Chapter 487
Kroya neighborhood.
Inside a dimly lit basement, the environment was somewhat humid, with a lot of clutter piled up and a bed in the corner.
There were two large chains nailed to the wall at the head of the bed, the other side of the chains were cuffed to the ankles of a young white girl, her hands were also handcuffed, and she was wearing a black halter top with no clothes underneath.
This chained girl was none other than Isha Redman, who looked a little haggard and had quite a few bruises on her body.
“Cackle ……”.
The basement door opened.
A short-haired girl of a similar age to Issa Redman walked into the basement, the girl was wearing a white body shirt on top and light blue jeans underneath, and in her hand, she was carrying a plastic dinner plate onto the end of the bed.
Issa Redman looked up, her tear-filled eyes looking up at the short-haired woman, and choked out, “Did you get the ransom?”
“Not yet.”
“My parents will pay it and will never call the police. After you receive the money, will you release me?” Issa Redman sounded a little helpless.
“Let’s eat first.” The short-haired woman pushed the dinner plate forward, which contained a serving of spaghetti and a can of milk.
Issa Redman gazed at the dinner plate, tears ‘baring’ ‘baring’ down her face, “I’m used to eating spaghetti with a fork, can I have a fork?”
The short-haired girl shook her head, “You know I can’t do that, so it’s better if you don’t embarrass me.
Hurry up and eat, I’ll have to leave with a dinner plate when you’re done.”
Issa Redman wiped her tears and grabbed the noodles in her right hand and wolfed it down, the noodles falling on her black halter top and staining it.
Issa Redman seemed to be starving and quickly finished the noodles on her dinner plate and drank the can of milk.
Once she was full, Issa Redman looked at the short-haired girl again, “I feel dirty, I want to take a shower.”
The short-haired girl picked up her dinner plate and walked to the door, reminding, “Being dirty is not a bad thing for you.
Stop making so many demands, not everyone is like me ……”
Isla Redman covered her mouth and sobbed, “Please help me, I really don’t want to die!”
The short-haired girl hesitated for a moment, “I’ll plead for you, but that’s all I can do.”
The short-haired girl finished, closed the basement door, and left.
Isha Redman crouched in the corner, cowering and crying in pain.
She thought of her parents and her black boyfriend.
She longed to see them again ……
The short-haired girl returned to the first floor, went into the kitchen, and scrubbed the dinner plates clean.
A white middle-aged man came into the living room with a flourish and pointed his right hand at the short-haired girl and smiled, “Sofia, have you contacted the cleaning company yet?”
“Yes, they’ll be here first thing in the morning to clean up.”
“Good, get your stuff in the car, it’s time to get out of LA.”
The short haired girl known as Sophia asked back, “They got the cash?”
“Yes.
They got the cash using the homeless as planned, a whole six million dollars.
We’re rich!” The white middle-aged man waved his fist vigorously, “They’re driving to the rendezvous point, we need to hurry too, the sooner we get out of L.A. the better.”
“Hugo, what else do you need me to do?”
“Load the car with our packed belongings, the sooner the better.”
“What about the hostages? What are you going to do with them?”
“Don’t worry about the hostages, I’ll take care of them, no need to waste time on that, understand?”
“OK,” Sofia answered and carried the luggage that had already been packed into the car.
At this time, the man addressed as Hugo also escorted Isha Redman out, still wearing black suspenders and bare bottom, with handcuffs on his hands and tape over his mouth.
Sophia looked intolerant, “I think we should put a dress on her.”
“No, she doesn’t need to, she’s beautiful now.” Hugo picked up Isla Redman and shoved her right into the trunk.
Sophia opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn’t and got into the back of the car.
Hugo got into the driver’s side and twisted his head to look at the house next to him, “I’m going to miss this place, it’s going to be a turning point in my life.”
After saying that, he stepped on the gas and the car quickly drove into the night.
At this time, it was not even one o’clock in the morning, the surroundings were dark, and there were almost no vehicles to be seen on the road.
The car drove for about ten minutes, and the gray Volkswagen driven by Hugo drove into a small street, which was mostly stores, no one lived nearby, and it was very silent.
Not far away was a black Dodge parked with double blinkers and the only movement in the entire street.
Hugo parked his car near the black Dodge and turned his head to Sophia, “It’s them, I’ll go down and take a look, you keep an eye on the hostages.”
Hugo stepped out of the car and waved at the black Dodge, pulling a carton of cigarettes out of his pocket and lighting one.
Two men also stepped out of the black Dodge, one was Tom and the other was a Chicano accomplice.
Tom looked across the street at the Volkswagen and asked, “Where’s Sophia? Why don’t you let her come down a piece, I’d like her to see what six million dollars looks like with her own eyes, haha.”
“She’s in the car watching the hostages.” Hugo took out two cigarettes and handed them over.
Tom took one of the cigarettes and pulled out a lighter to light it.
The Chicano man also asked, “We’ve got the money, shouldn’t we deal with the hostages.”
“You’re right, it does need to be dealt with.” As Hugo spoke, his right hand took out a silenced pistol from his pocket and pulled the trigger directly at the Chicano man.
