Chapter 163
Susan picked up the plastic bag and looked at it, glancing aside at Luke, “Is that her?”
“It’s her business card.”
“I’ll leave this lead to you.”
“I know.” Luke didn’t call Daisy immediately to inquire, ready to learn more before he did.
After another ten minutes or so, the medical examiner, Sheila, also came out of the dressing room, “I’ve completed the preliminary autopsy, the victim died between 1:00 am and 4:00 am.
The fatal injuries were two bloody holes on the left side of the neck.
The cause of death was excessive blood loss, causing insufficient blood supply to all organs and tissues, resulting in confusion, coma, and death from asphyxiation shock.”
Luke said, “I also observed the neck wounds, blood flowing down the neck and some blood on the ground, but in my experience these blood losses are not enough to be fatal.”
Shira praised, “Good observation, the blood left on the deceased’s body and on the ground is indeed not much, and it probably only adds up to a few hundred milliliters, which is not enough for a normal adult to result in death from blood loss.
But from my experience, the blood lost from the deceased’s body is much more than that, at least more than thousands of milliliters.”
Blackie asked, “Where did all that blood go?”
Sheila said, “I don’t know.
But judging from the wound on the victim’s neck, there are no other obvious wounds on the victim’s body other than the bloody holes and teeth marks left by the two fangs.”
Blackie grinned widely, “Oh my god, we’ve really met a ‘vampire’ this time.
Really sucking blood.”
Luke asked, “If the victim was killed by the murderer tearing and sucking blood, there should logically be defense wounds, but I didn’t find any obvious signs of resistance.”
Sheila said, “It’s true that the victim’s defense wounds were not obvious, I just drew blood and did a simple test, the victim’s body contained a large amount of alcohol, and some other drug ingredients, she may not have been very conscious at the time.”
Susan pressed, “Any idea what the ingredients were?”
“Not sure at this time, further testing is required.” Sheila said this and took out another photo, “Also, we found a blood-colored pattern on the inside of the victim’s arm.
It was most likely drawn with the victim’s blood.”
It was a very strange pattern, kind of like a human face, and kind of like a bat, and kind of like a hyphen, Luke had never seen anything like it before.
Blackie rubbed his nose, “This murderer is much more perverted than the previous one.”
Near noon.
Verissa’s Restaurant.
This restaurant was not far from the law firm, and Luke had asked Daisy to eat here at noon.
It was an Italian restaurant, and the pasta would definitely need an order, salmon, beef stew with potatoes, roasted vegetables, tiramisu, and hand-ground coffee.
Luke had just ordered his meal when Daisy walked in wearing a black dress and carrying a small red satchel, and wearing a black-framed eyeglasses today, adding a bit more intellectual beauty.
“Aren’t you working today? How come you remembered to ask me to have lunch at noon.”
Luke laughed: “There is a bit of work to talk to you about, it just so happens that the appointment is at noon and does not delay the meal.”
Daisy put her bag aside, “What is it?”
Luke poured her a glass of ice water with lemon, “Do you know Angela Char?”
“Yes, she’s a client of mine, we met the day before yesterday. What happened to her?”
“She died.”
“She’s dead!” Daisy froze and gave a sad look, “Even the …… is so regrettable.
I didn’t think this would happen to her.
How did she die?”
Luke replied, “I’m not at liberty to disclose the exact details, but it’s quite bizarre.”
Daisy asked, “Something to do with vampires?”
“How do you know?”
“She said it herself.
We met the day before yesterday and she was in a bad state of mind, frustrated, disheveled, depressed, even a little misanthropic.
In her words, if she were to die suddenly one day, it would have something to do with vampires.
I have a feeling that she has developed some sort of problem on the mental side.”
“What did she come to you for?”
“She wants to terminate her contract with her agent.”
“Kim Kadara.”
“Yes, Angela wants to terminate his contract.”
“Why?”
“In Angela’s words, the two don’t share the same philosophy.
