Chapter 131

Luke didn’t interrogate Boris right away.

If he wasn’t the murderer, there was no point in interrogating him.

If he was the murderer, he wouldn’t easily give an account until he had enough evidence.

The key now was to find evidence that he had been to the crime scene during the time period of the crime.

Luke found Matthew and asked him to investigate the car in Boris’ name.

The quick, unobtrusive way to get from Las Vegas to Los Angeles is to drive yourself.

According to Ekaline’s confession, he texted Boris at 4 p.m. on April 30th.

If Boris had returned to L.A. immediately at that time, the earliest he could have gotten there would have been 7 p.m.

And Courtney’s time of death was between 10pm and 2am.

So the time Boris drove to Courtney’s house was probably between 7:00 PM and 2:00 AM.

Also consider that Peter, the dentist, was at Courtney’s house between 9:00 and 12:00 PM.

It is likely, then, that Boris arrived after he left.

The focus of the investigation should be between 12pm and 1:30am.

It would be more efficient to search from the focused time period first.

Boris had two cars in his name, a white Ferrari and a black Mercedes S-Class sedan, and these two types of cars were the focus of the lineup.

The crowd then began to line up the camera surveillance around John’s neighborhood.

Luke used to dislike checking surveillance, not that he was pretentious, but this job is not as good as he imagined.

Sometimes it took all day to look at it, and his eyes and brain were dizzy and his butt hurt.

However, today was a little different.

After using the observation card last night, Luke felt that his observation power had become much stronger, and today was just the day to try it out.

In the afternoon, the entire 1st Squadron of the Robbery and Murder Division was checking the surveillance.

As for Boris’s side, it was handled by the vice squad, the old man was very experienced in this area.

Boris was brought into another lounge.

At first, he was worried that the police would start interrogating him immediately, and he was relieved only when his lawyer came.

However, the police never questioned him next.

Waiting, waiting, both he and the lawyer got a little impatient.

The lawyer ‘smelled’ something different and began to take the initiative to urge the police to ask questions.

That’s when it was time for the vice squad to step in.

Saying a few words of scene, such as there was a temporary police situation, the police would quickly arrange for manpower to ask questions, so that they didn’t have to be in a hurry.

Now that they were in, it wouldn’t be so easy to get out again.

The lawyer urged for a protest, and the old man politely made a few perfunctory remarks.

In short, one word delay.

The police used the Ferrari and Mercedes in Boris’s name as the focus of their investigation.

Most of the surveillance around the neighborhood was checked, and the two cars were not seen during the key hours.

The rest of the team began to expand the hours of the sweep, the 7pm to 2am time frame.

Luke got a little tired of watching the surveillance, stretched and poured a cup of coffee.

Standing in front of the window he looked out at the street and organized his thoughts.

He realized there might be a problem with the direction of the investigation.

It had taken over an hour to line up the two cars in Boris’s name during the focused time period.

If it was expanded to seven p.m. to two a.m., the lineup would take even longer.

If the exhaustion is completed, still did not find Boris name from the car what should be done?

Release him?

The police can’t keep Boris in custody.

Nor could they keep ignoring him.

Luke began to think differently, what would he do if he were Boris?

If he just wanted to ask for clarification to talk to Courtney, he’d drive the Ferrari back to LA.

If he already had murder on his mind, he wouldn’t have driven his own car back.

Yes, that’s the problem.

Since everyone was investigating the two cars in that Boris’s name, he’d change his mind about the investigation.

Re-investigate the surveillance around the neighborhood during the key time period.

The difference was that he was no longer investigating the cars in Boris’s name this time, but the vehicles with Nevada license plates.

Each state in the United States has a different license plate number.

California’s license plate number format: the first and fifth, sixth, and seventh digits are numbers, and the second, third, and fourth digits are letters, such as 8Ceb383.

Nevada license plates have a mountain range pattern in the background, and to distinguish it from other states, the mountain range pattern has a small geometric patchwork style.

The separators between the numbers and letters are in the Nevada outline style, e.g., 273-A49

Through the exercise of observing the cards, Luke’s observation skills improved a lot, and he could look at the surveillance faster than an ordinary person.

After about twenty minutes, Luke spotted three Nevada cars with license plate 653-A28 during the highlighted time period.

One of them, a Porsche 718, became Luke’s key suspect.