“Bang bang.”
“Bang!”
The first two gunshots were dull and not very loud.
The latter gunshot shook the night sky.
The man of Mexican descent covered his chest and fell helplessly to the ground.
This sudden turn of events made Tom look confused, revealing a look of horror, the cigarette on his right hand dropped and slipped, “He’s trying to silence me, save me!”
Before the words fell, Hugo also fell to the ground, his head opened a big hole, blood splashed on Tom’s face.
After Hugo shot, the police sniper also shot.
It all happened in a split second.
The officers then rushed out from all around and surrounded the gray Volkswagen, cracking the glass directly.
“LAPD, don’t move.”
“Let me see your hands.”
“Hands up!”
Sophia was splattered by the shattered glass, a horrified look on her face, “I’m unarmed, please don’t shoot.”
Black opened the car door, yanked Sophia out and searched her, “Where are the hostages?”
“In the trunk of the car.”
Luke went to the back, opened the trunk of the car, and saw Isha Redman cowering inside, her hands were tied, her body kept twisting and struggling, and her mouth made a “whimpering” sound.
Luke could feel her fear and said, “Don’t be afraid.
We are police officers, we are here to save you, I will help you to unlock the handcuffs.”
Luke then instructed Jackson, who was on the sidelines, “Go get a blanket.
Jenny, you take care of her.”
“YES, Sir.”
The ambulance then rushed to the scene to help the injured.
Issa Redman was shocked and somewhat dehydrated, but her body was not seriously injured.
The other two wounded were not so lucky; Hugo was shot in the head with a sniper’s rifle and died instantly.
The Mexican-American man was shot in the chest, very dangerous, but fortunately the ambulance is nearby, has stopped the bleeding in time, the next step is to see if his will to survive is strong.
For Hugo to suddenly kill this matter, Luke did not expect beforehand.
As for why he didn’t arrest Hugo in the first place, he mainly considered the safety of the hostages.
The other kidnapper never showed up, and it was impossible to determine the exact location of the hostage, if Hugo was arrested immediately when he got off the bus, the other kidnapper might hurt the hostage.
Therefore, Luke wanted to figure out the location of the hostages or trick the other kidnapper into getting out of the car before taking action, not realizing that Hugo had already moved to kill the two accomplices who took the ransom.
Although the process had some twists and turns, the hostages were successfully rescued, and the kidnappers were killed or captured, so it was a successful completion of the mission.
Luke didn’t interrogate immediately, he finished processing the scene and went home to sleep.
A sleep until nine o’clock in the morning of the next day.
Luke ate a hot dog on the side of the road and went to work at the police station to prepare for the suspect’s arraignment.
Hugo Choudhury had been killed.
The kidnapper, who was of Mexican descent, was still in the hospital.
The interrogation is with Sophia and Tom.
The vice squad is in charge of interrogating Tom.
Luke and Jackson were in charge of interrogating Sophia.
In the corridor, Jackson said softly outside, “There are four kidnappers in total, only one of them is a female kidnapper named Sophia, could she be Sophia, the hostage who was kidnapped ten years ago?”
Luke thought for a moment, “I don’t know, ultimately it depends on the identification report from the technical team.”
Jackson excitedly said, “Will we solve the kidnapping case from ten years ago together?”
Luke shook his head, “How can it be that easy, after all, it’s been ten years, many clues and evidence have disappeared, and conviction is a big problem.”
In the middle of the conversation, the two walked into the first interrogation room of the robbery and murder division.
A short-haired girl slumped over the interrogation table, heard the movement of the door opening, raised her head to look at Luke and Jackson, and rubbed her eyes, “Can I get a cup of coffee?”
In the past two days, in order to investigate the case, the people of the First Squadron did not have a good rest, Jackson had long prepared a pot of coffee and poured a cup of coffee in a paper cup and handed it to him.
The girl picked up the cup and took a big sip, “Thanks, I feel much better.”
Luke made it across the table and opened the file, “Your name is Sophia?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your last name?”
“Good question, I’d like to know that too, if you can find out, remember to pass it on.”
Luke stared at the other man, “Sophia, not only have we caught you, but your accomplice as well, it makes no sense for you to hide your identity now.”
“I’m not hiding it, I don’t even know my last name.
I suffered a severe head injury when I was a child and lost most of my memories, all I remember is that my name is Sophia, and even that, I can’t even be sure if that’s my name.
Or maybe it was the name of some TV character that stuck with me.” Sophia lowered her head, revealing the scar on her head.
Jackson moved up to look at it and touched his own head, “I have a similar scar, a sad memory.”
Sophia said, “At least you have a memory, while I …… only have this name.”
“Remember your parents?”
Sophia thought for a moment, her face complex, “I can’t remember exactly what my father looked like, but I vaguely remember that he was a very gentlemanly man, tall, around forty years old, with a moustache.
Also, I remember she gave me a bicycle, a very beautiful bicycle, I can’t remember the brand, it seemed to be red.
Very vague memory, but I can feel that he should be my father, but it is not clear why we separated later ……
That’s one of the few things I can remember.”
“What about your mother?”
