Chapter 119
Ada Phil was not a recidivist, and her methods were not professional, so once she was poked and prodded in her heart’s defense, she quickly gave an account of her crime.
Luke didn’t put much effort into her interrogation.
The questioning of the lieutenant and David was also over.
Susan summoned the crowd to the conference room for a meeting.
“OK, you guys can talk about the progress of the interrogation.”
The Vice Squad looked at Luke across the room, “Young man, I’ll give you a chance to show off.”
Luke said, “After the interrogation, Ada Fell admitted to being instructed to run Lucas over, however, the person who hired her did not intend to kill Lucas, but rather to injure him, most likely with the intent of keeping him from filming.”
Jenny said, “So the hirer was really Andal Anders, the supporting actor?”
“No,” Luke and the lieutenant said in unison.
Jenny pressed, “Then who could it be?”
Luke didn’t say anything this time, but looked across the room at the vice squad.
The lieutenant spread his hands, “Young man first.”
Luke made a gesture of invitation, “I’m inexperienced and have much to learn from you, Lieutenant.”
The Vice Squad shrugged, “We questioned the male co-star, Andal Anders, and he disavowed hiring Ada Phil to bump people off, so in my experience what he said should be true.
As for who actually hired Ada Fell, he’s not sure, so it’s even more unlikely that I’ll know.
That’s what you’re going to interrogate.”
Luke didn’t hold back and got right to the point: “The assistant director, Crapo Hino, is the one who hired Ada Phil.
Ida Phil’s daughter has autism, it’s a serious condition, she’s almost five years old and still can’t speak.
Ada Phil has taken her daughter for tests, and purely medication has limited effect, and must be corrected by special education, which is a very expensive school.
Ada Phil couldn’t afford it, and with the promise of fifty thousand dollars from the assistant director, he took the plunge and accepted the hire.”
Susan pressed, “How did the two of them meet?”
“Ida Fell would go to part-time jobs, such as group shows, in addition to her regular job in order to get the tuition money together.
That’s also when she met the assistant director, Crapo-Hino, who knew she needed money and used it as a lure to get her to bump Lucas.
At the time, Crapo-Hino made it clear that he didn’t need to be hurt badly, just so long as he couldn’t do the scene.
Ida Fell didn’t think it was a big risk, agreed, and got fifty thousand dollars afterward to pay the kid’s tuition for special education school.”
David said, “This co-director, Crapo Hino, is so bold that he’s not afraid of Ada Phil betraying him or blackmailing him with this.”
The vice team laughed, “These assistant directors may not be very good at making movies, but each one of them is a man of the people, so I guess they have long seen through Ada Phil.
It’s good that he doesn’t threaten Ayda Phil, how would Ayda Phil dare to threaten him.
Even for the sake of the child, she wouldn’t do that.”
Jenny was puzzled, “Crapoux-Hino is an assistant director, and by definition has no conflict of interest with Lucas, the main character, so why would he stop Lucas from starring in the movie.”
“Good question.” The assistant team responded and continued, “The supporting actor, Andal Anders, disavowed any involvement in Lucas’ death. In his words, a good portion of the movie had already been filmed, and even if Lucas had died, the lead role wouldn’t have been his turn, so why should he bother.
But he also describes a situation where Lucas and assistant director Crapo Schino go way back.
They had worked together on Special Olympics ……”
Luke “……”
Again, nyet, this is the movie.
Blackie laughed, “I haven’t really seen this movie, I’ll have to check it out when I get home.”
Jenny said, “Lucas’s wife, Nosa Soest, also worked on this movie, so all three know each other.”
“Don’t interrupt.” A little disgruntled, the lieutenant continued, “According to Andal Anders, the male co-star, he finished filming the other day and ran to the viwi bar for a drink.
Saw Lucas’s wife, Enosha Sost, with the assistant director, and the two were whispering and not sure what they were talking about.
He didn’t get close enough to listen, so he just snapped a picture.”
The vice team showed the photo to the crowd, “From the photo, it seems that Lucas’s wife doesn’t just know the assistant director Crapoux Hino, the two have an unusual relationship.
I’m going to make a bold assumption that the two may have had an extramarital affair.
This is most likely his motive. As long as Lucas is dead, he can be with Enosha Soest.
At the same time, he can also get Lucas’s inheritance, don’t look at Enosha Soster’s mouth saying that she is going bankrupt, the so-called bankruptcy of the rich people is just that they can’t maintain the extravagant life of the upper class, and the mansions and luxury cars will always be not less.”