The driver of this car was wearing a hat and couldn’t be seen, but Luke recognized the hat as the same one Boris was wearing today.

“Guys, I found Boris!”

Inside the lounge.

Boris was sitting at a table with his head down, unreadable.

The lieutenant stood with his hands clasped to his chest looking out by the glass.

A middle-aged white man in a suit, tapped on the table and protested, “Hey, Lieutenant Vince.

I’ve been waiting for nearly two hours, two cups of coffee and three cups of tea, and my client has been waiting even longer.

If I was skeptical of the police’s efficiency before, I’m starting to doubt their sincerity now.

Even, suspecting that the police simply don’t have enough evidence to arrest people.”

The vice squad remained in the same tone, “Don’t be in a hurry, they are indeed verifying the situation, and if they can prove Mr. Boris’ innocence without questioning him.

That would be good news too, wouldn’t it?”

The lawyer shook his head, “That’s the third time you’ve said that, and I’m having a hard time believing it again. Either question him now or release my client immediately, our time is precious.”

“Knock knock.” The door slammed and the lounge door was opened as Luke and Black walked in.

The lieutenant smiled and patted Luke on the shoulder, “I’ve seen enough of these two, keep them entertained for me.”

“I will.”

The man in the suit said, “I’m Boris’s attorney, Porter Kalman, what do you two detectives call yourself?”

Black introduced himself, “I’m Detective Marcus and this is Detective Luke.

Boris whispered something in the attorney’s ear.

Attorney Porter said, “Nearly three hours have now passed since you two grabbed my client and put him aside unattended. I am very upset about this and will be going to your superiors to complain.”

Susan?

Reed?

Luke didn’t care.

“SORRY for keeping you waiting, we’ve just been verifying the situation and had a good talk with Ms. Ekaline, who admitted to knowing Mr. Boris …… This could be a beautiful misunderstanding.”

“This is not beautiful to my client at all, you guys just arrest people without investigating clearly, I will sue you on behalf of my client.”

Kuro defended, “It can’t all be our fault. When we first met Ikarine, she said herself that she lived alone, then shortly after Ikarine left, this guy went out sneaking around.

We thought he was a thief, and it’s only natural to take him to the police station.”

The lawyer laughed, “The big-name Robbery and Murder Division is already arresting petty thieves, when did you guys become so sweet.”

“Thanks for the compliment, Marcus and I have always been hotheads.” Luke replied with a smile.

“Boris, we should get going.” The lawyer stood up and turned to Luke, “Your excuses suck, and I will still sue you if my client needs it.”

Blackie bristled, “That’s right, you guys are a bunch of vampires.”

“Hey, don’t say that, one day when you use me, you’ll realize that I’m the sweetest guy around, and I’m the only one you can count on.” Counselor Potter dropped his words and was about to lead Boris away.

Blacky stepped in front of Boris.

Lawyer Porter was a little upset, “What are you doing? Attacking my client in front of me, I swear I will sue you out of business.”

Luke said, “Counselor Potter, you may leave, but Boris may not.”

“Why? Since he knows the homeowner and is not a burglar, why do you continue to detain him? Give me a valid reason.”

“We are investigating a murder case, you should have heard of it, the case of the actress ‘Courtney’ who was murdered in her own home. I don’t know if Mr. Boris has told you the identity between him and the deceased.”

Porter looked at Boris, “I don’t care what their relationship was, that’s no reason for you to detain him.”

Luke flashed an arrest warrant, “Boris is Courtney’s ex-boyfriend, through our investigation he is heavily suspected of the crime, here is his arrest warrant.”

Attorney Porter read the arrest papers and threw them on the table, “You police are good at these little tricks, the burglary detention was just an excuse, that’s what you’re really after, despicable.”

Luke said, “Counselor Porter, words are based on evidence, and if I hear another slander like that, I may consider suing you as well. I am not bluffing.”

Boris whispered to Attorney Porter, “What now?”

Attorney Porter replied, “They applied for a formal warrant for your arrest and you have no choice but to submit to questioning.”

Luke laughed, “Do you guys want to talk here, or do you want to go somewhere else, interrogation rooms two, three, and four are all empty right now, so you can take your pick.”

Attorney Porter sat down on his butt, “Don’t waste your time, this is fine.”

Luke turned on the law enforcement recorder, “Boris, I remember we had a conversation on May 3rd, do you remember the content?”

“No, I can’t remember.”

