Chapter 287
After Rickon finished his statement, Black escorted him out of the office.
Luke recalled the contents of the statement and instructed Matthew, who was beside him, “Check his flight information and verify the alibi.”
“I got it.”
The lieutenant asked, “You think there’s something wrong with him?”
“No, it feels pretty normal, confirm.” Luke didn’t see any signs of lying on the other side.
However, in recent times, the success rate of micro-expression analysis was not high, so it was better to be safe than sorry and focus on evidence.
To put it bluntly, micro-expression analysis was a more practical way of investigation, which could quickly and effectively identify lies, but the accuracy rate could not reach one hundred percent.
Skills were ultimately just a tool, and the actual effect produced would also depend on the ability of the person using it.
After Blackie returned to the office, Luke began to arrange tasks.
Rickon, as Helsen’s legal heir, he came with a motive to commit the crime, and was also regarded as a key suspect by the police before making a statement.
As to whether the content of his statement was credible, it was not completely certain.
It can be divided into two cases, the first case the transcript is not credible, he lied, he is the murderer.
For this situation, Luke asked Matthew to investigate the other party’s flight information, just to confirm whether the other party has an alibi, if there is an alibi, then he is not the murderer.
Of course, he could have hired the murderer, and this aspect has to be checked out as well.
The second possibility, Rickon’s statement is credible, he didn’t lie, he’s not a murderer.
Then, the clues he provided were especially important, and the next focus of the police’s investigation would also center around the clues he provided.
After Luke wisped his thoughts, he directly ordered.
“Matthew, check again if there are any problems with Rickon’s financial situation, are there any large sums of money exchanged?”
“Copy that.”
“Lieutenant, Marcus, you are responsible for lining up the contacts in Herson’s cell phone.”
“Ramon, Jenny, you guys go to Helson’s workplace and look for the guy named Henry.”
“Jackson and I will go with you to canvass Herson’s neighborhood.”
“Captain, don’t I have to collect evidence of a closed case?”
“There’s no rush, you can do it overtime.”
Jackson “……”
Luke and Jackson then rushed to the Soma neighborhood.
Passing the Herson’s house Luke lowered his window and looked around the Herson’s house out of habit, some murderers had a habit of returning to the scene after committing their crimes.
Luke didn’t spot any suspicious people as far as his eyes could see, but he did see a TV station’s car.
He wasn’t too surprised, the commotion last night was so loud that the entire neighborhood was alarmed, and it was normal to have a reporter interviewing him.
The car drove into the community service station, and Luke asked for the list of community residents.
He verified the names of the community residents and did not find anyone named Henry.
“Captain, where are we going to investigate now?”
While Luke was investigating the case, he was also paying attention to the movements of the chat group, Ramon and Jenny went to Herson’s company to investigate, the vice team and Blackie were lining up Herson’s cell phone number, and he had just lined up the residents of the community, and none of them had found someone suspected to be named Henry yet.
“Go to the neighborhood bar.”
Jackson was a little surprised, “It’s only a little after five, isn’t it a little early to go to a bar?”
“We’re not going to the bar to drink, we’re going to investigate. Helson’s circle of coworkers, community, and contacts are all being investigated, the only thing we haven’t investigated yet is his circle of friends with similar interests.
In the words of his brother Rickon, the only thing Herson could call an interest was drinking.
The odds are then that his friends with similar interests are in bars.”
Jackson nodded, “That’s a good deduction.”
The Socal neighborhood was two miles away.
Merson’s Bar.
The bar was modern and beautifully decorated, a white bartender in his mid-thirties stood at the bar polishing glasses.
The bar was not crowded with many customers, only a few tables, sitting around sporadically.
Luke and Jackson walked into the bar one after the other.
The bartender put down the glass he was holding, “What would you like to drink?”
Luke said, “A cocktail.”
“Me too.”
The white bartender laughed as he made the drink, “You guys are very discerning, I make the second best cocktail in the entire city of Los Angeles.”