Angela is a rock singer, her idol is Avril, and although I haven’t spent much time together, I can sense her heartfelt love for rock music.
She didn’t like vampires at all, but because there was a vampire-themed song that caught fire, her manager wanted her to go in that direction.
At first Angela was reluctant, but for various reasons such as reality, interest, and popularity, she eventually compromised and started writing vampire-themed music.
Having popularity in this niche, people think of her when they talk about vampire-themed songs.
But this was not her intention, she just used this subject matter as a springboard, hoping that when she was hot and had some popularity, she would go on to create other music.
She had been waiting for this opportunity and had been communicating with her manager.
But her manager didn’t agree.
In recent times, Angela couldn’t take it anymore and she wanted to terminate her contract with her manager.
And found our law firm.”
“Does her agent know?”
Daisy shook her head, “No, termination contracts like this are complicated, and I told her it would be best not to tell her agent until she formally presents her termination again.”
“Did you know about the party gig she had last night?”
Daisy said, “I know, she’s getting ready to release a new album, and it’s also an album about a vampire theme.
And because of that, she’s struggling.
After taking over the case, I did some understanding of her, and there is a big gap between her pre-music style and her current music style.
The previous music style favored youth, love, and dreams, and they were all more inspirational songs.
But in recent years, she has released vampire albums, which are eerie, scary, and desperate, and the music can affect a person’s soul and spirit.
I can feel her helplessness, entanglement and despair.”
The waiter began to serve the meal.
The two chatted as they ate.
“Have you been in contact with her manager, Kim?”
“No, but I’ve asked about Kim, there’s no chance it’ll go to court someday, in Chinese ‘know your enemy, know yourself, know yourself, know yourself, know yourself’.”
Luke smiled, “Tell me about it.”
Daisy took a sip of lemonade, “In her words, Kim wasn’t a bad person and used to be nice to her, taking care of her, like a friend and family.
The two started out with the same musical dreams and like-mindedness.
But as time went by, Kim’s thinking changed, he was more profit-oriented than music itself, not willing to try new music styles, afraid of failing, afraid of losing money, and now more like a businessman.
That’s the second reason why she wanted to terminate Kim’s contract.”
“Do you think Kim has a motive to kill?”
Daisy pursed her red lips, “That’s not something I should be asked, is it, it seems to be your specialty.”
Luke said, “I’m asking about motive for murder now, like profit-wise.
You are Angela’s lawyer, you should have a better idea of the division of interests between the two of them before.
Simply put, what are the drawbacks or benefits to Kim if Angela dies now?”
Daisy said, “I’m Angela’s lawyer, not yours. But, for the love of lunch …… will analyze it for you.
First of all, knowing what I know about Angela, the odds are that when this album is released, she’ll probably terminate her contract with her manager.
They still have six months left on their manager’s contract, so if Angela can wait, it’s a normal termination and no further compensation will have to be paid.
If she can’t wait, the two parties can negotiate a settlement and pay a certain amount of liquidated damages based on the time left in the contract.
If Kim doesn’t accept the settlement and Angela is eager to terminate the contract, then we’ll have to see you in court.
Personally, I prefer the second one.
If it’s the third both parties will have something to lose.”
Luke pressed, “And what about the impact on Kim’s interests if Angela dies now?”
Daisy said, “The compensation is definitely gone, but after Angela’s death, the album will surely be a big seller for a short period of time, and judging from the contract between the two sides, Kim can make a big profit.
Far more than the compensation for the release of the contract.”
For this kind of operation Luke had also heard of it, taking advantage of the singer or star to release some albums or peripherals before they die, and then harvesting a wave of heat while it’s still hot after death.
In fact, not only the entertainment circle, the broader literary circle is also the same, most of the painters and calligraphers are famous after death, why?
Painters and calligraphers live, they can continue to paint, works more will depreciate.
Painter died, his work became out of print, the number of restrictions, the price will rise.
Many collectors who have their eyes on a certain painter will make a big purchase before the death of the other party’s works, and once the painter is dead they can be sold at a good price.
