Chapter 145
After exiting the interrogation room, Xiao Hei nodded his head, his tone certain, ”That’s right, it’s this kid. He’s in a hurry.
Otherwise a person like him wouldn’t be able to call a lawyer.”
Luke wasn’t so optimistic, “It’s too early to jump to conclusions.”
Blackie was puzzled, “Why, didn’t you just do a great job of reasoning? This kid has a motive, he also touched the murder weapon, and he has no alibi, he fits the murderer’s profile perfectly.”
Luke explained, “Ruling out the gun that FBI Fanny had, the only ones that actually committed the crime were Gun B and Gun C. Gun B was the pistol used by the main culprit, which left bullets in the school building, the music building, and the science building.
Gun C, which was only used in the music building, and the only person shot was Lev.
And that Colt Python revolver is exactly the C gun, which was never used in the school building at all, much less shot Barbara and Josie.
It was the B gun that wounded Barbara and Josie.”
Black reacted, “So, you were testing Theodore?”
Luke nodded, “Like you said, Theodore had a beef with Josie, and with a clear motive and no clear alibi, he’s probably one of the suspects in the shooting.
But the revolver he had access to didn’t shoot Josie.”
Black thought for a moment, “Could it be an exchange killing? I’ve seen it before on TV shows where killing unrelated people escapes police investigation.”
Luke thought about it and shook his head, “It’s unlikely, exchange killings are usually off-site, and this shooting all happened on campus, the two shootings could easily be linked.
It doesn’t fit the original purpose of exchange killings.”
Blackie pursued, “And why do you think that is?”
Luke frowned slightly, at this time Theodore wanted to prove his innocence, an alibi would be the most favorable, but on the contrary, he couldn’t say anything, which made his suspicion rise further.
Then, Luke thought of a key person.
Tris Reel.
Both the boyfriend and the brother had been arrested.
Hell if the woman didn’t know anything about it, but neither the boyfriend nor the brother had actively implicated her.
Luke and Blackie then approached Tris Riehl to talk to her, and she asked for an attorney as well.
The case was at a standstill.
New clues need to be found to break the ice.
A familiar voice rang out, [Congratulations to the host for successfully solving the ‘burglary case’, rewarded with 5 draw opportunities].
The case was relatively simple, and the rewards weren’t exactly generous.
A menu of options appeared in his brain, on the left side was the warehouse interface, on the right side was the lottery interface, and in the bottom right corner was written 5 times.
Luke didn’t draw, the number of times was too low to draw.
[Congratulations to the host for successfully solving the ‘manslaughter case’, rewarded with 10 draws.
In addition, the protagonist has gained the gratitude of Bowen’s father and son, rewarding 5 draw opportunities.]
On the right side was the lottery screen, and the bottom right corner became 20 times.
It’s powerful.
However, Luke still wasn’t prepared to draw a lottery, save it for when there was a need or to detect a shooting case.
The next morning.
Luke and Blackie both came to the hospital again.
The purpose of coming here was simple, to ask the three victims to assist in identifying the murderer.
The first person Luke approached was Barbara, who was friends with Josie and probably knew more about Theodore.
When Luke entered the hospital room, Barbara’s mother was there.
Barbara provided important clues in the Bowen case, and Luke bought a bouquet of flowers before he came to show his appreciation, “Barbara, I wish you a speedy recovery.”
Barbara was in a better mood when she saw the flowers, “Thank you, I love the bouquet, it feels like it adds life to the whole room.”
“I hope you get well soon.”
“I will.”
“Barbara, we’ve found a suspect in the shooting who you may also recognize and would like your assistance in identifying him.”
“Even for the sake of this bouquet of flowers, I’ll help you.”
“Thanks.” Luke pulled out a picture of Theodore and handed it to Barbara.
Barbara frowned slightly, “I recognize him, he’s the guy who attacked Josie on the football field. Is he the killer?”
Luke thought for a moment, “There may have been more than one suspect in the shooting and more than one gun, we found out that he had access to one of the guns, but we can’t be sure that he’s the suspect yet, and would like to ask you to recall whether or not he was at the scene at the time of the shooting.”
Barbara stared at the photo for a long time and shook her head, “SORRY, I just can’t recall.”
“Barbara, do you know Pete?”
“Pete?”
“Yes.”
“I seem to remember hearing Josie mention that she seems to be seeing someone named Pete.”
“Have you ever met that Pete?”
