Chapter 159
The following morning.
Near Laura Pool’s house.
In a Ford Explorer.
Luke yawned and flattened the seat into a comfortable position.
“Last night, I asked you to keep an eye on Parley Jones, why were you drinking with her, were you exposed?”
“How could I? I’m Detective Marcus of the Detective Bureau, how could she possibly see through me.” Xiao Hei was quite confident and laughed, “It wasn’t me who sought her out, it was her who took the initiative to seek me out.
Actually, this is quite normal, a handsome single man sitting not far away with a faint melancholy light in his eyes, what woman would not be moved.
I can understand her.”
Luke shook his head and wondered where this inexplicable sense of superiority of his came from, knowing that a good reporter not only digs up news, but is also a good observer.
He was worried that Blackie had been discovered by the other side during his stakeout.
Of course, it wasn’t a big problem: “What did you guys talk about?”
“Vampires, she was interested, and treated me like a patron of the bar, and kept asking me about the bar.
Also asked me if I had been here last night and if I had seen anything strange, like a vampire bite or something like that.
And even asked me if I really believed in vampire-like creatures.
I told her, ‘Of course there are.
But don’t be afraid, I will protect you.’
Through her side questions, it felt like she probably knew about the murder that happened last night.”
Luke pinched his forehead, thinking that there should be two possibilities for Parley Jones to have approached Blackie for a chat.
The first possibility was that she recognized Blackie, knew that he was a police officer, and wanted to set him up.
The second possibility, she didn’t know that Blackie was a cop, she just saw a single man not far away who looked like he was interested in her, and she happened to want to inquire about something, so she hooked up with Blackie.
Luke felt that the second possibility was more likely, Blackie’s image itself was a bit unreliable, he just had to be himself normally, no one would associate him with the police.
When it came down to it, he had no chance of being crazier than Parley Jones.
If, as Blackie said, it was Parry Jones who took the initiative to find him for information, it meant that Parry Jones probably knew that there was a homicide in the bar.
The murder was yesterday, the police side of the investigation, but has been in the confidential stage, it is reasonable to say that Parry Jones should not know the first crime scene in the bar.
This also just confirms Luke’s previous speculation, Pari Jones is likely to have other channels of information.
Luke took out his cell phone and reported back to Susan, voicing his suspicions about Parley Jones.
He did not intend to directly investigate Parley Jones, the other party is a reporter, if he investigates the other party without evidence, once discovered by the other party will be very troublesome.
As for whether to investigate Pari Jones, that is Susan’s problem.
The captain is not called for nothing, you have to top it at the critical moment.
A yellow school bus slowly pulled up in front of Laura Pool’s house.
Jaden waved goodbye to his mother and got on the school bus.
Blackie said lightly, “He’s a good lad, just like me.”
Luke laughed, “That means the good ones are limited.”
“Haha ……,” Blacky laughed heartlessly.
He didn’t ask much of himself and was happy with his current life.
The two then got out of the car.
Blacky waved and greeted, “Laura.”
“Marcus, what brings you here? Jayden just went to school.”
“I know, I watched my best buddy get in the car.”
Laura Quill was a little surprised, “You came to see me?”
“That’s right.”
Laura looked aside to Luke, “Inspector Luke, you’re here too.”
“Laura, how have you been?”
“Not too bad, the police department refunded us some of the money, my husband’s legal income, we’re getting by, what can I do for you?”
“Have you been to Dracula’s recently?”
“I’ve been, what’s the problem?” Laura stepped aside, “Oh, you guys come in and talk.”
Luke and Blackie entered Laura’s house.
The living room’s wasn’t exactly tidy, there were clothes lying around on the couch, and a vampire model sat on the TV stand.
“SORRY, the house is a little messy.” Laura returned the clothes on the sofa, “Please have a seat.”
Black picked up the vampire model and looked at it, “Laura, have you started liking vampires lately?”
“Uh, it’s just an ornament.” Laura made a perfunctory comment and turned the conversation around, “Tea, or coffee.”
Black waved his hand, “No, we’re just having a chat.”
“OK,” Laura sat down on the sofa next to her.
Xiao Hei and Laura were more familiar with each other, this time he was in charge of the questioning, “Laura, do you often go to Dracula’s Bar?”
