Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"Which classmate? What are you doing?"

"Just a classmate from school, I was reading a book in the classroom."

"Name one of them."

Lisa frowned, "Why? Don't you believe me?"

"Routine inquiry."

Lisa lowered her head, "I can't remember."

"It's okay, there's plenty of time. Take your time."

Andesie noticed his daughter's attitude was problematic, "Lisa, please answer Deputy Chief Luke's questions properly."

"I already did, but he doesn't believe me."

"Why won't you say the name of a classmate?"

"I can't recall."

Luke spread his hands, "Mr. Cole, you see, we, the police, are doing our best to investigate the truth behind your wife's murder, but your daughter doesn't seem to be very cooperative.

From my experience, she must be hiding something."

Andesie asked softly, "Lisa, what exactly happened? Where were you actually at that time?"

Lisa let out a long sigh, "I... was with my boyfriend."

Andesie frowned, "You were with that kid Peter?"

"Yes."

Luke observed her expression, still looking like she was lying.

"If you were with your boyfriend, why did you say you were at school earlier?"

"My dad doesn't like him."

Andesie ran his fingers through his hair, "I don't like that kid, but that doesn't mean you have to lie. What man would like his daughter's boyfriend?"

Lisa turned her head away.

Luke felt that she still wasn't telling the truth, "What's Peter's phone number?"

"Peter doesn't have a cell phone."

Lying.

"Where does Peter's family live? I'll send someone to find him."

"Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Lisa crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair.

"It's not that I'm exaggerating, but you don't seem to understand the situation.

Nancy is dead, and all persons involved need to provide a statement.

Those who lie are considered suspects by the police and need further verification.

Even minors who lie are treated the same."

Andesie's eyes widened, slightly in disbelief, "Lisa, are you still lying?"

"That's right, your daughter hasn't said a single truth since sitting down.

She wasn't at school that day, nor was she with her boyfriend."

Lisa bit her lip, her face showing nervousness.

Now, without Luke asking, Andesie took the initiative, "Who exactly were you with that day?"

Lisa choked up, "I was with my mom."

"You were with Nancy?"

"No... it was my biological mother."

Andesie's face twisted with anger, "You secretly met that woman again, what did you promise me?"

"She is my mother."

"A woman who wouldn't even pay child support doesn't deserve to be called a mother. Over the years, has she bought you a single piece of clothing? Has she ever cooked you a meal?

Now that you've grown up, she wants to take you away from me.

Fuck!

She's a disgusting bitch."

Lisa cried, "I just wanted to see my biological mother, don't you think what you're saying is too harsh?"

"Too harsh? If you think you're being honorable and have a clear conscience, why would you lie?"

"Because I was afraid of your reaction."

"No, you're not afraid of me, you don't even take me seriously. If you cared about me, you wouldn't go meet that woman.

Believe me, you'll regret it sooner or later because of her."

"No matter what, she is my biological mother, and you have no right to stop me from seeing her."

Andesie paused for a moment, then looked at his daughter, "You're right, you've grown up, and you have the right to choose.

I don't care anymore." Andesie waved his hand and walked straight out of the lounge.

"Wuwu..." Lisa started to cry.

Luke also left the interrogation room, "Mr. Cole, please calm down."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted, but Nancy has just died, that damn woman...

God, you're so unfair.

Nancy was a good mother, she's the one who raised Lisa..."

"What is Lisa's biological mother's name? Do you have her contact information? We need to take her statement."

"Kara Gilman, I don't have her contact information."

"Does your daughter know about Nancy's personal accident insurance?"

Andesie looked at Luke for a while, then shook his head, "No, I haven't told her."

"We need your ex-wife Kara Gilman's contact information?"

"I truly don't have it."

"But your daughter knows."

"Go ask her then, I don't want to see her anymore, and she won't listen to me anyway." Andesie looked very heartbroken.

Jenny was still working in the lounge, trying to get Lisa's biological mother's phone number from her.

Faced with this family of four, Luke felt a headache coming on.

Just then, Xiao Hei came over with a cellphone, "Luke, I've found a new lead."

"What new lead?"

"I asked my gang friends to ask around about the jewelry and car that were stolen from Nancy's house.

A friend saw a black Toyota with the same license plate number as the one stolen from the victim's house in an alley off Kalya Street."

"Good news, we'll investigate the car lead.

Guys, I'm leaving this place in your hands," Luke said, leaving the police station with Xiao Hei.

Xiao Hei settled into the driver's seat and chuckled, "Finally some peace and quiet, those three kids were driving me crazy.

I'd rather face three brutes than three kids.

Why are animal babies so cute, and human kids so terrifying?"

