Chapter 360
Luke asked, “What’s your full name?”
“Kuka Saldana.”
“Did I just say that right?”
Kuka Saldana scowled.
Luke continued, “We’ve captured two of your men, and even if you don’t admit it, they’ll identify you just the same.
The two charges of dropping a bomb and kidnapping alone can give you the death penalty.
If you are labeled as a ‘terrorist’, your family will also be implicated and deported.
Is that the consequence you want?”
In Kuka Saldana’s defense, “I didn’t drop the bomb, and I had nothing to do with Natasha’s death.”
“Your words are hard to believe.”
“What I said is true.”
“OK, then say something that concerns you. If you’re willing to cooperate with the police, I’ll consider offering you a favorable plea deal.”
Kuka Saldana was silent for a moment, “We kidnapped that female reporter.”
“What was the name of the female reporter?”
“Pari Jones.”
“Where is she now?”
“In a house at 109 in the Akali neighborhood.”
“To whom does that house belong?”
“It’s rented by me.”
“Who else is in the house besides Parley Jones?”
“There was also one of my men who had charge of her in custody.”
“What kind of weapon did the man who was guarding her have?”
“A pistol.”
“In what part of the house was Parley Jones being guarded?”
“The guest bedroom on the east side.”
“What is the present condition of Parley Jones?”
“Not dead, we’re not going to kill her until we get the information.”
Luke turned to Porter, who was off to the side, “Give Marcus the address and tell him to bring someone to free Parley Jones.”
“YES, Sir.”
Luke looked over at Kuka Saldana and continued, “What do you know about Natasha’s death?”
“Like I said, I had nothing to do with her death, I know absolutely nothing about it.”
“Have you and your men ever been to Natasha’s house?”
“No.”
“Did you drive a red sedan and stop a police car?”
“No.”
“Were you aware of this incident?”
“No.”
“Come on, tell me something about Natasha?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Then why did you kidnap Parley Jones after Natasha was blown up?”
“I was instructed by someone else?”
“What others?”
“Carlos.”
“Full name?”
“I don’t know.”
“How did Carlos contact you?”
“Mail.”
“What did the e-mail say?”
“He said Natasha was dead and asked us to get information from Parley Jones.”
“What information?”
“Natasha and Parley Jones were investigating the stowaway, and we need to take any information that has to do with the stowaway.”
Porter handed over a cell phone, “Captain, this was recovered from him.”
Luke took the phone and asked, “Password?”
“631289.”
Luke opened his phone and tapped on his e-mail, there were two recent e-mails in his inbox, one at nine o’clock last night, the e-mail read, ‘Natasha is dead, find Parley Jones and get the information from her.’
At 3:00 a.m., Kuka Saldana replied with an email, ‘Got Parley Jones, but no information found.’
The second one was sent this morning, ‘Christian is in ward 509 at Wilkie Hospital, find him as soon as possible.’
Judging from the content of the emails, this person called ‘Carlos’ knew a lot about Natasha, and might be the one behind it.
Luke said, “Tell us about Carlos.”
“I don’t know much about him either, he’s very mysterious.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
Luke kept his eyes on the other man and wiggled his fingers, “Don’t play games with me, I know you know.”
“He’s in Los Angeles.”
“The exact location.”
“I only know he’s in LA, I really don’t know exactly where he’s hiding, I swear.”
“Have you heard of Posta?”
Kuka Saldana blushed slightly and answered dryly, “No.”
Luke saw the signs of a lie on his face and continued, “Are you a member of this organization?”
Kuka Saldana showed a difficult look, “Sir, I am willing to work with you and to give an account of what I have done, but not the three words ‘Posta’.
I will not answer any questions about those three words.”
In fact, with this answer, he was tantamount to having already given an answer.
Luke said, “There is no one else here, and I will keep what you say confidential.”
“No,” Kuka Saldana was adamant.
Luke knew it would be hard to get this kind of person to betray the organization, so he had to change the question, “Let’s talk about Carlos, is he your handler?”
“Yes.
You guys can go to him if you want to know more, that’s really all I know.” Kuka Saldana spread his hands.
Luke was a little helpless, there was a lot of resistance to investigating organized crime like this, it was like taking apart a condom, never knowing if there was a next layer.
Luke quieted his mind and contemplated for a moment, “Has Carlos mentioned this operation to you before?”
“No.”
Luke had looked at his e-mail, the e-mail had been sent at nine o’clock last night, which meant they were unprepared before Natasha was killed.
Assuming that the same people were behind the delivery of the bomb, the stopping of the police car, the burglary at Natasha’s house, and the kidnapping of Parley Jones, then the operation should have been more tightly organized.
But obviously this time the operation is not really tight, even a little hasty, a little bit of mending, Luke guessed that this series of actions is likely not by the same group of people.
Kuka Saldana was then escorted back to the Detective Bureau by two officers.
Porter said, “Captain, Marcus has taken the men to free Parley Jones, where are we going now?”
“To meet Christian, he lives with Natasha and should know something about the situation.”
Luke and Potter went to ward 308.
At the door of the ward sat a white man, the same officer who was secretly protecting Christian.
Luke greeted the other man, “Man, hard at work.”
“I heard you guys caught the suspect?”
“The guy disguised as a doctor to sneak into the ward and we caught him.”
The white officer shrugged, “Unfortunately I wasn’t there.”