Luke snickered, “Your boss must have made that list.”
“No, my dad ranked it.”
Jackson wondered, “Who’s number one on the list?”
“My mom, haha.”
Jackson “……”
“I have a sudden craving for a beer, get me another one, please.” Luke wasn’t expecting much anymore.
After getting his beer, Luke picked up his glass and took a moderate sip.
Jackson also picked up his freshly made cocktail and took a sip, with a slightly odd look on his face.
Luke put his glass down and asked, “How does it taste?”
“Uh …… it tastes …… peculiar.”
“Be smart next time.” Seeing his expression, Luke couldn’t help but laugh.
Jackson picked up his cocktail glass, “Captain, I’m going to go over there and talk to the guests.”
Luke raised his glass in greeting, “Good luck.”
“You too.” Jackson left with his cocktail glass.
Luke guessed that he wasn’t going to have that drink again.
Luke took another sip of his beer, which tasted a lot more delicious than before, and said to the bartender, “Man, can I ask you about someone?”
“What guy?”
“He lives in the SoCal neighborhood and his name is Herson Sweeney.”
“What are you and why do you want him?”
Luke flashed his badge, “LAPD.”
“SORRY, that name doesn’t ring a bell with me.”
Luke pulled out another picture of Helson, “Here’s a picture of him.”
The white bar picked up the picture and looked at it closely, “No, I haven’t seen it.”
“Sure?”
“Of course, I’ve been coming to this bar for years, if he was a regular at the bar, I’m sure I’d recognize him.”
“Thanks.” Luke took back the photo. Scanning over Jackson, he was still chatting with the bar patrons.
As Luke suspected, the cocktails hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
“Hey, Captain Lee.” A woman’s voice rang out.
Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw a familiar black girl approach, “Reporter Jones, long time no see.”
The bartender asked, “What would you like to drink, beautiful?”
“A cocktail.” After finishing her speech, Parley Jones looked at Luke who was on the side, “Captain Lee, I heard that you were promoted to captain of the 1st Squadron.”
“Acting Captain.”
“Congratulations, you should be the youngest captain in the Detective Bureau.”
“It can’t be helped, people are handsome and popular everywhere they go.”
“You’re more than just good looking, your ability is also outstanding, you’re considered the most powerful police officer I’ve ever come into contact with.”
Luke smiled, “Reporter Jones, you are very eloquent, but unfortunately not my cup of tea.
Just say what you have to say.”
“I’m following up on the case of the headless woman’s body, you should know that the citizens of Los Angeles are concerned about similar cases, so I’ve been working hard on the case.
But not much information has been obtained, can you provide me with some news?
Just some general information.
No need for the kind of information that is in a classified stage, though I know you wouldn’t tell me that either.” Parley Jones was a little nervous as she spoke, and, to hide her embarrassment, took a large draught of her cocktail.
“Even buy a cocktail! Is that a cocktail?” Parley Jones rolled her eyes straight up.
“Reporter Jones, we shouldn’t even be considered friends, and we even have some minor disagreements, why do you think you can get information from me?”
“Captain Lee, you’ve become the captain of a solid department at a young age, you have ability, promise, and ambition.
I am the same.
Some minor transgressions are nothing in my opinion, we should move forward and make friends that will help in both of our careers.”
“You’re very confident?”
“I know what you mean, and it takes courage to reach out to you for help, and of course, it can seem a little …… shameless.
Most people can’t make it this far, but I can, and that’s an ability.
That courage is destined to make me a leading journalist.”
To be honest, Parley Jones did impress Luke a little, the woman was getting more courageous with each setback and shameless.
To many people, shameless was a derogatory term, but in reality, shameless people were more palatable in society.
Then again, someone who took their cheek too seriously wouldn’t make a good journalist.
However, Luke still didn’t think she was worth cooperating with, “Why don’t you go to Marcus, I remember you two are on good terms.”
