Chapter 141

Ward 404.

Herman Vedder poured a cup of coffee.

While drinking his coffee, he watched the news, this shooting was definitely a big deal, he had to think about it.

“Hey sweetie, let me in …… sweetie baby, let me in ……” the cell phone rang with a voice video.

Herman Vedder liked the ringtone and pressed the answer button, “Hey Benson.”

“Herman, well glad you could answer the video yourself, I was shocked to hear you were injured yesterday.”

Herman laughed, “SORRY, made you empty, no way to inherit my CD.”

“Haha …… I’m relieved to hear you guys joke around.

I was going to come see you, but they’re going too …… ” Benson twisted the camera to catch the crowd behind him.

“I was worried about interfering with your recuperation, so I hit the video.”

The crowd behind Benson greeted him warmly.

An Asian man was concerned, “Herman, I heard you were injured, is it serious?”

A black man laughed, “We were discussing how you got hurt, can you tell us about it?”

Another white man snickered, “Man, get your ass over here so we can see if it’s hurt bad?”

Herman Vedder shook his head, “You guys must be betting on me again. I hurt my shoulder, no guessing, no fooling around.”

“Haha ……” the crowd burst into laughter.

Herman laughed bitterly, “Benson, you were right not to bring them.”

Benson shouted to the back of the room, “Guys, be quiet, Herman needs to recuperate now.” Benson finished with a concerned look, “How’s the injury? Is it serious?”

“I got a gunshot wound to the shoulder, but I’m lucky the bullet didn’t stay in my body.”

Benson pursued, “How were you injured, can you tell us about it?”

Herman thought for a moment, “It was a complicated situation, I saw the gunman chasing after a classmate and shooting him, I went over to help him first to attract the gunman’s attention.

The other guy turned around and shot me, I even felt like I could see that bullet coming, I thought I was going to die, I almost didn’t get to see you nasty bastards.”

Benson laughed, “You’re the nasty ones, God wouldn’t want you.”

Herman gave a sad look, “But Lev Kaufft wasn’t so lucky.”

Benson sighed, “That’s right, I heard that too, he was shot.

It’s a shame, he was a good football player, were you there?”

Herman sighed, “Yes, I saw the killer chasing him and I tried to get his attention, but …… I still couldn’t save him.”

Benson pressed, “You were injured trying to save Lev Kauft?”

“There’s no point in talking about that now.” Herman made a perfunctory remark and changed the subject, “Lev shouldn’t have died like that, I can’t forget what happened ……”

Benson said, “You’re right, Lev was the best running back I’ve ever seen and he will be missed by all of us.

He will always be a part of the school.

We would like to have a tribute for him, and actually it’s not just him, but Josie Alyssa, Chad Claeys, and Barbara Damb are all a part of this school and should be remembered.”

Herman said, “You guys did the right thing, is there anything I can do?”

“Of course, you lived through this disaster, no one has a better say than you.” Benson finished, pointing to the black girl next to him.

“Tina has proposed a ‘strike campaign’, you were also a victim in the case, we’d like to hear your thoughts.”

Tina, the black girl, said, “That’s right Herman, you should come forward, you have that right.”

Herman nodded, “I absolutely agree, it’s because of the inaction of the officials, the FBI and the LAPD that such a serious shooting happened.

Their reckless use of taxpayer money and their inability to keep the taxpayers’ children safe should be condemned.

I will stand up and I am willing to represent the other victims and seek justice on behalf of those who died.”

“Knock knock ……”

At that moment there was a knock on the door outside.

“Hey man, it’s probably the doctor coming to change his medication, talk to you later.” Herman hung up his cell phone.

“Come in.”

“Cluck ……” The door pushed open.

Luke, Blackie, and Hollip walked into the hospital room.

“Inspector Luke.

Hollip! What are you doing here too, I was just about to visit you.”

Hollip said, “Inspector Luke said that the two of us couldn’t match our confessions and wanted me to talk to you.”

“Uh ……,” Herman Vedder slapped his forehead, “Is that necessary?”

