"Just collect evidence and mark important details," Welters instructed.
Ryan nodded and crouched beside the damaged display case. Through his Byakugan, the world transformed into a web of details invisible to ordinary eyes. Tiny scratches on the floor, almost impossible to spot with the naked eye, stretched from the broken display case toward the rear exit.
He quietly marked the location before moving on.
"Find something?" Welters asked.
"Maybe," Ryan replied. "Looks like something heavy was dragged through here."
Welters glanced down and frowned.
"Huh."
The older officer knelt down for a closer look.
"I would've missed that."
Ryan simply shrugged.
Further examination revealed another clue. A small piece of dark fabric hung from a jagged section of broken glass near the rear door.
"Got some trace evidence here," Ryan called out.
Mcnab walked over and carefully inspected the material.
"Good catch."
The detective pulled an evidence bag from his pocket and carefully collected the sample.
"Not bad for your first day."
Welters looked as though he had just bitten into a lemon.
"Don't encourage him."
Mcnab smirked.
"I'm serious. Most rookies spend their first crime scene trying not to contaminate evidence. This one's actually helping."
Ryan couldn't help but smile slightly.
That smile vanished when Welters spoke.
"Don't let it go to your head, Rookie. Finding clues is the easy part."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"What's the hard part?"
"Figuring out what they mean."
Before Ryan could answer, a patrol officer approached the group.
"Detective McNab, we found a witness."
Mcnab immediately turned toward the officer.
"Where?"
"Coffee shop across the street. Says he saw a black van leaving right after the alarm went off."
The detective's eyes lit up.
"Now that's something."
Welters nudged Ryan.
"Come on. Time to learn how actual police work gets done."
As the group headed toward the witness, Ryan activated his Byakugan once more.
The faint footprints he had spotted earlier continued beyond the alley and disappeared around a nearby corner.
Interesting.
Maybe there was more than one way to find the thieves.
Ryan followed behind Welters and Detective McNab as they crossed the street toward the small coffee shop.
Inside, a middle-aged man wearing an apron sat nervously at a table, clutching a paper coffee cup.
McNab pulled out a chair and sat down across from him.
"Detective McNab, Ninety-Ninth Precinct. My officer tells me you witnessed something."
The man nodded.
"Y-yeah. I was opening up the shop when I heard glass breaking across the street."
"What time was that?" McNab asked.
"Around six-fifteen."
"And what did you see?"
The witness took a sip of coffee before answering.
"There was a black van parked outside the jewelry store. 4 guys came running out carrying bags. They loaded everything into the back and drove off."
McNab scribbled notes.
"Could you see their faces?"
"Not really. They were wearing masks."
"What about the van?"
The witness thought for a moment.
"It was one of those cargo vans. Black. No company logo. Pretty clean."
McNab nodded.
"License plate?"
The man shook his head.
"Sorry."
"That's alright. You've already helped us a lot."
After collecting the witness's information, the detectives stepped outside.
Welters sighed.
"Not much to work with in terms of direction of investigation ."
"Actually," Ryan said, "there might be something."
Both officers looked at him.
"What?" Welters asked.
Ryan pointed toward the alley beside the coffee shop.
"The footprints continue that way."
McNab raised an eyebrow.
"You can still see them?"
Ryan realized he'd spoken too quickly.
"Uh... there was some mud near the crime scene. I followed the trail."
The detective stared at him for a second before shrugging.
"Heh it wont hurt anyway , lead the way boy wonder."
The three followed the trail into the alley.
The footprints became harder and harder to spot until they eventually stopped near a dumpster.
Welters crossed his arms.
"And we're done."
Ryan frowned.
His Byakugan told a different story.
The footprints ended because the suspect had climbed.
Ryan looked upward.
A metal fire escape hung above them.
"There," he said.
McNab followed his gaze.
"The fire escape?"
"The prints stop directly below it."
The detective inspected the ladder.
A few seconds later, he nodded.
"Fresh scuff marks."
Welters blinked.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The three climbed to the rooftop.
From there, Ryan immediately spotted something.
A torn piece of black fabric was caught on a rusted pipe near the roof's edge.
McNab carefully collected it.
"Matches the material we found at the jewelry store."
Welters stared at Ryan.
"Okay. That's officially creepy."
Ryan laughed awkwardly.
"Good eyesight."
"Kid," Welters said, "either you have the best eyesight in New York or you've secretly been a detective for twenty years."
Before Ryan could answer, McNab's phone rang.
The detective answered immediately.
"McNab."
A moment later his expression changed.
"Seriously?"
Welters noticed.
"What happened?"
McNab lowered the phone.
"Crime lab just got back to us."
"Already?"
"Apparently the partial fingerprint our rookie found belongs to a known burglar."
Ryan perked up.
"Do we have a name?"
McNab nodded.
"Anthony Russo. Multiple arrests. Specializes in jewelry stores."
Welters grinned.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
McNab pocketed his phone.
"Dispatch says Russo has an active address three blocks from here , I'm guessing he was the one who didn't get in the van."
The detective looked at Ryan and Welters.
"Looks like we're paying Mr. Russo a visit."
Ryan felt excitement building in his chest.
His first day on the job wasn't even over yet, and they already had a lead.
Unfortunately for him, he had no idea that Anthony Russo wasn't the mastermind behind the robbery.