Invalid Evidence

Such massive destruction and loss of life cannot be easily dismissed. Furthermore, the involvement of multinational corporations elevates this to the federal level. The LAPD is not authorized to intervene; the FBI has taken over the entire matter.

As one of the people directly involved at the explosion site, Mitch Schulhoff, president of Sony America, couldn't simply leave. However, given his special status, he was treated with great courtesy.

As it turned out, and thankfully, he was treated with courtesy, and invited to a quiet place to rest. This not only avoided troublesome reporters, but also ensured that his unrestrained remarks were not overheard by many.

Owen Davis, the FBI chief in the Los Angeles area, met Mitch Shulhoff, his first words were. "Arrest that sour radish Henry Brown! He's the one who blew up my company and killed so many people!"

"Mr. Schulhoff, please be careful with your words. Without concrete evidence, such a statement could be considered slander."

"How can there be no evidence? I got his equipment from you, and it was that equipment that exploded, causing me such huge losses. What were you doing? You didn't even find the explosives, and you just handed it over to me like that!"

"Mr. Shulhofer! We, the FBI, have not committed any illegal acts! What If...? you insist on this claim, then we will have no choice but to launch an investigation against you for these false accusations. I believe this is something we would rather not see."

Having already met and exchanged greetings, Owen Davis immediately decided to cut ties with the Old Bai. He then summoned a young agent and instructed him:

"You'll help Mr. Schulhoff take a statement, focusing on what you saw at the bombing scene. Don't say anything else unnecessary."

Don't memorize too much. Understand my meaning.

"Yes, sir." The young man gave a "don't worry, I've got you covered" look.

Is Owen Davis at ease after leaving?

All of this is the result of his troublesome subordinates!

What's even more damn tragic is that once the most troublesome person leaves, someone else will take their place. The worries won't lessen at all. There will always be a "worst" guy appearing.

Arm, now ranked number one as the most troublesome agent in her eyes, is walking towards her.

"Sir," the seasoned detective who had met Henry Brown in the interrogation room and helped get rid of that plague came forward to greet him.

Even as he inwardly sighed or contemplated strangling the other person, Owen Davis maintained his superior's demeanor. "Any findings from the on-site investigation?"

The seasoned detective said smugly, "Although we still need the fire investigation team to prepare a report, I've had a general look at it. The location of the explosion's epicenter, based on the shape of the debris and the testimonies of the staff, does indeed match the equipment we seized from Henry Brown's house."

"That guy can't escape now. He caused such serious casualties and losses; labeling him a terrorist would put him in jail for at least a hundred or two hundred years."

"Yeah," Owen Davis said affectedly, "And then we'll all go to jail with him on charges of abuse of power. I might get more than ten years, and none of you will get away with it, five to seven years at the very least."

The seasoned detective frowned and asked, "Can't you handle this?"

Owen said coldly, "Don't forget what we just did today. We finally managed to persuade Mr. Brown, who was wrongly arrested by us for 'administrative negligence,' to agree to sign a letter of understanding."

"We also requested that the lost items not be pursued, and we provided compensation and clarified the condition of the equipment. You should understand the significance of this."

"This means that the connection between this batch of equipment and Henry 'Brown Sony Research Lab was broken."

"That's right! Any law student knows to raise questions. When a batch of stored items is stolen or lost, how can you prove that no one tampered with them and that the damage caused by these stored items is attributed to the original owner?"

"But we all know these things were seized from his house. No one but him could have done this."

Owen Davis scoffed, "You're not new to this business, do you? Don't you know that evidence becomes invalid when it passes through the hands of a third party other than a notary public?"

"Because no one can prove that this illegal third party didn't tamper with or contaminate the evidence. Unless the entire process is thoroughly investigated and every step is confirmed to be error-free. But would you dare?"

"Especially given that there are no parts of this incident that are difficult to alter, and all the evidence has been burned, making forensic identification difficult,"

It's difficult to directly link the bomb to Henry Brown.

"What If...? we haven't reached a conclusion on the circumstances of the lost items today, we can try to get Sony Research Lab to become an identification unit."

"So, from the moment we seized the evidence and transferred it to the forensic unit, everything went through legal channels. In that situation, Henry Brown would have been in deep trouble. But now? With your expertise, do you still think it's feasible?"

Even this usually astute detective now looked troubled. "Another 'administrative negligence' claim to overturn our previous explanation of the lost items?"

"Do you think Stark Industries ' legal team will just let you off the hook like this? To tolerate you piecing together this story with lies? If this whole thing gets dug up, our entire Los Angeles office will be buried alive. Did the others agree?"

"But we all know it was him. Otherwise, this wouldn't have happened right after the agreement was signed!"

Owen Davis said coldly, "Yes, he is indeed the prime suspect. But so what? Let me ask you first, how did he detonate the bomb? The timing was so perfect."

"Hmm, maybe it was done after leaving the FBI office?"

"I asked his lawyer about that period. He was with his lawyer on the way to the parking lot. He didn't leave his lawyer's sight during that time, let alone consider how he would break into the Sony Research Lab."

"A telephone! He specifically mentioned a portable telephone; perhaps that's what triggered the explosion."

"The lawyer said he didn't make the call. And how can you control a bomb over a phone?"

Carrying a remote-controlled bomb via telephone was not common in this era. So Owen Davis never even considered that possibility.

The main problem is that carrying a phone is expensive, and the user information required for registration is unclear. With the popularity of cheap mobile phones that require prepaid cards, it is difficult to trace their origin, which is why bombers use this method of detonation.

Even if the investigation into the phone was necessary, Henry could produce it. The detonator was a homemade circuit board and a copied chip; in the moment it was completely melted, there was no way to prove the phone had rung in the Sony Building.

As for the communication records between the telecom company and the server room, Henry certainly remembered deleting them afterward. His years of honed Hacker skills were meant for situations like this.

"Hmm, maybe the bomb was timed. That's why that guy agreed to our compensation so readily, just wanting to sign the agreement as soon as possible."

+

Owen Davis chuckled and said, "Why don't you think about how much uncertainty there is in your argument? And from the very beginning, the reason we wanted to resolve the issue of wrongful arrest through an agreement was precisely because the other party had climbed up from the bottom."

"And his timid nature was just as we had guessed; even with a lawyer around, he didn't want to deal with us much."

After the agreement was signed, everyone in the office laughed at him. Now everyone feels differently? And---"

Seeing his superior hesitate, the seasoned agent quickly pressed, "And what else?"

"Think back to the whole process. We didn't actually seize the equipment immediately; we were handling another 'FBI' case. What happened during the window of opportunity before we arrived? Can you say with absolute certainty that Henry Brown did this?"

"How are we going to explain this to Mickey Schulhoff?"

"How are you going to explain this?" Owen Davis laughed again, this time through his nose. "If he can't handle the Japan, he's nothing."

"Do you think they can take their anger out on us? Besides, if the people at Sony are smart, the best course of action is to avoid making a big deal out of this."

The seasoned detective was initially puzzled, then suddenly realized. "A business dispute?"

"That's right. Compared to a lawsuit for industrial espionage, what's a few deaths?" Owen Davis was really considering was how Stark would react.