Chapter 580

August 20th, just after 7pm.

Palisades neighborhood.

Luke and Li Zhaofeng carried two boxes of wine out of the cellar and arranged for the party company’s waiters to set up the drinks, which were very varied, including red wine, champagne, whisky, rum, beer, Maotai and Wuliangye.

Generally parties rarely put out white wine, but there are more Chinese in this neighborhood and white wine is still a must.

For the Chinese, it was one thing if Moutai was good or not and if they liked it or not, but the stuff was a symbol of strength and status.

Even if Luke didn’t like the soy sauce type of liquor, he recognized the status of Maotai in the minds of the Chinese.

The two were not in conflict.

Little Fatty was wearing a black suit with a white shirt, bow tie, and black leather shoes, holding his cell phone and taking pictures in the yard.

Linda stood nearby, talking to the party company’s attendant, adjusting the layout of the lights in the courtyard.

Linda, as the hostess of tonight’s party, was wearing a very pretty long blue dress, jewelry that Luke had given her, and had her hair done this afternoon.

Luke smiled and walked over to her, “Hi Ms. Sullivan, I like your new haircut, it’s beautiful.”

“Really? I was wondering if it was a little short.”

Luke sounded sure, “No, it’s stylish and suits you.”

“Older brother, don’t I look good tonight too.” Little Fatty came over as well and struck a pose that he thought was cool.

Luke touched the fabric of Little Fatty’s suit, “Yes, I paid for this.”

Little Fatty rolled his eyes, “It’s my skill to spend your money, isn’t it?”

Luke laughed and cursed, “You’re such a nuisance, I’d love to kick you in the ass.”

The little fat man dodged aside and made a face.

It was after seven when the party was ready and the neighbors were arriving.

The first wave of guests was a Chinese couple named Lin, who ran a chain of Japanese restaurants, and gave Luke a 20% off membership card.

Luke smiled and accepted it, always feeling that it was a bit strange for a Chinese to run a Japanese restaurant, a bit unorthodox.

Luke invited them into the courtyard and went back to the door to greet the other guests.

Near eight o’clock, more neighbors rushed to join the party, there are dental clinics, foreign trade business, and executives of public companies, the average price of the houses in this community is more than ten million U.S. dollars, if it is not a high-income people can not afford to buy, the annual property tax is a big problem.

Most of the people who can buy houses in this community are elites from all walks of life, and this is also an opportunity to expand their connections.

Luke received more than twenty waves one after another, totaling sixty to seventy people.

Before the party officially began, Luke walked to the stage and said a few words, welcoming the neighbors as guests while briefly introducing himself again.

Because they were all neighbors and familiar with each other, the party quickly got lively.

As the host of the evening, Luke held a glass of wine and wandered among the neighbors, chatting with each of them as much as possible, remembering their names and appearance.

Remembering sixty to seventy people at once would be difficult for an ordinary person, but Luke’s observation power was far beyond normal, and his memory was good, so he was still able to memorize seven to eight.

The number of people attending the party was a bit more than Luke had imagined, and the staff of the party company added some more fruit plates and meat, the cost of the party might be a bit higher.

It wasn’t a big problem though, the real bulk of the party’s spending was on drinks, venue and labor, the party food didn’t cost much.

The party venue was Luke’s own home, and Luke provided the drinks himself, so hiring a party company wasn’t too expensive.

Luke’s status as a police officer still stood out among his neighbors, and he was the only police officer among the residents of the entire Palisades community.

Some of the neighbors had heard of him, and some were interested in the cases he had investigated.

Luke talked about some of the cases that he could talk about and that were interesting, which drew a lot of neighbors around.

An older white man with black-rimmed glasses approached him and raised his glass, “Luke, I’ve been looking forward to your housewarming party, and I’m glad to have you as a neighbor.”

Luke looked at the other party, it was Romit Buhl, the author of Vanishing Lovers, before, Luke investigated a murder case, the murderer was imitating the plot of his novel, “Mr. Buhl, I’m glad you could come.

We are also considered half peers.”

“Haha ……” Romit Boole laughed happily, “You’re right, I’ve been writing deduction novels for half of my life, and it does have some similarities with police work.”

Luke was curious, “Any new works lately?”

“Yes, I want to write a novel with a police officer as the main character, would you be interested?”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to create a detective novel based on you, your experience is legendary in itself, you became the captain of the Robbery and Murder Division at a young age, and have solved many major and bizarre cases.

You are the Sherlock Holmes of Los Angeles.

I’m sure that a novel based on you will be a bestseller.”

“Huh.” Luke laughed, “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I already have the creative juices flowing in my head, and it would be great if you could give me some more suggestions or case material.

I’m sure it’ll be a great piece of work.”

“Wowwwww ……,” Luke shrugged, “I’d be honored.”

