Chapter 533
Luke made a mental note of the name and turned to Jenny, “Go ask the victim’s daughter if she’s ever heard of that name.” Looking aside again, Blackie said, “Go ask the victim’s husband if he’s ever heard of it?”
“YES, Sir.”
It didn’t take long for Jenny to return, “Captain, I’ve asked, and Theresa Lewis has never heard of the name.
Also, Theresa Louise is still depressed and hurt, should we let her go first.”
The house was temporarily uninhabitable, and after making a statement, there was no need to stay, Luke nodded, “Yes.”
The Vice Squad and Blackie walked in as well, and the Vice Squad said, “I just finished giving a statement to the victim’s husband, Alec Wyatt, and he said he’d never heard the word Sheridan.”
Luke knew that the Vice Squad had always advocated that if one spouse was killed, the other would be highly suspect, as evidenced by the fact that he had taken the initiative to talk to Alec Wyatt.
He asked, “Lieutenant, anything?”
The Vice Squad said, “According to Alec Wyatt, he married Latifa Gallo last year, and the two of them were in a good relationship, and he didn’t expect this to happen all of a sudden.
Alec Wyatt works at the Vincent Travel Agency and, according to his own account, he stays at the agency between 4 and 6 pm.
Also, Latifa Gallo and her ex-husband divorced three years ago, and it wasn’t long before her ex-husband died in an accident.”
Luke pressed, “What kind of accident?”
“A car accident.”
Luke gave a thoughtful look, “Was there any valuable property missing from the house?”
The lieutenant said, “According to Alec Wyatt, there was only a thousand dollars in cash and a few pieces of jewelry in the master bedroom cupboards, with a total value of less than ten thousand dollars.”
Luke had just checked the master bedroom but found no cash or jewelry, most likely taken by the killer.
“Anything unusual about the victim lately?”
The lieutenant replied, “Alec Wyatt didn’t notice anything different about the victim lately, but according to him, the victim left work earlier than usual today, and in the past, the victim wouldn’t arrive home until after six o’clock.
I suggest going to the prison where the victim works to find out what’s going on.
If this is not a normal home invasion homicide, but a premeditated revenge homicide, then it could also be related to the victim’s job.”
Luke nodded, “You’re right, Lieutenant, I’ll leave this assignment to you.”
“No problem.”
And then, Luke arranged his team members to visit the community, looking for witnesses and suspicious people and vehicles that appeared during the time period of the crime.
At the same time, people were also sent to collect community surveillance.
The investigation lasted until after eleven o’clock at night, and no valuable clues were found before the officers wrapped up one after another.
The following morning
Robbery and Murder Division Office.
After the usual morning meeting, the people split up.
Luke stayed at the station to review the neighborhood surveillance video.
The victim’s daughter’s description matched Coroner Sheila’s speculation that the victim’s time of death was between approximately 4:30 and 6:00 PM.
Vehicles entering or leaving the neighborhood during this time are suspect.
Luke looked at all the vehicles that appeared in the neighborhood surveillance during this time and did not find any suspicious vehicles or sets of cars.
Luke hypothesized that there were three possibilities, the first of which was either the owner of the vehicle was hiding deeper.
Either the murderer was not driving transportation, indicating that the murderer was close to the deceased’s home.
The third possibility, the suspect vehicle did not leave during this time period, for example, hidden in a location in the community, or perhaps even in a neighbor’s garage.
This certainly makes the exhumation more difficult.
Eleven o’clock in the morning.
The door to the Robbery-Murder Division was pushed open, and Mary from the tech team walked into the office.
“Hey guys ……
Wow, the office is so cold, Matthew, are you the only one?”
Matthew peeked his head out from behind his computer and looked around, “Maybe, I’m not sure if the captain is in?”
“Cluck ……”
The door to the captain’s office opened, “I’m here Mary, is something wrong?”
“Yes, the trace test results from the crime scene are in.” Mary placed two documents on the table, “First is the baseball bat found next to the deceased, the blood and biological tissue on it belongs to the deceased, and the wound comparison provided by the forensic scientist matches perfectly, so it can be determined that it is the murder weapon that killed the deceased.
In addition, forensics also found DNA inside the deceased’s body, and we compared it in the DNA database to determine the identity of the DNA owner.”
“Thanks, you’ve been a big help.”
