Chapter 285
Wickedore stepped out of the car with an apologetic look, “SORRY, I didn’t mean to lie to you guys.”
“But the truth is you did lie and betrayed our trust. What did you have to do with Gretna’s death and why did you lie about it.”
“Not a thing to do with it, I only found out about Gretna’s murder when you guys came over this afternoon, there was no grudge between me and her, I didn’t even have to kill her.”
“Then why did you lie about being gay?”
“I told you, everyone in the barbershop knows I’m gay, I didn’t make up the lie to deceive you ……
It was just a way to do a better job and earn the trust of my clients, that’s all.”
“What does being gay have to do with you getting a haircut?”
Wickedore rubbed his hands together and explained, “If you want to get a foothold in an industry, you have to have your own specialties and make yourself irreplaceable so that your personal value goes up.
The same working condition will be rewarded more.”
Speaking of which, Wickedore looked over at Luke and Jackson, “Have you guys heard of Mr. Ty Jason?
He’s my idol, and he charges a whopping $1,650 per haircut.
All of his clients are Hollywood stars and politicians, and he has to make appointments in advance to get them.
He’s a gay man who owns a barbershop with his own husband, and he’s my role model, too.”
Luke said, “There are many reasons for a person to be successful, it doesn’t mean that he’s successful because he’s gay, you’re being a bit one sided with that statement.”
“Captain Lee, no offense, but I know more about the barber profession than you do.
Many women come to barbershops to get their hair done, not only for beauty, but sometimes to find someone to talk to.
To talk about something that’s bothering them about life, marriage, work, friends.
These words, men can not empathize.
Some words, and not suitable to say to the same sex.
The most suitable instead is gay, many women want to have a gay male best friend.
Both understand the man, but also will stand in the woman’s point of view, not quite a man, not quite a woman, is absolutely the most perfect object of confidences.
And once you become their confidant, they will also become your loyal customers.
That’s what my relationship with Gretna is, and that’s all it is.”
“Your homosexuality is just a persona?”
“Exactly.
With so many barbers in the store, I needed a special label, and at least from what I’ve seen so far, it’s brought me a lot of clients.”
Luke said, “I’ve come in contact with a lot of suspects, and a lot of them lie when they give statements, and I can usually tell.
But in talking to you, I didn’t notice any signs of lying.”
Wickedore smiled, “That’s not surprising, I’ve been pretending to be gay for two years now.
I was a little nervous when I first started saying I was gay, and you might have been able to tell if that was the time.
But I’ve been gay for two years now, at least to outsiders, and people often ask ‘Are you gay?’
‘Yes, I’m gay.’
It’s been said so many times that I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Practice makes perfect?”
“Exactly.”
“I’d like to know your schedule for the entire day of September 14th.”
“I took that day off backwards and was with my girlfriend the whole time, 24 hours a day, so if you don’t believe me you can ask.”
“Where did you all go?”
“Just at home, watching TV, sunbathing in the backyard, cooking, and some lovey-dovey stuff.
I usually work harder and take breaks that are more random, I go out when I want to and maybe stay home for the day if I don’t want to.”
“Where were you on September 15th between 10:00 and 12:00 p.m.?”
“Still with my girlfriend, we would have just gotten home at that time, washed up, had a little drink and went to bed.
We were living a fairly regular life, I’m not the fun-loving type, and I was only masquerading as gay for work.”
“Did Gretna talk to you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you should know her pretty well.”
“I can’t say I know her well, but she did confide some trivial things to me.
Originally I did not want to say these, I am not a gossip, and I do not want to tell others the privacy of my clients ……” Wickendall showed a look of desire to speak.
Luke advised, “Gretna is different, she’s dead, even her body was dissected, there are no more secrets to tell.
And what she tells you about her privacy could be the key to solving the case.
It’s good for her, good for you, and good for the police.”