Luke shared the sentiment, "I thought you got along well with Jaden?"

"Jaden is different, he's an obedient and sensible kid, and there's only one of him. Over here, though, there are three.

I can somewhat understand the younger two, since they're not yet sensible.

But that Lisa, in my eyes, is no different from an adult, totally not fitting the image of a minor. And yet, there's nothing I can do about her, not even speak a harsh word to her.

I'm so annoyed."

Luke spread his hands, "Isn't that why we came out here?"

As for the mess, let others clean it up; there are more people in the squad than just the two of us anyway.

"Yeah," Xiao Hei said, extending his fist to bump against Luke's.

Soon, the two arrived near Kalya Street.

After parking, they looked around for the black Toyota sedan.

This area belonged to the slums, with many old apartments and scarce police presence, making it not very safe.

Luckily, Xiao Hei was quite familiar with the area. He led Luke through the nearby alleys and soon they spotted a black Toyota car.

Xiao Hei shook his head, "The license plate number is wrong. The license plate number of the victim's car is 7Web392, but this car's license plate number is 4yei943."

Luke examined the car closely; it was the same model as Nancy's and was covered in dust, indicating that it hadn't been cleaned for a while.

But the license plate was brand new, "The license plate must have been changed recently."

Xiao Hei pulled out some keys from his pocket and jiggled them in the lock of the trunk. Soon, he had the trunk open, revealing two old license plates inside, with the number 7Web392 on them.

Xiao Hei smiled smugly, "The good news is we found the car. The bad news is we didn't find the person.

Should we call the Forensics team?"

Luke thought for a moment, "No rush, let's wait. Finding the car is not the goal; catching the person is what's important.

Since they've changed to a new license plate, they definitely plan to use the car."

"Okay," Xiao Hei said, scanning the area. "Follow me, I know a good spot to keep watch."

There was an old apartment building next to the street, with a staircase at the back door, mostly made of iron.

The two climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, where they hunkered down on the landing. It wasn't easy to be spotted by someone coming by, and they had a clear view of the scene below.

Luke sat on the stairs while Xiao Hei kept watch over the car below. Luke himself took out his phone to play "King of Glory."

Xiao Hei mumbled a few words of complaint, but since Luke outranked him, he had no choice but to endure.

Speaking of ranks, Xiao Hei felt a bit gloomy. When would he ever get promoted to Detective Chief like Marcus?

After an hour, they saw a few people wandering around the alleyways, but no one approached the car.

Luke got up and stretched, feeling a bit hungry, and asked Xiao Hei to buy some food and water.

Xiao Hei didn't complain. Luke moving around this area would attract more attention, so it was better for him to go.

After Xiao Hei returned with the food, they both ate heartily and continued their wait.

The wait lasted another hour, and it was gradually getting dark.

Xiao Hei was getting impatient, swatting away the mosquitoes buzzing around his ears, "Luke, when are we..."

He was interrupted by Luke.

Luke made a silencing gesture, pointing downward.

A black man in a dark blue tank top swaggered into the alley and walked towards the black sedan.

Luke and Xiao Hei watched him intently.

Xiao Hei muttered, "It's him, start the car, start the car, start the car..."

Whether it was Xiao Hei's wishful thinking or not, the man approached the car, looked around, opened the door, and sat inside.

Luke and Xiao Hei exchanged a look, and in tacit agreement, they made their way downstairs.

As they descended, they drew their guns.

To prevent the suspect from driving away, they approached the car quickly, guns in both hands pointed at the black man in the driver's seat, "LAPD, don't move!"

"Move slowly, and put your hands where I can see them."

The man inside the car was taken aback, looking at Luke and Xiao Hei outside, his face revealing a fierce expression.

He quickly reached for a backpack beside him.

"Stop!"

Having experienced two dangerous shooting incidents, Luke was more alert than before, and his threshold for opening fire was lower.

"Lift your hands up!" Xiao Hei also shouted.

The black man ignored them, his hand quickly sliding into the backpack.

The next moment.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

A hail of gunfire broke the stillness of the night.

34 bullets poured out, and it wasn't until the magazine was empty that they stopped shooting.

The bullets shattered the glass. Apart from a few that went astray and hit the car, most of them struck the black man.

The suspect had become a horrific sight, still clutching a small black submachine gun in his right hand – sadly, he hadn't had the chance to fire before being turned into a sieve.

Looking at the scene before him, Luke was silent. He felt he had become more ruthless than before.

If it had been the past, he wouldn't have fired so many shots, and would have been more likely to aim to wound the suspect's arm.

He didn't know if it was because they were too close, leaving no time to think.

Or if he had changed…