Chapter 344

The following morning.

Detective Bureau, Robbery and Murder Division.

Because he worked overtime last night, Luke came in slightly later than usual in the morning.

The police gave statements to Dal Nio’s mother and brother, and both of them gave consistent statements, both of which could prove that Dal Nio did not have the time to commit the crime.

Luke rules out Dalnio as a suspect for now.

With this lead broken, Luke shifted the direction of his investigation to other leads.

News came from Camoes Hospital that Arness Snow’s body was recovering well and could already do criminal investigation sketches.

At eleven o’clock in the morning, Luke and Blackie arrived at Camoes Hospital.

Arness Snow was staying in the hospital’s ward 508.

Cassidy Torres was staying in ward 309 of the hospital.

From the available evidence, Casti Torres, as the deceased’s partner, the two had a certain conflict of interest and the suspicion of murder for hire.

Luke hesitated, did not go to ward 309, ready to wait for Arness Snow to complete the forensic sketch, take the forensic sketch portrait to ward 309, so that Casti Torres can assist in the identification and test his attitude.

The two Luke’s rushed to Ward 508, where the door was guarded by two patrolmen who showed their credentials before entering the ward.

Black greeted himself, “Hey beautiful, how’s the recovery going?”

Arness Snow lay on the hospital bed and struggled to sit up, “Detective Marcus, I’m glad to see you again.

I thought I was going to meet God.”

Blackie laughed, “Don’t worry, I asked the doctor and you’re recovering well, you’ll be out of the hospital soon.”

“Did you catch the asshole who shot him?”

“Not yet.”

“Then I’d rather I get out of the hospital later.”

“You want to catch him sooner, help us finish the forensic sketch portrait.”

“No problem.” Arness Snow twisted her head to look at Luke, “Is this handsome guy the criminal investigation sketch portrait artist?”

Blackie said, “That’s right, he is an excellent criminal investigation sketch expert and my part-time Boss.”

“Ooooh, I didn’t realize this Boss was so young, will you arrest me for selling silver when I get out of the hospital?”

Luke put his backpack on the table and moved a chair to sit on the edge of the bed, “No, I care about the homicide case and don’t really care about anything else.

From the looks of things we have the same goal, the shooter wants to kill you to silence you, we want to catch the shooter.

You’ll only be safe if we catch the shooter, so let’s finish the forensic sketch portrait together, OK?”

“Okay, what do I need to do?” Hearing Luke’s assurance, Arness Snow was completely relieved.

Luke took out his drawing board and pencil, “Recall the physical characteristics of the shooter, the more detailed the better.”

Yanis Snow took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes, “He is a Latino male with black hair, his height is not easy to judge, it should be above one meter eight ……”

Luke reminded, “Describe his exact facial features.”

“He has somewhat curly, thick hair, thick eyebrows, fierce eyes, and darker skin ……”

Yanis Snow described while Luke drew, and from time to time, he would also ask Yanis Snow to recognize him.

This process lasted for almost an hour before Luke drew a sketch portrait with a relatively high degree of completion.

Luke once again handed the portrait to Yanis Snow to look at, “Is it him?”

“It’s a good likeness, your drawing skills are amazing.”

“Thanks.” Luke handed the sketch portrait to Blackie and asked, “Arness, remember carefully, are there any other clues you want to tell us.”

“No, I’ve been recalling the shooter’s appearance, and I feel like my whole mood is depressed and my brain is about to explode.

It’s been a long time since I’ve struggled with my brain as much as I have today.”

“I’ll leave you to rest, call Detective Marcus if you remember any new clues.” Luke got up and cleaned up and headed out of the hospital room with Blackie.

Blacky took his cell phone and checked the photos, he had just taken the sketch and sent it to the group, “With this sketch, we’ll be able to catch the bastard.”

Luke said, “You sound like you have a problem with him.”

“If a large caliber bullet flew past you, trust me, you’d think the same thing.

That feeling would be like death passing you by.” Black grumbled and asked, “Where are we going now?”

