Chapter 245

The bartender said, “Mr. Ronald Bamberts, our boss heard about George and is sympathetic to his plight and would like to invite you to the back for a chat.”

Ronald revealed an exaggerated look, “Guys, did you hear that? The famous Boss Rog wants to chat with me.

This is my honor.”

After saying that, Ronald stood up and followed Bartender Alshi out of the front room of the bar.

Under the bartender Alhi’s lead, the two of them walked all the way back to the back door of the bar.

At this moment, Ronald seemed to feel that something was wrong, “Alhi, didn’t we say we were going to meet Mr. Logue? Where are we going here.”

“That’s right, Mr. Logue is waiting for you at the back door.”

Hearing this, Ronald turned around and was about to run, but was grabbed by Alsi, “It’s a rude thing to miss an appointment for no reason, the boss will be angry.”

Alsi opened the back door and pushed Ronald out.

Ronald looked at the back alley where the lights were a little dim, three black burly men were waiting for him outside the door, rubbing their fists and walking towards him, Ronald instinctively took two steps back, “I …… am here to see Mr. Logue.”

What responded to him was a beating from three strong black men.

“Ah ……”

Ronald was beaten with a ghostly cry, “Why are you guys hitting me? Why are you doing this?

Killing people, help.”

Still no response, just beating.

Until Ronald was beaten face full of blood, lying on the ground can not get up, the crowd only stopped.

Bartender Alcee walked over, “Ronald, do you know you’re wrong?”

“Boss Rog says I’m wrong, so I am, but can you tell me what’s wrong? I’m willing to change.”

The bartender said, “Is that pile of twenty dollars yours today?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you lie to me with fake money? Think I’m stupid?”

“Fake money? That’s not fake money, there must be some mistake.”

The bartender pulled out a twenty dollar bill, “Here’s the money you gave me.” The bartender ripped it open and threw the bill in Ronald’s face.

Ronald picked up the blood-stained bill, “FUCK, how could it be white, that asshole George got me killed.” Ronald then hugged the bartender’s leg, “Please listen to me explain, this isn’t my money, I took it from George’s house, and I didn’t know that these were fake, otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared to do this even if I had ten guts.”

“Where did George get this money?”

“I don’t know.”

“Pay back the money owed for the liquor within half a month, or you’re dead.

Understand?”

“I understand.”

“Can you do it?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Hey, what are you guys doing?”

A voice came from the shadows of the back alley and Black and Luke stepped out, badges still attached.

“Officers, he accidentally fell, we were just about to help him up here.”

“Not a bad fall.” Luke walked closer and asked Ronald, “Did you fall on your own?”

“That’s right, I fell on my own, by myself, thanks to them helping me up.”

“GOOD, there are still more good people in this world.”

“Officer, I want to call the police.” The bartender said.

“What happened?”

“This guy spent hundreds of dollars at our bar and paid with counterfeit money.”

Luke looked over at Ronald, “You used counterfeit money?”

Ronald looked at the bartender and nodded, “Yes, I used it.”

“Where did you get it?”

“From my brother’s house.”

“Who’s your brother?”

“George Bamberts.”

“Do you know it’s illegal to use counterfeit money?”

“I know, but I didn’t know those were counterfeit coins, I swear.”

“Whether you knew it or not, you used counterfeit money, come with us.”

“Okay, I’ll come with you.” Ronald agreed painfully, it was safer to go with the police at this time than to stay here.

“NoNoNo, that won’t do, you’d better go to the bar and wash your face, we’ll wait for you at the front door of the bar.”

“I don’t need to wash my face, no problem.” Ronald didn’t want to go back into the bar.

Blackie said, “It’s not up to you, don’t even think about getting into my car until you wash that smelly face of yours.”

“Officers, it’s on me, I’ll wash his face.” The bartender volunteered.

“You’re such a helpful and nice guy, no wonder your bar is doing so well.

Ronald, see you in a minute.”

Luke and Blackie went back to the car.

Luke asked, “Your friend hasn’t inquired about Derek’s whereabouts yet?”

“No news yet, there are a lot of black teenagers out at fourteen or fifteen, it’s not easy to find.”

Luke thought for a moment, “Then add two more, this kid is out on a limb and probably carries a lot of twenty dollar bills.”

Luke and Blackie escorted Ronald Bamberts back to the detective bureau.

He voiced his speculations.

The whole thing tied together, too.

Quennell, who had been in dire financial straits, had become rich because of the accidental acquisition of a counterfeit bill, and it was because of the acquisition of a counterfeit bill that Quennell had attracted the pursuit of George and Jamie.

Quennell’s best friend Derek is also connected to the money in some way, and Derek is hunted by the two men, his life and death uncertain.

Later, George, high on drugs and booze, is so stimulated that he is caught shopping at the supermarket with counterfeit money.

Luke locks up George as a suspect through a forensic sketch.

Jamie then has his girlfriend, who works at the hospital, assassinate George, just in time for Luke and Blackie to run into him.

Of course, all of this is still just speculation; the important thing is to find the relevant incriminating evidence.

“Bang.”

