Chapter 310

Robbery-Murder Division, Interrogation Room One.

Before officially handing Soest over to the FBI, Luke wanted to try one more time.

If Solstice was willing to confess, there would be no need to hand him over to the FBI for interrogation.

Although it was unlikely, after trying it, at least there would be no regrets, and he would be able to give an explanation to his men.

Luke could make the call on this matter, but he still had to consider his men’s emotions.

Luke led Jackson into the interrogation room, where Souster was already handcuffed to the interrogation table.

Luke sized up the other party, “Thorst, you’re looking good, I’m glad you’ve started to adapt to life inside.”

“Hmph, said as if I had a choice.”

“I’m here today to give you one last chance to choose.”

“Tell me about it.” Solstice leaned back for a comfortable position.

“We’ve found out who was behind the North Hollywood bank robbery.”

Solstice laughed, “I don’t know anything about the man behind it at all, except that the mastermind of the case, Mabry, has already been killed by you guys ‘bang-bang-bang-bang-bang’, and I’ll bet you’ve killed more people than I have.”

“I kill people who break the law.”

“That’s right, you don’t have to take any responsibility for killing people according to the law. But we’re different, we go to jail when we get caught.”

“Don’t you complain, if the LAPD doesn’t kill the bad guys, the safety of the citizens of Los Angeles can’t be guaranteed and the social order will be broken.

At that time, the citizens of Los Angeles will take up guns to sanction the lawbreakers and criminals with their own hands, and without the constraints of the law and the rules and regulations of the police department, they will only become more ferocious.

If you get caught by them you’ll die a horrible death, there won’t even be a hair left on your head, let alone sit peacefully at the interrogation table and bullshit me.”

“Oh, I really yearn for the world you describe, to me disorder is the best order.”

“It’s because you think that way that you’re sitting in the position you’re in now. And you don’t need to yearn for it, you’ll soon enter another world, enjoy the order in it.

Also, to give you another piece of good news, your lawyer, Bern Woolf, has turned himself in to the police, giving an account of the relationship between you and Muriel Baldini.

The reason you killed Jacob Johnston and robbed the North Hollywood Bank was at the behest of Muriel Baldini.

We have now arrested Muriel Baldini, and even if you try to hide it for her, it won’t help.”

Solstice stared at Luke, “Captain Lee, so tell me, what did I say to Bern Woolf?

If you can repeat our conversation, I’m all ears.”

“Souster, I’ve said my words to this point, you should know very well that the police have already investigated the case clearly, and there’s no point in your sophistry.”

Solstice sighed, “Perhaps, but what’s the point if I don’t weasel my way out of it?

Can you offer me a favorable plea deal? Or will you release me?

If you can’t, get out, whether or not there’s someone behind this means nothing to me.”

“Solstice, now that you’ve been arrested, it’s in your best interest to be honest and face the law.”

“Shit, I don’t give a shit about the bullshit law, what right does it have to sanction old me.

I’m not even afraid of death, I would still be afraid of you cops, you think a few light words can scare me?

Don’t try to get anything out of me again.”

Luke said, “You chose the wrong path.”

“I know exactly what my path will be for the rest of my life, I don’t need you to critique it, and you can’t change anything.”

“OK, then there’s nothing more to say.” Luke stood up and said lightly.

“The man is yours.”

“Bang!” The door to the interrogation room slammed open and Anthony burst in, “I’ve been waiting for that.”

“Have a good …… time together.” Luke dropped a sentence and left the interrogation room.

Anthony laughed, “I sure will.”

In a black Ford Transit.

The driver’s compartment was partitioned from the back, creating two relatively independent spaces.

Anthony personally escorted the robber, Thorst.

Solstice had handcuffs on his wrists and ankles while being secured in the car, with a slight look of confusion on his face, he had always thought Luke was bluffing, not realizing that the other side would easily hand him over to the FBI.

The car was moving fast, in front of it a school bus lit up with a ‘STOP’ sign on the left side and the driver hastily slammed on the brakes.

Anthony slammed forward and crashed into the compartment with a ‘thud’, the law enforcement recorder fell to the ground and Anthony jerked his foot up and stepped on it.

Anthony knocked hard on the compartment and shouted, “Hey, how are you driving, my law enforcement recorder is broken.”

“SORRY, I didn’t want to, the school bus in front of me suddenly lit up.”

“Drive slower, don’t let something like this happen again, it’s not good to run over our guests.”

“What did you say, I can’t hear you ……”

“None of your business, drive properly.” Anthony shouted and turned his head to look at Souster and laughed, “What a guy who doesn’t let people worry about him.”

A wary look appeared on Solstice’s face.

“Don’t be so uptight, I stopped wanting to wear this thing a long time ago, let’s have a nice chat, I’m holding a lot of words inside.”

“I have nothing to talk about with you.”

Anthony took a picture out of his jacket pocket of a young boy of Mexican descent, “Do you recognize him?”

Solstice looked at it, “No.”