Romit Bull patted Luke on the shoulder, “Luke, let’s set up a time to talk.

I’m sure you’ll be interested.”

“OK,” Luke casually made a perfunctory remark.

The two didn’t chat for too long, after all, Luke was the host of the party and had to take care of the other guests.

Luke chatted with the other guests for a while longer.

A Chinese businessman, who was doing foreign trade business, seemed very ‘enthusiastic’ when he was chatting with Luke, and vaguely had a look of wanting to say something.

Luke did not ask, the first meeting is to recognize a familiar face, there is no need to make shallow words.

More than nine o’clock in the evening, one after another there are neighbors left, Luke personally sent them to the door of the courtyard.

At ten o’clock in the evening, after sending away the last wave of guests, the housewarming party was officially over.

The employees of the party company began to pack up the tables and chairs and clean up, and it was nearly eleven o’clock at night before they finished.

Little Fatty wanted to sleep at Luke’s house, but was dragged away by Linda by the ears.

Luke also drank a lot of wine tonight, and after chatting with Li Zhaofeng, he went back to his room to sleep.

The next day, Li Zhaofeng returned to New York, he is ready to register a company in New York, through this company to acquire the stock of Kalman Pharmaceuticals, off-site company and Luke associated will also be less.

Luke sent his dad to the airport bus, but also drove to the police detective bureau to work.

After such a long break, it was time to show up, that is, there was no important case recently, otherwise, Reed would have contacted him to return to the team.

It was the first time Luke drove his newly purchased Raptor pickup truck to work, and the new vehicle attracted a lot of attention as soon as he entered the police station.

Captain Jones of the Gang and Narcotics Division circled around the pickup truck, “Man, I heard you had an accident with your Mercedes, is this new?”

“Yes, it’s got plenty of power and feels pretty good.”

Captain Jones patted the bodywork and laughed, “Standard for a slugger, huh?”

Luke laughed and the two made small talk as they made their way to the office building.

After the two parted ways, Luke went straight to the Robbery and Murder Division, Squadron One office.

“Hey guys, good morning.”

Jackson smiled, “Captain, welcome back from vacation.”

The lieutenant teased, “You’re a dashing fellow, being gone for most of the month, I was worried you’d be in the wrong office.”

“Haha ……” Luke laughed, “Lieutenant, better worry about yourself, I’m not old enough for Alzheimer’s yet.”

Vice Squad “……”

Blackie couldn’t wait to ask, “Captain, you bought a new car?”

“How did you know?”

Blacky pointed out the window, “I found out when you drove that big guy into the Detective Bureau, how does it feel?”

“Not bad.”

The group chatted for a while and Luke went to the deputy director’s office.

“Knock knock ……”

“Come in.” Reed’s voice rang out from the office.

Luke pushed the door in and greeted with a smile, “Good morning, Chief.”

“You finally got around to going to work, the Lieutenant’s complained to me more than once.”

Luke shrugged, “It’s common for old people to nag, my grandfather was the same way, get used to it.”

Reed smiled, “You’re just in time, I have something to tell you.”

Reed poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Luke.

“What is it?”

“Chief Coleman may be transferring out of the detective bureau.”

Coleman was the current chief of the detective bureau.

Luke had heard this news from David before, but he pretended to hear it for the first time, “Why transfer, isn’t he doing a good job?”

“He is doing a good job, so there is a possibility that he will be transferred to the Directorate.”

“When?”

“No time has been set yet, probably the latter half of this year or early next year.”

Luke was concerned, “And who will take over the position of Director?”

“It’s too early to tell, it could be an outside transfer, it could be Deputy Director Savage, or it could be me.”

Although Reed was a bit subtle in his words, Luke could hear that the other party was still more confident, “Reed, I think you are more suitable for the position of Director.

Is there anything I can do?”

Reed smiled, “Just do your job, don’t forget that I’m still the Director of the Robbery and Murder Division.

If the Robbery and Murder Division makes a mistake, I am also responsible.”

“Understood, I’ll do my job and take care of all the cases in the first squadron.”

“Very well.” Reed revealed a satisfied look and continued, “If I am no longer in charge of the Robbery and Murder Division, then a new Director will need to be selected.

The current Deputy Director, Magna Mette, should be the first choice for Director.

When that happens, the Deputy Director position will be vacant as well.” Reed looked over at Luke, “Although you are younger and less senior of the four captains, I value your abilities more.

You’ll have to work hard.”

“I will.” With such an obvious hint, Luke could naturally understand it.

The two of them chatted for a while longer, and Luke left the director’s office.

Luke had already heard the news from David, but it meant different things when different people said it.

Although Reed was suspected of painting a big picture, the position of deputy director was very attractive to Luke, and, he did have a chance to fight for it.

If that was the case, why not make an effort?