“That’s okay, I’ll try to help you recall.” Luke flipped open his notebook, “I inquired then, when was the last time you saw Courtney?

“You said it was half a month ago when you came to LA to visit.”

“I also asked you when you learned of Courtney’s murder, you said you hadn’t been able to reach her and were worried something had happened to her, you bought a plane ticket back on the morning of May 3rd and learned of her murder from a neighbor in the York community, correct?”

Boris glanced at the attorney, “It seems so.”

“If you can’t answer that accurately, we can take a look at the video of the original law enforcement transcript.”

Boris sighed, “Yes, I did.”

Luke pressed, “Do you need to change your story now?”

Boris looked again at the attorney next to him.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Attorney Porter offered, “You’ve changed the reason for the interrogation, I need to talk to my client, please step outside.”

The questioning was interrupted and Luke and the two men left for the time being.

Attorney Porter sighed softly, “Boris, if you want me to help you better, you better tell me what’s going on?”

Half an hour later, the two Luke’s re-entered the lounge.

“How did the talk go? Want to plead guilty?”

Attorney Porter said, “My client is not guilty, you are the ones who are mistaken. If you want to prove that my client is guilty, then produce the evidence.”

“OK, I thought it would save us some trouble, but it looks like we’ll just have to get on with it.” Luke had already thought of a question to ask, “Boris, when was the last time you saw Courtney?”

Boris hesitated, you could tell by the look on his face that he was torn, and it took a while before he said, “April 15th, I came to Los Angeles to visit.”

“Where were you between the evening of April 30th and two o’clock in the morning on May 1st?”

“I was at home?”

“Which home?”

“Las Vegas, Conte Avenue, number 13.”

“Did you come to Los Angeles between the evening of April 30th and 2:00 a.m. on May 1st?”

“No.”

“Sure?”

“Yes.”

“On the afternoon of April 30th, Courtney was on a hotel date with producer Rossi, and the two of them stayed in the hotel room for almost two hours, did you know that?”

Boris bowed his head, “I don’t know.”

“Do you know Ekaline?”

“Recognize, she’s my ex-girlfriend.”

“We found out through the hotel surveillance that Ekaline was also at the hotel and had tailed Courtney, she would have seen Courtney dating another man. And told you about it.”

Boris asked rhetorically, “That doesn’t mean anything. Women are individuals, and I don’t see a problem with Courtney and meeting with a coworker during the day.”

“So, you lied, you knew about it.”

Boris gave the lawyer a look and sighed, “That’s right. Ekaline told me, so what?”

“What were you going to do about it then?”

“A man’s first choice is to learn to be generous; that’s the greatest tolerance and the best love for a woman. I trusted Courtney not to do me wrong, and that was enough.”

“I thought you’d return to Los Angeles immediately to argue with her.”

“You don’t have to put words in my mouth, I didn’t return to L.A. I returned to L.A. on the morning of May 3rd on a plane. Courtney’s death had nothing to do with me, I loved her and would never have killed her, you are the ones who are mistaken.”

Luke smiled, “Nice remedy, I was about to think you had no motive to kill.”

Attorney Potter corrected, “It is true that my client had no motive to kill, it’s normal for her girlfriend to talk to other men about business, this so called motive doesn’t hold water at all.”

Blacky laughed, “Lawyer, does your wife often talk business with other men in hotels too?”

Lawyer Porter pointed at Blackie, “Hey, don’t get personal.”

“You think that’s a personal attack too?” Luke countered, “Then that means you also think it’s not normal for Courtney to meet with a producer in a hotel.”

Attorney Potter retorted, “It doesn’t matter what I think, what matters is what my client thinks?”

“Pfft ……” Black laughed, “Boris, your lawyer thinks you’re the Arrow?”

The lawyer asked back, “What do you mean?”

Blackie said, “Boris is the real version of the Green Arrow, being green by his beloved girlfriend and his own best friend, and still acting like he loves his girlfriend and cares for his friend ……

It’s disgusting. Super lame.”

Boris raged, “FUCK, you’re the Green Arrow, you black guys suck the most, I bet you’ve never even met your dad.”

Black’s eyes were dead set on Boris, his anger level soaring.

Luke came out to intervene, “Counselor, tell your client to refrain from personal attacks. Let’s also not stray from the topic of discussion.

I’ll ask and Boris will answer, OK?”