“Met him once.”
“Know his full name?”
“I don’t know, Josie seldom talks about him, it feels kind of mysterious.”
“Describe what Pete looks like.”
Barbara pursed her lips, “White, about your height, blonde hair, thinner, kinda good looking, and I think quite a bit older than Josie.”
That was too big a range, Luke pressed, “Any other features?”
“I remember he had a tattoo on his right arm.”
“What kind of tattoo?”
Barbara was silent for a moment, “I can’t recall.”
“Thanks, this clue is important enough.” Luke had already asked Matthew to look into Josie’s cell phone contacts, maybe he could get some clues from there.
Luke then went to the hospital room of student council member Herman Vader.
“Hey, how’s Herman’s recovery going?”
“Much better, ready to be discharged.”
“Isn’t that a bit soon.”
“It’s so stuffy in here, I’ve got a lot of things to do, and it’s hard to recuperate in peace with Hollip in the ward right next to me. It always feels like that guy is watching me, and if you’ve ever seen that guy on the field you’d understand how I feel.”
“I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
Luke pulled out a picture of Theodore for him to identify.
Herman looked at it and shook his head, “SORRY, I can’t recognize it.”
“Take a closer look.”
“That guy wrapped himself so tightly that he couldn’t see much at all, besides, I was really freaked out and couldn’t remember a lot of things.
I’m really sorry, I tried my best.”
Luke collected the photos and asked a few more questions, then went to Hollip’s hospital room.
“Knock knock ……”
“Come in.” Hollip was loud.
“Cluck ……” Luke entered and saw that Hollyp was lying in bed watching TV.
Hollyp rubbed his somewhat reddened eyes and got up and out of bed, “Inspector Luke, what brings you here?”
Luke looked at the TV, “Is this a video of your match?”
Hollip nodded, “It’s a video of the last match Lev and I played, we won by a large margin and Lev was excellent in that match. Was the best player on the team besides me.”
Hollip being the quarterback was qualified to say that.
Luke pointed to the TV, “You’re wearing number 9?”
“That’s right, 9 is my lucky number.”
Luke gazed at the TV, “Nice jersey.”
The rugby jersey was orange and striking, emblazoned with numbers and a shamrock pattern.
“I can give you one if you like.”
Luke asked back, “Do you often give people jerseys?”
“No, only important people, family, friends, fans, I just wanted to show my appreciation and thank you for everything you’ve done for Lev, so ……”
“Thanks, I love the jersey.” Luke turned the tables, “Hollip, I’m here today because I have a few questions for you.”
“Go ahead and ask.”
Luke pulled out Theodore’s photo, “We’ve found a suspected shooter and would like to ask for your help in identifying him.”
Hollip took the photo and looked at it, frowning slightly, “This person …… seems like I’ve seen him somewhere before, but for a moment I can’t think of anything.”
“There’s no rush, you recall it carefully.”
Hollip touched his chin and carefully examined the photo: “I remember, there was a football game, cheerleading performance when this guy rushed up and hugged the cheerleader.
It seems to be this kid, but I don’t know his name.”
“Have you seen him anywhere else?”
“Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“What about the shooting scene?”
“Don’t think so.”
“Were you familiar with the cheerleader?”
“Josie, we saw each other a lot, but didn’t talk much. She’s always surrounded by a bunch of guys, and I don’t really like that.”
“OK.
Call me if you think of any leads, you know my contact info.”
Hollip nodded, “Next time you’re looking for me don’t come to the hospital, I’m getting out.”
“So soon?”
Hollip showed off his right arm muscle, “I’m strong as an ox, this is a minor injury for me, I don’t want to hold it in here, it’s boring me to death.”
Luke laughed, “Herman feels the same way, you guys are really bonding.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him from now on, if he dares to insult Lev, I won’t spare him.”
“The usual rules.”
“SORRY, I forgot, I won’t say it to your face next time.”
Luke smiled and left the ward.
Black exited the hospital room with a big grin, “Woohoo, a black quarterback, what a promising kid, hmmmm.”
“Uncomplicated indeed.” Luke said thoughtfully.
The two got into the car, Luke remained sullen and didn’t say anything.
Blackie also saw the abnormality, “What’s wrong?”
“I want to check on Hollip.”
“WHY?” said Blackie with a puzzled look, “He’s a nice guy, I quite like him.”
Luke said, “He wears rugby jersey number 9 and likes to give his jersey to friends and family.”
