Chapter 261

Blackie laughed, “To reintroduce myself, my name is Thor, nicknamed Hammer.”

Luke tapped him on the shoulder, signaling a little restraint, “What’s Loki’s full name?”

“I don’t know, all I know is that his nickname is Loki.”

“How did you guys get in touch?”

“They reached out to me.”

“Did you know that the merchandise was stolen from Gangnam Supermarket?”

“No.”

“Have you worked together before?”

“No, this is the first time.

I know it’s not right, I’m in the legitimate business.

I didn’t want to buy it at first, but they threatened me that if I didn’t buy it I was looking down on them and would get back at me, and my supermarket.

I had to compromise and buy their goods for safety reasons.

I was forced.”

“Why didn’t you call the police?”

“It was useless, the police couldn’t deal with them. They were only making verbal threats at that time, they hadn’t done any substantial harm yet, even if the police came, they could only give a verbal warning, and once the police left, I was finished, my supermarket was finished, and the consequences were unimaginable.” As if afraid that Luke and the two men would not believe, Osmond added.

“I’m telling the truth, those guys as long as the whole into zero, take turns to a zero-dollar purchase, it won’t take a month for my supermarket to go bankrupt.

And that’s just the simplest means, if they use criminal means, it doesn’t take a month, maybe a day to destroy my supermarket.

I’m a businessman, I can’t fight them.”

“How can I find them?”

“I don’t know, they found me.”

Luke frowned slightly, he felt that Osmond was hiding something, “Don’t ask questions, since you made a deal, you must have had close contact with each other, only if you provide as many clues as possible can the police find them.”

Osmond asked rhetorically, “Aren’t you investigating a poisoning case? Does this matter have anything to do with the poisoning case?”

“Two poisoning cases happened in your supermarket within half a month, do you think it’s just a coincidence?

There are so many supermarkets, why did they choose to poison your supermarket?

And it’s not just the time, the way of poisoning and the techniques are similar, to say that there is no connection between the two, I don’t believe it.

As long as we can find the person who poisoned the red wine, we might also be able to find out some clues about poisoning the mineral water.” Luke’s idea was to cross-reference the clues and evidence from the two cases and find the common threads, and maybe he could follow the trail to catch the poisoner.

Even the second poisoning case was probably an upgraded version of the first case.

Therefore, Luke decided to investigate both cases together.

Osmond seemed to hear it in his heart and also started to follow Luke’s thoughts, “Actually, after the red wine poisoning happened, I have also been guessing who poisoned the wine, whether they are targeting me or trying to sabotage my supermarket.

I have suspected the dismissed employees, suspected a competing supermarket, and even wondered if it was the guests who bought the red wine who touched the porcelain.

But this matter …… I reasoned in the first place, the origin of the red wine is unknown, I have no way to claim compensation from the manufacturer, let alone dare to report to the police, I can only admit to myself.”

Osmond’s words gave Luke a wake-up call, “How much did you compensate the two customers who bought red wine?”

“One forty thousand dollars and one sixty thousand dollars.”

“That’s very generous of you.”

“I didn’t have a choice in that situation, it would affect the business of the supermarket if things got too big, I could only compromise and put things to rest, every time I mention it, I’m going to be heartbroken.”

“How much did you spend to buy this batch of goods of unknown origin from Rocky?”

“Twenty thousand dollars.”

“Doesn’t it seem ironic that the stolen goods you purchased for $20,000 cost you a hundred thousand dollars in restitution?”

“It is ironic, and I regret it.

I’ll never do anything stupid like that again, but of course, I’ll have to survive this before …… I don’t know if I’ll ever have a chance.”

Luke said, “Have you ever thought of a possibility that the people who poisoned the wine were the gang of thieves, who had access to the red wine and had enough opportunity to poison it.

Selling this stolen goods to you is just the first step, because they know that these stolen goods can’t be sold for too much money.

Their real goal was to blackmail you with the poisoning.

They know the merchandise is from an unknown source.

