Chapter 20
The following morning.
A bus heading to the airport.
Luke sighed, “What a bad woman, not a clue.”
David said, “I learned that the first week I transferred to the Heist and Murder Division.”
“You guys knew each other that early?” Luke was a little surprised, David had been transferred over for three or four years and Susan had just been transferred to the Heist and Murder Division not long after.
David bristled, “She was still in Internal Affairs at the time.”
“We’re different, I’m not going to be a jerk like you.”
“Same to each other, lazy ass.”
Luke looked out the window at the blue ocean, “Have you ever been to Vegas?”
“Been there, Lindsay and I went there for our honeymoon.”
“SORRY, I shouldn’t have mentioned ……”
“It’s all in the past now, one has to face reality.”
Luke held out a glimmer of anticipation, “Any chance we can play a couple games?”
“Don’t even think about it, get off the plane and go straight to Tony’s hometown to investigate, there is no chance to enter the city.”
“Come on, the general will be out of the military orders, after the investigation we can relax a little bit, as if it is a tour, can’t be a trip for nothing.”
David pointed to his eyes, “It seems you still don’t understand Susan, she’s not that easy to fool, she will keep an eye on our trip. You’ll be on edge even if you go, you can’t possibly have a good time.”
Luke laughed, “So you have people you’re afraid of too.”
“Yea, I’d rather you be the captain than her.”
“Ringing ……”
Luke’s cell phone rang, looking at it, it was Susan’s cell phone number, “She’s not going to put a bug on us, is she?”
David craned his head to look out the window, “That’s hard to say.”
Luke pressed the answer button, “Captain.”
“Where are you guys now?”
“In a car headed for LAX.”
“You don’t have to go to the airport, go back to the station.”
Luke was puzzled, “Why?”
“Tony’s dead.”
“Dead! When?”
“Twenty years ago.”
Luke laughed, “Captain, I didn’t realize you could joke.”
“I never joke, I contacted the Nevada, Clark County Sheriff’s Department and asked for their help in looking into Tony Weir’s information. They found Tony Weir’s death certificate and also contacted Tony Weir’s father and confirmed that Tony Weir died in a traffic accident twenty years ago.”
Luke was also confused, “So who are we checking on now? He was living in Los Angeles the whole time.”
“It’s still under investigation, wait until you guys get back.” Susan said and hung up her cell phone.
David inquired, “What happened?”
“Hell no.”
Detective Bureau.
Robbery-Murder Division.
Luke placed his travel bag on his desk, “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on? If there were no accidents, I’d be on a plane by now.”
The lieutenant said, “I thought you didn’t want to go in the first place. This is as good as it gets.”
“Lieutenant, that’s not how it works, I’ve already packed my bags and told my mom I’m not coming home tonight.” Luke spread his hands, “Well now I’m homeless, can I crash at your house?”
The lieutenant laughed, “Don’t even think about it.”
“Cluck ……” the door to the captain’s office opened.
“With all hands on deck, let me say a few words about the Clark County Sheriff’s Department’s investigation.” Susan placed a stack of papers on her desk, “The Clark County Sheriff’s Department has found Tony Weir’s death certificate and has also found Tony Weir’s family to confirm the matter, and it can be determined that the real Tony Weir died in a car accident twenty years ago.”
Jenny said, “That means the suspect used Tony Weir’s false identity when he bought the gun.”
Susan shook her head, “It’s not that simple, there’s a Tony Weir in Los Angeles as well, both men used the same social security number, the Tony Weir in Los Angeles has been living here for at least a dozen years, with a driver’s license, medical records, and drug rehab, and he’s been living under that identity.”
Luke ran through his thoughts, “Tony Weir’s identity can be broken down into two phases, one phase is the Tony Weir of twenty years ago, who had been living with his family in Nevada before he died in a car accident.
After that, his identity was assumed, which is the current Tony Weir.
In other words, the suspect was assuming someone else’s identity twenty years ago.”
The faces of the people in the room changed a bit, if the suspect was temporarily using a fake identity, it would still be relatively easy to find out.
But a suspect using a fake identity twenty years ago had enough time to erase the clues to his real identity.
It was too scary.
Who the hell was he?
Jenny frowned and questioned, “Why would a social security number be used fraudulently when the real Tony Weir is dead and a local death certificate has been issued?”
The lieutenant said, “You’re overlooking one issue, time.
With the internet and information sharing nowadays, the chances of this happening are slim.
But this incident happened twenty years ago, when the information network wasn’t as advanced as it is now, and it’s hard to be transparent with information from state to state.”
Luke continued to analyze, “If the suspect who purchased the modified Taser is not the real Tony Weir, that means he still has a real identity. The police are now looking for Tony Weir, and if the other party switched back to his previous identity, we would never be able to find him.”
Marcus grinned his thick lips and said, “Even buy a guy who lived for twenty years under a false identity, who the hell knows who his real identity is? What a scary guy.”
The lieutenant ignored Marcus’ words, “There is some truth in Luke’s words, however, it is unclear why the suspect lived twenty years ago posing as someone else.
Speaking from personal experience, his original identity should have gone awry, and he was probably a wanted man himself.”
Luke said, “Even if the suspect’s real identity has a criminal record, but it’s been twenty years, and it’s not even known if the police officer who worked on the case is around, so the local police must have relaxed their investigative efforts.
It’s still possible that the suspect could turn to former family and friends, like that rich guy who visits him every year.”
Susan summarized, “Let’s now reorganize the clues and focus our investigation on ‘Tony Weir’s’ real identity, a fake is a fake, no matter how much he tries to hide it he will surely leave traces.
OK, everyone split up and investigate.”
Susan finished and returned to the captain’s office.
The lieutenant bristled, “What a nice way to talk about the scene.”
David smiled, “What’s your idea, Lieutenant?”
The vice squad took a comb and gathered their thinning silver hair, “Just like our previous speculation, the suspect assumed Tony Weir’s identity indicating that he might have a criminal record.
Going forward twenty years would be 2002, and the suspect most likely committed a crime that year or before.
We can check the criminal records for 2002 to see if there are any unsolved or wanted suspects, especially for similar cases of robberies using Tasers.”
Luke slightly side-eyed, this old man, despite his age, does have a knack for investigating cases, this is a good investigative idea ……