Chapter 126

Looking at the suspected footprints of the closet, Luke subconsciously used the ‘Identification Card’.

A tone came to mind, [The footprints are too shallow, the amount of shoe prints is less than one-fifth of the amount, unable to identify valid data.”]

Luke retreated and asked the survey team to collect this suspected shoe print.

It may not be useful, but it’s at least one piece of evidence that the closet could be hiding someone.

The physical evidence from the scene and the body were brought back to the station.

The vice squad again took the team to visit the surrounding area to investigate, but the upscale community houses were widely spaced and soundproofed, and the neighbors failed to provide any valuable clues.

In the afternoon, Susan rearranged the tasks, “Ramon and Jenny are responsible for collecting the surrounding surveillance.

Matthew investigates the deceased’s communication tools to see if there are any suspicious contacts.

Luke and Blackie contact the original Vanishing Lovers author.”

The crowd split up.

Romit Bull, the original author of Vanishing Lovers, was not far from this neighborhood.

It was only a few minutes away by car.

Luke and the two of them got out of the car and looked around for a while, then walked to the door and pressed the doorbell.

“Dingdong ……”

A few moments later, a man’s voice rang out from the doorway, “This is Romit Bull’s house, may I ask who you’re looking for?”

“I am looking for Romit Bull.”

“If you want an autograph, you’ll need to wait until the signing.”

Luke flashed his badge, “LAPD.”

“Cluck ……” The door opened and a middle-aged black man in his thirties stood in the doorway, “Please come in, Mr. Romit Bull has been waiting for you for the past two days.”

Blacky muttered in Luke’s ear, “That kind of talk sounds so familiar, usually in movies this kind of character is the final big boss.”

Luke laughed, “Congratulations, you solved the case before you even met anyone.”

“Yeah, please call me Detective Marcus.”

Luke turned to the black man and asked, “What is your name?”

“I’m Wright Caffey, Mr. Bull’s assistant.”

With the black assistant leading the two Luke into the living room, “One moment please, I’ll go find Mr. Bull.”

The black assistant asked the two to sit down and went to the house inside.

Romit Bull’s house was much bigger and Black sat down hard on the leather couch, “It’s nice to be rich.”

Soon, an old white man walked out, looking to be about seventy years old, with silver-gray hair and a black-rimmed eyeglasses, “Hey, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my friends from the LAPD, the old guys I used to know should have retired by now.”

Luke got up and said politely, “Hello Mr. Romit Bull, I’m Detective Luke from the Detective Bureau.”

“Hello Mr. Detective, have a seat.” Romit Bull instructed his black assistant, who was standing by, “Wright, a pot of Italian hand-ground coffee.” Then turning to Luke and Black, he said, “Trust me, it tastes superb, you must try it.”

Luke asked, “Mr. Bull, how did you know we were coming to visit?”

“Guess, the main characters of the crew were called to the police station for questioning, it’s only natural that you guys came to see me. I’m not averse to that, I like dealing with people from the police department.

The LAPD has provided me with a lot of inspiration in my writing career.

And, of course, I haven’t missed out on donating to you guys.”

Black subconsciously asked, “Do you know Lieutenant Vince?”

Romit thought for a moment, “Doesn’t really ring a bell.”

Lukas pulled back to the point, “Do you know Abu Grah?”

“Yes, Lucas’s understudy, I’ve met him but barely communicated.

I’m not much of a people person and I don’t go on set very often. Occasionally I talk to Bell, and I heard the guy got caught up.

He’s so obsessed with always trying to make a movie that goes beyond ‘Special Victims’.”

“Are you familiar with Lucas?”

“Not too familiar, talked a few times. I heard he got busted on some pretty minor charges too, poor guy, acting career is probably over.

I’m not a big fan of the couple, a bit of a snob.”

“You know about Lucas faking his own fake death?”

“Don’t condescend to me, young man, I didn’t know about it at first, I didn’t hear about it until Lucas was arrested.