“The surveillance at the scene is broken, and it’s necessary for us to restore the case through eyewitness statements.” Luke changed his words, “Herman, please describe the crime again.”

“Is Hollip going to be present as well?”

“Is that a problem?”

“I’m asking if this is in order?”

“We’ve already taken a statement once, we’ve already taken the evidence, and now we’re re-verifying it to avoid perjury.”

Hearing the word perjury, Herman’s expression got serious; perjury was not a light sentence in Los Angeles.

“Ah, I was terrified, I may not have expressed myself very clearly.”

“So, I’ll let you describe it again.”

“Uh ……” Herman looked at the side of Hollip hesitated, this goods height must have 195CM, strong like a bull, think of him in the race field rampage scene, Herman is a little cold at the bottom of the heart.

Hollip got a little impatient, “Hey Herman, I heard you saved me?”

“NoNo, I didn’t say that.” Herman hurriedly denied it.

Hollip showed an angry look, “You were saving Lev from getting hurt?”

“Uh …… it was complicated at the time, it’s hard to say what happened at the scene ……,” Herman stammered, not daring to meet Hollip’s eyes.

Hollip pointed his finger at Herman and chided, “You’re a liar full of lies! It was Lev who saved you, we distracted the gunmen, and this is how you repay Lev.”

Herman Vedder took a few steps back, “It was so confusing, and I didn’t get the situation right, and I wasn’t sure you guys were here to save me.”

“Then why did you lie?”

“I didn’t mean to lie, I probably had trouble expressing myself. I was scared at the time, and it may be that we are in different positions …… Anyway, I apologize to you guys.

Now that I’ve heard you say that, I’ve recalled some of it carefully, and it does seem like you guys helped me distract the shooter.

My heart is filled with gratitude, thank you.” Herman looked a little sheepishly at Hollip, fearing that the other man might make an impulse to crash down on him, and

“Inspector, could you ask him to leave? I’d like to speak to you alone.”

Luke turned aside to Hollip, “Hollip, things have been cleared up, thank you.”

“I’m happy to do so.” Hollyp finished and pointed aside at Herman Vader, “If you ever accuse Lev falsely again you’re dead.”

Luke waved his hand, “Hey, don’t say things like that in front of me, it’ll put me in a difficult position, OK?”

“SORRY, Detective, I’ll tell him again in private.” Hollip dropped the sentence and turned to exit the hospital room.

Herman Vader sat bolt upright on the bed and let out a long breath.

Black smiled and turned to Herman and asked, “Hey, what’s gotten into you?”

“My grandfather said not to argue with the simple-minded.

This guy is 195CM tall, if he starts to get mad, he can knock me down from the fourth floor window.” Herman looked backward.

Luke asked, “Do you understand perjury?”

“SORRY, Inspector, I didn’t mean to lie, I didn’t think about perjury.

Lev is dead, and if people knew he died trying to save me ……

I didn’t want to be thought of as a coward.

Didn’t mean to hurt anyone, didn’t mean to influence the police investigation, and I apologize.”

“You’ve already influenced it.” Luke squared his shoulders, “I need you to re-describe the crime scene.”

The police hadn’t been able to figure out the cause of the shooting, and restoring the truth of the case through the statements and transcripts of the people involved was one way to do so.

If the people involved in the case lied, it would probably affect the police’s judgment.

Take, for example, Herman’s previous statement, in which he said that the murderer had been chasing Lev Kaufft, and that he had been wounded in order to lure the shooter.

Analyzing from this description, the shooter’s target was Lev Kauft, and Herman was not the killer’s target.

But that’s not how things were described from Hollip’s mouth.

In Hollip’s words, the murderer was originally after Herman, and he and Lev lured the murderer away in order to save Herman, which means that the murderer’s real target is Herman, and there is likely to be some kind of connection between Herman and the murderer.

Luke admonishes, “If you dare to lie again, I’ll charge you with perjury? Understood?”

“Understood.” Herman thought for a moment and said, “At first, after I heard the gunshots, I was so frightened that I didn’t dare to move and prepared to hide in the classroom and wait for help.

