Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

After more than twenty minutes of emergency treatment, George finally stabilized.

However, having nearly asphyxiated twice, his condition had weakened further, necessitating a respirator as he was moved to the intensive care unit.

Considering the safety of the suspect, George, the hospital did not allow the police to take further statements from him.

Actually, even if the hospital had allowed it, Luke wouldn't have wanted to take a statement from George either.

This guy's health is definitely compromised.

Although he was temporarily out of danger, this was only temporary. If he died or suffered another episode during interrogation, Luke would have been responsible.

Faced with the choice between investigating the case and protecting himself, Luke chose the latter.

Having lived through two lifetimes, Luke had realized that the greatest kindness a person can show is to love oneself, to arrange one's own affairs first before attending to others.

If priorities are reversed, even if one receives temporary praise, the taste of regret is only understood by oneself.

In the hallway, Luke saw Deputy Chief Reid talking with Inspector Mercedes.

Reid also saw Luke and Xiao Hei and praised, "Well done. If you hadn't arrived in time tonight, the whole LAPD would have been in trouble tomorrow."

Mercedes said, "Luke, thank you for your timely intervention in stopping this murder. On behalf of the entire West Division, I thank you."

"You're too kind, this is what we should do," Luke had met Mercedes once before. "Let me introduce you, this is my partner, Detective Marcus."

Mercedes said, "Thank you, Detective Marcus."

Marcus grinned, "Nice to meet you, Inspector Mercedes."

After a brief chat, Mercedes went to see the suspect George in the hospital room.

Reid pulled them aside and whispered, "Luke, what do you think about this murder case?"

Since Luke had been in Los Angeles, he had handled many cases, but this was the first time he had encountered a murder right under the police's nose.

American criminals, though fierce, rarely dared to confront the LAPD directly, because the LAPD was even more ferocious.

Today's incident was akin to an open challenge to the LAPD.

"With George hospitalized and under police guard, someone still tried to kill him, which means he must be involved in something bigger. In this situation, it's most likely that an associate wanted to silence him.

I think our previous guess was good; he must be related to Kunni'er's murder case.

Moreover, George is a junkie, fitting our previous speculation that he likely belongs to some drug trafficking organization."

Reid replied, "Let's halt George's interrogation for now. If this guy dies, we all share the blame. Let's wait until his health stabilizes.

For now, we can interrogate that female nurse and confirm her motive for the crime."

"Are we in charge of this case?"

"Yes, that's Frank's decision too."

"Understood."

"Also, there are plenty of police officers outside the hospital to avoid any untoward incidents. We'll conduct the interrogation here, and I'll ask the hospital to provide a separate room.

Late, we will take the nurse back to the detective bureau."

"Alright."

After giving a few more instructions, Reid also left.

Xiao Hei looked curious, "Frank?

Is it the Frank I know?"

"Yes, do a good job, and your chance for promotion is coming."

"Oh my god, are you serious?"

Luke had a premonition that this case was not just any case, but involved significant implications.

If handled well, a promotion and a raise were not dreams.

…

Conference room on the ninth floor.

The female nurse suspected of attempting to murder George sat handcuffed and expressionless in a chair, with a female police officer responsible for guarding her.

"Creak…" the door opened.

Luke and Xiao Hei walked in, and after a handover, the female officer left the room to wait outside.

Luke placed a file on the table and sat across from the female nurse, "Maria, we meet again."

The black female nurse looked up, her eyes filled with nervousness as she faced Luke and Xiao Hei, "You've got it wrong, I didn't want to kill him, really, I didn't."

"Right, you just wanted to use a pillow to stop him from breathing, wait for the doctor to declare George dead from asphyxiation, and everyone would think it was due to LAPD's violent law enforcement, with the whole LAPD to cover for you, so you wouldn't have to worry."

"No, I never thought that, truly I didn't," the black female nurse started to cry.

"Maria, I originally thought you were a fake nurse, but after speaking with your hospital's head, I learned you truly are a nurse here and have been working at this hospital for five years.

I still remember the shock and disappointment on the nurse manager's face upon hearing this news; in their eyes, you were an exceptional nurse.

You take your work very seriously, caring warmly for every patient, and all of your colleagues believed you would never do such a thing.

You were supposed to be a respected 'angel in white,' yet you resorted to attempting to murder a patient…"

Maria screamed, "Stop talking, please just stop, I didn't want to do it, I didn't want to kill anyone, just like you said, I'm a nurse, I dutifully care for my patients every day.

Whether friendly or irritable, I treat them all with care.

I never thought…"

"But you did do it, it's all clear on the body cam footage, you tried to smother George with a pillow, you attempted to murder him.

Why?"

Maria closed her eyes, a pained expression covered her face, and tears streamed down her cheeks.