“OK,” Wickendall said thoughtfully, “Gretna’s father is dead and her mother lives in another state, but they are not on good terms as mother and daughter.
Gretna wanted to be a Dink, and her husband agreed when he was younger, but wanted a child for the last two years and wanted her to have one while she was young.
Gretna is reluctant.
In fact, she got pregnant once before and secretly aborted it behind her husband’s back, she didn’t dare to tell anyone else, she only told me.”
“Are you sure her husband doesn’t know?” Luke felt this clue was important.
“I’m not sure, but she told me at the time that she would never let her husband know because it could lead to a divorce between the two of them.”
“What was the real reason the two of them divorced?”
“According to Gretna, she and her husband hadn’t been on the best of terms for the last two years, but it hadn’t gotten to the point of separation and divorce until she found out some time ago that he had been going behind her back to a silver seller.
She felt betrayed and disgusted, which is why she was adamant about getting a divorce.”
“Do you know the name of the silver seller girl?”
“No, that’s not for me to ask.”
“What else?”
“Nothing much.”
“Is Gretna seeing anyone new?”
“No. Grina doesn’t have a very good temper, but she’s not the type to mess around, she’s afraid of trouble and likes to live a simple life ……
That’s all I know.
I swear, I really have nothing to do with Gerina’s death.”
“Does your girlfriend know about all this?”
“Yes, she knows I’ve been pretending to be gay, and I only show my true side in front of her, she’s the harbor of my soul, and we’ve even considered sneaking off to Vegas to get married, lol.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“Sure, but she’s not very bold, so I hope you guys don’t scare her.”
Wickdoll then got into the car and Luke talked to Wickdoll’s girlfriend, and both men gave essentially the same statement.
Wickedore pretending to be gay is not an attempt to deceive the police, but a persona that has been used for a long time, which then makes him much less suspicious.
After the talk, Luke and Jackson prepare to leave.
Wickdoll got out of the car and walked up to the two men, “Captain Lee, Detective Jackson, can I ask you for something?”
“What is it?”
“Can you not keep my secret, I don’t want anyone else to know I’m a fake gay.”
“We won’t intentionally publicize this, and as long as you’re not lying, we won’t cross paths in the future, your worries are unwarranted.”
“Thank you, thank you so much.”
Luke said with a straight face, “Remember to contact me when you think of new clues, don’t hide it this time.”
“I’ll remember.”
Luke admonished the other party before getting into the police car.
Jackson started the car while asking, “Captain, where are we going now?”
Soma neighborhood.
Near Herson Sweeney’s house.
Luke asked Jackson to park the car a little farther away and glanced at the time, which was already ten-fifty at night.
From Wickedore’s latest statement, Herson Sweeney’s suspicion of the crime had risen again.
First of all, Herson wanted a child, and Gretna was pregnant, and not only did she not tell him, but she secretly aborted the child, which would probably cause Herson Sweeney’s resentment and revenge.
Secondly, Herson Sweeney had dealings with the silver seller girl, who was the first headless female corpse.
From this perspective, Herson was related to both victims.
For these two reasons, Luke wanted to give Herson another statement.
“Jackson, check the equipment and let’s go meet Herson again.”
“Don’t we have to wait for backup?” After the last attack, Jackson was much more careful than before.
“Backup will be here soon too, so let’s go talk to Helson first.
Don’t worry, retired agents like McKell Arthur are a very small minority, otherwise Los Angeles would have been in chaos a long time ago.
Besides, not all agents are as strong as him, he’s in the top category of agents, so don’t be intimidated by him.”
“I know, I was just asking.”
“GOOD, get off and call the door.”
“YES, Sir.”
The two stepped out of the car and Luke patrolled the perimeter of the house, noticing nothing suspicious, and gestured a safe sign.
Jackson walked to the door, “Knock knock.”
There was no movement in the house.
“Knock knock.” Jackson knocked again and the house remained silent, “Could he be asleep?”
“Knock knock knock.”