“No, just go occasionally, to relax.”
“When was the last time you went?”
“Yesterday, no, the night before, why?”
“Were you there alone, or with other people?”
“I went with a friend.”
Blackie took out a picture of the victim, “Is that her?”
“Even buy Karma’s …… Nicole …… What happened to her? Did …… she die!”
“She died near the bar between the night before last or the early hours of yesterday morning, and since you went to the bar together, we’d like to find out what happened.”
“Wait, how could she be dead? I’m still a little overwhelmed.” Laura covered her head with her hand.
Black wanted to pat her shoulder, but his hand reached halfway and retracted, “What’s the relationship between the two of you?”
“We used to be coworkers, the relationship is not bad, although she is a little younger than me, but very chatty, but also occasionally will be about to meet together.
Since my husband …… left.
She’s been helping me come out of my grief, buying me dinner, talking with me, she’s a good person.” Laura sighed.
“What’s her full name?”
“Nicole Cecil.”
“Can you describe that night?”
Laura slipped into her memories, “I wasn’t in a very good mood that day and wanted to go out for a drink.
So I asked her to join me for a drink at Dracula’s Bar.
It was a vampire themed bar and it was pretty fun.
We had a pretty good time at first, drinking, chatting, and dancing.
Then her cell phone rang, and it was a little loud in the bar, so she went outside.
I waited for a while, and then I got a message from her saying she had to leave first.
I haven’t seen her since then.”
Blackie asked, “Laura, can I see the message she sent? Of course, you can refuse, it’s not mandatory.”
“OK, you’re my friend, there’s nothing wrong with that.” Laura took out her cell phone and tapped on the communication software, “This is what Nicole sent.”
Xiao Hei took it over and looked at it, there was only one sentence, ‘Laura, I have to go beforehand, let’s make a date some other time.’
Blacky handed the phone to Luke, who looked at it and gave it back to Laura and asked, “How did you guys get to Dracula’s Bar?”
“We took a cab.”
“What time did you guys get to the bar?”
“About eight o’clock at night.”
“What time did Nicole leave? What time did you leave?”
“Nicole was around nine-twenty and I was around ten-thirty.”
“Did you see anyone suspicious during this time?”
“Uh …… you know, that one was a vampire themed bar with a lot of oddly dressed people, but they weren’t bad by nature.
There were also people who offered to talk to us and someone who bought me a drink, but I didn’t get the feeling that there were any suspicious people.”
“Do you know who called Nicole?”
“No idea.”
“What’s her cell phone number?”
“626 826 3173.”
Luke jotted it down in his book and continued, “To the best of your knowledge, is there anything physically wrong with Nicole, like a mental or heart condition of any kind.”
“I don’t think so as far as I know.”
“How about her guts?”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t quite understand what you mean?”
“Is she bold?”
“Not bad. Does that have anything to do with her death?”
“It does have something to do with it.” Luke gave a perfunctory, “Did she like vampire culture?”
“Ah …… how can I put it? Can’t say I particularly like it, but I don’t think she hates it either.”
Luke asked rhetorically, “Which means it was actually you who wanted to go to the vampire bar, and she just went with you.”
“Yeah.” Laura responded, pointing a finger at herself, “What do you mean by that? You think I got Nicole killed.”
“NoNo,” Black interrupted the two, “That’s not what he meant, it was just a purely routine inquiry.”
But Laura seemed to have heard it in her heart and grabbed her hair, “Even the …… If I hadn’t asked her out to the bar that day, she wouldn’t have died.
I really didn’t think it would happen, I just wanted to go for a break.
Sharing a nice bar with her that had a great vampire culture that I thought she would like ……
I really didn’t think this would happen.”
Kuro reassured, “I know, it’s not your fault, she just had an accident, you don’t have to beat yourself up too much.
Also, when did you become obsessed with vampire culture?”
Laura sighed softly, “Ever since my husband died, I’ve been missing him, thinking how nice it would be if he was still around, how nice it would be if people didn’t die or could come back from the dead.
When I go into that bar, there is a hope that rises up within me.
How I wished …… he was still alive.
Vampires can, an ancient and powerful creature that has eternal life.
They can give ordinary people this ability as well by way of first embracing.