Sophia shook her head, “There are no memories of my mother in my memory, maybe …… they got divorced.”
“How old were you when you were injured?”
“I don’t even know how old I am now, you think I would know how old I was then?”
“And how many years have passed since you were injured?”
“Nine years, I think.”
“You weren’t very old when you were injured, how did you survive? Who was taking care of you?”
“I don’t need anyone else to take care of me, I take care of myself.”
“Are there other people around you?”
“Yes, Hugo Choudhury, the white man you shot down. I don’t think he was looking after me though, more like a supervision.
He wouldn’t allow me to leave or speak to strangers without being punished.”
“You never thought of leaving him?”
“I’ve not only thought about it, I’ve tried.
But each time he would beat me, and then I realized that all those chances to escape were deliberate attempts on his part.
In time I learned how to get along with him, and it wasn’t pleasant, but at least I didn’t have to be beaten anymore.”
“Do you hate Hugo Choudhury?”
Sofia nodded, “Hated and feared.
He is a very cruel man, if he doesn’t do what he says, he kills.
Do what he says and he might kill too.”
Luke asked, “Like killing that Chicano kidnapper?”
“Yes. If he hadn’t been shot by you guys, he would have killed John too. I have no doubt.”
“Why would he kill two of his accomplices?”
Sophia laughed, “With both of them dead, the six million would all belong to him. And in his words, these two don’t have the qualities of professional kidnappers.
They were used to being poor in the past, they were not capable of controlling such a large amount of money, and they would either be killed by this money or arrested by the police.
And the latter might involve us.
So the best thing to do is to make them unable to talk.”
“When did he tell you about this decision?”
“When they went to get the six million dollars in cash.”
Luke raised one eyebrow, “You agreed to the plan.”
Sophia shook her head, “It wasn’t discussed, he just told me.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I wondered if he would kill me along with him.”
“But you chose to believe him anyway?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t even care, death isn’t as scary as I thought it would be, at least for me.”
Jackson heard a bleakness in her tone that he disliked.
Luke turned the pages of his notebook, “Tell me about the kidnapping, why did you kidnap Isa Redman?”
“For the money, of course.”
“Who planned the kidnapping?”
“Hugo Chowdhury. He was the mastermind of the kidnapping and we all listened to him.”
“Describe how the crime was committed.”
“Before committing the crime, Hugo Choudhury selected several targets, and after some research, he finally chose Isha Redman.
After that, we started following Isha Redman to see what she would do on a daily basis.
In order to avoid the cameras and try not to draw attention to ourselves, we were very careful when we followed her.
A few days ago, we saw on the news that the real estate tycoon’s son had been kidnapped, and there was a lot of fuss about it. Hugo Chowdhury thought that this was an opportunity, and that the case of the real estate tycoon’s son’s kidnap would attract the attention of the FBI and the police.
Also, it would give a warning to the families of the hostages that if they called the police, that’s what would happen to their daughters.
He decided to carry out the kidnapping plan.”
Luke asked, “Why did you pick the underground garage of the health club to commit the crime?”
“Two reasons, the first was that she would exercise at least five times a week on a regular schedule.
The second reason is that the underground garage has a dead zone for surveillance and her own car, so we even saved on transportation.”
“Who made the blackmail call?”
“Hugo Choudhury.”
“Why did he call himself Mr. V?”
“I don’t know.” Sofia shrugged, “If it’s something I should know, he’ll tell me.
If he doesn’t, then I won’t ask, that’s why I can survive around him.”
“Tell us about Hugo Choudhury, what illegal things has he done?”
“I don’t know.”
“Haven’t you been following him around for the past nine years?”
“No. Sometimes he would keep me in a place where I didn’t know everything about him.”
“What about you, besides this kidnapping, have you done anything else illegal?
Be sincere, don’t try to skim off all the charges.
It will be more favorable for you to turn into a tainted witness.
If you don’t take this opportunity, your accomplices will identify you.”
“I’ve really only been involved in this one case.” Sofia lowered her head when she finished speaking.
Luke could sense that she wasn’t telling the truth and should be hiding something.
It was impossible for Hugo Choudhury to keep her by his side, it was impossible for her hands to be too clean, she had most likely followed Hugo Choudhury to participate in some other illegal cases, and it was only when her hands were dirty that Hugo Choudhury would be able to feel at ease with her.
This might be the fundamental reason why she didn’t leave Hugo Choudhury.
Out of the interrogation room, Jackson couldn’t help but sigh, “I see a sense of vicissitude in her, completely unlike a twenty year old girl, she must have experienced a lot over the years ……
Captain, do you think she will go to jail?”
Luke asked rhetorically, “Are you sympathizing with her?”
“No, not just sympathy, but a very mixed feeling.
From the looks of things, she’s probably Sophia, the kidnapping victim from ten years ago.
She was originally a kidnap victim, but for various reasons, she is now a kidnapper.
Don’t you think it’s ironic?” Jackson shook his head.
“I don’t think it’s fair to treat her like a common suspect.”
Luke nodded, “I think the judge will take that into serious consideration, and you can be present at the trial if you wish.”
“I’m willing.”