“Ward 309, for Casti Torres to identify the forensic sketch portrait and see if he recognizes the shooter.”

The elevator would have to wait a while, and instead of waiting for it, the two men went straight down the stairs, much faster.

The two made it to the 3rd floor stairway when Luke saw a male escort walk up from the 2nd floor and up the 3rd floor hallway as well.

The other person was wearing a mask, so he couldn’t see his overall appearance, but the shape of his face and eyebrows made Luke feel a hint of familiarity.

The man’s eyebrows and face shape were similar to the sketch portrait Luke had just completed, and it was because he had just drawn it that even though the other party was wearing a mask, Luke felt the similarity acutely.

Could it be the shooter?

Had he come to the hospital to hunt down Arness Snow, a witness?

No, he’d gone to the third floor.

Did he recognize Marcus and that’s why he purposely avoided it?

Cassidy Torres!

He was targeting Kasdey Torres.

Casti Torres and the first victim were partners, they were traveling in the same car, the first victim was sniped from a distance, Casti Torres didn’t see the shooter’s face because of his injuries from the car accident and there was no need to silence him, so the police didn’t arrange security.

The male caretaker walked near ward 309, turned to look around and briefly locked eyes with Luke ……

Luke immediately pulled out his pistol, “LAPD, don’t move!”

“Bang bang ……”

Almost at the same time, the male escort sidestepped and instantly fired.

Both sides fired almost simultaneously.

Luke felt a bullet graze the left side of his chest, and he didn’t know whether he was hit or not, nor could he feel any pain.

The right hand pulled the trigger continuously until the gunman fell to the ground, blood splattered, and the gun fell to the ground.

The shot was fired in a split second, and when Black pulled out his pistol the male caretaker had fallen to the ground wounded, and the fight was over, “Damn, what happened? Who is he?”

The male caretaker had been wearing a mask, Xiao Hei couldn’t see the other person’s face, so naturally he couldn’t recognize him as the robber on the sketch.

Blacky walked up to the male caretaker with his gun in both hands and kicked away his pistol, the male caretaker was shot several times, but only his arm was bleeding, “FUCK, you’re wearing a bulletproof vest?”

Blackie pressed down on the suspect’s back and handcuffed him.

“Ah ……”, the male caretaker was shot in both arms and screamed in pain.

Black ignored, continue to search, from the body and found a pistol and a dagger.

Subsequently, Blackie ripped open his shirt, which is covered with a black bulletproof vest, bulletproof vest embedded with a few bullets.

At this moment, a voice rang in Luke’s head, “Bulletproof card activated, used.”

Luke checked his body, the clothes on the left side of his chest were pierced by a bullet, leaving a bullet hole, fortunately it didn’t hit his chest, the clothes on the inside of his right arm were also cut with a slit, this clothes is estimated that he can’t have it.

Luke also secretly said a thrill, if not ‘bullet avoidance card’ effect, lying on the ground is likely to be him.

He was facing a well-prepared professional killer, far more dangerous than an ordinary suspect.

There was also a brief disturbance at the hospital after the gunshot.

Luke rushed to maintain order and calm the patients and paramedics, while, at the same time, having the paramedics treat the shooter for his gunshot wounds.

Five o’clock in the afternoon.

In ward 405, Luke once again met the ‘male escort’ who had treated the gunshot wound.

The male caretaker was wearing a bandage on his arm and his face was a little pale, but he was wearing a bulletproof vest and hadn’t been hurt in any major way.

Luke opened the door, “What’s your name?”

The male escort glanced at Luke, “Are you wearing body armor?”

“No.”

“Then why weren’t you shot?”

“You’re a lousy shot.”

“No way, I couldn’t have missed at such a close range.”

“That only means you weren’t calm enough and were intimidated by my status as a cop.”

“Impossible, I have confidence in my marksmanship.

You weren’t wearing this dress in the morning, your change of clothes means you were hit by me, you must be wearing body armor!” The male escort sounded certain.

Luke looked at the other man, “You care about that?”

“Yes.”

“It’s good that you’re happy.” Luke didn’t want to continue the conversation, “What’s your name?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“I can find out if you don’t tell me.”