“His father …… is the FBI agent you blew up.” Anthony carefully put the photo away and sighed, “He’s only five years old, he’s a very cute kid.

Yesterday …… I went to his house ……

He asked me, Uncle Anthony, where is my dad? Why haven’t you brought my dad back?

I was looking into his eyes and listening to his voice ……

I had no way to answer, no way to face him, no place to go …… Can you understand how that feels?”

Thorst scowled, his hands trembling slightly.

“Thorst, the child is asking me for a father again, can you tell me what to do?”

“You’re asking the wrong person, I’m not God.”

“OK, it’s a bit perfunctory, but at least you answered.” Anthony pulled out another picture of a five or six year old white girl, “Do you recognize her?”

Solstice’s eyes rounded and her face became serious, “What do you want?”

“Recognize her?”

“Yes.”

“Who is she?”

“My sister’s adopted child.”

“I heard that you love this child and would often send her gifts, I didn’t realize you had such a gentle side.”

“Where there is sunlight, there are shadows, likewise, no sunlight can form shadows.”

“So you want to be a ray of light for this girl.”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“I’m interested in everything about you, and I’ve asked local FBI agents to assist in the investigation, and the girl’s mother’s name is Chrissy Moore, who died in an accident last year, after which your sister adopted the girl from a foster care facility.

We also found out that six or seven years ago, you and Chrissy Moore dated, and shortly after the breakup she became pregnant and became a single mother.

This is your daughter.”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything, just a chat.

I didn’t realize a scumbag like you would have such a lovely daughter.”

“That’s my sister’s own to adopt, nothing to do with me.”

“Your daughter is happy now, moved into a big house with her own room, going to kindergarten with her cousin every day, very happy.

But before she came, your sister’s family wasn’t so well off, she and her husband had a very low salary and could only rent a house far away from the city, and she had to go out and work part-time in addition to taking care of the children.

Why did their life suddenly become rich after adopting your daughter?”

“I don’t know.”

“I know because you were secretly giving them money to pay for their daughter’s support with the stolen money you got from your crime, and it was obvious you cared about your daughter.”

“So what? Would you not care about your own child?”

“I know you got a lot of stolen money through your crimes, and you were smart enough to hide it separately. But we can find out if we want to, and frankly, it depends on the strength of my investigation.”

“I’m about to go to jail, and money is of no use to me.”

“You’re right, but not for your daughter.

I know you left her a sum of money, enough for her to live comfortably until she graduates from college, and if I want to I can not only recover the money you left her, but also prosecute you for the stolen money you gave to your family before.

You should know very well what that means, your sister simply can’t afford to raise an additional child and your daughter will be returned to foster care.”

Thorst reddened his eyes and said angrily, “I’m the one who did the deed, she didn’t know anything about it.”

“You a have to pay for your rights as you enjoy them, your daughter enjoys the benefits of the stolen money and has to bear the responsibility for it, nothing in this world is isolated.”

“You can’t do that, the child is innocent.”

“Is that really what you think?”

“Yes.”

Anthony pulled out a picture of the little boy, “So is he innocent?

You killed his father so that father and son would never see each other again, leaving him without support at a young age.

Isn’t he innocent?”

Solstice let out a long sigh, “What can I do so that you will spare my daughter?”

“I won’t hurt your daughter, I’ll just recover the stolen money that you obtained by illegal means. Though I know it won’t be easy, and the funds for the investigation may exceed the amount of stolen money you’ve hidden.

But I don’t care, I’m done with you.”

“I’m willing to plead guilty and tell you everything, but I have one request.”

“What demand?”

“That the investigation into the proceeds of my crimes be handled by the LAPD.”

“Thank you for recognizing the FBI.

As long as you confess truthfully, I can grant you this request.”

The FBI’s biggest advantage lies in the national chain, the LAPD’s advantage lies in the stronger local power, and the fact that Soest made this request indicates that the other party also has stolen money in the field, and as long as the stolen money will not be completely recovered, his daughter’s life can be secured.

The nature of interrogation is to compromise with each other and reach a balance.

Three o’clock in the afternoon.

Robbery-Murder Division interrogation room.

Muriel Baldini looked at Luke and Jenny on the opposite side of the interrogation table and said with an expressionless face, ”Captain Li, didn’t you say that there was a new development in the case and invited me to give a statement?

This doesn’t look like the place to make a statement.”

“That’s right, there is indeed a new development in the case, and Soest has already explained everything.” Luke pulled out a picture of Jakob Johnston, “Do you recognize him?”

“Yes, he is an employee of my company, working very responsibly, I have always been very optimistic about him, unfortunately …… disappeared some time ago.”

“What do you think about his disappearance?”

“Very regrettable.”

“But according to Soest, it was you who instructed him to kill Jakob Johnston.”

“He’s lying.”

Luke stared at the expression on Muriel Baldini’s face and asked again, “Did you instruct Soest to kill Jakob Johnston?”

“No.” Muriel Baldini sounded certain.

Luke still saw no sign of lying on her face.

It was strange.

