Chapter 350
Luke observed the other man’s expression and asked, “Ma’am, do you know Danny Carter?”
“Yes, a strong little black man, he’s all over the TV right now.”
“Did you see Danny Carter in the neighborhood on the night of November 18th?”
“No.”
Luke, sensing signs of a lie from the other man, tried, “But Danny Carter said he seemed to have seen you then.”
The older black woman asked back, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, that’s what he said.”
“It seems like our conversation should be over.” The older black woman cocked her head and assumed a look of farewell.
With a sincere look on her face, Daisy said, “Ma’am, please wait.
I’m Danny Carter’s attorney, and he’s been falsely accused and is in desperate straits.
Your help is needed.”
The older black woman shook her head, “Don’t be ridiculous.
He’s a ball player, a rich man, and he has a life I can’t imagine.
Look at my life again ……
I don’t think I’m in a position to help him.”
Daisy said, “Danny Carter is also black and grew up in the ghetto, he grew up in a neighborhood that is nowhere near this one.
He became a football player through his own hard work, and you should know very well how hard that is for a black kid.
Danny Carter is not who you think he is, he has always sponsored friends and loved ones that he grew up with, he is not like those cold blooded rich people.
Now, he’s in the biggest predicament of his life, and he needs a righteous man to help him through it.
Madam, only you can help him now.”
The big black lady showed a hesitant look and looked around, “You guys come in.”
The furniture in the black amah’s house was a bit old and cleaned up well, inviting Luke and the two of them to sit on the couch, “Would you like something to drink?”
“Thank you ma’am, we don’t need anything.” Luke politely declined and asked again, “On the night of November 18th, you met Danny Carter?”
The older black woman nodded, “Yes, a small, spry fellow.”
“Was he with Billie Warwick at the time?”
“Yes.
It was a beautiful car, and I was kind of surprised to see Billie Warwick get out of the passenger side of the car.”
“Can you describe their body movements and attitudes?”
“Billie Warwick got out of the car and walked in and opened the door first, and Danny Carter followed.
That’s probably what it looked like ……
I wasn’t watching too closely at the time, after all, it was someone’s private business and it would have been rude to keep staring.”
“Did Danny Carter ever make a move to force himself on Billie Warwick?”
“No.”
“Danny Carter’s car has been stolen, the car’s car recorder may prove his innocence, we need to recover the Porsche car, did you see the car being stolen?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone suspicious around before the car was stolen?”
“Uh ……” The big black woman showed a hesitant look, looking at Luke, then at Daisy, “You guys really aren’t cops?”
Daisy took out her business card, “My name is Daisy, it has my contact information and law firm on it.”
The large black woman took the card and nodded, “That night, I did see a suspicious man in the neighborhood, looking towards Billie Warwick’s house all the time in a mysterious manner.
However, I didn’t see him steal a car.”
Luke asked, “Did you tell the police about this?”
“No.
I didn’t see the man steal the car.
Besides, my son is still in jail and I don’t trust the police.
You guys shouldn’t say anything to the public either, I won’t admit it when I’m out of the house.
That’s all I know, I can’t help you guys with the rest.” The older black woman looked like I don’t want any trouble.
Luke asked, “Ma’am, does that suspicious man have transportation?”
“No.”
“Can you describe what he looks like?”
“He was a black man, it was a little dark to see his features, but he had a rather unusual hairstyle with dirty braids and the left side of his hair was shaved.”
Luke pressed, “How tall was he? How old?”
“Looks to be in his twenties or thirties, about your height.”
“What kind of clothing was he wearing?”
“Looks like a black top and dark blue jeans.” The older black woman finished and asked back, “You really aren’t a cop?”
“I’m a detective.”
Daisy took out her wallet and handed the other woman three hundred dollars, “Ma’am, thank you for your help.”
“Ooooh …… what’s this for?”
“It’s a little thank you from Danny Carter, I’ll get him reimbursed.”
The large black woman gave a grateful look, “Thank you, I’m sure now that you’re not cops, who not only won’t pay, but might take me away.”