They know you are afraid to call the police.

They know they can get more money through blackmail.”

After listening to Luke’s words, Osmond revealed an angry look and clenched his fists tightly, “Are you saying that Loki, who sold the stolen goods, and the customers who bought the red wine are in cahoots, and that they set a trap for me, and are working together to blackmail me.”

“That’s just a guess, to prove the truth, you have to find Loki first to know.” Luke’s words were clearly suspected of stirring up trouble.

But Luke was projecting the case and speaking brightly.

As for believing it or not, it mainly depends on the depth of the injury.

Osmond bought stolen goods only spent 20,000 U.S. dollars, but because two bottles of red wine was poisoned compensation of 100,000 U.S. dollars, this poisoning incident may even let his supermarket closed, his heart has long been holding a ball of anger.

This fire burned him very hard, but do not know who to vent.

Luke’s words gave him an outlet, no matter if it was true or not, at least he could vent some of his anger, not suffocating himself alive.

“I thought carefully again and recalled something about Loki, he is a white man, very tall, should be nearly 190cm, brown hair, he wore a mask, I couldn’t see his appearance.

But he had a tattoo design on his right arm, it looked like a centipede design, it was scary, I personally hate that animal.

I hope this helps you guys.”

“What’s your specific time frame for the deal?”

“Loki contacted me on August 7th and only gave me a day to think about it, we traded on the evening of August 8th.”

“Where did you trade?”

“At a warehouse where I store my goods.”

“What is the address of the warehouse?”

“745 Arisa Street.”

“How was it transported to the warehouse?”

“It was a van, white, and they obscured the license plate number.”

“Did you sell all the stolen goods you acquired from them?”

“No. After the incident with the two bottles of red wine, I didn’t dare to sell them again, and moved them back to the warehouse to put them away.”

“How much red wine did you sell in all, and how many bottles of red wine from Caféra are left?”

“I collected a total of two cases of red wine, totaling twelve bottles, and there should still be one case left.”

“The rest of the loot and the red wine should be sealed and we’ll have to appraise them.”

Osmond revealed a touch of bitterness, “Suit yourselves, my supermarket is finished, what’s the point of having those things?”

“Do you have Loki’s contact information?”

“He gave me a cell phone number, we contacted through that.” Osmond rummaged through his cell phone and said, “626 836 384*”

In Luke’s experience, this kind of cell phone number used for contact, it’s hard to directly find out the owner’s ‘real’ identity, “Any other clues about Loki?”

“No.”

“What about Loki’s associates?”

“His accomplices were all wearing masks too, I couldn’t see what they looked like, only that they were all white.”

“How many in all?”

“It should be four.” Osmond finished, showing a worried look, “Will I …… go to jail?”

“Prepare for bail.”

“God, where do I have money now, why would I encounter this kind of shit ……”

Blackie shrugged, “From the time you collected stolen goods, you’ve already planted the seeds of crime.”

“I don’t want to, but just that kind of situation …… I have no choice.

Maybe in your eyes they are just some insignificant punks, but for us small businessmen with no background, they are the toughest and scariest!

That’s the way the world is, the more you try to live well, the more difficult life becomes.”

Osmond admitted to receiving the stolen goods, and was himself taken into custody and the loot brought back to the police station for identification, especially the remaining Kafira brand of red wine, which had probably left a clue to the poisoner.

These trivial matters were left to others, Luke’s target was placed on Rocky, through Osmond’s dictation, Luke had gotten several important clues.

Suspect’s nickname, Loki

Race, white

Physical features, brown hair, height nearly 190CM

Tattoo, centipede on right arm

Cell phone number, 626 836 384*.

Characteristics, gang-related.

Location, near Korean neighborhood.

Direction of investigation, suspected gang affiliation.

The above information is already quite a lot.

Luke handed the summarized information to Xiao Hei, “Do you have anything to add?”

Blackie looked at it and rubbed his chin, “Loki committed the crime on August 3 and only sold the merchandise to Osmond on August 8. I think during this period he would definitely contact the sales channels to compare goods.

