Chapter 327
Khai Software.
This was one of the more famous software development companies and where Arap Gandhi worked.
According to Arap Gandhi, he had a subordinate just named Pecos.
Luke learns of this clue and brings in the first person to line up.
The office of Kaji Software was located on the third floor of the building, with a reception desk on the left hand side as soon as you entered and a large office area on the right hand side.
A young white woman stood by the reception desk and asked, “Who are you looking for, gentlemen?”
Jackson asked, “Is Pecks there?”
“Yes, Pecks is in the office, do you have an appointment?”
Jackson flashed his badge, “LAPD, we’re investigating a case and would like to see him for some information.”
“Uh ……” the female receptionist hesitated for a moment, “Can you guys hold on a second?”
“Miss, you’d better take us there directly.” Although Jackson had a smile on his face, his tone brooked no refusal.
The female receptionist nodded helplessly, “OK, please follow me.”
The female receptionist led Luke and the two of them through the aisles of the office area, attracting the attention of quite a few employees, Luke was also observing the employees, whites and Indians mostly, there were also some Chinese.
The receptionist walked over to a glass office with drawn blinds and knocked on the door, “Knock knock.”
“Come in.”
The female receptionist pushed open the door and said, “Pecos, there are two officers here to see you.”
Behind the office work sat a man of Indian descent with a puzzled look on his face as he slowly stood up, “Police officers?”
“Yes.” The female receptionist said and left first.
Luke and Jackson walked into the office.
Jackson took the initiative to flash his badge, “I’m Detective Jackson of the Robbery and Murder Division, and this is our Captain Lee.”
“Oh, have a seat.” The Indian-American man made a gesture of invitation, signaling for the two to sit on the couch.
Luke surveyed the office and his eyes landed on the Indian-American man, “Your name is Pecos?”
“Yes.
What did the two officers want to see me about?”
“Do you know Arap Gandhi?”
“He’s my boss, why?”
“His daughter, Merry Gandhi, is missing, did you know that?”
“I knew something about it, I’m sorry for what happened to him, I’ve met her daughter, she’s a very sweet child, I can’t believe this is happening.
But what is the reason you guys came to me?”
Luke had been sizing up ‘Pecos’ since he saw him, similar in height and build to the masked man, but with fairer skin.
However, Luke wasn’t sure if it was because of the video color difference.
“When was the last time you saw her daughter?”
Hearing this Pecos visibly froze, “What do you mean by that? You don’t suspect I had anything to do with his daughter’s disappearance, do you?”
Luke said, “In the course of our investigation, we learned that one of the suspects is likely to be named ‘Pecos’ and you happen to know Arap Gandhi, so we’ve come to check the situation.”
“NoNoNo, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me, I’m on good terms with Arap Gandhi, I would never hurt her daughter.
Moreover, I have a fiancée and a career, I have a bright future ahead of me, why would I do such a thing?
You guys must be looking for the wrong person.”
“You’re right, it’s indeed possible, so we’re verifying the situation and also want to clear your name.
If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you a few more questions.”
“OK, go ahead and ask, I have a clear conscience.”
“On August 14th, where were you between seven and seven-thirty?”
Pecos thought for a moment, “I …… I can’t remember.
I’m not trying to hide anything, it’s been over a month since September 14th and I really can’t remember.”
“Then have you seen Arap Gandhi’s daughter since August 14th?”
“No.”
Luke kept his eyes on the other man’s expression, which didn’t look like a lie, and pulled out a picture of his perverted neighbor, Franco Toure: “Do you know him?”
“No.”
Luke pulled out another sketch portrait of the monitor (cameraman), “What about him?”
“Don’t recognize him either.”
Finally, Luke pulls out another video screenshot of the man in the mask, “What about this guy?”
Pecos frowned slightly, “Why is it a naked man and he’s wearing a mask, how am I supposed to recognize him?”
“You’d better take a closer look, he’s the man referred to as ‘Pecs’ by his fellow robbers, most likely someone you know or who knows you.”
Pecos frowned as he scrutinized the video, “He calls himself ‘Pecos’?”
“Yes.”
Pecos took the tablet and looked at it closely, “It’s hard to recognize just from a picture.”
Luke said, “I can show you a video with a clearer physical description of the masked man, but it will require you to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
“OK, I want to find this asshole who planted me too.”
“Very well.”
Luke found a video of the masked man applauding for love, and to protect the victim’s privacy, Matthew mosaiced the girl in the video.
