Chapter 361
The robbery and murder division interrogation room.
A seventeen or eighteen year old Latino man was handcuffed to the interrogation chair, his face was wooden and unreadable.
“Creak ……” a door slammed.
Luke walked into the interrogation room placing a pile of information on the table, “I didn’t think we’d meet here, how does it feel?”
“To me this place is no different than a jiu-jitsu club.”
Luke asked back, “You didn’t have a good time at the jiu-jitsu club?”
Christian didn’t answer.
“OK, catching up is over, let’s talk about something worthwhile.” Luke turned the tables, “What’s your full name?”
“Christian Soddy.”
“You know, that’s not what I’m asking in this.”
“Carlos Sodi.”
“You’re Cuca Saldana’s handler?”
“Yes.”
“What organization do you belong to?”
“We don’t belong to any organization.”
“But Kuka says you belong to an organization called Posta.”
Carlos Sodi laughed, “No way, Kuka would never say that.”
“Don’t be so confident, a lot of suspects are tough talkers before they are caught, but after they are caught they are another story.
If Kuka hadn’t identified you, we wouldn’t have suspected you.”
Carlos Sodi shook his head, “You don’t have to swindle me, Kuka would never dare to betray me.
That’s why I’m curious as to how you found out that there was something wrong with me.”
Luke said in a firm tone, “Kuka said so.
He’s not as trustworthy as he thought.”
Luke’s attitude shook Carlos Sodi a little and he didn’t say anything more.
Luke continued, “You were the one who sent the message this morning for Kuka to come to the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“To do what?”
Carlos Sodi thought for a moment and replied, “At the time, there were police officers guarding the outside of our hospital room, and they were working in teams of two, and they were very vigilant.
Also, I wasn’t sure if there were other police in the shadows, so I called Kuka to assist me in escaping the hospital. Natasha was killed and I was worried that I was on the verge of being exposed.”
Luke pressed, “When we switched your ward in the afternoon, why didn’t you email Kuka then? Told him about it and instead told him to go to Ward 509 and turn himself in.”
“When you guys offered to switch my ward, I felt ‘thump’ in my heart that something big was wrong.
I did think about e-mailing Kuka, but considering the risks involved, I gave up.”
Luke followed up with interest, “What risks?”
Carlos Soddy replied, “The email I sent to Kuka this morning asking him to come to Ward 509.
You guys changed my ward in the afternoon, and my first thought was that Kuka had been captured, that you guys had checked that email and suspected that there was an undercover agent in the hospital, and that changing my ward was a trap in itself.
If I had sent another e-mail, you guys would probably have identified me.
The second point is that even if Kuka hadn’t been caught at the time and had been caught afterward, through two precise emails, you guys would still have suspected my identity.
So, I didn’t inform Kuka, and even if Kuka had been caught, he wouldn’t have given me up, and you guys wouldn’t have suspected me.
When you guys catch Kuka, you will let your guard down, and it will be easier for me to escape from the hospital instead.”
Luke said, “You’re pretty cold-blooded.”
“If I wasn’t, I’d be dead already and wouldn’t even have a chance to come to LA.
To be honest, I kinda like this city.”
Luke tried, “So do you like Natasha?”
“Hoo……” Carlos Soddy sighed softly, “I don’t know how to answer you.
She’s a good person, and she’s been good to me.
But …… she doesn’t even realize how scary her opponent is.”
“Are you considered her opponent?”
“Sort of.”
“Did you kill her?”
“No, her death has nothing to do with me.
There were plenty of ways I could have killed her, so why make such a big deal out of it and blow myself up and trap myself in the hospital.
Only a fool would do that.” Speaking of this, Carlos Sodi had a somewhat complicated look on his face, “I’m actually torn, what if I have to kill Natasha one day?
I might not be able to do it.
But then again, I have to do it.
Well now, I don’t have to fret anymore and everyone is relieved.”
Luke pressed, “You think it’s a relief?”
“Yes, both I and Natasha are tired of living.”
“That doesn’t sound like a young man.”
“It is.”
“Did you have anyone stop the police car?”
“No.”
“Did you send anyone to burglarize Natasha’s house?”
“Did I need to?”
“Why did you kidnap Parley Jones?”
“She was investigating the smuggling as well, she’s been seeing Natasha a lot in recent times, I’m not sure how much information she has, I was just removing the danger.”
“Removing danger for whom?”
“I’m only giving my own account of the charges, I don’t know anything else.”
“Do you think this confession will convince the police and the prosecution?”
“That is your business.”
“If this is your attitude, it’s hard to get a favorable plea deal.”