What an amazing ability, what a desirable ability ……”
Tears welled up from Laura’s eyes and she sobbed in a low voice.
Seeing her like this Blacky felt bad and worried, “Laura, you should pull yourself together, your husband is dead, he won’t be coming back.
But you still have Jaden, even for Jaden you have to face reality and become strong.
Understand?”
“I know, but I really miss him. So does Jayden, I often hear Jayden whimpering in his room, he misses his father just as much as I do.”
Black continued to advise, “Laura, you have to pull yourself together, Jayden will only be strong if you are strong.
You must set a good example for Jayden to understand that his father is already dead and cannot come back.
Meanwhile, his father is watching over him from heaven.
Him living well and trying to live is what his father wants most.
If you can’t get over it yourself, Jaden can’t get over it even more.
He’s still a child and it will reflect badly on him.”
Laura nodded her head in silence, not sure if she was listening.
Luke didn’t really care much about Laura’s chores, and he didn’t think he was qualified to be someone’s spiritual mentor, “Did Nicole have any items with her that night?”
“There was a black backpack with some common things.”
Luke made a note in his book and continued, “Do you know where Nicole’s family lives?”
“73 SNIYIG Street. She lives with her parents and occasionally in the company dormitory.”
SNIYIG Street 73.
A commercial car bearing the logo of News TV was parked next to the courtyard.
Two people stepped out of the car, a black female reporter, Pari Jones, and a cameraman.
Pari Jones said, “Carter, just stay in the car.”
The cameraman was a little surprised, “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’ll go by myself for this interview.”
Parley Jones walked to the door and rang the doorbell, “Ding dong.”
After a moment, a white man in his fifties opened the door, “Who are you looking for?”
“I’m Parley Jones.”
The white man shook his head, “SORRY, I don’t think I recognize you.”
“I’m a reporter for CBE News TV.”
“Reporter? What can I do for you?”
“We have a program on our TV station, and Miss Nicole Cecil is our interviewee, we would like to interview her.”
“Wow …… interviewing Nicole, how come I haven’t heard her talk about it.”
“Maybe …… she wanted to surprise you guys.”
“She’s not home right now.”
“I know, I not only want to interview Nicole, but her family as well, to get a truer picture of her in many ways.”
Mr. Cecil pointed to himself, “You’re going to interview me too?”
“Yes, here’s my press credentials.” Parley Jones handed over the credentials.
“I’m not quite ready for an interview …… exactly.”
“Mr. Cecil, you don’t have to be nervous, we’re just asking about Nicole, we won’t ask about your personal life.”
Cecil laughed, “Hearing you say that makes me a little sad instead.
Please come in, I’ll contact Nicole and if it’s okay with her, I can do the interview.”
Pari Jones entered the room and laughed, “Mr. Cecil, you should know that Nicole wanted to give you a surprise, and she didn’t know we were coming to interview you.
In fact …… we wanted to surprise her as well.”
“A surprise?”
“That’s right, what do you think?”
“OK, that doesn’t sound too bad.”
“So, can we get started?”
“OK.”
Parley Jones formally began her questioning, “Mr. Searcy, are you volunteering to be interviewed about your daughter Nicole?”
“Yes.”
“Does Nicole have a boyfriend?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Does she like to go to bars?”
“Occasionally. I don’t think she’d tell me even if she went.”
“Have you ever heard of Dracula’s Bar?”
“No, the name sounds a little weird, something to do with vampires?”
“Yes.” Parley Jones asked smoothly, “Does Nicole like vampire culture?”
“She’s not very bold, I remember her going to the movies when she was a kid and there was a shot of a vampire coming out of a coffin that scared her, she doesn’t like vampires ……”
“So do you think she’d go to a vampire themed bar?”
“She shouldn’t go alone.”
“So what if a friend asked her to go alone?”
“That would be possible, Nicole is a very kind girl, very good at taking care of her friends and rarely turns anyone down ……”
In a black Ford Explorer.
Blackie was driving while saying, “You know what? I am very uneasy about Laura, she is not a strong woman.
That’s a big problem.”
Luke said, “Maybe her husband’s death affected her more, maybe after a while.”
“It’s not just Laura I’m worried about, it’s her effect on Jaden.
The biggest difference between me and Jayden is that I have a strong mother.