“This guy is disgusting ……,” Pecos frowned and stared at the video carefully, his brows furrowed, “This man’s demeanor …… makes me feel somewhat familiar.
Let me think …… “As he spoke, Pecos stood up, walked over to the office window, pulled back the lily curtains, and gazed out into the office area, “He’s not there anymore.”
Luke trailed off, “Pecos, have you thought of a suspicious subject?”
“I’m not sure …… but I have a feeling it’s a lot like him.”
“Who’s the him you’re talking about?”
“Uh …… I don’t know if I should say, it might interfere with my work.”
“You suspect the man in the video is a coworker of yours?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t worry about saying it, we’ll communicate with him in other ways and won’t bring you up.”
“Really?”
Luke said, “Trust me, I’m good at this.”
“Raul Gipta.”
“Is he at the office right now?”
“I saw him sitting in the office area this morning, but I just looked and he’s no longer at his workstation.”
“Which is his workstation?”
Pecks pointed out the window, “Workstation 43, with the number plate attached to it.”
Luke winked at Jackson, who exited the office.
Luke continued, “Did he have a grudge against Arap Gandhi?”
“It’s all work-related stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Raul Gipta had been with the company for a long time but hadn’t gotten a promotion, and some time ago there was an opportunity for a promotion that Raul Gipta thought might be his turn.
But, Alab Gandhi gave the opportunity to me.
I am just elaborating on the matter and it doesn’t mean that I feel it has anything to do with him.”
“Thank you, we will discern for ourselves.” Luke left the office as well and saw Jackson talking to the receptionist at the front desk.
“Did you find anyone?”
Jackson shook his head, “I inquired, after the receptionist sent us into the office, Raul Gipta stopped the receptionist and asked for our identities, after which he said that he had a family emergency and left in a hurry, without even asking for leave from his supervisor.
A coworker said he’s never been like this before.”
Luke thought briefly and instructed, “This guy is suspicious and is probably one of the robbers, considering the urgency of the situation, directly contact the technical team to locate his cell phone number.”
“YES, Sir.”
Robbery and Murder Division, Squadron One.
In the afternoon, Luke sent his men to split up and track him down, but there was still no sign of Raul Gipta.
The police accessed the surveillance video of Kaye Software and could see that Raul Gipta left the company immediately shortly after Luke and Jackson arrived at the company.
Luke also retrieved the perimeter surveillance search and eventually lost track of Raul Gipta.
The cell phone was temporarily unreachable.
There was no one at home either.
Wherever he could look, Luke had sent people to look for it, which further solidified Raul Gipta’s suspicion.
Jackson said with an angry look on his face, “This Raul Gipta must be the pervert who bullied the little girl, it’s a shame that he slipped up.”
The vice squad said, “It’s not your fault, this guy is very alert, thought of an escape route, and obviously made enough preparations, anyone else who went there could have gotten away.”
Blackie said, “The good news is that we have identified the two suspects and have also applied for Raul Gipta’s most wanted.
The entire LAPD will help find their whereabouts.
Now all that’s left is the cameraman.”
Jackson added, “And the two kidnapped girls, those two assholes must have run to where they were hiding the girls, if we find them, we should be able to find the two kidnapped girls.”
Luke rearranged the tasks, “Lieutenant, you are responsible for collecting all the information on the two fugitives.
Marcus, use your network of connections to find out the whereabouts of the two of them.
Ramon, Jenny, investigate the financial situation of the two of them.
Matthew, check the contact between them.”
“YES, Sir,” the crowd responded.
Matthew waved his hand, “Captain, I have something to say.”
“What’s the problem?”
“As I told you when I debriefed you earlier, I’ve used some minor tactics that may lead to the group’s whereabouts.”
“What kind of tricks?”
“I logged on to the dark web and posted some information about wanting to applaud love with little girls, and an anonymous person responded and said they could supply the goods, they just charged more than adults.
We set up a time and address for the transaction.”
Blackie asked, “The dark web is so big, how do you know it’s the same people?”
Matthew said, “You’re right, the dark web is indeed big, but the transaction location is in Los Angeles, so the scope is narrowed down.
So the people offering the deal are most likely the same group of people who kidnapped the little girl.
Also, they need money to run away now.”
“I always felt that it was a bit implausible.” Xiao Hei somewhat resisted this course of action.
The vice squad said, “I think we can try it, even if it’s not the same group, coercing a little girl to do this kind of thing is equally a crime, we can arrest them just the same.”
