Chapter 544
Blackie glanced at Luke, “Captain, the phone is ringing.”
“I’m not deaf.” Luke thought briefly, took the dead man’s cell phone and pressed the answer button.
“Thank God. Honey, you finally answered the phone.” A woman’s voice came from the phone.
Luke answered, “Ma’am, I’m not the owner himself.”
“Why do you have my husband’s cell phone? Where is he?”
“Ma’am, what is your name?”
“Christian Horn. You still haven’t answered why my husband’s cell phone is in your possession?”
“Your husband is not available to answer the phone.”
“What’s wrong with my husband? Why is it inconvenient to answer the phone? Also, who are you?”
“I’m Squadron Leader One of the Robbery and Murder Division, Luke Lee.”
“Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to my husband? You tell me!”
“Sorry, can’t talk on the phone.
You can inquire at the Robbery-Murder Division of the Detective Bureau and we’ll receive you at the First Squadron office.”
There was a sob in the woman’s voice, “No No No, please, tell me, what happened to my husband?”
“Ms. Christian Horn, what is your husband’s name?”
“Roher Horn.” The woman on the cell phone answered and asked back, “You don’t know my husband’s name?”
“It’s not that I won’t tell you, but there are some things I can’t say over the phone.” Luke wasn’t being perfunctory; first of all, Luke wasn’t sure that the caller was necessarily the dead man’s wife.
Secondly, the cell phone was picked up beside the deceased, but it didn’t mean it was necessarily the deceased’s cell phone.
Luke had just taken over the case and everything still needed to be proven.
“I understand, I’ll go to the detective bureau.” Christian Horn finished and hung up his cell phone.
Luke handed the cell phone to Blackie on the side and asked to the forensic scientist and the technical team, “Have you found any items that can prove the identity of the deceased?”
“Yes, we found the driver’s license in the deceased’s pants pocket.” Mary handed Luke a copy of the driver’s license.
Luke opened it and the picture on it was of the deceased, name, Roher Horn.
Luke sighed softly, “Anything else found?”
Mary replied, “An empty rum bottle was found under the bed, most likely consumed by the deceased during his lifetime. When we bring it back to the police station, we’ll take the bottle’s fingerprints and DNA.
Also, the body showed no signs of being moved, and this would be the first scene of the crime.”
“Any traces of a second person’s presence found?”
“Not at the moment.”
“Thanks.”
Blackie picked up the bag containing rum, “Very poor quality rum, won’t cost more than five dollars.
I’m guessing that the odds are that it’s an unlucky guy with an unhappy family hiding out and drinking.”
Jackson asked, “Drinking booze is understandable, but why did he die?”
Black shrugged, “That’s something you’d have to ask the coroner.”
Luke also turned his gaze to the medical examiner, Sheila, who saw no obvious fatal injuries on the dead man, not even skin wounds, and was equally curious as to why the dead man was killed.
After a while, the forensic pathologist Sheila got up and said, “I just did a preliminary autopsy, there were no obvious struggle wounds on the deceased’s body, and there were no traces of being tied up, not to mention that no fatal injuries were found.
The victim’s lips were white, with dirt remaining at the corners of his mouth, and his pupils were dilated, very much like the symptoms of sudden death.
As for the cause that triggered the sudden death, it could be an illness, or it could be drugs or medication, further autopsies and tests are needed to find out.”
“What about the time of death?”
“Between two and six o’clock yesterday afternoon.”
“Was it a homicide? Or suicide?”
Sheila shrugged, “I don’t know, that’s for you to decide.”
“OK, let me know first thing when the results are in.”
“I will.”
Not long after, the vice squad also entered the house and asked, “Have you determined the cause of death of the deceased?”
“No obvious trauma was found, the body still needs to be brought back to the police station for further testing.” Luke responded and asked rhetorically, “What about the walk-through?”
The lieutenant replied, “I had someone question the surrounding neighbors, and no one has seen any strangers coming in or out of the house.
However, one neighbor noticed an additional unfamiliar black Toyota sedan in the neighborhood, and I had the license plate number checked, and the owner is none other than the deceased, Roher Horn.
The car was some distance away from the house, presumably for fear of being discovered, and deliberately parked at a distance before sneaking into the house.”
“Were any unusual items found in the automobile?”
“I roughly checked it and found no suspicious items, and I’ve already notified the technical team to do a detailed search.”
“Hard work.”
The vice squad asked rhetorically, “Can you determine whether the deceased committed suicide or homicide?”
“It’s unclear for now.” Speaking of this, Luke changed his words, “Lieutenant, I’ll leave the scene to you, I have to go back to the police station to talk to the deceased’s wife.
Maybe learn some new clues.”
Robbery and Murder Division, Squadron One.
Inside the lounge, a woman walked around the room with an anxious look on her face.
“Creak ……” came the door.
Luke pushes the door and walks into the lounge, holding a file in his hand.
The woman looked over at Luke, “I’m Christian Horn, have you heard from my husband?”
Luke said, “Ma’am, we just spoke on the phone and I just got back from the scene.”
