Chapter 240

In a black Ford Explorer, Blacky grumbled, as he drove.

“This couple is problematic.

They’re not even adopting a child out of love, they’re treating foster care like a business.

If they would have taken their responsibilities seriously, Quinnell most likely wouldn’t have died.

Then look at what they did, we called to inquire, they deliberately but intentionally hid Quiniel’s whereabouts.

We went to the house and they didn’t even know anything about Quiniel.

They don’t know where he lives, they don’t know what he does, they don’t know what he’s been through.

Don’t even know he’s dead.

All they care about is the grant!

I’m going to report them.”

Luke didn’t answer; things like that were more complicated.

Mr. and Mrs. Argot were definitely responsible, but foster care foster care was originally foster care.

Luke had secretly asked Carter about it, and the other man thought the Yagot couple was pretty nice, and Luke didn’t look like he was lying.

Maybe every kid had a different definition of nice, but Carter was more than happy with the way things were.

Hypothetically, Black and the others would report the Yagot couple, the Yagot couple would lose their eligibility to foster children, and Carter and the Asian girl would have to be returned to the foster care center to wait for a new foster family to adopt them.

Their fates would also change.

Luke and Blackie would also be burdened with karma.

The karma Luke is talking about is not metaphysical karma, but real life.

Just like Jaden, Blackie is already involved in Jaden’s life, and the more he helps Jaden, the deeper he gets involved.

Similarly, if Carter and the Asian girl are sent back to the foster care center because of the two men’s report, and if the foster home that the two men are reassigned to isn’t as good as the Argotts’, then Luke and Blackie are also responsible.

That was the fruit of Luke’s words.

He’ll feel guilty if he does create that situation.

So it’s important to get that scale right.

Sitting on the sidelines, that was definitely not an option, Quennel was already dead, and it should draw some attention to avoid a repeat of something like this.

However, it was also inappropriate to directly disqualify the Yagot couple from fostering.

Luke felt that the best way was to suggest to the relevant authorities that the Yagot couple be given an audit, and that professional people be involved in the matter, and that the Yagot couple be given a period of focused observation to see if the family was fit to continue fostering children.

Of these, the opinions of Carter and the Asian girl were paramount.

In Luke’s experience, it wasn’t certain that Carter and the Asian girl would be returned to the foster care center, but it should be difficult for the Yagot couple to adopt a new foster child.

The car drove into the Yarborough neighborhood and Luke noticed a police patrol car parked in front of a home and walked in to see that it was the home of Derek Yasso, the man they were looking for.

The two men got out of the car and Luke flashed his badge and turned to one of the patrolmen and asked, “What’s going on here?”

A white patrolman approached and pointed to a white man with a beard and said, “We got a call of shots fired in the neighborhood.

The caller was this Mr. Brown who claimed that his foster child had been shot.

According to him, the shooter was LAPD.”

“Can you confirm that it was LAPD that fired the shots?”

“No, the child and the person claiming to be LAPD were both gone by the time we got here.”

“I’m Lieutenant Luke of the Robbery-Homicide Division, I need to talk to the reporting party.”

“OK, go ahead.”

Luke walked to the door and turned to the bearded white man and asked, “Are you the reporting party, Mr. Brown?”

“Yes, who are you?”

Luke flashed his badge, “Lieutenant Luke, Robbery Homicide Division, what’s going on here?”

“Two LAPD came looking for my boy Derek. Derek is a little mischievous but not inherently bad, he’s probably freaking out.

He jumped out the back window and the two LAPD told Derek to stand still.

Derek didn’t listen and ran straight away.

And those two LAPD shot him!” The bearded man gave an angry look and

“Jesus Christ, how could they do that, Derek was a kid, he didn’t do anything dangerous, he didn’t hurt anyone, he just ran.

Why did they shoot him?

They were committing murder!

I’m going to sue them!”

Luke confirmed, “You’re sure Derek didn’t pose a threat to the two men who call themselves the LAPD?”

“I’m sure that Derek was unarmed and just ran with his head down, not even looking back, what threat could he have posed to them.”

“Can you be sure they were LAPD?”

“I can’t.”

“Have you seen them before?”

“No.”

“Where did they go?”

“One went after Derek and one drove after him. I tried to stop it and they threatened me with a gun.

Told me not to move!

I really tried to stop, but ……

there was nothing I could do!