“Captain Li, this is already my best attitude, I’ve told you everything I can.”
“Is that organization that scary?”
“More terrifying than you think?”
Luke laughed, “Nothing really scares me in LA? I haven’t heard of any great criminal organizations in LA either.”
“You’re right, but what if it’s not in LA?
You’re not scared, I am.”
Luke backed off, “You don’t want to talk about organizations, so let’s talk about your handler.
What’s his name?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“How do you make contact?”
“Usually we meet and contact, but it’s been a long time.”
“Look, if you want a favorable plea deal, tell me something of value.
It doesn’t matter how scary the organization behind you is.
This is Los Angeles, and they don’t get a say in this.”
Carlos Soddy thought for a moment and said, “Gunther, Natasha was recently investigating this organization, and her death was probably connected to it.”
Luke made a mental note of the word ‘Gunther’ and continued, “Why have you stayed with Natasha?
If it was to kill her, there would have been no need to go through so much trouble.”
Carlos Sodi shrugged, “I like it.”
“That reason doesn’t convince me.”
Luke leaned back in his chair in a somewhat depressed mood, he hated interrogating these gang members, these people valued the rules of the gang more than the law, interrogation was like scratching an itch.
“Knock knock ……”
Just then, the door outside the office slammed.
Jenny pushed the door and walked in, whispering into Luke’s ear, “Captain, the FBI is here, they want to take Carlos Sodi away.”
Luke turned to Jenny and said, “Repeat what you just said, louder.”
Jenny understood what Luke meant and said to Carlos Soddy, “The FBI is here, they want to take you away.”
Carlos Soddy blushed slightly and asked back, “Are you trying to scare me?”
“Whether I am bluffing you or not, you should know very well in your heart.
I’ll give you five minutes to think about it, and I’ll go stop those people.
After five minutes, if you still don’t cooperate with the investigation, then I can’t protect you.” Luke finished speaking and left the interrogation room.
In the corridor stood a white woman in a suit with short hair and an FBI badge, “You’re Captain Lee, aren’t you, I didn’t expect you to be even more handsome than on TV.”
Luke laughed, “I like your hair, it turns heads.
What’s your name?”
“FBI agent Alfie Ima, mainly responsible for smuggling and smuggling related cases.”
“Agent Irma, I hear you’re trying to take Carlos Sodi?”
“Yes. Natasha is my informant. She’s a good person and we’re the ones who failed to protect her.
I’m not going to let her die for no reason and will get to the bottom of this.”
Luke said, “We’ve already been looking into it, and we’ve arrested a few suspects, and the investigation of the case has made a lot of progress.
Your sudden request to take away one of the key suspects will hinder our police investigation.”
Alfie Ima said, “Captain Lee, I’ve heard of your deeds and know that you’re very capable, but this case is different and has exceeded the LAPD’s authority and ability.”
“Your FBI is prepared to take over the case?”
“Mutual cooperation to be exact, the LAPD has the home field advantage, but the FBI has a wider jurisdiction and more means.
We’re not dealing with one or a few suspects, but one or even more tightly knit criminal organizations.
It will be difficult for one or two departments alone to root them out completely.”
Luke asked, “From what you’re saying there are other departments that will join in?”
“We can also contact Immigration or Border Patrol if needed.
Since you’ve already started working on the case, I’m sure you’re aware that Natasha’s death is connected to the smuggling organization.
They don’t operate beyond Los Angeles, and the LAPD, as good as they are, can’t go to the border or Mexico to catch them.
What do you say?”
Luke understood that once he agreed, then the case would be led by the FBI, and he didn’t want to give a fight.
But like Alfie Ima had said, investigating this case would be very taxing on the LAPD’s authority alone, and multi-agency cooperation was much more effective against people-smuggling organizations.
Step back and take the interrogation aspect.
Both Carlos Sodi and Kuka were half-covered, only talking about crimes involving themselves, half refusing to mention the organization behind them.
Luke had just taken over the case, and now had too little information, and had never dealt with them before, so it was difficult to pry their mouths open for a while.
The FBI was different, listening to Alfie Yima’s tone, she had been in charge of investigating cases related to smuggling, and should understand the organization behind Carlos Sodi and have the appropriate means to deal with it.
Moreover, the FBI has a much larger remit, and some departments can use hard work in special circumstances.
These days, there were a lot of tough guys with mouths, and the ones who could carry a tough job were the real tough guys.
“Agent Ima, please wait a moment.” Luke put down a sentence and returned to the interrogation room once again, asking Carlos Sodi in the interrogation chair, “How are you considering this?”
Carlos Soddy looked at Luke, “I’ve told you what I know.”