This morning, Luke had received the results of the autopsy from the medical examiner, Sheila, and had learned that the victim had played poker shortly before her death, and that DNA had also been found in her system.
According to the victim’s husband, Alec Wyatt, he had not seen his wife since leaving the house that morning, so it would not have been husband Alec Wyatt who clapped for love with the victim.
It was also possible that the murderer had coerced the deceased into clapping for love, but Luke didn’t think the other man would have left such obvious evidence.
But this person had met the deceased not long before the murder anyway, and likely knew some key clues.
However, Luke didn’t expect to be able to find out the identity of the other person through DNA matching so quickly.
He was somewhat relieved again when he saw the suspect’s profile.
Name, Mbak Etta
Gender, male
Date of birth, March 2, 1996
Cell phone number, 909 876 2523.
Residential address, 209 Wilmu neighborhood
Social Security number, 623-53-7332.
Prior convictions, burglary, drug trafficking, assault.
Gang affiliation, T7.
From the above, this guy not only has priors, he’s also a gang member, and people like that are often prioritized for screening.
The problem now is how to find him.
The police database had Mbak Etta’s cell phone number and address, but Luke knew that trying to find Mbak Etta with these clues would be almost impossible, and instead, he might spook the police.
However, since he was a gangster, there were always some clues to be found by starting with that.
Professional things should still be done by professionals.
Luke picked up his cell phone and dialed David’s number, “Man, let’s have lunch together at noon.”
“You kid won’t stand me up again.”
“Promise I won’t.”
Wakaton Steakhouse.
Second floor private room.
Luke surveyed the private room and was a little surprised, “I didn’t realize that a steakhouse would also have a private room.”
“This is for acquaintances, outsiders definitely don’t have one.”
David handed Luke the menu, “Try it, the steak here has a great flavor, the rib eye steak is highly recommended.”
Luke glanced at the menu, a rib eye steak combo, a side of fries, and a side of grilled fish.
David ordered a rib eye steak, an apple pie and said, “I still like to order sweets.”
The waitress finished her order and left the booth and David said, “Tell me, what’s the matter with me?”
“Two things, one business and one personal.” Luke took out Mbak Etta’s file and handed it to David, “Yesterday, I took over a case of a prison guard’s murder, and I found this man’s DNA in the dead man’s body, and I need your help to find him.”
“From the T7 gang, no wonder this kid looks a little familiar.”
“Tell me about this gang.” Luke had heard of the gang but had limited knowledge.
“It’s a small gang that was only established a few years ago, there are probably a few hundred people, the gang members are mainly white, generally not very old, robbing, smuggling, drug trafficking, extortion, a group of unapologetic bad boys.
Only a while ago, we arrested a few T7 gangsters.
They looked quite arrogant, but were actually quite wimpy, and none of the gang members dared to shoot when we made the arrests.
Just a bunch of bullying bastards.”
Luke asked, “Can we find this guy?”
“Sure.” David picked up his cell phone and stepped aside to make a phone contact.
After the call hung up, David said, “Just wait, I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
“Knock knock ……” Just then, the door to the private room rang.
The waiter pushed the door and walked in, carrying a wooden tray in his hand, “Two gentlemen, your lunch is ready.”
The waiter placed the tray on the table, “Please enjoy.”
“Thank you.” Luke looked at the tray in front of him, a very thick rib-eye steak with pasta and fried egg on the side, a side of fries, and a side of grilled fish.
Luke sliced a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, “It’s crispy on the outside and retains enough juice to be tasty.”
David lifted his glass of beer and the two of them clinked their glasses and took a big sip, “Enough business talk, let’s get to the personal stuff.”
Luke said, “Some time ago, I learned a little more about Zhang Brothers Construction Company through various channels, this company has an annual turnover of millions of dollars, although I don’t know the exact profit, but it should be nearly a million dollars.
Two days ago, I talked to Zhang’s Brothers, and they agreed that we invest in Zhang’s Brothers Construction Company and take a twenty percent stake.
They were willing to offer their shares at a very low price of ten thousand dollars for ten percent, but I refused.
This price is too low, easy to bring hidden dangers, so I took the initiative to propose 100,000 dollars 10% to acquire 20% of the shares.
This will pay back the capital in a year, what do you think?”
Although David left the Robbery and Murder Division, he has always kept in touch with Luke, knowing that he bought a ten million dollar mansion and his ability to earn money far exceeds his own, in that case, following Luke is always not wrong, and it’s unlikely that this guy will pit himself, “I agree with this proposal, when do I need to get together one hundred thousand dollars?”
