Chapter 100
In a black Dodge car.
David asked as he drove, “You should have made quite a bit of money this month, right?”
Luke laughed, “Yes, made a small fortune, if you need money, I can lend it to you.”
“No, I’ve got enough for bail and am going to contact a lawyer to bail Linda out.”
“Good luck.”
“What about you? What are you going to do with the money?”
“Probably buy a car, a BMW 730, what do you think?”
“COOL, it’s a nice car, if I had the money I might be tempted too.
But as a person who has been there, as your partner, I still want to advise you, the money left over from buying a car is better to do some investment and finance.
Life is long, you can’t be lucky all the time, there are always down times, saving more money is not a bad thing.”
Americans seldom mention money, and seldom ask about other people’s salaries, which are private.
However, the police partner belonged to a very close relationship, so it wasn’t too abrupt to say so.
Luke responded, “That’s what I thought.”
“GOOD.”
“You’re a smart guy and will have a better future than me.”
“Come on, stop acting like an old man, you should start a new life.” Luke, disliking David’s dead weight, advised.
“Bail Linda out and you won’t owe her anything, it’s impossible to take care of her for the rest of your life. You should get a divorce, start a new relationship, and your life will turn over.”
David smiled, “MAYBE.”
A few minutes later, the black Dodge pulled up in front of Poe’s Body Shop.
Luke got out of the car and surveyed the surroundings, “This body store is kinda like that, the one before was more of a collector of stolen cars than a body shop.”
David said, “But people who can usually afford a Mercedes-Benz s600 won’t come here to repair their cars, they prefer to go to a professional 4S store.”
“The owner might not, but the driver can’t say the same.” Luke sauntered into the garage, where a few workers were busy repairing cars.
“Which one is the owner?”
“I am, you guys want to fix your car?” A white middle-aged man approached.
“You’re Carus Ball?”
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
“I’m Detective Luke, this is Detective David.”
“You found Santos Mendin?”
“Sort of, can I talk to you?”
“Sure, come on in.”
Carus Ball ushered the two men into the office.
It was said to be an office, but it was actually more like a lounge, stacked with all sorts of miscellaneous items.
“SORRY, the office is a bit messy.” Carus Borel picked up the clutter on the couch and threw it onto a chair in the corner, “Have a seat. Want something to drink?”
“No need.” Luke turned on the law enforcement recorder.
Carus Ball sat down across from the two men, “How’s Santos? I’ve kind of missed him.”
“No, he’s not doing very well.”
“Is he injured? Or was he kidnapped?”
“He’s dead.”
“Even the …… that’s the last thing I want to hear, he’s a good man, this shouldn’t have happened.”
“How long has Santos Mendin been working here?”
“Eight or nine months.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“On the evening of March 28th, when he left work.
The next day, he didn’t show up for work and I haven’t heard from him. No one answered my cell phone either.
On March 30, he still didn’t come to work and I couldn’t reach him on his cell phone, so I went to his house, but there was no one there and I felt something might have happened.
So I called the police.”
Luke said, “You’re a responsible boss.”
“He was the best employee in the store, worked hard, didn’t complain, and never came in late or left early, he was responsible for his work, so I was responsible for him.”
“Do you know where his wife is?”
“No, I rarely ask about his family. You have to realize it’s not good for a boss to know his employees too well.”
“His family lives at 122 Ollie Street?”
“Yes.”
“Ollie Street isn’t close to here?”
“Rent is cheaper over there, and the road doesn’t have much traffic, so it’s okay to drive to and from work.”
“What kind of car does he drive?”
“An old white Nissan Skyline, almost as old as you are.”
Luke guessed, “He’s not very well off financially?”
“I think it’s more of a habit of his, more frugal and simple.”
“What’s the license plate number?”
“8Ceb383.”
“Has he been in any trouble lately?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Any run-ins with people?”
The owner pursed his lips, wanting to speak.
“We’re just getting an idea of the situation, you don’t have to be burdened with anything, the contents of the transcript won’t be disclosed to the public.”
“There’s a Benjamin Nasi who often comes to the store to trouble him.”
“Is there any grudge between them?”
“In the past, Benjamin Nasi also worked at this store, but he was in bad shape and had frequent problems at work, so I fired him.
Benjamin Nasi always felt that it was Santos Mendin who took over his job and took his place.
Always held a grudge against Santos Mendin.
The guy’s turned into an alcoholic who comes around and causes trouble every time he drinks, and I think you guys should check him out.”
“Any idea of Benjamin Nasi’s contact information and address?”
“Sure, he worked here for years before, I’d be happy to get it to you.” The owner checked the employee records and handed Luke the information on Benjamin Nasi.
“Thank you for your assistance.” Luke handed the other party a business card, “Feel free to contact me if you think of any new leads.”
“No problem.”
Carruthers Poe sent the two of Luke out of the garage.
Luke reported what he had found out to Susan, and then went with David to find Benjamin Nasi for information.
Half an hour later, the two men arrived in a run-down neighborhood.
Following the address, they found Benjamin Nasi’s house.
The yard’s fence was completely rotten and the surroundings were rather poor, the yard was not big and there were quite a lot of debris and garbage piled up, more than half of which were liquor bottles.
David walked up to the door and knocked hard, “Knock knock ……”
No one answered.
Luke dialed Benjamin Nasi’s cell phone number and couldn’t get through either.
David spread his hands, “What now?”
Luke scanned around, “Ask around with the neighbors.”
“OK, you go ask around and I’ll keep an eye on things here.”
“Don’t kick in the door.” Luke left a comment and went to inquire with the surrounding neighbors.
Luke knocked on a few doors and only two were occupied.
According to the neighbors, Benjamin Nasi lived alone now and hadn’t been seen for a few days.
Luke then met up with David, briefly explained the situation, and asked, “What are you going to do?”
David subconsciously said, “I have a feeling there’s something suspicious about this guy, we should go in and take a look.”
“We don’t have a warrant.”
David wrinkled his nose, “I think I smell blood.”
“Come on, you’re not a police dog.”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“Don’t come on, I’m not going to let you kick in the door anyway, and don’t forget what you said about Marcus yesterday.”
“I’m not kicking the door down.” David finished and began to look around the door as if he was looking for something.
Looking at the windowsill, lifting up the worn carpet, and lifting up the flower pot, “Whoa whoa, look what I found.
A lot of drunks hide a key outside their house.” David shook the key in his hand, “Can I get in?”
“You really smell blood?”
“It’s real this time. As LAPD, it’s our duty to go in and check it out to ensure the personal safety of the citizens.” David said in a serious manner, then opened the door to the room.
The moment he opened the door, Luke frowned slightly, not knowing if it was a mental effect, he also vaguely smelled a bloody odor.
Entering the house, this feeling became more and more obvious.
The living room was very cluttered, not rummaging clutter, but it hadn’t been cleaned up for a long time.
Luke walked inside and saw a large black and red stain on the floor behind the couch, and a smell of blood went straight to his nose.
The blood stain extended all the way to the restroom ……
“FUCK, there really is blood!”