Luke reconfirmed, “Are you sure you didn’t go back to Los Angeles between the evening of April 30th and the early morning hours of May 1st?”

“Yes.”

Luke pulled out a photograph, “What is this?”

Boris and the lawyer took the photo and examined it.

Boris instantly blanched.

Attorney Porter took a look at it, “What are you getting at?”

“This was taken at 1:08 a.m. on May 1 at an intersection near the community of York, and the man in the video is Boris.”

Attorney Porter pointed to the photo, “The driver in the photo is wearing a hat and can’t get a picture of his face at all, what makes you prove that it’s Boris?”

Luke replied, “This car belongs to the Las Vegas Regal Casino, and Boris is the executive of this casino, we have asked the relevant departments, and he was the one who borrowed this car in the evening of April 30th, and only returned it at nine o’clock in the morning of May 1st, which fits the time of the crime.”

Porter glanced at Boris and took a deep breath, “That doesn’t prove that it must have been him who drove the car.”

“Boris, take the hat out of your pocket and show it to the lawyer.”

Boris acted as if he hadn’t heard.

“That hat belongs in evidence now, hand it over and don’t make us do it.” Luke winked at Blacky.

Blacky stood up with a come-hither look.

Boris, helpless, pulled his hat out of his bag and threw it on the table.

The lawyer looked at the hat, and then looked at the picture, his face was a little hard to see, “Uh …… this kind of hat is not a customized model, other people can wear it just as well.”

“I knew you’d say that.” Luke took out another photo, “This photo was taken in the outskirts of Los Angeles, when it was still far from the York neighborhood, and Boris was not wearing a hat at the time, so you can clearly see his appearance.

Counselor, can you think of any more reasons?”

Counselor Porter rubbed his chin, glanced aside at Boris, and offered again, “I’d like to speak to my client alone.”

“Give me a reason.”

Attorney Porter thought for a moment, “I will help my client make the right decision, and I’m sure you don’t want this case to drag on forever.”

“I’ll give you five minutes.”

“Too short.”

“Then forget it and continue with the interrogation.”

“OK, five minutes is five minutes.”

Luke and Blackie exited the lounge and peered in through the window, where Potter appeared to be in a heated argument with Boris.

Luke was rather hoping that the lawyer would convince Boris, it would save them a lot of time.

The lawyer questioned in a low voice, “Did you have anything to do with Courtney’s death?”

Boris pursed his lips, “No, they have no proof that I killed anyone.”

“They don’t need proof, they just need to convince the jury of it.” Porter stood up and paced, “As much as I tried to defend myself earlier, you did have a motive for the crime, and had been in the neighborhood where the deceased lived at the time of the crime.

More to the point, you’ve been lying before.

It will leave a very bad impression on the jury, they are not stupid and have their own judgment.

The judge will also be skeptical of your testimony.

Things are going badly for you now.”

Boris bit his finger and said helplessly, “What should I do?”

“In my experience, because you lied about your testimony, the odds are high that the jury will find you guilty.

It’s more prudent to take the initiative to plead guilty and reach a prosecution and defense agreement in your favor.

I know the police, both in terms of crime solving rate and in terms of funding and manpower.

They are reluctant to go to court.

I’ll help you get the most favorable terms.”

Five minutes later, Luke and the others returned to the lounge.

“Thoughts?”

Attorney Porter said, “Hey, we want to settle out of court.”

Luke nodded, “OK, name your terms.”

“Assuming, and I mean assuming, that if my client pleads guilty, you want to charge him with manslaughter.”

Luke said, “From the evidence available, he is premeditated murder.”

Attorney Porter got up, “Then there’s no point in talking about it, Boris, don’t answer any questions related to the case from now on.”

“Don’t get excited, I need to hear his statement of the case before I can relay it to the prosecutor.”

Attorney Porter said, “If Boris can convince you, the charge is going to be reduced to manslaughter.”

“I agree.” Luke said in his mind, I can’t say whether the prosecutor agrees or not.

But it’s always good when a suspect is willing to give an account of his case.

Attorney Porter turned to Boris, who was on the sidelines, and said, “Boris, you may speak.”

“Are you sure?” Boris was still a little apprehensive.

Attorney Porter explained, “If we can’t agree on a plea, everything you say cannot be used as evidence in court.” And then he turned to Luke, “Legally, my client is only making hypothetical statements.”