As long as he spread the word on the road about selling stolen goods, someone will remember the incident, which can likewise be used as one of the clues to confirm his identity.”

Luke nodded, Blackie was more familiar with the gang’s set of rules than he was, “Can you find him?”

Blacky shrugged, “This guy is too white to be in the same circle as me, not much hope.”

“Then check the cell phone number first.

If we can’t find out the owner’s information, I will ask the captain to contact the Anti-Triad and Narcotics Division and ask for their assistance in investigating Loki’s identity.” Luke wouldn’t let David investigate privately, but would give him a private pass.

It was official business and there was no need to use his favor.

If he asked David for help, David would definitely help, but the problem was that private help would not benefit David, and even if he got a lead there was no way to get credit for it.

It was different when Susan went to contact the Anti-Triad and Narcotics Division directly.

The job would probably still be given to David.

But it belonged to the cooperation between the two departments, with real credit.

Eight o’clock in the evening.

Luke returned home.

Just as he stopped the car, he saw a gorgeous woman sitting at the bamboo and rattan table in the yard.

“Hi, if it isn’t Ms. Dean. What are you doing in my yard?”

“I just happened to be passing through the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by, only you weren’t home, so I was about to give you a call when I happened to see your car coming.”

Luke didn’t believe her bullshit and was slightly disgruntled, “Coincidence indeed, but next time you’d better call before coming to my house.

When the police have more enemies, they are also more vigilant.

It’s dark at night, so it’s easy for a gun to go off, and it’s not good to be injured by mistake.”

“It sounds like you’re not a very good shot?”

“Other than a slower rate of fire, there’s no downside.”

Orty “……”

“SORRY, I took the liberty this time, next time I’ll call ahead.”

“Come in and talk.”

Luke opened the door, turned on the living room light, and invited Orty into the house.

Orty scanned the living room, “You live alone?”

“Yes.”

“It’s pretty clean.”

Luke laughed, “I guessed you might be coming and cleaned it ahead of time.”

“Really?”

Luke didn’t answer, taking out a bottle of red wine and pouring two glasses, handing one to Orty, “What’s the matter with me?”

Olty raised his glass in a gesture and took a sip, “Since you could guess that I was coming, you should be able to guess the purpose of my visit as well.”

Luke also took a sip of his drink, he was just pulling his punches, how could he really guess that Orty was coming.

But since the other party had come, the reason was not hard to guess instead.

Judging from the relationship between the two parties, the other party most likely wanted to introduce himself to the commissioned case.

But having just excused himself once two days ago, it was unlikely that Orty would forget so quickly, and if it was an ordinary case, Luke would likely excuse himself again.

In other words, this case had a certain specificity that was not Luke’s.

“You’re here for the poisoning case?”

“Worthy of being Captain Luke, guessing my reason for coming in a flash, admirable.”

“Lieutenant.”

“I heard that you will soon be promoted to captain.”

Luke tried, “Your detective agency has helped me in secret?”

“No. You have your own avenues for promotion, which is why the firm values you. After all, a $320,000 consulting fee isn’t for everyone, and I’d probably have settled in Hawaii if I’d gotten that deal.

I love the beaches there.”

Fairly honest, Luke ghosted in and asked, “Do you surf?”

“Sure, that’s fun.”

“COOL, I’ve always wanted to learn how to surf, Coach Orty has some time one day, we can make an appointment ahead of time.”

“My coaching fees are expensive, more so than last time.”

Luke laughed, “Isn’t 320,000 dollars enough?”

“Money is only one aspect, I came here today to ask for your help, you shouldn’t refuse, right?”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No, I’m just making an offer.”

Luke asked back, “So can I make an offer?”

“Name it.”

“Can I wear a thong next time?”

Orty “……”

“I came to you for a job? Is that appropriate?”

“I just don’t like being threatened.”

Orty was helpless, “OK, I take back what I said before.