My mom grew up taking care of me all by herself, and she was never depressed or dependent on any man.
She taught me that people need to be strong, self-reliant, and self-loving.
I didn’t have a father, but it didn’t have much of a negative impact.
Jayden is different, and if his mother can’t let go, he’s even less likely to.”
Luke asked rhetorically, “So what are you going to do? Help him fill his father’s shoes?”
“Whoa …… you got me with that one, I’m not confident or ready to be a father, I don’t think I can do it.” Kuro shook his head.
Soon the two fell into a short silence.
Blacky was quiet to be exact.
The two drove to Nicole’s neighborhood.
Blacky observed the landmarks around them, “It looks like 73 up ahead, and there’s a car parked out front.”
Luke saw it too and frowned slightly, “Pull over.”
“Why? It’s still a ways off.”
“That’s the news station’s car.”
Black pulled over and wondered, “Could it be reporter Parley Jones coming to interview Nicole’s parents as well?”
Luke sighed, “Most likely.”
“How did she know the deceased was Nicole’s? And how did she know Nicole’s home address?” Blackie gave a surprised look.
This was also what Luke was thinking.
Luke and Blackie had also just learned Nicole’s real identity and home address from Laura.
And yet, reporter Pari Jones had arrived first and was even already interviewing the deceased’s family.
This is a big problem.
A reporter knows more about the case than the police.
If the news reports come out with more content and clues than the police have found out, then the fun is over.
This is a serious problem.
Not only for the case itself, but also for the Robbery-Murder Division’s 1st Squadron.
Luke, as the elite of the Robbery and Murder Division, was all for one and one for all.
He thought a little deeper.
He had long guessed that Parley Jones might have gotten hold of some clues that the police didn’t know about.
Now it seemed that Luke had still underestimated the other party.
If she simply saw Nicole being killed, Pari Jones should not be able to find out Nicole’s identity either.
According to Laura’s description, Nicole had a black backpack with her the night she was killed, but the police never found that backpack.
It is likely that Parley Jones obtained the contents of the dead man’s backpack, which led to Nicole’s home address.
Taking evidence from the crime scene which is against the law.
Of course, these were all Luke’s speculations, and tangible evidence was needed to make an arrest.
A few minutes later, Parry Jones from Nicole’s home out, sitting on the news station’s car to leave.
Luke two people entered Nicole’s house, asked his father some situation.
Sure enough, as Luke had guessed, Parley Jones was there to investigate the Dracula bar.
Luke asked Blackie to stabilize Nicole’s father on the one hand, and on the other hand, he immediately made a video call with Susan to tell the other party about the new investigation.
Luke briefly described the clues he had found out and summarized, “The current situation is troublesome, we must take action against Pari Jones.”
“Do you have evidence that Parley Jones took the items that the deceased left at the scene?”
“No, it’s just my speculation.”
Susan’s tone was also somewhat helpless, “Pari Jones is a reporter, it’s hard for us to arrest someone based on speculation alone.”
“Captain, I’m not only worried now that Parley Jones has other important clues, but more importantly, the fact that she dared to contact the deceased’s parents means that she’s prepared.
She’s playing a time gap, reporting the case as news in advance before the police find out Nicole’s true identity.
My guess is that she will most likely cover the case on tonight’s news.
Also, according to Marcus’ research, her show is at eight o’clock at night.” Luke glanced at his watch, “That’s nine hours from now.”
Luke’s judgment was based on some grounds and was not entirely a guess.
To know, before Pari Jones met Nicole’s parents, she must have also guessed that the police would sooner or later investigate Dao Nicole’s parents, and once the police knew about her coming to the interview from Nicole’s parents, they must have guessed that she might have gotten hold of clues that the police were not aware of.
Thus, the police might interfere with her news coverage.
That was why, after contacting Nicole’s parents, she would definitely produce the program as soon as possible and broadcast it that night.
But the problem now was that all the speculations and suspicions were unsubstantiated.
The best thing to do would definitely be to arrest and search Pari Jones.
But it’s hard to get a search warrant without evidence.
Without a warrant it is impossible to find evidence.
There is also a key point Pari Jones is a reporter, if the police arrest the evidence is not sufficient, it is likely to make a news event.
After a while, Susan said, “According to your previous report, I let Matthew secretly investigate Pari Jones’ information.