“Speaking of jerseys I remember, didn’t he say he was going to give you one? Why only give it to you, I was there.”
“That’s not the point, I can forward it to you if you want it.”
“I’m not going to pass it on, I want him to give it to me personally, that kind of means something different, maybe he’ll become a rugby superstar someday and I’ll be able to talk about it.”
Luke sighed, “Why do you have to derail the conversation every time we talk, are we talking about jerseys now?”
“Weren’t you the one who said jerseys first?” Black asked rhetorically.
Luke “……”
Luke sighed, “I’m trying to talk about what the jersey represents. You don’t have to speak, just listen to me.
Black made a zipper gesture in front of his mouth.
Luke continued, “Do you remember going to Theodore’s house today and there was a picture on the table?”
Black thought for a moment, “I think there was, why?” Black guessed, “Did Theodore and Hollip take a picture together? I don’t think so, I should be able to spot it if it was.”
“It’s not a group photo, it’s a picture of Theodore and his girlfriend, but he was wearing a rugby jersey when the picture was taken and it’s the exact same jersey as Hollip’s.
Number 9.
Those two probably know each other and are not close.”
Black was a little surprised, “How do they know each other?”
Luke replied, “That’s not hard to guess, Theodore was harassing Josie at the rugby field, he is an off-campus person, why would he run to the rugby field.
It’s probably because he and Hollip are very close, he went to the rugby field to watch Hollip’s game, and that’s how he met Josie, and that’s how the harassment of Josie happened.”
“You seem to be making some sense, assuming that Hollip really knows Theodore, originally there is nothing he can’t say, just admit it in a big way, Hollip not saying it proves that he definitely has a ghost in his heart.” Blackie also figured out the flavor of
“When Lev was shot, Hollyp was also at the scene, if Theodore didn’t lie, he indeed didn’t use that gun, would the gun be in Hollyp’s hand, then the murderer who killed Lev is most likely Hollyp.
In other words, Hollip is also one of the shooting suspects.”
Luke laughed, “There is an old Chinese saying, near Zhu is red, near ink is black, good analysis.”
Blackie shook his head, “But it doesn’t make sense, Hollip is a star player of the football team, he has a great future in the future and will probably become a sports star.
There’s no reason for him to do something like shooting up a school, much less killing his teammate Lev?”
“There’s no chance there’s some hidden conflict between them.” Luke couldn’t figure out Hollip’s reason for killing anyone for a while, “Going to school.
No, school isn’t in session yet, go visit their football coach.”
Luke contacted Matthew to find out the football coach’s address and drove to the football coach’s house.
The football coach was not far from Luke’s mom’s house and Luke was quite familiar with the area.
Rugby coach called Babu Andersi forty-something, is a tall, strong, middle-aged white man.
There were many black football stars, but most of the football coaches were white, and the percentage of blacks was extremely low.
“Coach Bubba, I’m Detective Luke who is in charge of investigating the shooting and would like to get some information from you about the case.”
“Hello Inspector, I was just about to ask you about the progress of the case as well, both of my players were shot, they were the elite of the team, and we have suffered heavy losses.
What happened to Lev in particular is hard for me to accept, he was the best running back on the team and no one can replace him.”
Luke smoothly asked, “What about Hollip?”
“Hollip is the quarterback of the team and the real centerpiece of the team, he’s extremely physically gifted, a strong young man who knows what he wants and trains very hard.
I admire him and he’s going to be a rugby star sooner or later.”
Luke tried, “Do Hollip and Lev have a problem in the team?”
“No, they have no conflicts.
One is a running back and the other is a quarterback, and they have different body types; Lev runs fast and is physically agile.
Hollip is extremely physical, not only running fast, but also very strong, the overall quality is the best on the team.
There is only cooperation between them, there can be no conflict.”
Luke pursued, “Then is there any personal conflict between them?”
“I don’t think so, I’m not very clear about their private matters, after all, there are too many trainees I have to manage.” The coach then asked with some uneasiness, “Why do you ask, did something happen?”
Luke didn’t answer positively and took out a picture of Theodore Caine, “Do you recognize him?”
The coach picked it up and looked at it, frowning, “Looks a little familiar, this kid should watch football games a lot.”
“You’re thinking about it, does he know one of the players on the team?”
After Luke reminded him, the coach instantly remembered, “Hollip, he’s Hollip’s friend, he often watches from the side when Hollip trains, sometimes the two of them even leave together.