Luke nodded.

Boris said slowly, “SORRY, I did lie before.

The afternoon of Courtney’s death, my ex-girlfriend, Ekaline, called and said she saw Courtney enter the hotel with a man.

I didn’t believe it at first, Courtney had always been good to me, at least that’s what I thought.

I even thought Ekaline was stirring up trouble and said some nasty things.

Then Ekaline sent a few pictures ……

I called Courtney and she wouldn’t answer.

I knew Ekaline was probably telling the truth.

I was pissed off, I wasn’t that idiot Arrow to know that my girlfriend was sleeping with another man and not do anything about it.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, I finished the job at hand and immediately drove to Los Angeles to ask for clarification in person.

When I got to Courtney’s house, it was after one in the morning.

I hadn’t contacted her, I wanted to ‘surprise’ her.

I entered her house by entering the code and saw a men’s slipper sitting on the foyer, it was mine, Courtney had bought it for me.

The last time I left, I witnessed her putting the slipper in the shoe closet.

At the time, I guessed ……” Boris slammed the table hard.

“I was holding out a glimmer of expectation …… fooling myself that it might be a friend of Courtney’s who was visiting.

I brought a box of shipping condoms with me the last time I came to Courtney’s house, and I took them out of the drawer to check them, and there were originally ten, and I used up two of them last time, so there should have been eight left.

But there were only four in there now.

The fire in my heart immediately soared, I was so good to her, dumped my ex-girlfriend for her, and even thought of proposing to her.

This is how she repaid me.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I wanted to run to the bedroom to talk to her.

She has already fallen asleep, the bed is very messy ……

I knew that she must have been clapping for love with that man in this bed.

The fire in my heart surged up and I couldn’t control it anymore, I saw a fruit knife on the table and I …… plunged it into her chest.”

Speaking of this, Boris scratched his forehead hard: “I didn’t want to kill her, I was just furious!

When I reacted to have made a big mistake.

I panicked and tried calling her name, but she didn’t respond.

I was so scared that I sat on my butt on the ground …… knowing that I was finished, completely confused.

I don’t know how long I sat there before I got up from the floor and touched Courtney’s nose, it was no longer breathing.

Then ……”

Luke asked, “Where’s the knife you killed with?”

“I wiped off my fingerprints and threw it in the trash can by the door, then I drove away.”

Luke had been taking notes, and what Boris had described was partially similar to the scene, but there were things that were different.

For example, Courtney hadn’t been stabbed, but strangled.

Afterward, she was also hung up to disguise herself as a suicide by hanging. Although this suicide by hanging is a bit fake, it does fit the original novel of the disappearing lovers.

Luke confirms “You stabbed Courtney in bed?”

“Yes.”

“Did you move the body afterward?”

“No. I was in a state of shock and just wanted to get rid of the murder weapon and get away.”

“Are you sure you used a knife to kill Courtney?”

“Yes.”

Luke pulled out three photos of the knife, “Which one?”

Boris looked closely, “The one in the center.”

“Did you turn on the lights when you killed Courtney?”

“No. Then how could you tell it was that knife?”

“That’s Courtney’s family’s fruit knife, I’ve used it. So even if I couldn’t see it, I knew which one it was.”

“Have you ever hurt Courtney in any other way besides stabbing her with a knife?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Recall carefully.”

Boris recalled, “No.”

“Were there any bruises on her neck at the time?”

“It was a little dimly lit and I didn’t see it.”

“Did her body temperature change when you tried her nose?”

“What do you mean?” Boris also heard the question.

“Just give me a straight answer.”

“I didn’t feel anything, I couldn’t feel her breathing at the time, I was already under the daze and couldn’t care less.”

Luke frowned slightly, although Boris took the initiative to explain that he stabbed Courtney to death with a knife, the real cause of Courtney’s death was not stabbed, but strangled.

In other words, he was probably not the murderer.

“Do you recall if the bedroom closet door was open or closed at the time?”

“Closet?” Boris was a little confused, “What happened to the closet? I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Then think carefully.”

After a moment, Boris said, “It should be closed, I’d be impressed if the closet door was open.”

Luke was a little disappointed; if Boris wasn’t lying, he probably wasn’t the real killer.

Instead, it confirmed Luke’s earlier suspicion that there was probably a second person at the murder scene.

This person had been hiding in the closet, and he was probably the real killer of Courtney ……