Chapter 388

Robbery-Murder Division, Squadron One office.

Upon returning to the Detective Bureau, Luke had Carlton Platas interrogated, and he and Salma Gonzalez gave the same statement, neither admitting to having anything to do with the slain officer.

However, after some interrogation, he gave an account of other offenses, burglary, running a red light, speeding, and assault with intent.

He had a criminal record on him, which is why he was reluctant to turn himself in.

After comparing the two men’s statements, Luke called the crowd to a meeting.

Luke wrote the two men’s names on the whiteboard and asked, “Everyone has read the transcripts of these two men, tell us what you think?”

The lieutenant said, “Carlton Platas was the one I was in charge of interrogating, he was very wary of the police, I could sense that he didn’t like the police, and even had some hostility towards them.

I’ve seen too many ‘bad boys’ like this, just a bunch of punks who can’t get on.

If it’s a confrontation with the police, these bad boys will do anything, confront the police, or even shoot them.

But that’s on impulse and is a ‘J-love’ offense.”

The lieutenant paused and continued, “But according to the description of the slain officer, Hitchhiker, he had been chasing Carlton Platas at the time, and the other man didn’t even have time to return to the scene of the crime to shoot him, which means he wasn’t the one who shot the victim.

The point now is whether they knew the murderer, and whether they were working with the murderer to set up a trap to kill the police officer.

In my opinion, he does not have the guts to do so, nor does he have a similar motive.

So the preference is to take their statements.”

Luke, who had personally taken Salma Gonzalez’s statement and, at the same time, had watched the interrogation against Carlton Platas in the observation room, and had not found any obvious signs of lying by the two men, was also more inclined to lean toward the Vice Squad’s analysis.

Luke smoothly said, “Assuming that the Vice Squad’s analysis is correct, and that these two people have nothing to do with the case of the police officer’s murder, then what is the real murderer’s motive?”

Everyone’s face showed a grave look, killing a police officer is not a small matter, those sitting here are police officers, it is inevitable that there will be a few rabbits and foxes.

Although the murder of Los Angeles police officers is not an exception, every year there will be officers killed, but most of them are shot in the line of duty.

Suspects also have a gun in their hands, they will not sit still, but that are openly dry, the murderer of police officers will mostly be shot on the spot, even if the lucky escape will also be wanted for arrest, like this behind the back of the sneak attack shot police officers, after the fact can not find the murderer of the case is not rare.

Jackson said: “According to Salma Gonzalez’s description, the murderer is likely to be a black woman, and she did not shoot from a distance that is not too far, a total of four shots, but only hit two shots, indicating that her shooting skills are average.

I’m wondering if this could be a personal vendetta.”

Luke nodded, “We can’t rule out this possibility, Jackson, you line up the peripheral relationships of the deceased to see if there are any suspicious people who fit the killer’s profile.

Also, Ramon and Jenny search the surveillance around the crime scene for anyone suspected of being the killer.”

“YES, Sir.”

“Knock knock ……”

A knock sounded outside.

Mary pushed the door and walked in, holding a document in her hand, “Captain Lee, the results of the gunshot mark identification of the pistol used by the murderer are out.”

Luke smoothly asked, “Did you find out the identity of the pistol’s owner?”

Mary shook her head, “No, but through the comparison of the gunshot mark database, we have found another murder case where the same pistol was used.” As she spoke, Mary handed over a file, “This is the relevant file for the other murder case.”

Luke took the file and looked at it, the case was not very detailed.

Victim, Kiru Jones.

Gender, male

Age, 34 years old

Place of residence, Los Angeles City

Time of death, December 18th between 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.

Place of death, east side of Highway 1, cliff.

Cause of death, shot, unconscious, bled to death.

Case status, investigative.

Highway 1 is located on the north side of Los Angeles and is under the jurisdiction of the Canyon Division.

This case is being investigated by the Canyon Division, Detective Division.

Luke approached Reed to explain the situation, that the killer in both cases used the same gun, that the killer was most likely one person, that the two cases most likely had common threads, and recommended a concurrent investigation.

Reed contacted the Canyon Precinct, and after some communication, the Canyon Precinct Detective Division agreed that the Robbery-Murder Division would intervene in the case investigation.

The two cases involved two precincts, and it would be more appropriate for the Robbery-Murder Division to lead the investigation of both cases.

December 28th morning.

Luke rushed to the Canyon Precinct with Jackson, Blackie, and Porter in tow.

Porter had just returned from his vacation and was not very knowledgeable about the case, and on the way, Luke briefly introduced him to the case.

Luke smoothly asked, “Did you know the slain police officer, Jens Haurage?”