Analyzed from this perspective, Kim had a motive for the crime.
“When was the last time you met?”
“The morning before yesterday, we had an appointment at the café below the law firm.”
“And the last contact?”
“The afternoon before yesterday, after that she had to prepare for the album party, which would have been a tight schedule, and was also with her manager a lot, so we didn’t have any contact.” Daisy sighed, “It’s too bad, she’s still so young and hasn’t realized her dreams yet ……”
Luke asked again, “Does she believe in vampires?”
Daisy laughed, “I asked her that question too.
She said at the time, ‘I don’t even believe in fucking God, so how can I believe in this shit’.”
After the meal, Luke didn’t stay long and went straight back to the Detective Bureau.
Three o’clock in the afternoon.
Susan held a case summarization meeting in the conference room.
Luke briefly recounted the clues provided by Daisy.
The vice squad snickered, “Musicians who insist on art, agents who are full of brass, they are simply not on the same page, it’s only a matter of time before they fall out.
This agent definitely has a motive for committing the crime.”
Raymond said, “When I was investigating the bar’s surveillance, according to the bar’s director, the agent approached them while setting up the bar venue and asked to turn off most of the cameras in the bar.”
Susan asked, “Why?”
“The agent didn’t say. The bar chief didn’t ask who pays or who’s in charge either.”
The lieutenant said, “It looks like the agent’s suspicions have risen again.”
Susan seemed to remember something, “Lieutenant, how’s the interrogation going on the Dracula Bar case?”
The Vice Squad sighed, “That August kid, no, Lawyer Porter to be exact, is slippery.
Augus insisted that he was joking around and wasn’t even trying to hurt anyone?
Furthermore, he claims he has mental problems and has asked to apply for a psychiatric evaluation.”
Susan frowned, “What do you think about applying for a psychiatric evaluation?”
“The way of killing in this case is different from other cases, it’s hard for us to disagree, and his dress and behavior that day didn’t look like something a normal person would do ……” The vice squad was also a bit depressed, this case had video as evidence, the conviction was definitely no problem, but as soon as it was involved in the mental problems, things become troublesome.
Xiao Hei said, “I’ve known for a long time that Porter that old guy is not a good person.”
The vice squad was a bit dissatisfied, “You have to relate to age when evaluating someone?”
Susan interrupted the two, “There’s another discovery on the forensic side, they found a large amount of mixed liquids in the dead man’s intestines, a solo product, alcohol, and blood, with the blood amounting to hundreds of milliliters.”
Blackie was a bit puzzled, “What does that mean? Why was there blood in her stomach? She’s drinking her own blood?”
Luke said, “Or it could be someone else’s blood.”
Susan said, “Right now it’s safe to assume it’s human blood, but not her blood.
Further identification will have to be done as to whose blood it is.”
Jenny lamented, “Sucking solo, drinking, and human blood, she’s got a messed up life.”
The lieutenant was unimpressed, “Sucking solo and drinking heavily are part of the norm in the rock world.
If you’re a singer-songwriter, you need the stimulation of solo and alcohol to find inspiration.
Non-songwriter type singers also need to use these to get into the mood.
And her music style is of a dark vampire style, if she doesn’t do drugs, I would find it abnormal instead.”
Luke thought for a moment and said, “I’m not quite sure if she’s on drugs and alcohol, but according to Daisy, Angela is the one who hates vampires right now, and logically shouldn’t be sucking the blood of so many people.
Even if it was of a performance nature it wouldn’t be that much blood.
I think something is not normal.”
Blackie said, “Could someone have forced her to drink it?” Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Blackie’s chin rose slightly and his voice got a little louder, “Although no binding or defense wounds were found on her body, it’s possible that she was being held at gunpoint to drink the blood.”
David said, “Even if that’s a possibility, what was the purpose?”
Black froze, how could he say that?
The lieutenant thought for a moment, “In my experience, it might have something to do with the pattern on the inside of her arm.