The door to the conference room opened and Matthew walked into the room, “Guys, you should see this.”

Matthew turned on the conference room’s television and played back a news story.

“Hello everyone, this is CFP TV reporter Pari Jones with a news emergency.

I don’t think you’re all familiar with the name of George Bamberts.

We at CFP-TV have also been following his situation, and based on multiple sources and investigations, we have gotten the unfortunate news.

Last night, George’s life-saving treatment failed and he has left this world.

Yes, this a sad news and I don’t want to believe it, but the reality is so cruel.

The LAPD arrested George for a crime, and let’s leave aside whether or not George is guilty, but the suspect also has the right to life, and the LAPD has no reason to take it away.

To prevent more like this from happening, we at CFP-TV will continue to follow and report on this story.

I’m reporter Pari Jones.”

Jackson pointed to the TV and said, “I know this woman, she seems to know Marcus ……”

Luke laughed, “Detective Marcus, your girlfriend is going to be famous.”

Marcus blushed a little, “She’s not even my girlfriend? Just one of my many suitors. Not my type at all.”

The lieutenant warned, “Stay away from this chick, she’ll get you killed sooner or later.”

Matthew said, “Is George dead? How come I didn’t know.”

Luke was unimpressed, “She’s just claptrap for the news, no need to take it seriously.

George isn’t dead, good for him.”

Susan warned, “Guys, be careful these days.

George’s death could cause quite a stir and trouble, so everyone stay safe.”

CFP-TV was the first major news organization to broadcast the news of George’s death, and the story was quickly picked up by other media outlets.

George’s death became a top story.

It drew huge attention and reaction across the country, and the world.

As the first reporter to broadcast this news, Parley Jones, she also gained a lot of attention in the industry.

Although Luke had prepared for it beforehand, the speed at which this case spread and its influence was so wide that it still exceeded his estimation.

It also exceeded his level.

Just like Reed said, there could be other pushers behind this case.

But this level was not something that the current Luke could reach.

So, Luke still focused on the case.

Paden Motel.

This motel was located in the outskirts of Los Angeles, next to Highway 7.

The motel covered a small area, three floors up and down, with a convenience store, swimming pool, gym, and gas station, it was considered a higher grade motel.

Inside room 305 of the motel.

Lived a teenage black boy, the room is a little messy, look like a few days have not cleaned up, the bed, the floor put a lot of life garbage, the black teenager is sitting at the table to play computer games, next to the coke, potato chips, chocolate and other snacks.

“FUCK! Are you stupid? Can you play? Milk me!”

“Knock knock ……”

A knock came from outside.

The black boy gave a nervous look and stood up, “Who’s out there?”

“Room service.”

“I didn’t order room service.”

“We’re having an event at the hotel today, every guest gets a souvenir.”

“I don’t need a souvenir, you can go.”

“Click ……”

Just then, a sound of swiping the door card rang out.

“FUCK! Not again.”

The black boy turned and ran to the balcony.

The door was opened and a dark haired man and a black man barged in, none other than Luke and Blackie.

At Luke’s prompting, Blackie increased the terms of his search and got a lead on Derek.

The two men rush into the house and find the black boy suspected of being Derek running toward the balcony.

Luke had observed ahead of time that there was no other access to the balcony, and the boy couldn’t run.

However, the next scene startled both Luke and Blackie.

The black boy quickly ran towards the balcony, stepped on the stool with one foot, stepped on the balcony wall with the other, and jumped directly from the third floor.

Blackie’s eyes widened, “FUCK!

You don’t want to fucking die, think you’re Spider-Man?”

However, the imagined screams did not come, replaced by a ‘plop’ sound of falling water.

Luke and Black walked out onto the balcony and looked down to find the little black boy had jumped right into the pool downstairs and gave the two of them the middle finger.

Derek stayed in the room can be more than just playing games, has long calculated the escape route, the balcony is a distance from the pool, need to run to jump into the pool, the two police officers are not familiar with the situation, it is impossible to come up to run, with this time difference is enough to let him escape.

Derek swam to the side of the pool and was about to get out of the pool when he suddenly felt a shadow flashing next to him, and then was stomped on the top of his head and pushed down into the water again.

“Gulp gulp ……” Derek’s breathing was disrupted and he directly filled a few mouths of water, choking him and only rolling his eyes.

With another desperate wave of his hands, Derek swam to the edge of the pool where a large hand lifted him out of the pool.

This time, the ones who came to Derek were not only Luke and Blackie, but also Ramon and Jenny.

It was Ramon who had just lifted him out of the water.

Derek lay on the ground panting heavily, “Who are you guys?”

Jenny flashed her badge, “LAPD.”

“Are you the same two LAPD that I saw last time?”

Luke walked over as well, “If you were, you’d be dead already instead of being caught by us.”

“I can’t believe there are four of you.”

Luke said, “We’re here to arrest people, not to make you admire them.”

“On what basis do you guys arrest me?”

“On the basis that you used a large amount of counterfeit money.” Luke pulled out a bill, tore it in half and threw it at him.

Derek sighed, “How did you find me? These fake coins were found?”

