Chapter 370
Will Street.
A black Volvo sedan drove quickly past the curb.
The driver’s window was open and Val’s left arm was leaning on the window, driving while his eyes occasionally swept over the street on the left.
As we entered mid-December, the Christmas spirit was getting stronger and stores were starting to promote holiday gifts.
The supermarket where Val worked was also a little busier than usual, with many people already preparing their holiday items.
Val pulled into the parking lot just in time to run into a Latino co-worker with dyed yellow hair, who looked at Val’s car, “Ooooh, you finally got around to trading in that old car, this one looks so much better.”
Val laughed, “Yep, this car has a lot of room in the back.”
“What does rear space have to do with driving? The yellow-haired coworker was confused, cars are for driving and you don’t sit in the back?
Val stepped out of the car and patted him on the shoulder, “I won’t stay single.”
Yellow-haired coworker: “……”
Val was happy with his new car, although it was second hand, there was no problem with the performance, he felt like he was at least five minutes faster than usual today, and his whole mood was different.
Entering the supermarket, Val changed into his work clothes, held the morning meeting, cleaned up, adjusted the price, replenished the goods, and was busy for nearly an hour before officially opening for business.
After this period of time, Val also gradually adapted to the work, a stable income, pay off the previous credit card debt, he is now living in a much improved state.
He put a large bag of Christmas hats on the shelves, these days are a good time to sell, suddenly, he saw a familiar figure.
“Luke, you’re off today?”
“Yes, taking a break to purchase some Christmas gifts, once it gets busy there’s no time at all.”
“OK, what do you want to buy, I’ll be your guide.”
“Get some food, and a Christmas tree, decorations, presents.”
“See our ‘new’ car?”
“I looked at it when I walked by the parking lot, it’s not bad.”
Luke finished and walked over to the shelves selling Christmas trees, which came in boxes and needed to be assembled himself.
Luke placed four boxes of Christmas trees in the cart.
Val wondered, “Why did you buy so many?”
“Grandpa’s house, Mom’s house, my house, and our office needs one, after all, it’s the holidays and it’s only festive to have one of these.”
Val nodded, “Right.”
Luke started shopping, buying and realizing that one shopping cart just wasn’t enough, Val pushed another shopping cart to help him load his things.
After checking out, the two put their items in the car and the trunk was filled to the brim.
After saying goodbye to Val, Luke drove back home, just driving into the neighborhood his cell phone rang.
Luke pressed the answer button, “Chief, what can I do for you?”
“Luke, a homicide was discovered this morning, I’ve assigned it to Squadron 1 for investigation, can you return to the team?”
“No problem, send me the address.”
Luke got home, put the gift in the house and drove straight to the scene of the crime.
Downtown Los Angeles.
The Castleigh Apartments.
Several police cars were parked near the apartment and two officers stood in front of the apartment.
Luke flashed his badge and asked, “What floor is the crime scene on?”
“Third floor, Sir.”
This was a relatively old apartment building with a total of only three floors up and down and no elevator.
At this moment, a cordon was drawn around room 309 on the easternmost side of the 3rd floor, and there were quite a few police officers standing at the door.
“Captain.”
“Captain Lee.” Upon seeing Luke, the crowd greeted him.
The lieutenant was carrying his hands behind his back, exchanging low voices with a police officer, and frowned slightly after seeing Luke, “Reed informed you?”
Luke snickered, “Well, it sounds like a bit of a plot to usurp the throne.”
The lieutenant waved a hand, “Come on, I’m just an old man trying to get over being captain.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance.” Luke made up his mind that he would take a nice vacation from work to spend time with his family at Christmas, and then even if he had a case, he would push it off on the lieutenant and let him have a good captain’s day.
Of course, until there was Christmas, he still had to work on the case, when he should be busy, and when he should be idle, so that he could have a bottom line.
The lieutenant pointed to the door of the apartment, “This morning, the neighbors of the apartment found the door of the deceased’s house unlocked and opened it to find the deceased’s body.
No items proving the identity of the deceased were found at the scene.”
“Is the deceased the homeowner?”
“No. The homeowner is a white man and the deceased is an Asian woman.”
Luke asked, “Did you contact the homeowner?”