Most likely a pattern for some kind of ritual, could it be that the ritual itself requires not only the blood of the victim, but also the victim to suck the blood.”
“Not a bad idea, could be a direction to investigate.” Susan nodded and began to arrange the tasks, “Lieutenant, you’re in charge of investigating the blood pattern.
David keep an eye on the Augus case.
Ramon and Jenny contact the people who were at the party last night and look for witnesses.
Luke and Marcus investigate agent Kim.”
“Yes, captain.”
The crowd split up.
Kim did have motive, but that didn’t make him a murderer.
Luke decided to ask him to come to the police station to give another statement and dialed Kim’s cell phone number.
“Hi, this is Gold Agent Kim, I’m busy right now, please leave a message ……”
Half an hour later.
Kim’s house.
A group of people in strange costumes were gathered outside Kim’s house, some had thick makeup painted on their faces, some had blood red lips, and some were wearing two fangs.
They held banners in their hands, and their mouths chanted.
“Angela!”
“Hey.”
“Bloodsucking Queen!”
“Hey.”
“Forever and ever!”
“Hey hey hey ……”
Two police cars pulled up to the side of the road and the patrolmen got out to maintain order.
The fans were agitated, but didn’t have weapons or act very out of character.
The police repelled, and they sat in silence.
Because of the large number of people, the police could not do anything for the time being.
A black Ford Explorer was parked on the side of the road.
Luke and Blackie stepped out of the car.
Luke took off his sunglasses and looked at the crowd gathered around him, without guessing he knew it was Angela’s fans.
The dress and taste couldn’t be worse.
Luke walked to the front, flashed his badge, and asked the patrolmen keeping order, “I’m Detective Luke, what’s going on here?”
A white patrolman said, “We got a call from the surrounding neighbors about a group of people messing with the community and rushed over to this scene.
This is the residence of singer Angela’s manager, and this group of guys who look like vampires are Angela’s fans.
They claim to want to see the manager, Kim.”
Luke asked, “Is Kim home?”
“No, we knocked on the door for a long time and no one answered.”
At this point, the crowd once again chanted.
“Angela!”
“Queen!”
“Forever and ever!”
Luke chided, “STOP!
Shut up, all of you, are you Angela’s fans?
Get a representative to talk to me.”
A white man wearing a plain ring said, “What are you?”
“Detective Inspector Robbery and Murder Division, why are you all gathered here?”
“We want to see Kim!” The man with the lip ring said.
“Why do you want to see him?”
The man with the lip ring said, “I heard that Angela is dead and I want to know if it’s true?”
Before Luke could say anything, another black man questioned, “Hey, what are you talking about, Angela is the vampire queen, how could she be dead? Stop saying stupid shit like that.”
“That’s what I heard, and I’m not the one who said Angela died? If that’s not what you’re asking, what are you doing here?” The man with the lip ring retorted.
“I don’t care, the Queen isn’t going to die anyway, I don’t believe that. I only came here to beat up that asshole Kim, he must have put out a fake story.
That asshole is crazy about money.”
Xiao Hei muttered in a low voice, “What’s wrong with them? This is the start of infighting.”
“A normal mind wouldn’t be here.” Luke grunted and looked over at the group of vampire fans that had started to implode and shouted, “Are you all Angela’s fans?”
“That’s right, I’m an Angela fan.”
“I’m an iron fan.”
“I’m the Queen’s first fan.”
“I’m a big believer in her.”
“OK,” Luke pressed his hands together vainly, “Did you guys know about her new album party last night?”
“Of course I know, I even went.”
“I went too.”
“The Queen had an awesome entrance.”
“I loved her black silk.”
Luke questioned again, “Do you all want to know about Angela?”
“Yes.” “That’s right.” This time the voices were in unison.
“GOOD. i know about Angela.
I’ll talk to each of you individually in a few minutes and you’ll all have a chance.”
Luke finished and whispered to a patrolman, “Call in another group of officers, don’t let anyone here go, I want a statement on each of them.”
Patrolman “……”