How did this woman manage facial expressions?

Or maybe she really was innocent.

No, after arriving at the FBI’s chassis, Luke had also seen the interrogation of Solstice from the observation room, and Solstice had shown no signs of lying either.

The two men had completely different stories, one was always lying, and Soest’s word was more believable from the available evidence.

Muriel Baldini sighed, “Captain Li, I don’t know what happened …… but I feel disappointed and sad ……

I never thought that you would actually suspect me, why?

I’m the victim in this case, it was the robbers who kidnapped me and planted a bomb on me ……

Officer Jenny, you were there, you know how scared and helpless I was ……

Why are you targeting me now and falsely accusing me of instructing the robbers to kill.

This is simply horrible.

It’s worse than having a bomb strapped to me.

I’ve always trusted the LAPD, I never thought you guys would do something this ridiculous.

I want to see your chief.”

Luke laughed, “Ms. Baldini, you’re very eloquent.”

“What I said is true, you guys have wronged me, would you rather believe the words of the robbers than me?”

“We only believe in evidence.” Luke took out a recorder and pressed the broadcast button, and Solstice’s voice rang out.

[“Ma’am, what can I do for you?”

A moment later, another woman’s voice rang out, none other than Muriel Baldini: “I need you to run an errand.”

“What is it?”

“The person in the photo is called Giacobo Johnston, an employee of my company, he has collected some black information about the company and wants to use that black information to threaten me and do something unfavorable to the company.

I want you to get that information back and then shut him up.”

“Kill him?”

“Don’t make it bigger, don’t affect the company, don’t involve me, and I’ll give you two million dollars in cash when it’s done.”]

Luke turned off the recorder, “Ms. Baldini, this is only a part of the recording, Souster left a trail, every time you instructed him to do something, you left some evidence behind.

As a repeat offender, he knew exactly which charges would identify you.”

An irregular twitch appeared in Muriel Baldini’s cheeks, “I want to see a lawyer.”

“It seems you’re not willing to cooperate with the police, so we’ll have to be more inclined to take Soest’s confession that, according to him, you not only instructed him to kill Jacob Johnston, but also to rob the North Hollywood Bank, as well as to engineer the death of an FBI agent with a bomb.”

“I didn’t order him to do any of that, he’s lying.

I want to see a lawyer.”

“Ms. Baldini, an attorney can ensure your legal rights, but can’t set you straight about breaking the law.

Take this case, originally, we thought Soest was the mastermind and didn’t realize you were involved in the case.

Your acting was so good that you fooled the police officers handling the case.

Aren’t you curious as to why we investigated you?”

“Although I had nothing to do with the case, I do wonder why you suspected me?”

“Bern Woolf.”

“Solstice’s lawyer?” Muriel Baldini blurted out.

“That’s right, he voluntarily turned himself in to the police and gave an account of the relationship between you and Soest, and that’s how we learned there was a man behind the case.

Lawyers aren’t as trustworthy as you think they are, and what you think he’s doing to help you again could be doing you harm.”

“Why did Bern Woolf betray us?”

“You guys are playing too big a game to kill even an FBI agent, and as a promising lawyer, there’s no point in wading in with you.

We gave him an immunity deal, and he explained everything. And that includes the unseemly business of your company.

You have no secrets from the police now.

You don’t talk about getting a lawyer now, even if you get a team of lawyers.

We’ll put all the evidence in the courtroom, and the jury will all convict you immediately.”

“This damn bastard, charged me so much money ……,” Muriel Baldini wiped the sweat from her forehead, not realizing that her back was already soaked.

Luke’s words sent chills and cold sweat down her spine.

The one who felt very differently from Muriel Baldini was Jackson in the observation room, the clues of the mastermind were obviously discovered by him, but in the end, from Luke’s mouth it all became the lawyer’s credit.

However, he could also understand Luke’s idea, it should be to use this incident to make Muriel Baldini lose trust in the lawyer.

If the other side really found a lawyer, the case might be delayed again.

Now it seems that the effect is still good, Muriel Baldini has already stopped mentioning the matter of seeing a lawyer.

Luke continued to apply pressure, “Both Soest and Bern Woolf are willing to identify you, and according to their confessions, all the cases are coming from your direction.

Ms. Baldini, you are in a very passive situation, if you are not willing to talk, we can only follow their confessions and the situation will be very bad for you.”

Muriel Baldini slowly said, “I didn’t instruct Soest to rob the bank, he screwed up and had to get the documents by robbing the bank, and I didn’t know about it until after the fact, and the bank robbery had absolutely nothing to do with me.

I didn’t even ask him to kill the FBI agent, he didn’t even tell me about it, and if you hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known about it until now.

He’s just plain crazy.”

Luke said, “Do you admit to instructing Soest to kill Jakob Johnston?”

“No, I didn’t say I told him to kill anyone, I just told him to get the papers back and in the process scare the other guy into shutting up, that’s all.

I was trying to settle things, but Thorst made a big deal out of it.

He got out of control.”