Daisy glanced at Luke and laughed, “Ma’am, you’re so funny.”
After the two left the house, Daisy asked, “Any ideas?”
Luke said, “That dirty braided black man sounds a little suspicious.
I don’t know his name or appearance, but he has a rather unusual hairstyle that makes him easier to recognize.”
“Where are we going now?”
“Keep walking, maybe we can get more clues.”
The two walked around until late afternoon, however, the good luck seemed to run out and the surrounding neighbors failed to provide any more valuable clues.
The two had dinner at an Italian restaurant and returned to Daisy’s house.
Daisy’s house was larger and more comfortable, with a large bathtub that could accommodate two people.
After soaking in the lovebirds’ bath, Luke rested on his bed and played on his cell phone.
Daisy put on her pajamas and sat at the table looking at her computer.
Luke asked, “Any more work to do?”
“You go to sleep first.”
“Did the afternoon walkabout hold you up?”
“No, I just wanted to see what’s new online.
Celebrity rape cases like this one get so much attention that a lot of reporters do follow-up stories.
Those pervasive reporters are likely to dig up some valuable clues, and as a lawyer, you also have to keep an eye on the online opinion winds.”
“I’ll help you find it together.” Luke used his tablet to check the news.
In the past, Luke used the police to investigate and rarely paid too much attention to the news media for the simple reason that the police had more power to investigate the case and could directly question the people involved in the case to get first-hand information, but it was different now, as a detective hired by Danny Carter, Luke had not yet come into head-on contact with Billie Warwick.
This case has a high level of attention, and there are a lot of reporters interviewing, they have their own news channels, it is possible that they can find out some valuable clues, of course, reporters and TV stations in order to ratings, the news broadcast will have some moisture and exaggeration, whether it is worth adopting will require their own experience and judgment.
There were many and varied news reports about Danny Carter on the internet.
Some reporters even found out that Danny Carter lived in a hotel and tried to break into the hotel room for an interview, but were persuaded to return by the hotel staff.
Danny Carter live in the hotel can not leave the house, the reporter can not see people, also have no way to interview.
There is also a part of the reporter will interview target put on Billie Warwick, in Billie Warwick’s home near to monitor her every move, however, Billie Warwick these two days did not go out of the house, but also refused all the media interviews.
The reporters weren’t idle, and would still be doing some messy reporting.
Interviews with Danny Carter’s family and team, even fans.
There were also interviews with Billie Warwick’s neighbors and where she worked, and there was also someone who targeted her boyfriend and tried to interview him about his feelings.
Luke felt that this reporter was either lacking in heart or morals.
However, people were curious, and Luke wanted to know what Billie Warwick’s boyfriend thought.
Clicking on the news video, he found that the reporter first found Billie Warwick’s boyfriend, but the other party refused the interview, this reporter was not discouraged, and ran to the place where Billie Warwick’s boyfriend worked for an interview.
By interviewing Billie Warwick’s boyfriend’s coworkers, he learned that her boyfriend worked the night shift at a 24-hour convenience store, which explains why her boyfriend wasn’t home that night.
While interviewing the convenience store employee, a sudden flash of footage shows Luke spotting a suspicious black man.
The black man had dirty dreadlocks and his hair was shaved on the left side, which was very close to the image of the suspicious man described by the black amah.
The suspicion of the dirty braided black man rises further as the dirty braided black man is wearing convenience store work clothes and is likely a coworker of Billie Warwick’s boyfriend.
If the dirty braid man is Billie Warwick’s boyfriend’s coworker, why would he go around the other’s house when Billie Warwick’s boyfriend is working the night shift?
Could it be that Billie Warwick’s boyfriend had long ago realized that she might be hooking up with other men, so he asked his coworker to catch her in the act?
No, that doesn’t make sense, no one in their right mind would do such a thing.
Then this dirty braided man’s behavior is even more suspicious.
The following morning.
Luke arrived early in the morning near the convenience store where Billie Warwick’s boyfriend, Redo Geithner, worked.