Pari Jones sighed, “Marcus and I broke up, as far as I know, he has a new girlfriend now, I don’t want to disturb his life anymore.”
Luke laughed, she and Xiao Hei that thing, Luke knows everything, obviously with Xiao Hei play discord, want to sell Xiao Hei Bo rich, the result was sold by Xiao Hei, the two people stalemate before breaking up.
After her mouth, Blackie is like a negative man.
Of course, Luke here did not play a good role, and can even say that he is the black hand behind the pit of Parry Jones.
This is also the reason why Luke does not want to cooperate with Parry Jones, this woman can bite Blackie, the same can bite him.
Luke wouldn’t be Mr. Dong Guo.
Seeing that Luke didn’t say anything, Pari Jones continued to persuade, “Captain Luke, you’re not the same as before.
You are now the captain, you have to do more than just still investigating cases, you need to think more comprehensively and deal with more things.
You need a friend in the news industry.
You could definitely use me.”
Luke took a sip of his beer, in fact, Parley Jones wasn’t wrong about that, with Luke’s promotion in his position, he did need to network more, he would definitely be dealing with the news industry in the future, and it was important to have a few well-connected media friends.
But there were plenty of journalists, why would he need to find one he couldn’t trust.
In the past, with the relationship of Blackie, Luke might consider indirectly utilizing Pari Jones, but now without this relationship, he didn’t want to deal with this woman directly.
This woman did have the ability, and toughness, and shamelessness, Luke quite appreciated her.
But in Luke’s experience, the people you admire may not necessarily be your friends, and may also be potential competitors or enemies.
If he cooperates with Pari Jones, he may gain some benefits in the short or medium term, but this woman has no bottom line, and will probably backfire on herself in the long run.
Luke didn’t want to raise a tiger, he might need a reporter in the future, but there were plenty of reporters, he would rather find one with slightly weaker abilities, a little better control, and a bottom line, so that he could use it without worrying about being turned against him.
“Reporter Jones, I admire you.
I’m sure you’ll be a good reporter in the future.
But Marcus and I are not only colleagues, but also good brothers.
He has taken bullets for me.
You and Marcus dated, although they’ve broken up, but after all, we were together.
I don’t want us to get too close, it would give him the wrong idea.”
“Captain Luke, our relationship is limited to work and will not be mixed with male or female feelings.”
“Things are not as simple as you think.
This kind of relationship will make Marcus uncomfortable in his heart even if the parties involved have a clear conscience and make it clear.
I don’t lack women around me, I care more about the friendship with Marcus.
SORRY, I have something else to do today, so I’ll take my leave now.” Luke left a sentence and left the bar.
This kind of woman was good at taking advantage of the men around her, and Luke chose to stay away from her.
In a black sedan.
Jackson drove while saying, “The woman you just talked to seems to be a reporter, and she has an unusual relationship with Marcus.”
“That’s right, she and Marcus dated for a few days, but they’ve broken up.”
“So what did she want to see you for?”
“She regrets it, recalls how good Marcus was, wants to get back together with Marcus, and begs me to put in a good word for her.” Luke opened his mouth without stumbling.
“Does she know about Julian’s pregnancy?”
“Knows.”
“Then she still wants to get back together with Marcus?”
“That’s the scary thing about this woman, she won’t stop until she gets what she wants, stay away from her in the future.”
“I will.”
“GOOD, go to the next bar.”
Adama Bar.
It was an old-fashioned bar, the bar was small, more like a tavern, and the design of the house belonged to the typical western cowboy style.
There were still many white people in America who missed that era.
At this time, it was already more than six o’clock in the evening, and the bar was starting to get crowded.
Luke scanned his eyes around and walked over to the bar.
At the bar stood a middle-aged white man wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy clothes: “Hey, two new cowboys, what would you like to drink?”
“How did you know it was our first time?”
The cowboy bartender smiled, “I know every customer in the store and they’re all my friends. You guys will be too in the future.”
