Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

The next morning, Luke finished his breakfast and cheerfully headed to the detective bureau for work.

Even though the house issue wasn't resolved yet, he had been away for so long that he had to show up at the bureau. If there were any cases waiting for him, it wouldn't be good to delay them.

Luke drove his car into the police station's parking lot, carrying a bag towards the detective bureau building, meeting quite a few familiar colleagues along the way.

Forensic doctor Hila greeted, "Hi, Detective Chief Luke, long time no see."

"Yes, I was out on vacation."

"Did you have fun?"

"Of course, want a donut?"

Forensic doctor Hila waved it off, "No, I'm quitting sugar recently."

"Why so hopeless?" Captain Jones happened to walk over, "Give it to me."

Luke handed the donut to him, "Good morning, Captain Jones."

"Good morning." Jones looked Luke up and down, "I thought you went and secretly got married."

Luke joked to himself, "I'd love to, but it's a bit difficult. My wife hasn't been born yet, I have to ask my future father-in-law and mother-in-law to hurry up."

"Haha…" Everyone laughed.

Luke went up to the third floor, pushed open the door to the first squadron office of the Robbery and Murder Department, "Hi, guys, long time no see, did you miss me?"

Jackson exclaimed excitedly, "Hey, Chief, you're finally back."

Port laughed, "Chief, welcome home."

Matthew set down his coffee cup and gave Luke a hug, "Glad to have you back safe and sound."

Raymond said, "Your time away wasn't short this time."

Jenny teased, "Chief, you didn't go to New York for a matchmaking meeting, did you?"

Luke glared at Jenny, somewhat surprised, "Wow, how did you know that term?"

Jenny said, "I have a Chinese-American friend, and his parents live in Chinatown. Every time he gets time off, his parents make him go back to Chinatown for matchmaking meetings.

His parents hope he can marry a Chinese person."

Luke was relieved, "Luckily, I have open-minded parents.

My parents don't have high demands for me, as long as it's a woman."

Jackson reminded, "Chief, those kinds of comments are risky and very inappropriate."

Luke made a zipper motion over his mouth, "Let's all just forget I said that."

Luke placed the donuts and coffee on the table, "I brought you some food, come and get it."

The deputy chief picked up his favorite donut, took a bite, with a satisfied look, "You know, I almost thought I'd have to move into the chief's office."

"Sorry, Deputy Chief, to disappoint you, but when you officially retire, I might consider letting you hold the retirement ceremony in the chief's office, no need to be polite."

The deputy chief took another big bite of the donut, "You damn kid."

Luke also grabbed a donut and took a bite, "Is there a new case in the department?"

"Yes, not long after you left, we received a tricky case." The deputy chief patted his chest, "But, under my leadership, the case has been successfully solved."

You rebellious old man, did my few days away give you ideas?

Luke knew the old man's temper and didn't bother getting angry with him, "Great, I'll make sure to commend everyone in front of Director Reid."

Luke ate the remaining donut in a few bites, "You guys keep eating, I need to stop by the director's office first."

The deputy chief handed him another donut, "No rush, Reid is at headquarters for a meeting today.

Instead of waiting for hours in the office, you might as well tell us about your trip to New York."

Luke countered, "It sounds like you guys know something?"

Jackson reminded, "We saw the news interview that day."

Luke thought of the Chinese female reporter, "The one where I shouted 'LAPD' during the interview?"

"Yes, that interview went viral online, it was quite entertaining."

Luke hadn't watched that interview, but he remembered carrying a Forrester badge at the time, since his teammates already knew, it's better to clear things up than let them speculate.

Luke briefly recounted his experience in New York, but he needed to keep the specific details of the case confidential.

The deputy chief was a bit envious, "Being a Forrester Investigation Consultant isn't easy to achieve. It seems the director of Forrester's New York office really appreciates you. Have you considered formally joining Forrester?"

"Not at the moment, maybe when you retire, I'll think about it."

The deputy chief "…"

Damn kid.

He felt like he had swallowed a fly.

Luke chuckled, watching the old man get frustrated was quite amusing.

Looking around, he felt something was missing, "Where's that annoying and pesky Detective Marcus?"

Port said, "He's accompanying his wife for a check-up."

Luke calculated, it was already February, the months were adding up, and the check-up frequency must be high.

The deputy chief sighed, "Marcus has changed a lot now.

A year ago, I wouldn't have believed he would get married, let alone become a father.

Life really is remarkable."

Luke finished the donut and wiped his hands, "Deputy Chief, tell me about that case, do you need my help?"

"It was indeed a very complex case, but we've already cracked it. You just need to write a report."

"OK, then tell me about it, I'd like to hear how complex it was so I can learn from it."

"Ahem…" The deputy chief cleared his throat and said, "This was an old case from ten years ago, originally investigated by the detectives of the Western precinct.