Jenny said, “Lucas is tall, handsome and well-built, and the assistant director is average looking and has blossomed. Any woman would know what to choose, Enosha Soest wouldn’t be so discerning.”
“Enosha Soest might have wanted to help her husband get the role through the assistant director, and made a false pretense with the assistant director, but the assistant director might have taken it seriously.”
The vice team took a sip of coffee to moisten their throats, “In my experience, this assistant director is highly suspicious.
First of all, he’s the one who reported the crime and was around when Lucas’ body was dug up.
And he’s the highest-ranking person in the group, so it’s entirely possible that he could have dictated to the others what to do.
I’ve met a lot of killers who return to the scene after committing a crime.
There are two reasons why they return to the scene.
The first reason is that they are psychopaths, mentally ill, and they enjoy it.
The second reason is that they are worried about leaving evidence at the scene.
I think the assistant director may belong to the second kind. As the informant, he is fully capable of destroying the crime scene.
Take for example that bracelet of the female lead, why did it fall into the pit for no reason.
Is it possible that he threw it in on purpose to interfere with the police investigation.
I remember when Luke asked about the ownership of the bracelet, the other guy was still reluctant to talk about it, so who knows if it was a case of trying to get away with something.
Anyway, I think this guy is suspicious, has a motive, and a history of hiring people to run over Lucas.
Captain, I suggest we just get a warrant for his arrest before the other guy gets away.”
Susan thought about it and agreed.
However, Susan’s reason for applying for an arrest warrant was not on the grounds that he was Lucas’s murderer, as there was a lack of evidence for that.
Rather, it was based on Ida Fell’s identification; the assistant director had hired Ida Fell to run over Lucas, and that alone could lead to his arrest, and how he would be questioned when he was caught at the police station was another matter.
Even if the assistant director was not Lucas’s murderer, Susan would not be held responsible.
An hour later.
The police split in two.
David took someone to the assistant director’s house.
Luke went to the movie studio to look for it.
David led people to the door of the assistant director’s house, knocked on the door and no one answered, and then directly broke the door into the guy to search, but there was no trace of the assistant director.
From the situation in the house, the other party is likely to have run away.
After receiving David’s notification, Luke had already rushed to the movie studio and met the director of the crew.
Although they were both directors, there was a world of difference between one positive and one negative.
The director was called Belle Gru, a middle-aged man in his fifties, who had become famous very early and had made several movies.
Lucas’s famous movie Special War Heroes was directed and filmed by him, so it can be said that a few of them are old acquaintances.
Luke found that the characters involved in this case could all be related to Special War Heroes, and when he went home tonight, he decided to watch the movie, maybe he could find any valuable clues.
Luke flashed his badge, “Director Bell, I’d like to talk to you.”
Bell Gru frowned slightly, looking as if he was a bit nervous, “Didn’t the police already talk to me last time? I remember one is called John and the other is called David, and they said they were my fans.”
Luke laughed, “I’m a fan of yours too.”
Belle Gru flashed a smirk, “What’s your favorite movie of mine?”
Luke “……”
It takes a million lies to cover a lie.
Against his will, Luke said, “Special Olympics.”
He felt like throwing up.
Bel Gru laughed, “It’s just one of my commercial works, not exactly the best.”
Luke didn’t want to bullshit him any further and got right to the point, “Do you know where Associate Director Crapo-Hino is?”
“He called in for a leave of absence last night and said he was going to take some time off.
The crew can’t shoot with the current situation, so I agreed.”
“Where did he go?”
“I didn’t ask that, you could have called him.”
Luke said, “I don’t know him well and I don’t have his phone number, why don’t you get in touch.”
Bel-Gru didn’t think much about it, took out his cell phone and dialed a number, frowned and said, “Eh, why can’t I get through on this cell phone, weird.”
Bel Gru called again, still unable to get through, “Inspector Luke, may I ask what’s wrong?”
Luke asked, not quite rhetorically, “How’s the relationship between the assistant director and Lucas?”
“They …… are okay.”
As soon as Luke heard the tone, he knew the other party wasn’t telling the truth and cautioned, “Director Bell, I hope you’ll think carefully before answering the question.
Every word you say may play a crucial role in the case.
If the case is not solved for a day, the crew will have no way to start work normally.