“Within ten working days after formally signing the share transfer contract.”
“I see, I will get the hundred thousand dollars as soon as possible.”
Luke smoothly asked, “How much money do you have now?”
“About sixty to seventy thousand dollars.”
This shortfall was not a small amount for an ordinary person, Luke did not want his old buddy to be embarrassed, “You take fifty thousand dollars, I’ll lend you the remaining fifty thousand dollars, and you’ll return it to me after the dividends from Zhang Brothers Construction Company.”
David asked rhetorically, “Are you rich now?”
“I just came back from a treasure hunt in the Virgin Islands, and I was able to get a good share of the money this time.”
“You lucky bastard.” David was a little emotional, I don’t know when it started, but it was like Luke had turned his luck around, not only did he get a promotion and a raise, but his ability to make money was enviable, and he wasn’t a prude, either.
“Thanks man, I’ll pay you back as soon as possible.”
Nine o’clock at night.
Wilkins Bar.
Inside the bar, colorful lights shine, groups of friends sit and drink together, while others twirl on the dance floor.
A bald man enters the bar, raises his eyes, and glances around the bar.
It didn’t take long before he seemed to find his target and walked over to a drinking table with four people sitting around it and waved at a younger man, “Hey Mbak, long time no see.”
Mbak Etta looked up with a green tattoo on his neck, “Who are you? Why don’t I remember meeting you.”
“My name is David, I’m from the Department of Anti-Terrorism and Narcotics.”
Mbak Etta showed a nervous look, “What do you want?”
David shrugged, “Looking for you to talk to.”
“Haha …… looking for me to talk to me, where does this damn humor come from?” Mbak Etta looked around at his three companions with a critical eye and gave David another hard stare.
David flashed his badge, “Come with me.”
“Yea yea …… I’ll come with you, I like to talk ……” Mbak-Eta stood up and put his hands on the table, “But not with you. ”
“Miso ……” Mbak-Eta lifted the table as he got between him and David, turned and ran into the crowd.
“Fucking asshole, I like to do sports at night, but not with you.” David grumbled, looking over at Mbak-Eta’s accomplices with a warning glare before he gave chase.
Mbak-Eta’s three accomplices stood their ground, not meaning to stop David, as police officers rarely acted alone, and they weren’t sure when there were other officers around.
If they threatened David, they would probably be shot straight away, and with Mbak-Eta running away, why should they fight the police hard.
The crowd in the bar was dense and difficult to apprehend.
“Get out of the way!” Mbak Etta pushed away the crowd blocking in front of him with force and quickly ran towards the back door of the bar.
However, when he opened the back door of the bar, what awaited him was not the dawn of escape, but several police officers with loaded guns.
Among them, a black-haired youth at the head smiled, “Good evening.”
With no way to escape, Mbak Etta sighed, “What the hell are you guys trying to do?”
David also chased after him from the back door, and without saying a word, he directly punched Mbak-Eta in the head.
“Bang!” The punch was so heavy that it directly dazed Mbak Etta.
He fell to the ground in a daze, vaguely hearing a conversation.
“What are you doing?” It seemed to be the voice of the dark-haired youth.
“This asshole assaulted the police, deliberately overturned the table, soiled my clothes, and almost hit me.”
“Come on, I was about to question him when you came up and knocked him out.
I don’t care, you’re responsible for waking him up.”
The bald man laughed, “Haha, that’s not much of a challenge, I happen to be holding a pee ……”
‘No, no, absolutely not.’ Mbak Etta mumbled in his mind, forcing himself to awaken, in this urgent moment of honor and disgrace, Mbak Etta opened his eyes with great force, “I’m awake, I’m already awake.”
“Then hurry up and get up, don’t play dead on the ground.”
Mbak Etta was lifted up, pushed down to the wall, searched: “Click” two sounds directly put on handcuffs.
David laughed, “OK, we can have a pleasant talk now.”
“What the hell do you guys want to do? I didn’t do anything illegal?”
Luke pulled out a picture of Latifa Gallo, “Do you recognize her?”
M’Bak Eta frowned, “Yes, fondly remembered. I used to serve time in Logri Prison and she was a prison guard there.”
Luke was a bit surprised as well, not realizing that the two had this relationship.