Chapter 372

Luke felt that the other party was a bit evasive and asked, “What clues did you actually find out?”

“Uh ……,” Franco Hood showed a hesitant look, “The morning the office was burglarized, Melanie Hickman was seen sneaking into the company.”

Luke pressed, “What time did she come into the office?”

“A little after six a.m. We asked for a nine o’clock start time and she was a full two hours early, so there must have been something wrong.”

“Did you tell the police?”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you tell them?”

“I didn’t inquire until after the fact, when the police had finished their investigation, and besides, the person who saw Melanie Hickman was an employee of the company, and the other party didn’t want to be implicated.”

“Did the witness leave any evidence? Like a photo or something?”

“No, no one expects this kind of thing, it’s impossible to take pictures ahead of time, that person just saw it during their morning walk.

Besides, Melanie Hickman is the assistant vice president, and this matter involves Yoshimi Hashimoto herself, the other person doesn’t want to get into trouble.”

“What about you? You’re also a company executive, you shouldn’t be afraid of Yoshimi Hashimoto either, haven’t you thought about doing something about it?”

Franco Hood sighed, “At first I was indeed angry, thinking that Yoshimi Hashimoto was deliberately trying to get me into trouble, and I also thought about asking for an explanation.

But that witness was also an employee of the company, and the other party was unwilling to completely offend Yoshimi Hashimoto, and even if the witness told what he saw, what could he do?

If this matter continued, it would only result in both people losing face.

Moreover, after thinking carefully, I also felt that this matter might not be simple.

Since it wasn’t me, there must be someone else targeting Hashimoto Yoshimi, so it would be better to just sit back and watch the tigers fight.

I also didn’t expect that something would happen to her so soon.”

Luke tried, “What do you think of Yoshimi Hashimoto as a person?”

“Not good, I don’t like it very much, she’s the kind of person who’s bent on climbing up the ladder, and a lot of people in the company don’t like her.”

“How’s her relationship with her assistant?”

“It seems pretty good.

How it actually is, I’m not sure, even if they have conflicts, they won’t show it in front of us.”

“Where were you between ten last night and two in the morning?”

“At home, sleeping.”

“Is there anyone who can attest to that?”

“My wife and daughter.”

“To your knowledge, does Yoshimi Hashimoto have any other part-time jobs besides this one?”

Franco Hood gave a puzzled look, “What does that mean? Why do you need a part-time job?”

Luke further asked, “How is she when it comes to relationships between men and women?”

“Sir, you’re asking the wrong person.

I don’t have a very good relationship with her, other than the occasional contact at work, I don’t know anything about her personal affairs at all.”

“Can you tell us the identity of that witness?”

“I’m sorry, but I promised my partner I wouldn’t tell the police.

Why don’t you ask Melanie Hickman yourselves?”

Luke talked to the other man for a while and saw no obvious signs of lying.

Assuming, he was telling the truth, then the alleged theft should be something else.

Exiting the superintendent’s office, Jackson quizzed, “Where are we going to investigate now?”

Luke thought for a moment, “Talk to assistant Melanie Hickman again.”

“We don’t have any evidence either, and even if she does have a problem, she may not admit it.”

Luke thought briefly, he felt that it was unlikely that Melanie Hickman was the murderer, and judging from the situation at the scene, the high probability of killing Yoshimi Hashimoto was a male.

Previously, Luke and Melanie Hickman conversation was just a routine inquiry, there was no targeted interrogation of the other party, and could not try to find out the attitude of the other party.

Luke was prepared to make some targeted inquiries to see if Melanie Hickman had anything to do with Yoshimi Hashimoto’s death.

Afterwards, Luke found Melanie Hickman again and said, “Ms. Hickman, I still have a few questions I want to ask you.”

Melanie Hickman froze for a moment, “Okay, let’s talk in the office.”

The three of them once again went to the lounge, and Melanie Hickman closed the lounge door and asked, “Captain Lee, how did you guys talk to Franco Hood?”

“We talked about the case regarding the theft from Yoshimi Hashimoto’s office, but he disavowed any involvement in the burglary.”

Melanie Hickman shrugged, “If it were me, I wouldn’t admit it either.”

Luke said, “I’d also like to know something about the day of the burglary.”