Luke and Jackson looked at each other, “You know every customer? That sounds like a bit of an exaggeration.”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“OK, let’s try it.” Luke pulled out a picture of Herson Sweeney, “Do you recognize him?”
Bull looked at the bartender and laughed, “You guys are hard to beat.
Herson, a regular here.”
Luke clapped, “Awesome.”
“What would you guys like to drink?”
“How’s your cocktail mix?” Jackson seemed a little reluctant to try it again.
The cowboy bartender shrugged, “We don’t sell that kind of drink here.”
“Why? How can a bar not have cocktails.”
“This is a hardcore bar, that kind of drink ……
You know.”
Jackson “……”
I know your sister!
Luke laughed, “Two whiskeys.”
The cowboy bartender placed two drink holders and skillfully poured two glasses of whiskey, “Enjoy it slowly.”
Luke scanned his eyes around as if looking for someone and casually asked, “Hey, why haven’t I seen Henry today.”
“Henry who’s always with Helson?”
“Yeah, that’s the guy, I was thinking of buying him a drink.”
“You’re early, he usually comes back after nine and then drinks until closing.”
Luke smoothly asked, “Do you know his full name?”
“No, I rarely ask customers their full names, some people don’t like it very much.”
“Does the bar have surveillance?”
“We’re a cowboy bar, we don’t need surveillance.”
“Do you know where we can find him?”
The cowboy bartender gave a wary look, “Why are you looking for him?”
Jackson flashed his badge, “That’s a real tough guy.”
The cowboy bartender looked at Jackson and then at Luke, “You guys are setting me up, do I need to call a lawyer?”
“No, we’re just looking for someone, you don’t have to spend a fortune.”
“Thanks, I’d rather buy you guys a drink than give my money to those damn vampires.
That said, why are you guys looking for Henry?”
“Herson’s dead.”
“Even buy a shit, how come I didn’t know that? When did it happen?”
“Last night.”
“No wonder, if you guys hadn’t come, I would have known tonight.
But why are you guys looking for Henry?”
“Hey, cowboy.
We’re investigating a homicide, are you sure you want to keep asking questions and get more involved with this case?”
“No, I don’t want to at all.”
“Then tell us how we can find Henry?”
“I know his license plate number and can tell you.”
“Why would you know his license plate number instead of his full name?”
“The asshole parks recklessly every time he’s drunk, it’s hard for me not to know.”
Luke pulled out his notebook, “Say his license plate number.”
“6yeb324, it’s a black pickup truck.”
“What else do you know about him?”
“His wife ran away, he has some prejudice against women and complains about them almost every time he gets drunk. And because of that, I didn’t like him very much.”
That fit the profile of the suspect, and Luke asked, “Do you think he’ll be here tonight?”
“Unlikely, he hasn’t been here the last couple days.”
Luke handed him a business card, “If he comes, send me a message.”
The cowboy bartender took the card with some concern, “Will this cause trouble for the bar?”
“No, I can assure you of that.”
“Okay.” The cowboy bartender put away the business card somewhat reluctantly.
Luke turned to Jackson, who was off to the side, and said, “Don’t just drink, go talk to those customers about Helson, and don’t mention Henry again, so you don’t spook them.”
“YES, Sir,” Jackson said as he left with his drink in hand.
The cowboy bartender bristled and whispered, “I don’t like your coworkers.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t act like a real tough guy.”
Luke smiled, “Are you?”
“Sure.”
“Then can you do me a favor? Cowboy.”
“A cop asking me for a favor?”
“That’s right.”
“What do you want me to do and what’s in it for me?”
“You’ll get a favor payment.”
“Police money …… haha …… I’m not sure I can take it?”
“It’s not my money, it’s someone else who will pay you.”
“I do you a favor …… someone else gives you money?”
“That’s right, it’s good for both of us.”
The cowboy bartender was a little disbelieving, “It could be that good?”
Luke picked up his glass and took a drink, “Try it and you’ll see.”