“Do you admit to using counterfeit money?”

“I admit it.” Derek spread his hands, he had more fake coins in his room and couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to.

“Where did you get the fake coins?”

“Picked them up.”

“Where did you pick them up.”

“I can’t remember.”

“Besides you, who else has the fake coins?”

“I picked it up alone.”

“Did you give the counterfeit money to anyone else?”

“No.”

“Do you know Quinnell Bolt?”

Derek hesitated, “Yes, he’s a friend of mine.”

“Does he have any counterfeit money?”

“I don’t know, I don’t think so.”

Luke could see that the other party was still holding out, and didn’t seem to realize that Quennel was dead.

Luke took out a picture of Quennel’s murder, “It’s a bit brutal, but I think you should know.”

“What happened to Quennel? Even buy the hell out of him, he’s dead!

Who killed him?

Was it the LAPD?”

“According to our investigation, it was most likely the two men who chased you that night.”

“Aren’t they the LAPD?”

“No, they were fakes.”

“Not only did they kill Quinnel, they tried to kill you too.

You should be glad that we found you first, if those two from before had found you first.

You might have been dead.”

“Damn it, I told him not to go anymore, he just wouldn’t listen, this idiot, he got himself killed for those fake coins.” Derek’s emotions appeared to be running high.

“What the hell happened? You tell us everything so we can help you, understand?

Otherwise, you will probably be hunted down again.”

Seeing that Derek was a bit shaken, Luke and Blackie brought him to the hotel room for questioning, while Ramon and Jenny were in charge of searching the hotel room he was staying in.

Derek was, after all, only a teenager, and learning that his best friend had been killed had caused him to become nervous and a bit emotionally broken.

Blackie arrived with a glass of water for him, “Dude, relax, we’ll cover you if you tell us what happened.

We’ll catch the bad guys and you’ll be safe.”

“A while back, Quinnel and I went to an abandoned warehouse to play, and we were curious when we noticed a lot of machines in the warehouse.

At first, we thought they were printing machines and wondered if they could be sold for money.

Later, we found out that the warehouse also had a compartment with a lot of shelves, and on one of the shelves were bundles of bills, all in twenty-dollar denominations.

There were ten stacks of banknotes in a bundle, each stack of one hundred banknotes with a twenty-dollar face value, and a bundle would be twenty thousand dollars.

There were at least a dozen bundles of bills on that shelf, and both of us were stunned, having never seen so many bills.

Both of us were also stunned, knowing that the money probably came from the wrong source, and then associating it with the printing presses outside, we guessed that these were probably counterfeit money.

Knowing that it was counterfeit money, the two of us weren’t that interested anymore, and each of us only took one bundle.

If you can spend it, you can spend it, but if you can’t, you can just play with it.

Later, we tried to spend it a few times and no one realized that it was fake money, and we became more and more bold and a bit regretful that we took less.

A few days later, Quinnel contacted me and said that he wanted to go to that warehouse once more, this time with more money, so that everyone could get rich.

Hearing his words, I had mixed feelings, a little heart, but more things scared.

I know very well that this kind of thing can be one or the other, counterfeit money is also money, this is a life-threatening business, if caught by the people who make counterfeit coins is a dead end.

I advised him not to be a fool and not to go back to that warehouse, but he said he had spent all his money and needed more.” Derek gave a helpless look of guilt and said.

“I should have talked him out of it, if I hadn’t let it go then, he wouldn’t have died.

It’s all my fault.”

Luke pressed, “The two of you were given $20,000 each, that’s not a small amount of money, how could you have spent it in a few days?”

“I asked that too, and at first he refused to tell me, then he told the truth when I asked him.” Derek sighed, “He only spent a few thousand dollars on himself and gave the rest to his mom.”

Black said, “Wasn’t Quinnel abandoned by his mom? Why would he even give the money to his mom?”

“Quinnell doesn’t believe he was abandoned, he believes that the foster care center took away her mother’s custody and believes that she loves him.

He has always missed his mother and wished he could live with her, which is why he has not been able to fit into his foster home.

He has been in contact with his own mother and he expects her to pick him up and raise him, but his mother refuses every time for various reasons.

Either that she couldn’t afford it, that the foster care center wouldn’t agree, or that she was too busy working and would move to Los Angeles to live with Quinnell when she made enough money.

It was a similar excuse every time, once or twice was fine, too many excuses and no fool would believe it.

But Quinnel believed it.

The first thing he thought of after he knew the money could be spent was his own mother, and mailed her a sum of money to come to Los Angeles to play, the best hotels, food and lodging, and buy all kinds of gifts.

Also, his mom brought her boyfriend along, and he spent thousands of dollars on her boyfriend as well.

When I heard that at the time, I thought he was a big fool.

Sure enough, when his money was spent, his mom followed her boyfriend.

She’s a beyotch.

Quinnell was disappointed, not in his own mother, but in the fact that he didn’t have enough money.

In his words, if he had enough money, he could keep his mother with him and let her live with him.

Never to be separated again.

At the time, I thought, “He’s crazy!”