“We got the homeowner’s phone number, but it didn’t go through, I’ll put someone on it.
Let you know when we get in touch.”
“Where’s the person who reported the case?”
“Out running errands.”
“Make contact, I want to see him later.” Luke finished and walked into the apartment where the dead man was.
The apartment was small, like a large open room, and as he entered, he could see a large bed with a shirtless female body lying on it, legs dangling over the side of the bed, eyes glazed over, and a visible strangulation mark in her neck.
Luke stepped in to check it out; it was an Asian woman with black hair, a petite, well-proportioned body, and a blood letter ‘H’ carved between her chest and stomach.
Scattered clothing lay around the body, stockings, underwear, an eye mask, kimono and tissues.
The tech team and forensics had also arrived at the scene and were already surveying around the body.
Luke avoided them as much as he could and searched the rest of the house, which had little furniture, a bed, closet, dresser, and television.
The closet held a lot of clothing, black silk, stewardess uniforms, police uniforms, nurse’s uniforms, whips, and the like.
The top of the dresser held makeup, the drawer was open and contained geometric Durex, and the trash can next to the bed held several used Durex.
Luke went back to the bathroom to check it out, and all that was in there were some toiletries and makeup, a bathrobe, and, in addition, a pair of men’s slippers.
Luke turned to Mary from the tech team and asked, “Anything?”
Mary sighed, “Too many finds, hairs everywhere, varying in color, texture, length, and shape ……
Let’s just say a lot of people have been here.”
“Any blood found?”
“No.”
“Any clues to the identity of the deceased?”
“Not yet, but we should find something when we’re done with the hairs and the Durex in the trash.”
“Good work.” Luke finished and walked back over to the medical examiner, Sheila, “What was the cause of death?”
Sheila stood up and gestured, “The murderer would have stood behind the victim and strangled the other person’s neck with a rope, suffocating them.
The time of death was between about ten o’clock last night and two o’clock in the morning.
The victim was between thirty and thirty-five years old, 162 in height, Asian, and had played poker before he died.”
“What about the murder weapon?”
Sheila pointed to the band next to the kimono, “If I’m right, that would be the one, but of course, there’s going to be further identification before we jump to any conclusions.”
Luke pointed to the letter ‘H’ on the dead man’s stomach, “What about this one?”
The forensic pathologist, Sheila, said, “It was carved after death, and the wound was flat, so a sharp tool like a dagger should have been used.
But no similar tools were found at the scene.”
Blackie asked, “Why did the murderer carve letters on the stomach of the deceased? What is the meaning of this letter?”
Sheila shrugged, “I don’t know.
But, some perverts just like to leave some ‘marks’ on the dead, like a puppy peeing.”
Kuro pointed to his head, “So, the killer could be the pervert with the problem here.”
“That’s for you guys to find out when you catch them.” Sheila dropped the comment and continued to dispose of the body.
Luke scanned the apartment, there were few living things to be seen here, it was more of a makeshift place to stay.
The lieutenant called out from the doorway of the apartment, “Captain, the informant is here?”
Luke stepped out of the apartment and saw a black man standing in the doorway, about one meter eight tall with a small flat head, his eyes glancing into the apartment from time to time, “Sir, you’re looking for me.”
Luke said, “I’m Luke Lee, Captain of Squadron One of the Robbery and Murder Division.
How do you address?”
“Kevin Rodman.”
“Kevin, you were the first to find the body?”
“Yes.”
“What time was the body found? What time was it reported?”
“I must have left the house around nine-thirty, and then I saw the apartment door left open, a crack, and I tried to go over and say hello, but no one in the apartment responded.
I thought she forgot to close the door, so I opened it to check ……
Jesus Christ, I was scared to pee, I really did.”
Luke and Blackie looked at his pants in unison.
Kevin Rodman said, “I changed them.”
Luke changed the subject, “Did you know the deceased?”
“Yes, we were neighbors, of course I knew them.”
“What was the name of the deceased?”
“Masami Nagasawa.”
“Are you sure?” Luke vaguely remembered that it would be the name of a Japanese actress.
“She told me herself.”
“Does she live here all the time?”
“No, she only comes over at night.”
Luke pressed, “What does she do?”