“No, we’re not in the same department.” Porter shook his head, looking as if he was a little distracted, as if he hadn’t gotten into the swing of things.

Luke said, “Did the vacation away go well?”

Potter shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly, “Actually, I don’t really like going away on vacation, every time the family goes out on a vacation trip they fight, don’t ask me why?

I’d like to know why too? Really.”

In the middle of the conversation, the car drove into the Canyon Precinct.

Luke got out of the car and scanned his eyes around, the Canyon Precinct had more officers than the Detective Bureau and was larger, except that it was a much older building than the Detective Bureau.

A white detective around forty years old came over and took the initiative to greet him, “Captain Lee, I’m Karen Rey from the Canyon Division’s Detective Division, we spoke on the phone earlier.”

Luke shook the other party’s hand, “Captain Rey, nice to meet you.”

Karen Rey sized up Luke, “Captain Lee, I’ve often seen your news and photos on the police department’s website, and I’ve heard a lot about you.

It’s a pleasure to work with you.”

“Happy cooperation.”

After both sides briefly introduced themselves, Karen Rey took Luke to the Canyon Branch Detective Division 2 Squadron.

Inside the conference room.

Luke took a symbolic sip of coffee, “Captain Rey, any progress on the Highway 1 body dumping case?”

“We had arrested a suspect subject, but was released on bail due to lack of evidence.” Karen Rey sighed and then began to present the case, “We received a 911 call on December 20th from someone claiming that the deceased, Kiru Jones, was missing.

After that, the police began to investigate Kiru Jones’ whereabouts and found that he hadn’t returned home since the 18th, and then the police opened a case.

Our investigation into his communication records led us to his last contact before he went missing, Darwin Morrison.

On the night of December 17th, the two of them had a recorded conversation.

After that, the deceased sent a message to Darwin Morrison asking him to meet him near Highway 1, after which Kiru Jones’ cell phone was turned off, and that was the last text message Kiru Jones sent before he died.

It was also through this message that we found the body of the deceased under the slope of Highway 1.

After forensic deconstruction and identification, the deceased’s time of death was between 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on the 18th.”

Karen Rey took out a file and handed it to Luke, “Here’s a picture of the crime scene, the deceased was shot in the chest and had no items on his body, nor was he wearing any clothes or anything that could prove his identity.”

Luke looked at the pictures while asking, “The dead man’s body wasn’t buried?”

“No, it was just covered with some vegetation on the surface of the body, the scene was handled in a rather sloppy manner, you can tell that the murderer was in a panic, and a set of shoe prints were also left at the scene.” Karen Rey turned over a few photos of the shoe prints and introduced them.

“From the grain of the shoe prints it should be leather shoes, size 43 or so.

Based on the size of the shoes, we counter-intuitively deduce that the owner of the shoes is between 175CM and 185CM in height, and the suspect, Darwin Morrison, who is 183CM in height, is most likely the owner of the shoe prints.

We brought Darwin Morrison to the police station to give a statement, he did not admit to meeting Kiru Jones that night or going to Highway 1.

However, we canvassed surveillance near Highway 1 and found that he had driven near the crime scene in the early morning hours of the 18th, and his lies fell apart.

That’s why we listed him as a key suspect.”

Luke put down the information and asked, “Why haven’t we seen a statement from the person who reported the crime?”

Karen Rey shook her head, “The other party used a public phone to call the police anonymously and didn’t disclose her identity, but by the sound of her voice, she should be a woman.

The other party can be the first to find out that Kiru Jones is missing, it should be someone who is close to him, I am also having people investigate the identity of the person who reported the case, I believe that there will be news soon.”

Luke offered, “Where is the suspect, Darwin Morrison, now? I’d like to meet him.”

Karen Rey nodded, “We arrested him on October 21st, he has refused to confess, we applied for a search warrant and searched his car and house, but didn’t find the murder weapon, the deceased’s biopsy, or the pair of shoes that left shoeprints at the scene.

He was released on bail on December 24 because there was not enough evidence to convict.

I heard that the officer was killed on the night of December 25?”

“Yes.”

Karen Rey slapped her thigh, chagrined, “We shouldn’t have released him.

It must have been that asshole, we never found the murder weapon, and that gun must have been hidden by him.”

Luke, on the other hand, didn’t rush to judgment; based on the description of that female suspect, Salma Gonzalez, the one who killed the officer was most likely a black female.

Rosa neighborhood.

Led by Karen Rey, Luke and his team rushed to the neighborhood where the suspect subject, Darwin Morrison, was located.

The car pulled up to the curb and Luke and Karen Rey stepped out of the car one after the other.