I also hope that you will assist more.”
Bel Gru seemed to hear it in his heart and turned his words around, “The two of them are not on good terms.”
“Why?”
Bel-Gru shook his head, “The reason is quite complicated, and it’s not good for me, an outsider, to say more. It’s something they have to work out on their own.”
Luke felt that Bel Gru was a bit slippery and seemed to be intentionally holding back, testing, “Do you think it’s possible that the assistant director killed Lucas.”
“No way, I know the assistant director as a person, he doesn’t have the guts.”
Luke tried further, “When you say he didn’t have the guts, you don’t mean he didn’t have a motive, what exactly was the grudge between the two of them.”
Bel Gru sighed, “Actually, it’s been so many years that there’s not much that can’t be said.
Lucas’s wife, Nosa Soest, was the ex-girlfriend of the assistant director, and it was through the assistant director that Nosa Soest was able to get the role of the supporting actress in Special Warfare.
I still remember to this day how many nice things the assistant director said to help his girlfriend get the role.
I kind of admired the assistant director and Nosa Soest had a pretty good offer, so I said yes.
Lucas is the hero of Special War Heroes has some scenes opposite Nosa Soest, and the two of them play a couple, from the first rusty to familiar.
As a director could feel their changing emotions and originally thought it was just because of the filming and they should be able to pull away from their feelings when the movie was done.
But it was not to be, after shooting that movie Nosa Soest broke up with the assistant director and threw herself into the arms of Lucas.
Because that relationship wasn’t publicized back then, many people didn’t know about the relationship between the assistant director and Nosa Soest.
Because of this incident, the assistant director was depressed for a period of time, and it took a long time to come out completely.
So, making a movie with Lucas this time was a challenge for him.”
Luke pressed, “Did the assistant director ever deliberately try to upset Lucas?”
“Initially casting the role, he had suggested not to choose Lucas, and knowing their feud, I didn’t want to choose Lucas at first, but the producer was more optimistic about Lucas and let Lucas audition.
After the audition, I realized that Lucas’s acting skills were much better than before, and he was indeed very suitable for the role, so I agreed to do it after careful consideration.
Although the assistant director was uncomfortable in his heart, he also fulfilled his duties and didn’t use his power to make things difficult for him and trip him up on the set.”
Luke jotted down highlights in his notebook, “Four months ago, Lucas was in a car accident, did you know that?”
“I didn’t know at the time, but I heard about it later, and I was told that it was pretty dangerous, and that if the car had been going any faster, Lucas would have been injured and wouldn’t have been able to shoot the movie.”
“According to our investigation, the hit-and-run driver who hit and injured Lucas was hired by someone, and the one who hired him was the assistant director.”
Hearing this, director Belle Gru’s face changed, “Really?”
“The perpetrator has already given an account.”
Bel Gru sighed softly, “Ai, he shouldn’t have done that, it’s a pity.”
“Do you know where he’s hiding?”
“I really don’t know, how could he tell me if he really wanted to run.”
Luke continued, “Do you think the assistant director still has feelings for Enosha Soest?”
Director Bell shook his head, “Who can tell about feelings, not to mention outsiders, I’m afraid it’s hard for them to tell themselves.”
Luke asked a few more questions, but didn’t ask any valuable clues and left the movie studio.
Although he didn’t catch Crapoux-Hino, Luke felt that it was very rewarding.
The assistant director was actually Lucas’ wife’s ex-boyfriend, who would have thought that?
With that grudge, the assistant director had enough motive to kill.
Back at the Detective Bureau.
Luke gives a brief report on the investigation.
Meanwhile, there is a new situation on Matthew’s side.
Matthew has been trying to locate the assistant director’s cell phone, but the phone has been disconnected.
This was more indication that the assistant director was intentionally avoiding the police.
However, it wasn’t like Matthew hadn’t gained anything, he investigated the deputy director’s call records.
It was found that the assistant director and Lucas’s wife had been in contact with each other, and the last call made by the assistant director’s cell phone before it was disconnected was to Lucas’s wife, Enosha Soest.
But from this, it seems that the assistant director’s obsession runs deep, and it’s likely that he’s been in constant contact with Enosha Soest.
Boldly assuming that if Lucas found out that his wife was dating the assistant director, he would surely be furious.
When people are impulsive, anything can happen.
Susan made a snap decision to apply for a warrant against the assistant director, Crapo Hino.