“Then you’ll find out for yourself.”

“Listen, if you don’t cooperate with the investigation, I’ll tell the media when I hold a press conference that you’re a lousy assassin, that you actually missed at a range of ten meters, and that you didn’t even hit me with a single shot.”

“You’re lying, you’re wearing body armor.”

“But they don’t know that, and I won’t say anything, they’ll just think you’re a lousy shot and a lousy killer.” Luke sensed from the conversation he had just had that the other man was more concerned about that.

The male caretaker stared viciously at Luke and uttered a name: “Vadim Tovani.”

Luke pulled out a picture of Garret Swann, “This man died in room 611 of Patou’s apartment, did you kill him?”

“I didn’t know him.”

“There’s no use in your sophistry, we have an eyewitness and she has recognized you.”

Vadim Tovani bristled with disdain.

“I’m not lying, that female witness is indeed not dead, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to recognize you at once.”

Vadim Tovani twisted his head to look at Xiao Hei.

Kuro laughed, “Don’t think you’re the only one who wears body armor.

You did hit her and she was wounded, but not fatally.

You’re such a failed assassin.”

“Shut up.”

After Vadim Tovani shot the female witness, Arness Snow, Blacky dragged Arness Snow to the car in time to block his view of the car, and thinking he’d scored a hit, he scurried away.

The angrier his opponent got, the louder Blacky laughed, “You’d better cooperate with us in making a statement, or I’ll tell the media about this and let the world know that you’re a killer of the worst kind.

I’ll write it on your tombstone myself, haha.”

Luke squared his shoulders and said, “Man, we don’t want to make fun of you, but only if you can cooperate with us. We already have enough evidence, it’s useless for you to weasel your way out of this.

Why don’t we have a good talk, it’s good for everyone.”

Vadim Tovani asked back, “How did you find me?”

Luke asked instead of answering, “Why did you come to the hospital?”

“I’m here to kill Casti Torres.”

“Who is your real target?”

“Casti Torres.”

“Casti Torres was sitting in the BMW that day, why didn’t you kill him instead of choosing to shoot the driver? Was the driver of the BMW your target?”

“No, my target was only Casti Torres.”

“You’re a professional killer, why would you kill the wrong person?”

“It’s a stain I can’t wash away for the rest of my life.” Vadim Tovani let out a long, chagrined sigh.

“It’s all because of that bastard and woman who broke into the apartment, the moment I fired they opened the door to the room, affecting my shot and deflecting the bullet.”

Xiao Hei’s eyes widened, a little surprised, a little speechless, he had thought of many possibilities, but never thought of this reason.

To actually kill the wrong person!

Luke also did not think of this possibility, “You carefully describe the crime.”

Vadim Tovani slowly said, “Someone hired me to kill Kasdi Torres, gave him information and recent itinerary, I studied it and decided to do it in that neighborhood, so that I could escape at the first opportunity after killing.

I chose a rented apartment as the shooting location, who would have thought that two men would come out of nowhere to interfere with the shooting.

I missed my target and hit the driver instead.

Afterward, I shot the man who broke into the apartment and the woman ran away.

I chased her to the stairway and realized that she had already run down the stairs, so if I chased after her again I might disturb the residents of the apartment, which was very risky.

So I returned to the apartment, packed my things and fled.” Vadim Tovani said this, revealing a helpless look, “This was my biggest assassination failure, not only did I fail to kill my target, but I was also seen by witnesses.

Luckily, that woman’s backpack was picked up by me, and I knew her address and was prepared to kill her to remove the aftermath.

You all know what happened after that.”

Luke asked, “Who was the employer?”

“I don’t know, and he wouldn’t be stupid enough to tell me the identity.”

“How did you guys get in touch.”

“He’s the one who called and found me.”

“Did you know each other before?”

“No, he said he was introduced by an acquaintance.”

“Who was the introducer?”

“Anas Pohl.”

“How did you deal?”

“We met and he gave me the deposit directly.”

“Where did you meet, and what did he look like?”