A black Ford sedan was parked in a space near the convenience store.
A black man came down from the car, in his mid-twenties, about Luke’s height, with dirty dreadlocks and the left side of his hair shaved, the same suspicious man Luke was looking for.
Luke walked up and greeted him, “Hey man, I’m a reporter from csxb radio, can I give you a quick interview?”
“Interview about what? The whole Raydor Geithner thing?”
“Yeah, do you know his girlfriend Billie Warwick?”
“Uh …… is a really hot, funny girl.”
“What do you think of her relationship with Rado Geithner?”
The black dirty braided man laughed, “I don’t want to be on TV, especially in this way.”
Luke said, “Actually, I’m a radio reporter, no video, no audio, I just wanted to be privy to some of it.
A lot of radio listeners enjoy similar gossip.”
The dirty braided man shrugged, “I like gossip too, but I have to work right now.”
Luke took out his wallet and handed the other man fifty dollars, “Man, it’ll just take a minute of your time, not too long.”
The dirty braided man looked at Luke’s wallet and licked his lips, “One isn’t enough.”
Luke pulled out another fifty dollars.
“At least two hundred dollars.”
Luke put on a meaty face, “That’s too much.”
“Hey, there’s a lot of reporters wanting to interview me, it’s a big story, I won’t say anything without two hundred dollars.” The dirty braided man reached out to beg for it.
Luke pulled out a total of two hundred dollars and handed it to the other man, “I hope your news is worth two hundred dollars.”
The dirty braided man collected the cash and smiled, “What do you want to ask?”
“What’s your relationship with Redo Geithner like?”
“We’re not just coworkers, we’re also good friends; I was desperate, jobless, and nearly a bum, and he was the one who hooked me up with this job.”
“What do you think of Billie Warwick and Redo Geithner’s relationship?”
“They’ve been dating for over a year now and are in a stable relationship, from what I understand they were even planning on getting engaged, but unfortunately something like this happened ……”
“Are you aware of the case of Billie Warwick being raped by football player Danny Carter?”
“Of course, it’s big news.”
“According to the news reports about it, Danny Carter did not rape Billie Warwick, the two were completely consensual, what do you think?”
“Impossible, Billie Warwick is not that kind of woman, she and Redo Gaitner have a very deep bond with each other, she would never do anything to betray Redo Gaitner.
Rado Gaitner spends most of his time with his girlfriend besides going to work.
I heard Redo Gaitner say that his girlfriend was drunk that night and that asshole offered to take her home.
She was a fan of that asshole and didn’t refuse.
As a result, that asshole took advantage of the situation and bullied her …….
It’s as simple as that, Danny Carter is a rapist.
If he wasn’t a rich man he’d have been convicted a long time ago instead of living in a fancy hotel and getting away with it.
It’s not fair.”
Luke tried, “You sound like you know Billie Warwick well? Are you two friends, too?”
“I’m good friends with Rado Geithner, we get together a lot, and Billie Warrick comes over sometimes.
Yes, we were friends too.
I rushed to feel sorry for what happened to her.
If I had seen it, I would have punched that asshole Danny Carter.”
Luke continued to test the waters, “I heard that Danny Carter drove Billie Warwick home in a Porsche 911, and then I heard that the car was stolen, do you know anything about that?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know much about it.” The dirty braided man frowned slightly and clasped his hands over his chest.
“Too bad, it was a nice car, I’ve always wanted a Porsche 911 but I never even got a chance to test drive one.
Have you ever driven a Porsche 911?”
“Drove one once …… in a dream.” The dirty braided man laughed and turned the conversation around, “Man, that’s the end of today’s interview, I should get to work.”
“I still don’t know your name?”
“You don’t need to know.” The black, dirty braided man waved and went into the convenience store.
Luke snapped a picture of his Ford sedan, it wasn’t hard to find out the owner’s identity and information as long as you had the license plate number to try and find out who it was.
Luke was also curious as to what role the black man with dirty dreadlocks played in this incident.