Had to watch them do that to my kids.” The bearded man showed a chagrined look, “This is the LAPD!

We pay so many taxes every year so that you can catch criminals instead of shooting at innocent people.”

“Mr. Brown, please take it easy for a moment. The police don’t shoot at innocent people indiscriminately when their own safety isn’t at stake.

This is something we’ll look into, and if they’re LAPD, the authorities will sanction them if there’s a violation in what they’re doing.”

“All I want right now is to get Derek back and make sure he’s safe.”

“You’re talking about Derek Yasso?”

“How do you know that?”

“We’re here to find him too.”

“You’re in cahoots with the two LAPD guys who shot him?”

“You describe the characteristics of those two men?”

“Two black men, one with a gold chain around his neck and one with a stud in his left ear, do you recognize them?”

Luke recalled, “No, we don’t have either of those men in our department.

From the looks of things, Derek either had another case on his hands and was approached by officers from another department.

Either that or someone is impersonating the LAPD.”

“Why impersonate the LAPD and what kind of trouble is Derek in?”

Luke confirmed, “Do you know where Derek is now?”

“I don’t know, the boy is quite independent and sometimes goes to friends’ houses to stay over, I’m not sure where he would have run off to.

I panicked just now.

If I had been calmer, I might have done better.”

“You’ve done well.” Luke it wasn’t comforting, but the truth.

In that situation, it didn’t matter if those two men were officers from another department or suspects posing as LAPD, if a gun was moved, it was dangerous.

Had Brown made some dangerous move, he could have been shot.

Then it wouldn’t have been a standing Mr. Brown that Luke saw.

Luke arranged for the scene to be cordoned off and contacted the tech team to survey the scene.

Brown seemed to sense that Luke was different from the previous two police officers, and his attitude was much better than before, taking the initiative to invite Luke and the two of them into the living room: ”Lieutenant Luke, please have a seat.

You guys are also here to see Derek?”

“Yes, we want to know something about him.”

“Why are you guys looking for him?”

“We’re investigating a homicide, and the victim was probably a friend of Derek’s.”

“Even if it is, can you tell me which friend?”

“Would you like to see a picture of the deceased?”

Brown thought for a moment, “OK, I can do that.”

Luke pulled out a picture of Quinnell, “Have you seen him?”

“He was drowned?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ve seen him, he used to come to Derek a lot, but I didn’t like him very much, the kid wasn’t easy to get along with, I was afraid he’d bring Derek down, so I let Derek have less contact with him.”

“What is your relationship with Derek?”

“Derek is an orphan, he’s fostered in our home and is like family to us.

Although he’s a bit mischievous and occasionally makes mistakes, we all love him and are willing to accept him as part of the family.”

“Has there been anything unusual about Derek lately?”

“No.”

“Derek used to stay out at night sometimes, but not anymore, he’s changed for the better and he’s made this his home, which is a good sign.

We’re thinking of officially adopting him.”

“Can you help us find him?”

“Before I answer that question, I want to get one thing straight, why those two cops shot him.

If you can’t give me a reasonable explanation, I won’t help you find Derek.

I don’t want my child to be shot again, ever.”

Luke knew so little about the two men who called themselves LAPD and wasn’t sure if they were real cops.

If the other party was a fake cop, these two were probably involved in Quennel’s death, and these two might even be Quennel’s murderers, and the fact that the two of them had come to Derek meant that Derek probably knew some important clues.

No matter which way you look at it, you have to find Derek first.

If the two people who called themselves LAPD were real cops, they were probably cops from other departments.

Then, it is still unknown whether the situation at the scene was really like what Brown described, such as Derek carrying a weapon or making some dangerous moves.

Therefore, the main thing at the moment is to figure out what really happened?

“I can assure you that the two officers you described are not from our department, has Derek been in any other trouble lately?”

“No.”

“Is that a no, or you don’t know?”

Brown thought for a moment, “I don’t know. Derek is fourteen years old, he has the ability to think on his own, I can’t keep an eye on him all the time, that would make him feel uncomfortable.”

“If it’s true, as you say, that Derek isn’t in any other trouble, then it stands to reason that he shouldn’t be approached by officers from other departments.

Those two men claiming to be LAPD are probably suspects posing as such.

They might even be Quinnel’s murderers, and Derek, being Quinnel’s best friend, would likely know some clues.

If my hypothesis holds true, Derek is in danger, he’s being hunted by people posing as police officers, and we must find him immediately.