Jackson knocked harder again, still no response.
Luke pulled out his pistol and took a guarded stance.
If the other guy wasn’t home, he’d probably run away.
If he was at home and deliberately ignoring the police, it was just as likely that the other man was suspicious.
Luke pressed against the edge of the door and listened carefully, there was no movement, his nose moved, vaguely feeling an odor.
“Do you smell something?”
Jackson also pressed against the door and sniffed, “It seems like the smell of natural gas.”
When the other man said that, Luke also felt something like it.
“Back off.”
The two quickly backed out of the yard and back into the police car.
Jackson felt a little safer then, the leaking gas was like a ticking time bomb.
“Captain, what do we do now?”
“Call 911 and evacuate the surrounding neighborhood.” Fire and water had no mercy, and Luke didn’t want to put his life in danger when he couldn’t figure out what was going on in the room.
“YES, Sir.”
“Drive the police car away first.”
Jackson “……”
Luke and Jackson knocked on doors door to door, evacuating the surrounding neighborhood.
Most of the residents were cooperative, voluntarily ducking farther away, while some looked fearless.
Luke didn’t bother, anyway, the notification was made, you can do whatever you like.
Soon, the police, fire trucks and ambulances arrived at the scene.
Those neighbors who were originally indifferent also ran away numbly.
The firefighters walked to the door of the house and took out their instruments to measure: “Drip drip drip ……”
The instrument sounded an alarm.
The firefighters hurriedly evacuated the yard and notified the gas company to temporarily shut off the gas line.
The firefighters then carefully unlocked the door and a strong natural odor wafted out.
It was still dangerous to enter the house at this point, but considering that there might be people in the house, it couldn’t wait any longer.
The firefighters entered the house wearing oxygen masks and began searching for survivors.
A few minutes later, the firefighters came out of the house carrying a man, a white man in his thirties.
Luke walked over to check it out and it was none other than Herson, the man he was looking for.
The paramedics rushed over to administer aid, however, after just a quick check, they shook their heads and said, “There are no more vital signs.”
Luke nodded and had the forensic and technical teams notified.
The scene of the rescue also turned into a crime scene.
After the firefighters put Herson down, they entered the house again, turned off the gas valve, and opened all the windows of the house.
At this point, the concentration of natural gas inside the house was so high that the police were still unable to enter the scene.
Luke walked over to check on Herson, who had no visible injuries on his body surface, smelled strongly of alcohol, and was wearing a housecoat.
According to the firefighters, the gas valve and stovetop valve were turned up to the max, and Luke didn’t believe it was accidental.
Suicide?
Or homicide?
There was too little evidence to tell yet.
One by one, the tech team and the coroner arrived at the scene.
Because the gas in the house hadn’t completely dissipated, the tech team surveyed the yard first, considering the safety issue.
The forensic pathologist, Sheila, examined Herson’s body, and the initial autopsy was quicker than expected.
Sheila said, “The deceased’s physical condition is consistent with the characteristics of natural gas poisoning, there are no signs of being tied up, and no defense wounds were found, the time of death should be between 10:00 and 10:30 pm.
There is a strong odor of alcohol on the deceased’s body and in his mouth, and he will be tested for blood alcohol concentration back at the station.” The medical examiner, Sheila, finished and said thoughtfully.
“I …… think I’ve seen him before.”
“You did meet him, he’s the husband of the headless woman’s body at noon today, and he was there at the time.”
“That’s no wonder, although I’ve dealt with many corpses, this kind of situation is not rare.”
“We didn’t expect it either.” Luke sighed softly, he had given a statement to Helson this morning and the other man had been in a fairly normal mood, Luke hadn’t expected the other man to be dead twelve hours later.
“Can you tell if it was a suicide or a homicide?”
“What I can determine is that he died of natural gas poisoning, but as to whether it was an accidental leak or man-made, that’s something you’ll have to investigate on your own.”