She made two remittances yesterday afternoon and this morning, the first one was for one thousand dollars and the second one was for four thousand dollars, both to the same person, Mygel Carter.
Maigle Carter has a history of drug use and is still out on bail for violent assault.”
Susan didn’t elaborate, but Luke had gotten her point: “I’ll see what I can do.”
The two remittances were too coincidental.
Reporters had informants as well as cops, and these two payments were probably what Parley Jones had used to buy leads.
The front broke through the weak link.
A street not far from Dracula’s bar.
A white man was wandering down the street, his hair disheveled, yawning and sniffling from time to time.
As he passed by the entrance of an alley, a black man appeared next to him, staring with big eyes and squeezing his eyebrows, “Hey man, I’ve got something new, do you want to try it?”
The white man hesitated and refused, “No, I’m clean.”
“Come on, don’t lie to yourself. I’ve got new stuff, good quality assurance, and it’s still in the test-sale stage, the price is cheap now, it won’t be the same price after this period of time.
You try it, it’s absolutely good.” The black man looked left and right, and then took out a packet of white sugar from his pocket.
“New goods?”
“That’s right.”
The white man gulped, “How much?”
“I told you, it’s a test run, it’s only fifty dollars.”
“OK, give me a pack.”
“That’s right, there’s no need for people to live with themselves, they should have fun in time.” The black man laughed and handed him a bag of white candy and took another fifty dollars from him.
“Man, see you some other time.” The black man left his sentence and disappeared into the alley.
The white man put the white candy into his pants pocket, and his face showed a complex look of excitement, worry, and more than anything else, impatience.
He quickened his pace forward.
A Ford Explorer pulled up at the side of the road, and a young black-haired man and a black man got out of the car.
It was Luke and Blackie.
Blacky stopped the white man, “Hey, why are you sneaking around?”
“Move over, I’m not.”
“You are.”
“None of your business, get out of my way.” The white man glared threateningly.
Blackie flashed his badge, “LAPD, you still think it’s none of my business now?”
“Come on, there’s that trick again.” The white man showed a chagrined look.
In the United States, the police were allowed to fish for law enforcement.
“Meagher, if I remember correctly, you’re still on parole for violent assault. Your sneaky appearance makes me feel suspicious, and I’m going to routinely search you.
Face the wall, hands behind your head, and no tricks.”
“You …… guys,” Meagher wanted to curse, but didn’t dare say it out loud.
Quickly, Blackie searched the bag of white candy from his pocket, “Whoa whoa, what is this? I thought your bail bondsman would be interested.”
“Please don’t do this, I don’t want to lose my bail, let alone go to jail, give me another chance.”
Black asked back, “Why should I give you a chance, give me a reason?”
Maigle looked gray, obviously he too knew it would be hard to persuade the cop.
Luke sized up Meagher and said, “Hey, I think I’ve seen you before, do you know Parley Jones?”
“Yeah, I know her.” Meagher replied hurriedly, like he was grasping at straws.
“How do you know each other?”
“Ah …… In fact, we’re still in contact today, I’m friends with her and have given her some interesting news.” Meagher seemed to think of Luke as a friend of Parley Jones.
“What news?”
“I …… found a homicide.”
“Where?”
“Dracula’s Bar, four or five blocks from here.”
“How did you find it?”
“At the time, I was parked in the back of the bar, where you don’t have to pay for parking ……
I was in the bar having a drink when all of a sudden I heard screaming at the back door of the bar, so I went out to check and found a woman lying on the floor, and I freaked out and got ready to drive away.
After that, I sold the story to Pari Jones, we’re kind of friends now, do you know her well?
We kind of have mutual friends, can you let me off the hook for once?”
Luke laughed, “I can help you or not contact your bail bondsman, but I don’t make friends with liars, and I don’t like people who lie to me even more.”
“I’m not lying to you, everything I said is true.”
Luke got right to the point, “One thing that you may not be aware of is that we’re here to investigate the murder at Dracula’s Bar.
We have more clues than you do, don’t hold anything back from me, what exactly did you find at the back door of the bar?”
If it was as simple as Meagher described, Parley Jones wasn’t a fool, how could she have given him so much money in two installments.
There was definitely something wrong with this guy.