That’s right, he’s often with Hollip, what’s the problem?”
“Does Hollip have a gun?” The coach’s face changed when Luke’s question came out.
“Why do you ask that? What’s wrong with Hollip? What kind of trouble did he get into?”
“Coach Bubba, don’t worry, we’re just making a routine inquiry.”
“NoNoNo, you guys don’t look like routine inquiries, don’t think that just because an athlete is big and brainy, what went wrong?”
Luke said perfunctorily, “It’s really just a routine inquiry, don’t think too much about it, just answer. Does he have a gun?”
Coach Babb’s demeanor turned a little cold, “No, at least I don’t know.”
“How was Hollip’s relationship with Josie, the cheerleader?”
“Josie’s a pretty hot girl, but I haven’t heard anything about a relationship between them?”
“What about Herman, the student council member?”
“I don’t know him.”
“Thanks.” Seeing the change in the other party’s attitude, Luke guessed that he couldn’t ask for any valuable clues, and he had gotten the evidence he wanted.
Hollip really did know Theodore Caine, and the two were very close.
“Detective Luke, what’s going on with Hollip? I’d like to find out what’s going on with him.”
“You’re concerned about him?”
“Yes.”
“Would you have contacted him if I hadn’t?”
“I would.”
“I can tell you, but you have to keep it a secret, and if you divulge it, it’s an offense? Understand?” Luke said to Blackie, who was off to the side, “Go get a non-disclosure agreement from the car.”
“Does it need to be this formal?” Coach Babu was a little flustered instead.
In fact, Luke was a little worried just now that if he left on the front foot and Babu contacted Hollip on the back foot, Hollip’s shrewdness would definitely notice the problem.
Previously, Hollip has always been a naive image, now it seems likely to be a disguise, this kid is not simple, much smarter than Blackie.
Since Coach Babu had already sensed the problem, Luke simply told him directly, so that he was instead obliged to keep the conversation confidential, even if it was for the sake of his own future, he didn’t dare to talk nonsense anymore.
To put it bluntly, even if Luke didn’t state this situation now, if Coach Babu contacted Hollip, the other party would notice it just the same.
Luke just put a seal on Coach Babu’s mouth, of course, it may not work, but it’s better than nothing.
There are criminals out there no matter how strict the law is, so Luke can only do his best.
Luke then had Coach Babb sign a non-disclosure agreement, told him that the police suspected that Hollip had something to do with the shooting, and left Coach Babb’s house with that sentence alone.
At the same time, he cautioned Coach Babb that the other man had signed a non-disclosure agreement and was not allowed to initiate contact with Hollip during the police investigation, much less reveal that the police were investigating him.
On the way back to the Detective Bureau, Luke had been thinking about the role that Hollip had played in the shooting.
He was at the scene of the shooting and could have had access to the C-gun, but his motives hadn’t been clarified yet.
Thinking about it, Luke was going to try Theodore first, he had been arrested and might be able to learn something from him.
It was also good for him, as long as he turned into a tainted witness and provided valuable clues, Luke could help him get rid of the charge of selling black guns.
Half an hour later.
Theodore Caine was once again handcuffed to the interrogation chair.
Luke was carrying two cups of coffee, drinking one for himself and handing him one, “How’s the consideration going?”
Theodore took a sip of his coffee, “I’ve thought about it.”
“Then let’s talk about it too.” Luke was going to test his relationship with Hollip first.
However, without waiting for Luke, Theodore spoke first, “I want a plea deal.”
Luke froze, “What plea deal?”
Theodore took a deep breath, “A plea deal for manslaughter, as long as there is a plea bargain and I admit to being involved in the shooting, otherwise, I won’t say anything.”
Blackie’s eyes widened as he looked Theodore up and down, “Are you kid crazy, we haven’t said anything yet?”
Theodore drained his coffee in one gulp, “I talked to my lawyer and I can get a better plea deal if I voluntarily admit to the charges, it would be more favorable to me.
I’m willing to plead guilty if you guys give me a good deal.”
Luke clasped his hands in front of him, “You admit to murder?”
“I only admit to manslaughter …… It was just an accident that shouldn’t have happened.” Theodore sighed, a torn look on his face.
Luke always felt something was wrong, at the end of the conversation yesterday, Theodore still looked like he was beating a dead horse.
Now only one night later he had figured it out and was willing to voluntarily admit the charges.
The transformation was a bit big.