Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"Where?"

...

Twenty minutes later, Luke and Xiao Hei arrived at the crime scene.

This was a middle-class white neighborhood, where the smell of char could be detected from afar.

A residence had been burned down, but fortunately, the homes in the community were spaced well apart, so the fire had not spread to other residences.

They got out of the car, stepping into the mud underfoot; the surroundings were blackened by soot, the house had become complete ruins.

After scanning the surroundings, Luke asked, "Captain, what's the situation here?"

"Last night, this residence caught fire. The blaze was intense. By the time firefighters arrived, the house was nearly burnt down, and they suspected they found a body inside."

"Was it the homeowner?"

Susan shook her head, "According to the neighbors, this house has always been vacant, and the owner didn't come to stay often.

The homeowner's family has been notified, and they are on their way here."

Luke surveyed the surroundings of the house and also observed the crowd of onlookers.

Soon, the forensic team and the technical squad arrived at the scene and entered the ruins to examine the site.

Luke was not idle either; the house was a muddy wreck, any visible evidence probably destroyed by the fire.

He turned his gaze towards the crowd of onlookers.

Such a large fire was likely arson, and in his experience, some arsonists loved to return to the scene to admire their work.

Luke and the others began questioning the surrounding crowd, asking if they knew anything about the fire.

The onlookers were neighbors from the community, and they were quite angry about the fire.

A house fire affected the peace of the entire neighborhood, and if today the arsonist could target your house, tomorrow it could be mine – the residents were rather concerned.

But they didn't know much about the situation; most had only arrived after the fire started.

Most neighbors remarked that the fire spread quickly, suggesting the presence of an accelerant, in other words, the fire was very likely caused deliberately.

Just then, the forensic team came out from the scene, carrying a charred black object on a stretcher.

Luke wrinkled his nose, detecting a scent of roast meat. Unlike regular barbecue, this smell was nauseating, and it made his breakfast churn in his stomach.

"Damn, fuck oil…" Xiao Hei let out another expletive, his eyes wide in disbelief, "Is that a person?"

Although it was charred, the head, limbs, and torso still resembled a human shape.

Susan inquired, "Forensic Hila, found anything?"

The forensic doctor Hila replied, "The site was first scorched by fire and then drenched with water; it's completely ruined.

The water in the ruins reaches my ankles; it's difficult to perform an initial examination of the body under these conditions. We'll have to take the body back to the police station for an autopsy.

What we can confirm now is that the victim was likely a female."

At that moment, a BMW pulled up alongside, and a man and a woman got out, heading straight for the crime scene.

A patrol officer stopped them, "Stop, the area ahead is a crime scene, currently under strict control. Please step back."

The man looked towards the ruins, "I'm Martin Cage, this is my house that's been burned down. Oh my god, how could this happen?"

The woman beside him was also agitated, "How could this be, I always said we should rent out the house. But you had to keep it.

If we had rented it out sooner, this might not have happened."

"Fuck, can you do anything other than complain? You should be glad we didn't rent it out. If tenants were burned to death, things would only be more troublesome."

Luke heard the commotion and walked over, "What's going on?"

"I'm Martin Cage, the owner of this house, you called me here."

"Let them through," Luke gestured, signaling the patrol officer to let them in.

"I'm Luke, the deputy captain of the Robbery and Murder Department. We'll be investigating this case with squad one. And you, madam, how may I address you?"

"This is my wife, Larina Cage."

"Can you both tell me about this house?"

Martin Cage explained, "We bought this two-story house with five rooms and three bathrooms in 2016; we selected all the decorations and furniture with care.

We have other properties in Los Angeles, so we usually don't live here much."

Luke asked, "Who was staying here last night?"

Martin Cage replied, "Like I said, we rarely stay here."

"What about others?"

"What others?"

"Aside from you, has anyone else been living here?"

"No, except for my occasional visits, this house has been vacant."

Luke continued, "We found a charred body in the house."

"A charred body!" Martin Cage showed a shocked expression.

His wife's face fell in fear, "What did you just say, a body?"

"Yes, exactly as you heard. So, I want to know who was in the house."

Martin Cage's wife said, "That's impossible, this house has always been empty without tenants, there shouldn't be anyone in there."

Luke said, "Ma'am, didn't you hear me clearly? We are from the Robbery and Murder Department, if it was just an ordinary fire, we wouldn't need to rush to the scene."

"Fuck! How can there be a dead person!" Martin Cage's face turned very ugly.

"That's what I'm asking you. We're not only investigating the cause of the fire, but also the identity of the deceased.

As homeowners, you don't know who was living in your house?"

Martin Cage's wife replied, "We really didn't let it out to anyone, could it be a homeless person?"

"The person burned to death is a woman."

Martin Cage's wife frowned slightly, "Do you have a photo? I want to take a look."

Luke opened the photo for her to see the picture of the deceased, but when she saw the charred remains that resembled a human body, she screamed, "Ah!"

Martin Cage's wife screamed in fright, "This thing died in our house? Oh my god, that's horrible."

Now that she had seen the photo, Luke continued to ask, "Do you recognize this person?"

Martin Cage's wife answered, "She's burned to ashes, how could I possibly recognize her."

Martin asked, "Deputy Chief Luke, are there any witnesses?"

"There are." Strictly speaking, the neighbors only came over after the fire started; they only saw what happened after the fire, not before it.

But based on Luke's experience, it was best to say there were witnesses now.

Luke continued, "Both of you, the person was burned to death in your house, it could have been someone you know. Can you guess the identity of the deceased?"

"We can't."

"I can't either."

The couple shook their heads one after the other.

"Have you offended anyone recently?"

"No," they said in unison again.

"Has there been any stranger staying here before?"

Martin Cage's wife shook her head, "No, this is our private property, and we haven't rented it out. Why would we let others stay here?"

"Have you been threatened, or heard someone talking about arson?"

"No."

"Aside from the two of you, does anyone else have keys to this house?"

Martin Cage's wife answered firmly, "No."

Martin didn't respond, and Luke saw that he seemed hesitant.

Afterward, Luke had Raymond and Jenny take a statement from Martin Cage's wife, while Luke kept Martin behind.

Luke said again, "Mr. Cage, aside from the two of you, does anyone else have keys to this place?"

Martin Cage nodded, whispering, "Don't let my wife know, but I did give a set of keys to someone else."

"Who did you lend the keys to? What is your relationship? Why did you lend her the keys, and was she here last night?"

"A friend... we occasionally meet here, and to avoid being seen by neighbors, I gave her a set of keys so she could go straight in when she arrived.

Last night, we didn't plan to meet here, and I don't know why things turned out this way."

Luke showed him the photo again, "Is this the person you're talking about?"

"Oh my god, I... I can't recognize it at all, please take it away."

Luke took back the photo, "What's her name?"

"Gail Thompson."

"Why would you meet here?"

Martin Cage glanced at his wife in the distance, and said quietly, "She is my mistress."