I’m here to ask for your help today, and I hope you can help me, Mr. Counselor.”

“That’s much more comfortable to hear, tell me about it.”

“We’ve received a commission from the Vixen Corporation, they want to hire a detective agency to investigate the truth about the poisoning.”

Luke asked rhetorically, “Investigating the truth shouldn’t be the LAPD’s business, why a detective agency?”

“You are right, investigating the case is indeed LAPD’s responsibility, but LAPD cares about whether or not it can solve the case, and doesn’t care about the death or life of Vixen Corporation.

With an incident like this, Vison Corporation is in a tough position, and if it doesn’t respond properly, the company could be on the verge of bankruptcy.

That’s why the Vison Company asked the detective agency to investigate, they wanted to know more about the poisoning case.

This will enable them to conduct a timely and effective PR crisis and recover the company’s losses.”

“Then you should also know that it’s impossible for me to tell you too much about the situation as a frontline officer investigating the case.”

“Then tell me something that you can; not all information needs to be kept secret, and what doesn’t work for you may require a detective to spend a lot of time investigating.

I’d appreciate it if you could help.”

Luke said, “I suddenly want to swim.”

Orty froze slightly, then snapped out of it, “Does it have to be this way? Can’t we have a little more trust between us?”

Luke spread his hands, “If you don’t want to swim? Then there’s nothing to talk about.”

A little helpless, Orty smiled, “Do you have a pool at your house?”

“We can go to a hotel and rent a room with a pool to talk.”

“This case is urgent and I’m on a tight schedule.”

Luke didn’t say anything or indicate.

“OK, can I borrow the bedroom?”

Luke pointed to the side bedroom, “Be my guest.”

Orty took her purse and went into the bedroom, a few moments later the bedroom door opened and Orty stepped out in sexy lacey coupled pink lingerie that was even more see through than a bikini.

With her long legs, Orty walked across to Luke and spun around, sitting on the couch across from Luke, her two long legs folded over each other, “Can we talk now?”

Luke walked to the bathroom and pulled out a washcloth and handed it to her, “Not my intention.”

Orty wrapped the towel around her, just enough to cover her private parts, still showing off her two long legs, “You have honest eyes.

Can I talk now?”

“I’ve got a lot of mixed stuff going on in my head and I’m not sure what to say? This way, you can ask me questions, but I won’t necessarily answer them.”

“Then I’m not at a disadvantage?”

Luke laughed, “How about I take it off too?”

Orty took a deep breath and laughed at the exasperation, “Shall we begin?”

Luke made a gesture of invitation.

“Now how many cases of Vixen brand mineral water poisoning have there been?”

“Four cases.”

“What kind of poison?”

“I can’t tell you the exact ingredients, but what I can tell you is that it’s highly toxic and can kill in a very short time.”

“Has anyone died already?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“The number of fatalities is more than three.”

“Do we know the killer’s purpose in poisoning?”

“Not yet.”

“Is there any possibility that the company of other mineral water brands was behind it?”

“No such cases have been found for the time being.”

“How did the murderer administer the poison? Was there any damage to the encapsulation of the mineral water bottles.”

“There was, but the technique was so skillful that it’s hard to tell from the outside.”

“That is to say, it can be determined that someone maliciously poisoned the bottles, and it wasn’t a quality problem with the manufacturer’s production.”

“Yes.” There was nothing that couldn’t be said, if there was a quality problem, the police would have come to the door sooner or later.

It was just a matter of sooner or later.

It could very well be this night’s time difference.

And that’s what detective agencies earn.

Getting the information their employers want in the fastest time possible.

“Are you sure you can solve this case?”

“No.”

“I thought you’d say yes, after all, you’ve solved a lot of big cases before.”

“This case isn’t quite like the previous ones, it’s hard to tell.”

Orty lowered his crossed thighs, “Can I go change now?”

“There’s still time to talk some more.”

“Hopefully, next time, there will be a little more trust.” Orty finished, got up and went to the bedroom.

The back was delicate and evocative.