Luke nodded and was about to say something when Mary from the tech team approached, “Captain Luke, Coroner Sheila, you’d better come over here.”
Luke inquired, “What have you found?”
“We dug up something in the backyard of the deceased’s house that should interest you guys.”
Mary led the two men to the backyard, where a hole had been dug in the open area of the yard, and inside the hole was a tool box, which, when opened, held a reddish-brown saw, many of the teeth chipped.
The forensic pathologist Sheila walked over to check it, “It’s the traces of dried blood, the saw teeth look similar to the cut marks of the two headless women’s corpses, it’s most likely to be the tool of the crime in the case of the headless women’s corpses, I would suggest to do a DNA comparison.”
“Let’s do as you say.” Luke got up and scanned the entire backyard with his eyes, “Mary, the heads of the two headless women’s bodies have not been found yet, could they be buried in the yard as well?”
“We will look carefully.”
“Hard work.”
After Luke was promoted to captain, he was not only responsible for investigating cases, but also communicating with other departments.
Afterwards, Luke had found the fire department to confirm the concentration of natural gas in the house, and learned that the gas had dissipated almost too much to cause any damage to the human body.
Luke led the way into the house to check out the scene.
In addition to Luke and Jackson, the Vice Squad, Ramon, Blackie, and Jenny arrived at the scene.
In addition to the members of Squadron One, there were people from the technical team and a firefighter.
The firefighter was a young black man, very fit, one size larger than Luke, and he was the one who carried Helson out of the house.
Luke needed him to identify where Herson was and his position, to recreate the crime scene as best he could.
The firefighter led Luke and the others to the living room and pointed to the couch next to the coffee table, “That’s where I saw him, he was sitting on the couch with his head leaning back.
There was a high concentration of natural gas and the possibility of an explosion ensuing, so I didn’t have time to think about it, so I carried him out.”
“You did nothing wrong.” The lieutenant patted him on the shoulder and added, “Of course, it would have been nice to have gotten a picture at the time.”
The fireman shook his head, “No, we didn’t have time to do that, and if someone saw us, we’d have to be sued for sure.”
“I was just kidding, no need to take it to heart.” The lieutenant pointed to the couch on the other side, “Jackson, you sit on it.”
Another to the firefighter on the side, “Help him pose.”
“Marcus, you take the pictures.
Captain, am I okay with this arrangement.”
Luke laughed, knowing the old man’s problem was back and not getting on his bad side, “Couldn’t be better.”
Jackson acted as a model, the firefighter was the instructor, and Blackie was responsible for taking the photo, soon a photo of the simulated dead man sitting was completed.
Blackie sent the photo to the group.
Luke clicked to view it, “Not bad.”
“I’ve been taking pictures of Julianne a lot now, we wanted to document her entire pregnancy, her belly is getting bigger every day, it will be very meaningful later when the baby is born.” Blackie laughed.
“Even Karma’s, are you still the Marcus I know?” The vice squad had an exaggerated look on their faces.
Kuro bristled, “SORRY, Julian doesn’t want me to get too close to you.”
“Why, because you think I smell like an old man? Be careful I’ll sue you for discrimination.”
“No, it’s just that some of your past experiences have Julian a little worried that I’ll learn from you.”
The lieutenant responded with a middle finger.
Luke clapped his hands, “Guys, now is not the time for chit chat, let’s get to work.”
The crowd began to split up and search the house.
Luke looked at the mock-up and observed the area around the couch, there was an empty bottle of red wine and a bottle of whiskey sitting on the coffee table, along with a glass with a small half of whiskey left in it, no undercurrent.
Luke also found a pen next to the coffee table with no cap, like it had been used.
Luke searched around again and found a ball of paper in a nearby trash can, he put on gloves and took a few pictures while opening it.
“I killed Gretna, and I hated her.
But after killing her …… I felt guilty.
I’m sorry, I was wrong!”