We need your assistance, right now the only way we can help Derek is if you can find him.”

Brown was a little hesitant, “Can I take your word for it?”

“Of course.”

“Derek has always wanted a cell phone and I gave him one for his birthday this year.

I called him, but I can’t get through at the moment.

I can give you the number, and I know you can cell phone locate it.

However, I have one condition.”

“What condition?”

“Derek is still a kid and he’s not going to hurt anyone, so please don’t shoot.

I really don’t want what happened tonight to happen again.

This is a free city, a beautiful city that shouldn’t be filled with gunfire everywhere.

I’m not going to tell you if you don’t promise me.”

“OK, I promise you that as long as Derek is unarmed and not acting dangerously, I will never shoot.”

Brown locked eyes with Luke for a moment and said, “His cell phone number is 626 836 485＊.”

Luke sent the cell phone number to the chat group and continued to ask, “Tell us about the characteristics of the two men claiming to be LAPD, such as appearance, vehicle, handgun, and other things that would identify them.”

“They were driving a black car, it was dark and I couldn’t see the license plate number, it appeared to be a Ford sedan.

Uh …… both of them used handguns, and their appearance I can remember, as long as I have a picture of them, I can identify them.”

Luke asked rhetorically, “Do you have surveillance here?”

“No.”

Here’s the problem, there were plenty of LAPD officers, they couldn’t possibly make Brown identify them one by one, it would be too inefficient.

In addition, if those two men were fake LAPD, then the so-called identification was just useless.

Then, people from the first squadron arrived one after another to provide support.

Matthew was in charge of cell phone location.

Raymond and Jenny were in charge of investigating the surveillance around the community.

Luke, on the other hand, took a paper and pen and did a forensic sketch of the two black men who claimed to be LAPD according to Mr. Brown’s description.

It was the first time Luke had used this skill since he learned it, and he couldn’t say how effective it would be.

The following day.

The people from the 1st Squadron arrived at the Detective Bureau early in the morning.

During this period of time, the first squadron did not receive any cases, and after some rest and recuperation, they were full of energy.

The identity of the deceased has been basically confirmed, it should be Quinnel.

The clues of the case were more scattered, and also involved Quinnel’s friend Derek, the police had been looking for his whereabouts, the team members split up to investigate.

It was not until after four o’clock in the afternoon that Susan held a case summarization meeting in the conference room.

“Guys, it’s been almost 24 hours since the crime, and I hope you all have something new to go on besides the investigation into the identity of the deceased.” Susan pointed to the names on the whiteboard.

“Let’s start with the Quinnell investigation.”

Jenny said, “We investigated the hotel’s surveillance and Quinnell did check into room 707 at the Hilton Hotel, checking in on July 26th and leaving on August 2nd at twelve noon.

During this time, he came into contact with two people at the hotel, one person was his good friend Derek.

The other was a black woman in her mid-forties.”

As she spoke, Jenny put up a screenshot of the video, “There’s no information on this woman yet, and the identity of the woman and the deceased is unclear for now.”

After Luke saw this photo, the first thing that came to his mind was the photo that was clipped inside Quinnel’s book, the two photos differed by more than ten years, in addition, there was a great change in appearance, the former was a wonderful woman, the latter was emaciated, and from Luke’s experience, it was very likely to be a sucker of solo personnel.

And once a person is addicted to drugs, he is wasted.

This waste, not only refers to the spirit, the same is the physical destruction, the appearance change is relatively large.

If it wasn’t for Luke’s observation power that was far beyond normal, it would be difficult to determine that it was the same person at first glance.

“Do you guys remember the photo I found in Quinnel’s book? It should be the same person.”

The vice squad wore glasses and carefully compared them, “That’s right, it’s the same person.

If that’s the case, I’m guessing that this woman is most likely Quiniel’s biological mother.”

Black said, “Before that, Quennel had been in foster care with the Argot family, and he had no money, as evidenced by his tattoos.

His favorite is Iron Man, but he chose a cheap Captain America shield to tattoo on his body.

And it’s also clear from the behavior of the Yagot couple that there’s no way they could have given Quennel money.

But Quennell was staying in an expensive five-star hotel and wearing limited edition sneakers before he died, so it could be said that he got rich overnight.

My guess is that the money would have something to do with his mother who suddenly appeared.”

Luke smoothly said, “From what we already know, his mother is most likely a drug addict.