“At the curb in Linus Street; he wore a mask and hat, and I couldn’t see his face, only that he was a white man, not too young I should think, and a little taller than me, that’s all.”

“How much deposit did he give?”

“Ten thousand dollars, and forty thousand more when the thing was done.”

“Do you recall carefully if there were any other characteristics of the hirer? Or did he say anything special to you?”

“Uh ……” Vadim Tovani thought for a moment, “I can’t recall, but I’m in the habit of recording my cell phone calls.

You guys should be able to find his recording on my cell phone.”

“Tell us about the introducer, Anas Pohl?”

“He’s not in Los Angeles, most likely out of the country, and I don’t know his exact whereabouts.”

After completing their statements, Luke and Blackie left Ward 405, which was still guarded by four patrolmen outside.

Xiao Hei lamented, “We checked half a day, but we actually got the murderer’s target wrong, it’s simply ridiculous.”

Luke shook his head, “Are there fewer ridiculous things in this world?”

“Fair enough, where are we going now?”

“To Ward 309, to talk to Kasdey Torres, since he’s the one the hired guns behind this are really trying to kill.

Maybe he can provide some valuable clues.”

Luke and Blackie walked to ward 309, at this time, there were also four patrolmen guarding outside the ward, after what happened last time, Luke didn’t dare to take it lightly again.

Although the gunman was caught, but the behind-the-scenes mercenary is still there, who is not sure if he has other means of killing, before catching the behind-the-scenes mercenary necessary protection can not be less.

“Knock knock.”

“Come in.”

Luke pushed the door open and walked in to see Casti Torres sitting on the edge of his bed on a video call.

Casti Torres turned off the video and got up, “Captain Lee, what the hell happened this morning?”

Luke sized him up, “You’re recovering nicely.”

“It’s no longer a big problem, I guess I’ll be discharged in a few days.”

Luke pulled out a picture of the gunman, Vadim Tovani, “Do you recognize him?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell. Who is he?”

“He’s the man who killed Bart Ramos, he came to your hospital room this morning and tried to kill you too, we caught him in time.”

“Why did he kill Bart? And why did he want to kill me?”

“That day, you and Balt Ramos went out together in a BMW, and it was you he originally wanted to shoot, but the shot was interfered with, and the bullet deflected and killed Balt Ramos by mistake.

This morning he broke into the hospital, still aiming to kill you.

You were his real target.”

“Why? Why would he want to kill me?”

“He’s a professional killer, hired by someone else.”

“Jesus Christ, why would anyone want to kill me?

That means Balt died for me.

I’m the one who got Balt killed.” Cassidy Torres covered his forehead and revealed a guilty look, “A few days ago, I even quarreled with him over the matter of opening a branch and said a lot of nasty things, I regretted it to death.

Bart …… I am sorry, it is me who killed you.”

Xiao Hei advised, “Casti, it’s not your fault, don’t blame yourself too much.”

Casti Torres took a deep breath, “Who was the person who hired the assassin? Why did he do it?”

Luke said, “It’s not clear for now, we came over to find you, and we also want to ask you some clues about the hirer.”

“You guys ask, right?”

“Do you know Anas Poe?”

“No.”

“Have you offended or been threatened by anyone recently?”

Casti Torres hesitated for a moment and shook his head, “No.”

Luke pulled out his recorder, “I’m going to play a conversation between a mercenary and an assassin, listen carefully and see if you can recognize each other’s voices.”

Luke flicked the switch and the sound of two men conversing rang out.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Vadim Tovani.”

“Looking for him for what?”

“To kill someone.”

“Who are you?”

“I was referred by Anas Poe, I’m going to kill someone in Los Angeles and I’ll pay you fifty thousand dollars when it’s done ……”

Listening to the voice of the recorder, Casti Torres’ face changed and changed, first tense, then showing doubt, and finally an angry look, “It’s him!

How could it be him?

Why?”

Luke pressed, “Who is he?”

“Jesus Christ, it can’t be him.”

“Whose voice is that?”

“Balt, it’s Balt!”