Chapter 320
Inside a police patrol car.
John sat in the passenger side of the patrol car looking out the window, “Lucy, pull over to the right, there’s a convenience store up ahead.”
Lucy would slowly pull the car over and yawn, “John, don’t get out of the car yet, we need to talk.”
“What do you want to talk about?” John picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.
Lucy pointed to her watch, “It’s ten o’clock at night, I used to be ready to wash up and go to bed by this time.
Look, we’ve worked enough overtime today, the work is not going to get done.”
John nodded, “OK, how about we get off work after checking out this convenience store?”
“I’ve heard that twice already.”
“Trust me, this is definitely the last time.” John got out of the car and walked straight to the convenience store.
Lucy rolled her eyes, “This damn winning, are all men this boring?”
John turned around, “Hey, I hear ya, real men take on challenges.”
Lucy shook her head, “Childish ass.”
The two entered the convenience store and John looked over at the register where a tall, thin, white, middle-aged man stood, “Hey boss, how’s business tonight?”
“It’s okay, you’re a minute late and I might have closed.” The white owner looked at the two men, “What can I get you two officers?”
John said, “Do you sell prepaid disposable cell phones here?”
The owner asked back, “Yes, what’s the problem?”
“Uh, we’re investigating a case where the suspect used a disposable cell phone, and for all we know she probably purchased the disposable cell phone at a convenience store around here.”
The boss frowned, “Do you have proof? Make sure it was bought at my store.”
“No, it doesn’t mean your store, but the convenience stores around here, we’re just here to verify.”
The boss showed a look of that was the case, “Do you have a search warrant?”
“No.”
“I have to be responsible for my customers, I can’t easily expose their privacy.”
“We’re only verifying suspicious people, we won’t reveal the convenience store customers.”
“SORRY, I can’t help you guys.” The boss took a gesture of sending off the customers.
“I respect your decision.” John walked to the door and took out his cell phone and dialed a number, “Hello, is this Captain Jackson from the Robbery and Murder Division?
This is John.
I’m visiting a convenience store near the base station area as requested by your Robbery Murder Division.
We’re here at the Terraj Convenience Store on NorConley Street. ……
Yes, the store has disposable cell phones, but the owner is unwilling to assist in the investigation ……
OK, I got it, bring someone by tomorrow and I’ll show you the way.”
John hung up his cell phone and prepared to leave.
The owner was a little nonplussed and called out to him, “Hey, who were you calling?”
“None of your business.”
“But you just mentioned me, so it’s obviously my business.
Are you going to come after me just because I didn’t assist in the investigation? If that’s the case, we’re filing a complaint against you.”
“There’s no need to trouble you, we’re just investigating the case, this case is also being investigated by the Robbery and Murder Division, our two departments are just sharing information.
A kind reminder, just because I can’t get a search warrant doesn’t mean the Robbery-Murder Division can’t.”
The boss questioned, “It’s almost past ten, don’t they want to go to bed?”
“You’re right, I’m guessing that the warrant application may not be down until tomorrow, your business may suffer tomorrow, just be prepared.”
“Come on, I just want to do business properly, can you not fold.”
“I don’t want that either, that’s why I came over while it’s still nighttime, and there are no customers in the store right now, so if you’re willing to assist us in our investigation, it might just be a matter of minutes, and once we’ve verified it, a few of the bigwigs from the Robbery and Murder Division won’t be here either.”
The white owner sighed and waved his hand, “Come on in, what are you going to investigate?”
“We want to investigate the people who bought disposable cell phones in the store within half a month.”
The boss was a little embarrassed, “That’s hard, many people pay cash, I couldn’t help you guys even if I wanted to.”
Lucy said, “Then check the surveillance, as long as there are surveillance images, we can determine her identity ourselves.”
The boss spread his hands, “You guys aren’t kidding, looking at half a month’s worth of surveillance, you’ll have to see the monkey’s age, and you say it won’t affect my work.”
Lucy asked, “Do you keep a record after you sell an item?”
“Of course.”
Lucy said, “That’s easy then, check the time the item was recorded as sold and pull up the surveillance directly for the corresponding time, it’s simple.”
John snapped his fingers, “Good idea.”
The boss had no choice but to follow the two men’s request, a total of five disposable cell phones were sold recently, two of them paid cash, these two people were also the focus of the investigation.
The owner pulled up the surveillance of the cell phone purchases made by these two people, one of whom was a black man in his thirties and the other a white woman in her early twenties.
John said, “I have a hunch that this woman is probably the one who filed the false police report.”
Lucy said, “Investigating a case is about evidence, not hunches, and it’s not likely that this black man is the one.”
John asked, “Wanna bet?”
Lucy rolled her eyes, “No, I’m not interested.”
“Ringing ……” John’s cell phone rang and he glanced at it, “Hey, here comes the interested party.”
