'll go check out this circus."
"Right."
George Stacy nodded and continued to read through the circus's file.
A short time later, the M.E. wheeled the autopsied body back out.
The spirit, who had been standing frozen in a daze, saw that its own body had been cut open. Its previously vacant eyes instantly turned a deep red.
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