I’m kinda interested in the story. It’s great material, often some realities are more absurd than fiction, and fiction requires logic.

If your logic doesn’t make sense, readers will give feedback.

But life doesn’t require logic.”

“Mr. Boole, how did you remember to create this novel at that time?”

“The novel was written many years ago, when I had another identity, that of a journalist.

I have interviewed many people, and this novel is adapted from the true experience of one of the interviewees.”

Luke showed a curious look, “Which character of your pen is the interviewee based on?”

“The male protagonist.”

“He’s not dead?”

“I’m not sure if he’s dead now, he was alive and well at the time.”

“Can you tell us a little about his experience?”

Romit Bull thought for a moment, “His experience is more similar to what I described, the difference is that he embezzled the boss’s payment for the goods, and knowing that the boss might finish himself off, he took action ahead of time and buried the boss alive.”

“Whoa ……,” Luke was a little surprised, “I’m kinda surprised by that ending.”

“But he was too eager, too rooted, too aggressive, and it didn’t take long for the DEA to get a hold of him, and the man was put in jail, where I interviewed him.

But considering the artistry, I wrote him to death to make the story more aesthetically pleasing, and I have a lot of female fans who are super in love with me.”

“Can you name him?”

“Unfortunately, I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone without his permission.”

Luke pressed, “What about the female lead?”

“I’ve never met the heroine either, it’s all been dictated through the male prototype, who supposedly died not long after he entered the prison.

How exactly did he die, I didn’t dare to ask more.

You know, he’s a dangerous man, and I didn’t want to provoke him.”

“Why did the movie script change the ending of the heroine?”

“Producer Rossi’s and director Bale’s idea, mainly Bale, the guy who thought my novel’s ending was too brutal. He’s so out of touch with his audience, who love reversals, it’s no wonder his movies keep flopping.

The guy never turned it around again.”

Luke said, “Mr. Bull, I’ve read your work and it’s very well written.

But there is one question about the plot of the heroine hanging herself.

The scene when the heroine hanged herself was depicted in great detail, including her clothes, makeup, movements, and state of mind, but it was not written that he stepped on a stool or a similar item under his feet.

So, was the heroine a suicide, or was it a homicide?”

Romit’s tone was certain, “Suicide.”

“I remember you were writing that the polished floor reflected the poor woman’s reflection, so where did the object she stepped on when she hung herself go?”

Romit smiled, “You’re a cop, you should be good at analysis, don’t you think?”

Luke analyzed, “It wouldn’t be impossible to hang without stepping on something. All the heroine has to do is jump up and grab the rope and pull her neck through it.

But again, I think that doesn’t fit the image of the heroine in the book, it’s a bit contradictory.”

Romit nodded, “Regarding what you said, many people have actually asked me about this, many fans even wrote to ask, they wanted to know if the heroine was killed? Guessing anything. Some even suspect that the heroine’s death was a dream of her own.

In fact, the real reason is …… I forgot to write the stool.”

“Forgot?”

“Yes, during that time the publisher rushed more urgently, I’ve been rushing the manuscript, there were some minor flaws in the logic, in fact, the problem is not big, it’s that simple, as for the various speculations of the fans, it’s just over-interpretation.

Many fans have a richer imagination than I do, and many times halfway through the book, they’ve already guessed the real murderer, and this time it’s a bit embarrassing.”

“And one last question, you’ve written a lot of speculative fiction, if you were to reason and devise, who do you think is the real killer of the stand-in Abu Ghra?”

Romit laughed, “I know you suspect me. And yes, if I were to write the episode, I would probably write myself as the final boss as well.

If Lucas really died, then most of the Vanishing Lovers movie crew would benefit.

But by faking his death, Lucas not only corrupted his own reputation, but also indirectly caused damage to the movie.

The only one who might profit is me, the original author of the novel.

You guessed it, I’ve had a lot of calls for additional copies of the novel in the last few days.