John pressed the answer button, “Jackson, how’s the case investigation going?”
Jackson said, “That’s what I was going to ask.”
“You called me first.”
“I just remembered something, did we not say anything about the bet for the match yet ……”
“Hey man, that’s what I was going to say.” John laughed.
Jackson said, “What do you want to bet on?”
“What do you have in mind, it better be interesting.”
“How about the loser runs around naked?”
John froze for a moment and elongated his voice, “Whoa …… that’s a really bad idea.
But I like it.”
“It’s decided.”
“I can’t wait to see you run around naked.”
“Me too.”
The two hung up their cell phones, with a somewhat bemused Lucy on the sidelines, “Did you guys have to play so hard to get?”
“We’re already winning, what’s there to worry about.” John was confident.
“From what I know about Jackson, he wouldn’t give you a bet if he wasn’t sure.
And don’t forget, he’s not alone, he’s got the Heist and Murder Division behind him.
On investigating a case ……,” Lucy gave a you-know-what expression.
John said, “The Western Division is no worse than the Robbery Murder Division.”
Lucy stared at the other person for a moment, “You’re still upset about Jackson’s transfer?”
John looked a little mixed, “No, he had a choice, it was just ……
It was so sudden.
Makes me feel ……”
The three were rookies in the same period, and their feelings had always been good, Lucy could understand John’s thoughts, and patted his shoulder, “Keep working on the case.
It’s been a long time since I’ve watched someone run around naked after college, too.
Kinda looking forward to it a little bit.”
Custer’s apartment.
Jaime Robinson parked his car in the parking lot outside the apartment and looked around before walking into the apartment and taking the elevator up to the fifth floor.
Jaime Robinson walked up to door 504 and knocked.
“Cluck ……” the door opened and a white woman stood in the doorway, “Jaime, what brings you to my house all of a sudden.”
“Suri, a group of police went to my house yesterday and turned my house upside down, do you know about this?”
“God ah ……” the woman called Suri sighed and stepped aside, “Come in and talk.”
Jaime Robinson walked into the house and surveyed it, “Suri, you really called the police.”
“Yes.”
“The police let me listen to the recording of the alarm and I jumped.”
“And you told them?”
“No, I wouldn’t rat you out.” Jaime Robinson sat down next to the white woman.
“Jaime, don’t get so close, it will make me a little uncomfortable.”
“SORRY, I’m just afraid someone will hear.”
“This is my house, no one can hear.”
“Suri, why did you give my home address?”
“Ringing ……” Suddenly, Jaime Robinson’s cell phone rang, he took out his cell phone and looked at it, it was an unfamiliar cell phone number.
Just as Jaime Robinson hesitated to answer it, the cell phone rang twice more and stopped automatically.
Outside the room.
Luke had already rushed to the fifth floor of the apartment with his men.
After hanging up the cell phone, Luke pointed at the door of room 504: “The ringing is coming from here, Jaime Robinson should go to this household.
Check the identity of the head of the household.”
“YES, Sir,” Jackson said with vigor.
Ten minutes later, Luke had the head of household’s identification and contact information.
Name of head of household, Suri Matich
Gender, female
Age, twenty.
Address, Custer Apartments, Room 504.
Social Security number, 623-53-7366.
Cell phone number, 626 876 2578.
The head of the apartment is named Suri Matich.
And the false alarm caller identified himself as Suri Shamali, with a different last name, but the same first name.
The suspicion of the head of the household rose again, but there still wasn’t enough evidence.
Luke took out his cell phone again and dialed the cell phone number of the head of the household.
A few moments later, the phone picked up and a woman’s voice came out, “Who are you looking for?”
“Is this Ms. Suri Matich?”
“It’s me, what can I do for you?”
“This is the janitor’s office, you have a package that has arrived.”
“A package? A package from where?”
“New York.”
“Are you sure it’s my package? I don’t seem to have a package from New York.”
“I don’t know, but the hand package has your contact number written on it.”
“OK, I’ll go back and get it tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
Luke hung up his cell phone and looked at the rest of the team, “Any ideas?”
Blackie said, “The accent and voice sound like the person who reported the crime.”
Jackson said, “Not like, I’m sure it’s the informant.
Captain, let’s make an arrest.”
Luke thought for a moment, “No, now is not the time to make an arrest?”
Jackson asked, “Is it because there’s no warrant?”
Luke said, “That’s only one aspect.
I’m worried that the suspect has lost her disposable cell phone and she may not admit to it even if we rush in.”
Jackson said, “Voiceprint identification could be used.”
Luke said, “Indeed you can, but it’s a last resort and it’s best not to use it.”
Jackson pressed, “Why?”
“First of all, there is a funding issue involved, this is just a case of reporting a false police report, it has already wasted a lot of police resources, if we spend more money on voiceprint identification, even if we solve the case, the chief won’t praise us.