Then after some time, feeling that the gunshots had passed, I prepared to run outside.

However, just as I ran into the lobby of the music building, I saw a man wearing a clown mask come in at the door, and he raised his hand and shot at me.

I was scared silly and ran as fast as I could.

Screaming for help, hoping someone would come and help me.

Then, as if I wanted to hear Hollip’s voice, the scene turned chaotic.

“Bang, bang, bang!” Gunshots rang out.

I do not mean to lie, I was hit by the gunman in the shoulder, special panic, I was afraid that the gunman continued to chase me, just think of hurrying to run.

I …… didn’t know that Lev was coming to save me, I swear.”

Luke pressed, “You didn’t hear Lev?”

“Not at first, but …… I heard him wailing in pain later …… He was shot, and I wasn’t sure then that he was trying to save me.

I only figured it out when I heard Hollip say it, and I feel guilty, SORRY.”

“You shouldn’t be saying SORRY to me, but Lev and Hollip.”

“You’re right, I did the wrong thing ……,” Herman assured, not knowing whether he was genuinely reformed or compelled by the situation.

“In the future, I won’t say in public that I protected Lev, I’ll tell everyone that it was Lev who protected me and that he’s a hero.”

Luke stared at him for a moment, suddenly thinking of Anthony’s micro-expression analysis, something that, while not one hundred percent reliable, was still of wider use, at least the average person lying might be seen to be lying.

“Was the shooter someone you knew well?”

Herman shook his head, “He was too tightly wrapped to tell, and I was scared silly. But I have a feeling he would have been a man.”

“Have you offended anyone lately?”

“No, I’ve always been good to people.”

Luke pulled out pictures of the remaining victims, “Do you recognize them?”

Herman took the photo and looked it over, pointing to Josie Alisa, who was murdered in the women’s restroom, “I know her.”

“What was your relationship.”

“Friends.

She was a cheerleader, super hot, there wasn’t anyone on campus who didn’t know her.”

This is a black girl, dark skin, big breasts, waist, thin legs, the body is indeed not to say, looks are a matter of opinion.

Herman gave a surprised look, “Was she killed too?”

“Yes, killed in the school building.”

“Even buy Karma’s, Lev and Josie are all acquaintances of mine, I can’t believe that overnight they’re all …… really hard to take in.”

“Herman, you may have also been the target of the gunman’s attempts to kill, do you think there is anything in common between yourself and these victims?”

Herman looked at the photos again, “No, I can’t think of anything, I only know Lev and Josie.”

“Then what do you have in common with both of them?”

“Football, that’s right, Lev was on the football team, Josie was a cheerleader, and I like to watch football, that would be our connection.” Speaking of which, as if Herman remembered something.

“By the way, speaking of football, I thought of something that might have something to do with Josie’s death.”

Luke flipped open his notebook, ready to take notes, “Go ahead.”

“A while back, about a month ago, also at a football game, the halftime cheerleaders were dancing and performing.

When it was over, some idiot rushed up and just hugged Josie.

It was a messy scene and Josie was terrified.

I heard that idiot pestered Josie a lot, and it wasn’t the first time.”

“Do you recognize him?”

“No, doesn’t look like he’s from our school, feels like a pretty dangerous guy, I don’t really like him.”

“Know his name?”

“No.”

“Physical features? Or anything else you can remember?”

Herman recalled carefully, “Black, didn’t look very old, must have been under twenty, I can’t remember much else.”

Luke pressed, “Do you see any similarities between the black man who attacked Josie and the gunman who attacked you?”

Herman looked down, silent for a moment, “When you put it that way, it seems like there are some similarities, and I remembered something else.”

“What is it?”

“That the shooter who attacked me was most likely black as well?”

“I thought the shooter was tightly wrapped? How do you know that?”

Herman made a face like he was thinking hard, “I just vaguely remember, you can believe it or not.

Because it was so confusing, just for a moment, I really can’t be sure.”

“Go ahead, we’ll judge for ourselves.”

“When the gunman entered the music building, I think I watched him move his clown mask, revealing a black ear.