Christian Horn asked, “The scene? What scene?”
“Sit down and talk.” Luke pulled up a chair and sat down, flipping through the information Matthew had just handed over, “Mrs. Horn, the police were called to a call this morning where a homeowner in the Tarpon community found the body of a male in his home, and we found your husband’s cell phone next to the body.”
“Jesus Christ, are you saying …… my husband is dead?”
“The exact identity of the deceased still requires your assistance in identifying him, will you do that?”
“Yes, take me, I need to see my husband.”
“I’m sorry, the coroner hasn’t finished with the body yet, you won’t be able to view the body for a while, however, I can get you to identify the photos of the scene.” Luke pulled out the photos of the dead man and handed them to Christian Horn.
Christian Horn took the photo with both hands, hugged the photo to her chest, and let out a loud cry, “Rohrer, Rohrer …… oooooh …… why is this happening, you were fine when you left yesterday, why are you dead? Why?
Wooo……”
The cries resounded throughout the 1st Squadron.
However, the entire Heist and Murder Division was used to it.
Jackson took out a tissue and handed it to Christian Horn and whispered a few words of comfort, but it had little effect.
Christian Horn cried for a few minutes before she stopped and wiped her eyes, “Captain Lee, I want to see my husband.”
“When there is news from the coroner’s side, I will notify you first.”
“How did my husband die? Who killed him?”
“How do you know your husband was killed? Is it possible that he committed suicide?”
“Suicide?
No, why would he commit suicide?
We have a happy family, two lovely daughters, there’s no reason for him to commit suicide, it’s impossible.”
“Was there anything unusual about him lately?”
“Uh, he’s been busy with work lately, he’s been under a lot of stress, sometimes he gets cranky about work.
Two days ago, he even berated the two children because they were fighting, and afterwards, he felt guilty and apologized to the two children.
Other than that, there is nothing unusual.”
“What kind of work does your husband do?”
“He works at a travel agency.”
“What’s the name of the travel agency?”
“West Travel Agency.”
“Are you sure it was West Travel Agency?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
Luke rubbed his chin, the homeowner, Clint Mann’s family had gone on a week-long trip to Guam through West Travel Agency, which explained why the deceased, Roher Horn, knew that no one was at the homeowner’s house, because the homeowner himself was a client of the travel agency, who could keep track of the homeowner’s family’s whereabouts.
But that still doesn’t explain why he entered the homeowner’s house while the homeowner’s family was traveling.
In addition, through the information given by Matthew, Luke also found out that the deceased Rohel Horn had a record of burglary and asked, “Does your husband know how to pick locks?”
Christian Horn frowned, “Why do you ask?”
“His profile has a record of burglary.”
“No No No, my husband is not a bad person, I swear.” Christian Horn scratched his head, helpless, “My husband did have a record of theft, but he was eighteen years old, the age of stupidity.
He’s a responsible husband and hasn’t done anything illegal since we started our family.”
“So he does know how to pick locks?”
Christian Horn stared at Luke without answering.
Luke took that as her acquiescence, which explained how the dead man, Roher Horn, had been able to get into the homeowner’s house so easily.
Christian Horn was a little upset, “Now it’s my husband who’s dead, why are you interrogating me like I’m a family member of a crime?”
“No, you misunderstand, I just want to clarify the situation and find out the cause of your husband’s death as soon as possible.” Luke took out another picture of the dead man and the house, “Your husband died in someone else’s house.
We need to find out first, why was he there? And how did he get in?”
Seeing Christian Horn’s temper weaken, Luke continued, “Do you recognize this house?”
“No.”
“Do you know why Roher Horn was there?”
“No.”
“When did you last see him?”
“Yesterday morning after eight o’clock, after breakfast, he kissed me and the children and then went to work.
As usual that day, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until after ten at night when he never came back and I called him.
But there was no answer, I called their office and no one answered.
This morning, I called his cell phone again and then you answered the phone …… oooo……” Christian Horn again choked on a low voice.
“How did your husband get to work?”
“In his car, a black Toyota sedan.”
“Has he ever stayed out all night before?”
“Sometimes the travel agency was busy and he would come back late, but never stayed out at night, this is the first time ……”
“Does your husband drink?”
“Yes, when there’s nothing else to do, he likes to have a small drink.”
“Does he take drugs?”
“No, he never touches drugs.”
“Does he have any serious sudden illnesses?”
“No, he was very healthy, even colds were rare.”
“Recall carefully, has he been in trouble lately or has there been anyone more suspicious around him?”
Christian Horn pressed his forehead, tried to recall for a while, and shook his head, “Sorry, my brain is very messy …… now I can t think.”
Luke handed the other party a business card, “You can contact me anytime you think of new clues.”
Christian Horn took the card with both hands, “When did my husband die?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
Christian Horn pressed, “He was supposed to be working at a travel agency at that time? Why would he die at someone’s house?”
Luke had not informed her that Roher Horn had died in the home of a client of the travel agency, and for that he was curious, and how was West Travel Agency connected to this case?