This incident has brought more heat and popularity to my work of fiction.

Considering the benefits, I do qualify to be set up as the murderer.”

At this time, the black assistant brought up coffee.

Romit picked up the coffee, raised his cup in a gesture, took a sip and continued, “But there is ultimately a difference between theory and practice, for example, I don’t lack money, although several books have been overprinted, it has no impact on my life.

I’m already at this age, I won’t live long, and I have enough money to live the rest of my life in style.

By the way, I used the money from writing the books to buy some Google stock, the original stock.”

Luke, suddenly not wanting to talk, picked up his coffee and took a sip, “It does taste good, thanks for the hospitality.”

Romit said, “Wright, see these two detectives off for me.”

Luke stood up, “I forgot to bring the Vanishing Lovers book, can you sign it for me next time we meet?”

“Sure.”

Getting into the car, Black looked at Wright standing in front of the courtyard and started the car forehead while saying, “I don’t like Romit Bull, the old man is definitely suspicious.

There’s no one I know who would mind his own money.

First, the hero’s double was buried alive, and now the heroine was also disguised as hanging, exactly like the scene in his novel, who would believe that he has nothing to do with it.

Even if he didn’t do it, it could have been done by someone close to him, such as a certain fanatic fan.”

Speaking of this, Xiao Hei seemed to remember something, “Right, do you remember the novel hero prototype he mentioned? Could that drug-dealing guy be out of jail, could it be that he didn’t want his affair with his lover to be adapted into a movie so he killed both the male and female protagonists.”

Luke affirmed, “Your analysis is good, there is indeed this possibility, but what we need now is evidence.”

The following morning.

The survey team had new identification results.

Mary from the survey team also attended the morning meeting of Squadron 1 of the Closed Murder Division.

Mary held an identification report in her hand and said, “Everyone, after a day and night of continuous work, several samples have yielded results.

Firstly, in terms of footprints, Luke found a partial, very shallow shoe print in the closet of the deceased’s home, which was very inconspicuous and about one-sixth of a full shoe print, and could not form the basis of a valid identification.

Secondly, forensics found the man’s genetic material inside the dead man’s body, and we’ve completed a DNA sample match to find the owner of the genetic material.”

Blacky interjected, “I know, it’s Peter, the dentist, and when we gave his statement, he volunteered to talk about the night he and the deceased clapped for love.

They were boyfriend and girlfriend, that’s normal.”

Mary glanced at Black and said lightly, “Actually the DNA genetic material did not come from Peter Dexter.”

Blackie frowned, “Are you sure?”

“Of course, the identification instruments can’t be wrong.”

“Whoa.” Kuro’s eyes widened and blinked, “So Peter was green. Who did that DNA come from?”

Mary said, “Rosie Beal.”

“What a familiar name, the Vanishing Lovers movie producer.” Black froze, “Suddenly it doesn’t feel so surprising.

But why did Peter Dexter lie? To show off to me that he played poker with the stars?”

“Possibly, I know why.” Mary replaced the page of information and continued, “The coroner found dander tissue under the dead man’s fingernails, and after comparing DNA samples it was an exact match to Peter Dexter.

He did go to the deceased’s house and did exercise with the deceased, however, the exercise may be different from what you think, not very friendly.”

Blackie realized, “The murderer is the deceased’s boyfriend, Peter Dexter!

He found out that the deceased and the producer, Rosie, were clapping for love and strangled his girlfriend in anger?”

Luke agreed, “From the identification results, it does seem possible and the motive holds up.

I think it’s time to have another in-depth talk with Peter.”

Half an hour later, Luke and Blackie arrived at the place where Peter worked.

Malik Dental Clinic.

Peter looked a little surprised at the arrival of the two, “SORRY, I have to clean the teeth of a client who has an appointment, can you wait for me for a while?”

Black asked in return, “About how long?”

“Soon, ten minutes or so.”