If her arrival has given Quennel an additional windfall, then I would surmise that the money is likely to be related to the solo product.

Anything tainted with solo products is dangerous.

I don’t need to tell you about the cunning and viciousness of drug dealers.

Assuming, this so-called windfall was obtained from the drug dealers, Kunnil would inevitably be retaliated against by the drug dealers.

The vice squad used a comb to gather their thinning hair, ”This speculation is a bit interesting.

Suppose, Quennell and his biological mother have been in contact.

His real mother was a drug addict, and may have even been involved in dealing in uniques (not a typo), getting huge benefits from the drug dealers.

And thus angered the drug dealers.

Quennell’s mother came to Los Angeles to join her son in order to escape the drug dealers and also to make it up to her son by giving him money, helping him rent expensive hotels, and buying expensive clothes.

Afterward, the drug dealers discovered the two men’s whereabouts and brutally murdered them.

If that’s the case, I’m afraid that Quinnel’s mother was also killed.”

Jackson asked, “What about Derek? What was his role in the case and why was he being hunted?”

This was something that Luke had thought about for a long time, “If Quennel really did get something precious from the drug dealers, I’m guessing it’s either stolen money or a one-of-a-kind item.

The purpose of the drug dealers hunting down Quennel’s mother and son may not only be for revenge, but also to retrieve the lost items.

And Derek was either in the know or knew which stolen goods were whereabouts.

He’s a very key person.”

Matthew said, “I tried to locate that cell phone number you provided, but the phone was suspended and couldn’t be located.”

Susan thought of another problem, “I checked with other departments and last night, no officers were on duty at Derek’s house and no one was arresting Derek.

Those two men last night should not have been LAPD, but were after the suspects who were chasing Derek.

At the same time, they could also be the killers of Quinnell.

Is there any progress in the investigation about those two men?”

Jenny replied, “We checked the neighborhood surveillance of Derek’s house and found the suspicious black Ford sedan.

However, the license plate belongs to a set of cars and the owner cannot be traced.

And the driver of the car has some sense of anti-surveillance, wearing a mask and hat, the camera can’t see their appearance, but it should be possible to identify them as black men.”

Susan’s tone was solemn, “The point now is to determine the identities of these two LAPD impersonators, not only could they be murderers, they are also tarnishing the reputation of the LAPD.

This will have a very bad effect on the entire LAPD.”

The lieutenant shook his head, “These two men came prepared and consciously avoided the camera surveillance, I’m afraid it’s not going to be an option to confirm their identities.”

The conference room was silent for a moment before Luke said, “I do have a way to try.”

The heads of the crowd came to stare curiously.

Susan pursued, “What kind of solution?”

“I’ve studied criminal investigation sketching for a while, and last night I talked to Mr. Brown, and with his assistance drew two portraits of the suspects, which might be helpful in identifying the suspects.”

The vice squad was a bit surprised, “You actually know how to do forensic sketching?”

Blackie spread his hands, “Why am I not surprised at all.”

The vice squad smiled, “Take it out and take a look, although this may not be accurate, but at least it can give everyone a heads up.

If we do run into it, there’s no chance we’ll be able to recognize it.

Assuming you have some skill in sketching, of course.”

To be honest, it was Luke’s first time to draw it himself, and he really didn’t have any idea in his heart, but the ugly daughter-in-law would see her in-laws sooner or later, and since he drew it, he couldn’t still hide it.

Luke walked to the projector and put one of the portraits on the projector.

Xiao Hei took a look, although he knew about Luke’s sketching portraits, it was also the first time he saw the finished product, nodding his head.

“The drawing is not bad, at a glance you can tell it’s a black man, quite realistic.” Saying that, Blackie’s face stared, as if as if he remembered something, and

“Wait, I seem to have seen this ……

This portrait resembles a person ……”

Without waiting for Blacky to finish, Jackson chimed in, “You’re right, I’ve seen this guy too.

This guy is on the news, he’s a big hit on News TV now.”

Luke was also a little confused, “What are you guys talking about?”

Blackie said, “Luke, are you sure you didn’t watch the news and get influenced to draw like this?”

“What the hell are you guys talking about, I’ve been sketching criminal investigation sketches in addition to investigating cases today, how could I have time to watch the news.”

Blackie picked up the remote control and turned on the TV in the conference room, “Then you should take a look, this is big news ……”