Matthew chimed in, “Vice Squad is right, that’s what I was thinking.”
Luke thought about it, even if he fails he has nothing to lose, he can let it go, “We need someone to deal with now, who’s going?”
The group looked at each other for a moment and looked at Kuro in unison.
“Come on, why me again?
Absolutely not, we should get someone else this time.” Blacky was very resistant, pointing at Jackson on the side, “Why don’t you let him go?”
Jackson laughed, “The captain and I went to Kaji Software today, and Raul Gipta met us.
So, I can’t.
Neither can the captain.
Ramon, he’s got a straight face, no one will believe him.
Lieutenant, he’s too old.”
The lieutenant was disgruntled, “Boy, watch your mouth, I still date my last ex-wife all the time.”
“Detective Marcus, hard at work.” Luke hammered out.
9:58 PM.
Suburb of Los Angeles.
Inside a black SUV.
Black sat in the driver’s side of the vehicle, his eyes scanning out through the glass.
Blackie asked into the radio on the inside of his collar, “Why isn’t the deal maker here yet?”
Luke’s voice came from the headset, “Don’t worry, Matthew’s appointment was at ten o’clock.
The other party is driving a black SUV as well and the contact will have a toothpick in his mouth.
Make sure you’re careful with the contact with the other party, and we’ll be nearby to back you up.”
“Understood.” Blackie sighed, “Luke, you have to promise me that next time, this kind of thing must not come to me.
I’m a detective now, no longer an ordinary detective.”
“OK, Detective Marcus.” Luke said perfunctorily, trying to abort the conversation.
Blackie added, “Hey, I saw a black SUV drive up and park across the street.”
In the distance, in a commercial vehicle Luke watched with his looking glass and barked, “Go down there and check it out, be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I’m the resourceful, bold Inspector Marcus.” Blackie took a deep breath, pulled out a toothpick and held it in his mouth as he stepped out of the car.
The SUV on the opposite side of the street also stepped out of a white man, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a trench coat over it, looking a little thin, also holding a toothpick in his mouth.
Blacky walked over to him with little upside down steps, “Hey, you’re late.”
The man wearing black-framed glasses glanced at his watch, “Just ten o’clock, it’s your watch that’s in trouble.”
“OK, did you bring the goods?”
The man with the black-framed glasses asked back, “What goods do you want?”
“Are you messing with me?” Blackie was a little disgruntled.
“No, I always have to make sure, you know, it’s very risky to be in our business.”
“Like we said online, I want to find a little girl to clap for love, did you bring the person?”
“Sure. Did you bring the money? One thousand dollars.”
Blacky pulled a bunch of bills out of his pocket, “Can it be cheaper? This price is too high, a regular one would be two or three hundred dollars.”
“Damn it, don’t haggle with me, those street girls are not comparable to my goods, we have to take a huge risk, if I didn’t need the money, I would never trade.”
Xiao Hei took out ten green bills, “The money is here, I want to inspect the goods.”
The man with the black-framed glasses smiled and asked, “You like girls that much?”
“Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t have come.” Xiao Hei shook his head in a dangling manner.
The black-framed glasses man’s smile tightened and he said in a cold voice, “You really do owe a beating!”
“Are you sick? I came to take care of your business, and I actually dared to say …… this,” Before Blackie could finish his words, the man with the black-framed glasses pulled out a pistol from his pocket.
“Pervert, put your hands up.”
“Hey, hey, hey, why should I, I’ll give you money ……
I don’t want the goods, I’ll pay you directly.” Blacky rushed to raise his hands.
“That’s not up to you.” The man with the black framed glasses walked behind Xiao Hei and held him down.
“Pervert, you’re under arrest.”
“Click ……”
The door of the black SUV opened and two men in FBI bulletproof undershirts stepped out of the car.
One of them, a burly black man, snickered, “Hey, didn’t you want an inspection? We came out on our own, how was it? Didn’t let you down, did we.”
Blackie took a look at the situation and knew that the seed was wrong, and hurriedly changed his words, “Hey guys, you’ve got it wrong, I’m not a pervert ……”
“Shut up, there is no more disgusting pervert than a guy like you.” The white man wearing black-framed glasses took out handcuffs and put them on Blackie’s wrists.
Not far away in the business car, Luke took off his headphones and cursed, “FUCK, a bunch of well-fed idiots.”
Jackson, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, was concerned, “Captain, what happened?”
“Flash the lights and sound the horn!”
“All hands prepare for action!”