“I need to know more than that, what organization do you belong to?”
Carlos Soddy shook his head.
Luke continued, “Why are you lurking around Natasha?”
Carlos Soddy still didn’t answer.
“Carlos Soddy, I gave you your chance.” Luke took the information and walked out of the interrogation room, turning to Alfie Imma and asking, “Are you sure you can pry his mouth open?”
“Of course.” Alfie Imma sounded certain.
“How long?”
Alfie Imma glanced at his watch, “It’s ten o’clock at night, and you’ll see a full transcript of the interrogation by ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”
Luke extended his hand, “Good cooperation.”
After leaving the police station, Luke was ready to go for a late night snack.
He had been busy with the case today, and had simply eaten a burger for lunch, so his stomach had long been hungry.
In the blink of an eye, it had already entered December, and the streets already had a few pre-Christmas vibes.
Previously, Luke rarely Christmas, that is, when chasing a girlfriend to show their feelings, young women like romance, in the deliberate propaganda of the business, many girls like to have a foreign festival, other people to send a gift you do not send, that means you are not on the heart.
This year is different, Luke is in Los Angeles, the atmosphere of the festival is different, the meaning is different.
Luke chose a barbecue restaurant, ordered some kebabs, a glass of beer, and ate a late night snack while watching TV.
There were two TVs in the store, one TV was broadcasting a soccer game and the other was showing the news.
Many of the customers at the scene were fans, and Luke followed along and watched for a while, he didn’t know many football players and wasn’t particularly interested, and both sides never scored, so he wasn’t interested in watching.
The news on the other TV intrigued him instead.
“Good evening, I’m Mary, a news reporter for ESPN, and I’m here with the latest developments in the case of the rape of a fan by football superstar Danny Carter.
After several days of investigation, the police have obtained some new clues, as the female victim’s statement does not match with some of the evidence.
Police dropped the charges against Danny Carter for lack of evidence.
Danny Carter was acquitted.”
Luke smiled, “Finally a good news, Danny Carter got his commission since the charges were dropped.”
Nine o’clock the following morning.
Robbery and Murder Division Office.
The door to the captain’s office opened, and Luke walked out of the office with a cup of coffee, “Guys, stop for the morning meeting.
Jenny, any news from the FBI?”
“No.”
“Looks like they’re not as efficient as they thought.” Luke asked as he took a sip of his coffee and turned to Marcus, who was off to the side.
“What’s the status of Parley Jones?”
Black sighed, “Those bastards hit hard, Pari Jones is not in a very good condition and was sent to the hospital for treatment.
On the way to the hospital, I gave her a statement.
According to her, Natasha and her have been investigating the smuggling organizations, which are very extreme, smuggling is only on the surface, and privately engaged in a variety of criminal activities.
Two of the larger people smuggling organizations are Posta and Gunside.
One of them, Parley Jones, has recently been gathering information about the Posta organization.
Natasha, on the other hand, is investigating the Gunside organization, and the two sometimes exchange information.”
The names of these two organizations were not unfamiliar to Luke, in which the information obtained at Parley Jones’ house was about the ‘Perseus Tower’ organization.
As for Gunther was the information provided by Carlos Sodi last night, according to Carlos Sodi, Natasha was probably killed by Gunther’s organization.
Luke continued, “Any word on the courier or the group that stopped the police car?”
Jackson said, “No sign of them yet.
However, we reconfirmed the identity of the courier and he is indeed an employee of the ups courier company.
As to why he dropped the bomb is still unclear.”
Luke was silent for a moment and analyzed, “From the existing situation, it is likely that two organizations are involved in this incident.
One is Posta.
One is Gunseed.
Among them, the Gunseed organization used a courier to drop a bomb that killed Natasha, which then triggered a series of chain reactions.
After Natasha’s death, the Gunseed organization sent someone to her house to burglarize it and take information about the organization.
After that, the police found the courier’s trail, and Gonzadeh again sent someone to stop the police car and there was a firefight.
As for Carlos Sodi, who is supposed to be a member of the Posta organization, he has been lurking around Natasha and after learning of Natasha’s death, he was worried that things might get out of hand, so he had Kuka go and kidnap Pari Jones to destroy the investigative information about the Posta organization from her.
Before she was kidnapped, Pari Jones asked me to meet her.
Out of self-help, she told the suspects that the information was in my hands, and then I exchanged fire with two suspects and captured two members of the Posta Organization.
After that, I stood guard to capture Kuka, which led to the discovery of Carlos Sodi’s true identity.”
Luke straightens out the case and the truth about Natasha’s murder emerges.