“See you in a bit.” Luke dropped the sentence and went into the ward with Potter.
Christian was lying on the bed and sat up with his arms propped up when he saw the two Luke’s enter.
Luke was concerned, “Christian, just lie down, don’t tear the wound again.”
Christian shook his head, “I’m not that delicate, my body is already much better, I can be discharged in two days. Why are you guys here all of a sudden?”
“We just caught a suspect in the hospital, this suspect is most likely related to Natasha’s death. And his purpose of coming to the hospital this time is to find you.”
Christian showed a surprised look, “Is that why you changed my ward?”
“Yes.”
Christian said coldly, “Did he kill Natasha?”
“He won’t admit he had anything to do with Natasha’s death.” Luke pulled out his cell phone and flashed a picture of the Kuka Saldana suspect, “Have you seen him?”
Christian stares at the picture on his phone, “Looks a little familiar.”
Luke pressed, “Has he been to a jiu-jitsu club recently?”
“No.”
“Has he had any contact with Natasha?”
“I don’t think so, at least not that I’ve seen. What did he want with me?”
“I’m guessing he’s trying to get some information from Natasha. With Natasha dead, the only way to get it would be from someone close to her.”
Christian blushed slightly, “It’s about human smuggling?”
“You knew about this?”
Cristian nodded, “Natasha has been investigating privately, and I can’t think of any other possibilities other than this.”
“Did you know Natasha put the information there?”
“No, she didn’t really want me involved in all this, she always thought I was still a kid …… and would be in danger.
Was she killed because of this?”
“Most likely.”
“Jesus Christ, why would you do that to her?
She was a good person and had been quietly helping a lot of people like me.”
“What do you mean when you say people like you?”
Christian sighed, “Smuggling is not an easy thing, we have to spend a lot of money to get a chance to smuggle, and the gangs that organize the smuggling will try to squeeze us dry in every way they can.
Moreover, there are many dangers during the smuggling process, and many smugglers die for no reason.
Even if we make it to Los Angeles, the money has been drained by the gangs, and there are many difficulties in landing here.
I was smuggled from Mexico to Los Angeles with my mother, and halfway there we were separated, and I haven’t seen her since.”
Christian’s eyes reddened a bit and he choked out, “It was Natasha …… who helped me.
I …… can’t imagine if it wasn’t for her.”
Luke pursued, “Why did Natasha investigate the smuggling?”
“Natasha has a similar experience with me, she smuggled to Los Angeles with her parents when she was a child, but her parents had an accident ……
So, she hates these smuggling organizations and feels that they killed her parents.”
This was roughly the same as Luke’s guess, and he continued, “Have you ever heard of the organization ‘Posta’?”
“No.”
“Ever heard of Kuka Saldana?”
“Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“What about ‘Carlos’?”
“No idea.”
“Think carefully if Natasha ever mentioned it?”
“No.”
“Then you’ve heard of Parley Jones?”
“Yes. She seems to be a journalist who sometimes meets with Natasha.
She seems to be investigating human smuggling as well.”
“Was there anything unusual about Natasha in the days before the explosion?”
Christian thought for a moment, “No, I didn’t see it.”
Luke left a business card, “Get some rest, call me if you remember anything.”
Christian took the card, “Captain Luke, please catch Natasha’s killer, for sure.”
“I’ll do my best.” Luke dropped his words and exited the hospital room.
The white police officer outside asked, “Captain Luke, are there any other assignments tonight?”
“No, the threatening suspects have been caught, and you’re off duty.”
The white officer said, “OK, I’ll tell my supervisor.”
Luke said, “Just tell them I said so.
Go home early and get a good night’s sleep.”
“I will.” The white officer answered and watched the two Luke’s leave.
He sat down on a chair and changed to a relaxed position, playing with his cell phone while muttering, “If the danger is over, why did I leave work early?
I still want to earn more overtime pay.”
The overtime pay for the LAPD was substantial.
“Bang!”
An hour later, there was a sudden bang in the room.
The white police officer pulled out his pistol and rushed to the door of the room to check it, then put it away with a sigh of relief.
He pushed open the door to the room to see Christian sitting on the floor with a glass of water dropped on the side, “Are you okay?”
“I’m not okay, my bladder is about to explode and I need to go to the bathroom.” Christian held onto the bed and struggled to get up.
“Dude, hold still for a second, let me help you.” The white officer walked over and helped Christian up off the floor, “Grab my shoulders, I’ll help you to the restroom.”
“Thanks, thank god you’re here.” Christian wrapped his right arm around the white officer’s neck and took a few steps forward.
Suddenly, Christian’s right arm strangled hard and his left arm went up to hold down the white officer’s head in a naked choke position.
“Uh uh ……”
The white police officer, breathing hard and flushed from the sudden strangulation of his throat, quickly passed out.
Christian dragged him to the hospital bed, undressed him, and covered him with a blanket to disguise himself.
He, in turn, changed into his white police officer’s clothes, opened the door to the hospital room, surveyed the corridors around him, and walked briskly to the stairwell.
“Hey Christian, where are you going?” A voice sounded abruptly behind him.
Christian froze in place.
Luke’s voice sounded again, “Hands up, I’ll shoot you anytime you move.”
Christian raised his hands and slowly turned around, glaring at Luke, “Why didn’t you leave?”
“Should I call you Christian, or Carlos?”