Karen Rey pointed to the small white two-story building next to her, “That’s Darwin Morrison’s house.”

Luke told the others to stay in the car as he and Karen Rey both entered the yard and rang the doorbell.

A few moments later, the door opened, and in the doorway stood a black man in his thirties, his face a little hard, his forehead furrowed, as he stared at Callum Rey and asked, “Captain Rey, what’s the matter again?”

“Darwin Morrison, how was Christmas? Don’t be nervous, we came to talk to you.” Karen Rey pointed aside to Luke, “Captain Lee would like to ask you a few questions to be exact.”

“Hello Mr. Morrison, I’m Captain Luke Lee, Squadron Leader 1 of the Robbery and Murder Division. Some new leads have come to light regarding the murder of Kiru Jones and we’d like to talk to you.”

“Come in.” Darwin Morrison somewhat reluctantly let the two men into the room.

Darwin Morrison sat down on the couch and rubbed his face with his hands, “Look, I’m going to reiterate that I had nothing to do with the death of Kiru Jones, and you’ve got the wrong man.

You owe me an apology.”

Luke said, “Take it easy, I came over here to check for clues and if you’re willing to assist the police in their investigation, we’ll clear your name.”

Darwin Morrison was a little agitated, “I’ve been assisting you all along, and I’m telling the truth.”

Karen Rey retorted, “You lied.

You said you hadn’t been on Highway 1 in the early hours of the 18th, yet we picked you up on the road surveillance, the photos are clear, do you want me to refresh your memory?”

Darwin Morrison sighed, “Yes, I …… did go.

The reason I didn’t tell the truth was because I was worried that you guys would misunderstand.

But that doesn’t mean anything, and it doesn’t prove that I killed him.”

Karen Rey said, “The fact that you lied proves that you have a weak heart. Besides, you did go near the crime scene that night, and you had the time to commit the crime.”

“Like I said, I was in that neighborhood, but I didn’t see him, much less kill him.

And the fact that you searched my house and my car and found no evidence is enough to prove my innocence.”

Karen Rey corrected, “That only means that just because we haven’t found any evidence for a while doesn’t mean you’re innocent.”

“I am innocent.”

“How do you explain the fact that we found the body based on your cell phone text address?”

Darwin Morrison was annoyed, “He did ask me to meet him, but that doesn’t mean I had anything to do with his death.

You’ve arrested me, interrogated me, and searched my home, it’s up to you to give me an explanation.”

Luke interrupts the two men, “Hey, stop arguing, this isn’t making any sense.” Not giving the two men time to answer, Luke continued, “Mr. Darwin Morrison, what was your relationship with the deceased Kiru Jones?

Why did you make an appointment to meet in the early hours of the morning?”

“He …… was my neighbor.

We met because of some personal matters.”

“If you are neighbors, what can’t you go to your home to talk about, why did you make an appointment so far away?”

“You should ask him that, he was the one who texted me and asked me to meet him there.”

Luke pressed, “You spoke on the phone before?”

“Yes.”

“Did you talk about meeting on the phone?”

“Yes, I said I wanted to meet with him and he said he’d have to think about it and then he texted me.

I did go to the meeting place, but I didn’t see him.

And I don’t know why he died?

It had nothing to do with me anyway.”

“Can you confirm that the deceased sent the text?”

“Can’t.”

“Does anyone else know anything about your meeting?”

“No.”

“What kind of shoes were you wearing that night?”

“Leather shoes.”

“What size leather shoes did you wear?”

“Size 43.”

Luke pulled out the set of shoe prints found at the scene, “Is this shoe print yours?”

Darwin Morrison thought about it and shook his head, “No, I didn’t even get out of the car that night.

I didn’t see Kiru Jones and I couldn’t get through to him.

I felt something was wrong and the neighborhood was isolated, so I drove home.”

Luke stared at the other man’s expression, finding no obvious signs of lying, and then used a footprint identification card on the shoe print photo.

A set of data appeared in his brain.

[Shoes, cross grain leather

Gender, female

Height, 168-174CM

Weight, between 110 and 120 lbs.

Age, between 38 and 43 years old.]

After seeing this set of data, Luke was also a little surprised, wearing leather shoes is actually a woman, and from her height presumption, her feet do not have a size 43, should be a small foot wearing a big shoe, it is likely to be deliberately disguised as a male to mislead the police investigation.

According to the description of the suspect, Salma Gonzalez, the one who shot the officers was also a female gunman, and the two clues dovetail with each other.

Whereas the Canyon Division had been treating Darwin Morrison as a key suspect, believing the killer to be a male, it now seems likely that they were looking in the wrong direction for their investigation.