Blacky nodded, “I’ve never had my teeth cleaned before, can I watch from the sidelines?”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, we have rules at the clinic and the clients won’t agree.” Peter finished, closing the door to the room, the Do Not Disturb sign lit up next to him.

“You wait here, I’m going to go outside and have a cigarette.” Luke stepped outside and leaned against the Ford, looking like he was bored and smoking, but actually staring at the ward where Peter was working.

They didn’t have a warrant for his arrest, so they had to wait.

Luckily, there was a scare and Peter didn’t try to escape.

Ten minutes later, Peter took off his overalls and showed a flash of anticipation, “Detective Marcus, what do you want to see me about? Did you catch Courtney’s killer?”

Black corrected, “No, I’m still the detective, this is Inspector Luke.”

Peter extended his right hand, “Hello Inspector Luke, I think we met at Courtney’s house last time.”

“Yes.” Luke gave him a courtesy handshake, “Can I ask you a few questions?”

“Sure, I said I’d be willing to assist the police.”

“What time did you go to Courtney’s house last night and what time did you leave?”

“I spoke to Detective Marcus.”

“I know, wanted to double check.”

“Arrived at nine and left at twelve.”

“Was anyone else present during this time?”

“Just the two of us.”

“Did Courtney see anyone else?”

“She should have been out there during the day, why?”

Naturally Luke couldn’t just tell him that you were green, he could only side-step it, “You played poker with Courtney last night?”

“Yes, I said this, I never intentionally hide it, and we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, it’s normal, I have absolutely no coercion whatsoever.”

Luke said, “But we didn’t find your genetic material in Courtney.”

“I wear a shipping condom, isn’t that normal, don’t you guys use them?” Peter asked rhetorically.

Luke and Black looked at each other, that didn’t sound like a problem.

It also made sense.

But why didn’t Producer Rossi use it?

Luke continued, “How do you account for the fact that the coroner found your dander tissue under Courtney’s fingernails?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You guys don’t suspect that I killed Courtney, do you? How could you think that, I love Courtney and would never hurt her.” Peter Dexter felt aggrieved.

Luke continued, “You’ve been to the crime scene and have seen Courtney’s body, she was subjected to neck asphyxiation and died, it could have been by hanging, or she could have been strangled.

Once a person is choked, they will instinctively scratch the other person’s arms, and the fingernail crevices will leave the killer’s DNA.”

“You guys sure are doubting me.

Instead of going after Courtney’s killer, you guys are putting all your energy into suspecting the informant, and I’m her boyfriend, not her enemy.” Peter Dexter sighed, rolled up his arm sleeve and

“See for yourselves if there are any wounds, I have a clear conscience.”

Black examined the other man’s arm and indeed found no sign of scratching, “Then why was your dander under Courtney’s fingernails? You had an argument and she scratched you.”

“I could not explain, but I am willing to. Not because I want to help you guys, but because I love Courtney. I want you guys to be at ease with the case and put your energy into what you should be investigating.” Peter said as he began to undress.

“Hey, hey, man, what are you doing? I’m not good at this.”

“Shut up.” Luke vaguely guessed what was going on.

Peter took off his shirt and showed them his backside, “Courtney gets into a bit of a frenzy, she’s grabbing my back, there’s no way I can choke her in this position, and I can’t even use my strength.

You all know that.”

“Of course.”

“I understand it better than you do.” Luke and Blackie spoke almost simultaneously.

Blacky added in fear of the other’s disbelief, “My back is much worse than yours, and it almost never gets better. It’s practically scarred and battle-scarred.”

Peter Dexter spread his hands, “Do you guys still doubt me now?”

“We believe you because I have had similar experiences.” Luke gave his affirmation, then turned his words around.

“But not everyone has experience in this area, still, I hope you can make a trip to the Technical Division to do a wound comparison appraisal. Let those who are inexperienced or inexperienced also believe you.”

“Will that help in the investigation of the case?”

“Of course.”

“No problem, I’ll go.”