Kevin Rodman shrugged, “You know.”
Black reminded, “Man, we’re cops, we’re all about evidence, no guessing.”
“Stand-up girl.”
Luke trailed off, “This is where she picks up her customers.”
“Yes, I’ve seen her picking up customers on the side of the road and then taking them back to her apartment, several different men a night.”
Blackie said, “Have you patronized her?”
Kevin Rodman was a little embarrassed, “I don’t know what to say?”
Blacky bristled, “That would be a yes.”
“I’m different, I didn’t spend any money.
You should know very well that doing this kind of thing makes a lot of noise at night, and I can’t sleep at all when I live alone.
So I went to her and asked her to keep it down and not disturb my rest.
She was very polite, apologized to me, and said that she could compensate me …… “Kevin Rodman showed a you-know-what expression.
Luke then inquired, “Kevin, did you see Masami Nagasawa last night?”
“Yes, I met.
Around eleven p.m. I saw her lead a white man back, brown hair, blue eyes, a little bit handsome, probably about your height.”
“How long did he stay?”
“Less than an hour, I think.”
“Did you see him leave?”
“No, but I heard voices.”
Blackie “……”
Luke pointed to the hallway roof, “I noticed that all the cameras in the apartment are broken, were they broken last night?”
“It’s always been broken.
There are a lot of people living in the apartments, and a lot of people don’t like being watched when the management of this apartment building is average, so they’re smashed.”
“Last night, did you hear any unusual movement?”
Kevin Rodman spread his hands, “I’m used to it.”
“How many people came by last night?”
“At least three, and then I fell asleep ……”
“Do you know anything else about the deceased?”
“Yes, I know she also had a car, an awesome car that should be parked in the parking lot.”
Luke said, “I like cars too, how about showing us?”
The group exited the apartment and went to a nearby parking lot under Kevin Rodman’s lead two.
Kevin Rodman pointed to a red Ferrari, “That’s her car, isn’t it superb?”
“Are you sure?” Blackie revealed a surprised look, a street girl could afford to drive such a nice car?
Kevin Rodman looked at the license plate number, “Yes, she drives this car every time.”
Luke instructed the patrolman to investigate the license plate number on the computer and quickly found the owner’s information.
Owner, Yoshimi Hashimoto.
Gender, female
Age, 34
Race, Japanese American
Height, 162cm
Weight, 110 lbs
Eye color, black
Hair color, black
Cell phone number, 626 836 7856
License plate number, 7erb390
Black looked at the owner’s picture and wondered, “Why is she working as a stand-up girl when she can afford a Ferrari?”
Luke got a professional to open the door of the Ferrari and search the car’s contents.
There was nothing messy in the car except for papers and cosmetics, and there was a briefcase sitting on the back seat.
Luke opened it and looked inside, there were some documents and a work ID.
Name, Yoshimi Hashimoto.
Company name, Armini Architects
Number, 0005
Position, Vice President
Blackie took out his cell phone and looked it up, “Wow Wow, this is an architectural design company that ranks in the top ten in the United States and has a great reputation.
The average annual income of the company’s executives is more than a million dollars, she is the vice president, her annual salary should be even higher.”
Luke also looked through the information of this company and found Yoshimi Hashimoto herself on the company’s official website, confirming her identity.
As a vice president of a well-known company, Yoshimi Hashimoto had the ability to buy a Ferrari, which also fit her identity.
But if she was an executive of a listed company then why would she appear in a dilapidated apartment?
Luke couldn’t help but have some doubts that Yoshimi Hashimoto was really a streetwalker?
Luke once again approached Kevin Rodman and asked, “Are you sure she’s picking up customers?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Does she pick up customers every day? What are the hours of operation?”
Kevin Rodman thought for a moment, “Not every day, about once or twice a week, each time after ten o’clock at night.”
Luke pressed, “Does anyone else come by the apartment when she’s not here?”
Kevin Rodman shook his head, “No.”
“How much does she charge per visit?”
“About three hundred dollars or so.”
Luke looked over at the red Ferrari, if she was making what she was making, she might not be able to afford a Ferrari if she did it for the rest of her life.
Why would a financially well-off female corporate executive be moonlighting as a streetwalker?