I really want to help you guys find the shooter, but I’m not sure I’m remembering it correctly.

Because the scene was really …… scary.

My whole body was dumbfounded.”

“The clue you provided is important.” Luke recorded this one detail, which was still the first clue about the shooter’s race, “Anything else?”

“No more.”

Luke left a business card and stood up, “That’s it for today’s statement, call me if you think of any new leads.

Also, keep your phone open twenty-four hours a day, the police may give you another statement at any time.”

“Why, I’m telling the truth this time, why do I have to give a statement?”

Luke explained, “The police may investigate new clues at any time in the course of investigating the case, and will also seek confirmation from the people involved in time, routine operation.”

“I understand, I am willing to cooperate with you.”

“Don’t lie to the police again.”

“I promise I won’t.”

The two Luke’s then returned to the Detective Bureau.

As soon as they entered the office, they heard crying and wailing.

“Matthew, what’s the situation?”

“The victim’s family.”

“Any of Josie Eliza’s parents?”

Matthew sighed, “All the parents of the murdered students are there, Captain Susan, Klin and I are in charge of the reception, I feel bad ……”

“I can understand that.” Luke turned the tables, “Which house are Josie Eliza’s parents in? I’d like to ask a few questions.”

“The lounge.”

Luke walked outside the lounge and knocked symbolically on the door before opening it and stepping inside, where a middle-aged black man and woman sat in the lounge.

“Excuse me, are you Josie’s parents?”

The middle-aged black man replied in a raspy voice, “We are.”

“I’m Detective Luke, one of the detectives investigating the shooting.”

“Did you find the killer?” Josie’s mother asked.

“Not yet, we’re following up on the killer’s trail and wanted to ask you guys a few questions.”

“Okay, go ahead and ask.”

“Was there anything unusual about Josie in recent times?”

Josie’s father thought for a moment, “No, not that I’m aware of.”

“Has she suffered any threats or some other bad things.”

“Yes, someone attacked Josie some time ago.”

“Where?”

Josie’s father said, “The rugby field, and on the way down from school, the bad boy followed Josie.”

Josie’s mother looked surprised, “When did this happen, why didn’t I know?”

“Josie didn’t let me tell you because she was afraid you’d worry.”

“Even buy Karma, this is too terrible, why didn’t you guys say earlier, if you had called the police earlier, this might not have happened.” Josie’s mother choked.

“I called the police, but the kid was underage and there was nothing the police could do about him, he was just an asshole.”

Luke pressed, “Did you get his name?”

“Yes, I was there when the police questioned him, his name was Theodore Caine, I remember the bad boy, I warned him then that if he ever came near my daughter again, he would be treated badly.”

Luke made a mental note of the name and said to Blackie, who was off to the side, “Have Matthew check him out.”

After Blacky went out, Luke continued to inquire, “How did Theodore Caine attack Josie? If he did break the law, the police would have arrested him just the same, even if he was underage.”

Josie’s father recalled, “This guy was harassing Josie at the football field, forcing his way into a hug and freaking her out.

Josie called me and I rushed to the scene and tried to call the police to deal with it, but Josie had already let the kid go.”

“Why?”

“At the time, I asked the same thing.

My daughter was kind enough to know the kid was drunk and wanted to let him go. Just let him go.

I was quite relieved at the time, thinking that my daughter had grown up, but now that I think about it …… if I had called the police the first time, things might not have been like this.”

“What about the second time?”

“Then that kid followed my daughter again, and Josie freaked out and called me.

I went over there immediately, caught the bad boy and called the police.

But this time he didn’t go overboard and said he just liked Josie and wanted her to be his girlfriend.

The police let him go with a warning.”

Luke asked, “Did he have a gun?”

“Not at the time.”

“Knock knock ……”

There was a knock on the door.

Matthew pushed the door in and handed Luke the information, “I found out about the kid, see for yourself.”

Luke picked up the information and checked it out, Theodore Caine was only nineteen years old and could be considered a bad boy, having been arrested several times for burglary, brawling, and drunkenness.

It’s a no-nonsense bad boy.