This is a very realistic problem. We have to be responsible for the taxpayers’ money.
For another thing, if we can’t get the suspect to confess, then we may go to court and have to consider whether the results of the voiceprint identification will be accepted by the judge.”
Jackson said, “The evidence of the voiceprint match came from the police report recording, and as a rule it will be admitted by the judge.”
Black shook his head, “Regulations?
Don’t take that theory stuff out as the truth, I’ve found that your kid is really stubborn sometimes.
You have to understand one thing, no matter whether the judge eventually adopts it or not.
The decision is not in the hands of the police anymore.
Have you ever been to court?
If you’ve been, you won’t want to go a second time.”
“Maybe you have a point, I take it with a grain of salt.” Jackson’s words turned to Luke, “Captain, what do we do next?
How do we get the suspect to confess?”
Luke thought for a moment, “We’ll wait for Jaime Robinson to leave before we go in and arrest him.”
At eleven p.m., the door to room 504 opened and Jaime Robinson left the room.
However, Luke did not order an immediate arrest.
It was another hour before Luke decided to make the arrest.
Jenny, wearing a nightgown, knocked on the door of the room. “Knock knock ……”
“Who are you?” A voice came from inside the room.
“I’m the new resident, I just came out to take out the trash and when I came back I realized I forgot my keys.
Can I borrow your cell phone? I have another key at my parents’ house.”
“Cluck ……”
The door opened and a young woman handed it over with a cell phone in her hand, “Use it.”
“Thanks, what’s your name?”
“Suri Matich.”
“Click.”
Jenny went straight to the handcuffs and cuffed her wrists, “Suri Matich, you’re under arrest.”
The white woman froze for a moment, and by the time he responded, Luke had already led the way.
Blackie flashed a warrant, “Suri Martic, you are under arrest.”
“Why are you arresting me?”
“Someone reported you for false alarm.”
Suri Matic denied, “No, I didn’t.”
Luke flashed a search warrant, “We’re going to search your apartment.”
Suri Martic blushed a little, “You must be mistaken, I have done no such thing.”
“Ms. Matich, sophistry is useless.” Luke led his men into the apartment room, it was a mess, a match for Jaime Robinson’s house.
Luke ordered his men to search it and he was in charge of giving a statement to Suri Matich.
Luke gets right to the point: “Did you make a call to the police around ten o’clock yesterday morning?”
Suri Martic shook his head, “I did not.”
Luke stared at the other woman and noticed signs of lying.
“Ms. Matich, since we have found you, we have enough evidence, it is now in your best interest to voluntarily confess.”
“Do you have any evidence?”
Luke took out his recorder and played the false alarm recording.
Suri Matich’s face became a bit ugly as she listened to the voice inside.
“Ms. Matich, don’t you think this voice resembles you?”
“It’s a bit similar, but that’s not me. Just based on this recording, aren’t you guys being too arbitrary when you say that it’s me who filed a false police report.” Suri Matic took a deep breath.
“We have witnesses.”
“What man?”
“I promised to keep his identity secret.”
Suri Martic ducked his head and snapped his fingernails, “I still say you’ve got it all wrong.”
Luke pressed, “What do you have against Jaime Robinson? Why do you want to harm him?”
“What did Jaime Robinson tell you guys?”
“Everything that needs to be said.”
Suri Matic revealed a look of anger, “It was really this bastard who betrayed me, just now he said something about liking me and not betraying me.
In the twinkling of an eye, he sold me out.
Why?”
Luke perfunctorily, “That’s something you should ask him.”
Suri Matich bristled with disdain, “I know without asking, that asshole wanted to sleep with me, but was rejected by me.
So he got annoyed and used this method to get back at me!
This kind of trash, I will never look down on him for the rest of my life.”
Luke obediently asked, “Just because you despise him, so you filed a false police report to tease him?”
“No, I …… didn’t mean to.”
“What do you mean you didn’t mean it? The recording of the police report can prove that you did it on purpose.”
“It didn’t happen the way you think it did, I didn’t mean to harm him.”
“Then why did you make the false police call? Did you think it was funny?”
“It wasn’t that I wanted to call, and I …… had no choice but to do it.”
“Who forced you?”
“No one forced me.”
“Then why did you fight? Don’t you think that’s contradictory?”
“I was playing a game with some friends, and we agreed that the loser would call the police, and I didn’t think I would lose ……
So I kept my promise.”
“Then why did you report Jaime Robinson’s home address?”
Suri Matich sighed, “I was so nervous when I made the call, my mind was in turmoil, and when the operator asked me for an address, I …… blurted one out.
It was said subconsciously, and I thought I made it up.
When I finished the call, I remembered that it was the address of Jaime Robinson’s house.
I don’t know why I said the address, it just happened to be in my head.”
“A game?”
“Yes, it’s a game.”
“OK, so it looks like you weren’t wrongly arrested.”