“It’s been a month since that burglary, did it have anything to do with President Hashimoto’s death?”

“We won’t know if there’s a connection until we check. There’s also no chance that any inadvertent clue could help solve the case.

That’s why I’d like to ask again about the day of the burglary.”

“OK.”

Luke said, “What time did you arrive at the office that day?”

“Our company requires you to be there by nine in the morning, and I usually get there around eight forty or fifty.”

“Who was the first to realize the office had been burglarized?”

“Superintendent Hashimoto.”

“What time did she arrive?”

“She usually arrives at eight-thirty.”

“She came earlier than you, the assistant?”

Melanie Hickman sighed, “In her words, that’s why she’s the vice president and I’m the assistant.”

Luke stared at the other’s and said, “We just learned something, you were seen coming to the office once that day after six o’clock, what were you doing at the office then?”

Melanie Hickman’s face changed slightly, “Was it a mistake?”

“The witness also took a picture, you need to see it, you can be sure it’s you.

Didn’t you say you didn’t get to the office until eight forty-five? Why would you sneak into the office after six?” Luke reminded, “Ms. Melanie, we are investigating a homicide.

You’d better be honest, there will be serious consequences for lying.”

Melanie Hickman looked a little nervous, “Captain Lee, you guys don’t suspect that I killed President Hashimoto, do you?”

“Is it you?”

“Of course it’s not me, you guys must have misunderstood.”

“Then tell us clearly and clear up our misunderstanding.”

“What will you do if I tell the truth about the original story of the theft?”

“I just want to know if there’s a connection between the promotion, the burglary, and Yoshimi Hashimoto’s murder, as for catching the thief I’m not interested.”

Melanie Hickman seemed relieved and said, “I did come to the office early that day.”

“Come to the office for what?”

“I had a planning proposal that I hadn’t finished, and I originally wanted to come to the company to work overtime, but I hadn’t slept well the night before, and my mind was too messed up to work.

I didn’t complete the task arranged by President Hashimoto ……

In order to avoid responsibility, I faked a fake office burglary and lied that the planning book I had completed was also stolen.”

Luke was somewhat skeptical of this claim and found it unorthodox, “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m telling the truth.

That plan was important, I promised President Hashimoto I’d finish it, and the night before I worked overtime until ten o’clock and was too tired to do it ……

I just wanted to go home early, the next morning energy is good at finishing the planning book.

But that night has been thinking about this matter, insomnia.

Because of the reason I didn’t sleep well, I was dizzy in the morning.

Then I came up with this way to avoid responsibility.”

Luke still didn’t understand, “Why didn’t you just tell Yoshimi Hashimoto that you didn’t finish the job?”

“I didn’t have a way to tell.”

“Why?”

Melanie Hickman let out a long sigh, “I’m under a lot of pressure to do my job and you wouldn’t be able to understand it if I told you, it’s sort of an unspoken agreement between us that she and I both feel that I should finish the job.

I couldn’t tell her that I couldn’t finish it.

I couldn’t open that mouth.”

“Does she blame you?”

“Not only that, but I myself would be internally disturbed and would feel a deep sense of self-blame.

I can’t face her, and I can’t face myself.”

“You treasure this job?”

“Yes.”

“Because of the money?”

“Not just because of the money, it’s a complicated feeling.

I’d feel guilty if I didn’t fulfill this job.”

Luke still couldn’t understand the other man, “And to get rid of that guilt, you lied about the theft of the planner and turned it into an accident for which you were not responsible?”

“Pretty much.”

“Didn’t you ever think of talking to Yoshimi Hashimoto and admitting your lack of ability, maybe she’d understand.”

“Some truths seem simple, but people have thinking ruts that are hard to get out of.”

Luke wondered, “What would you do if you were given another chance?”

Melanie Hickman thought for a while, “I would still do that.”

Luke stared at the other woman for a moment and changed his words, “Do you have any clues about Yoshimi Hashimoto’s death?”

“No, I didn’t realize President Hashimoto was murdered until you guys came today.”

“Where were you last night between ten and two in the morning?”

“I was at home.”

“Can anyone attest to that?”

“No, I live alone.” Melanie Hickman gulped and was a little nervous, “Are you going to arrest me for lying about my office being burglarized?

At that time, I didn’t think that Vice President Hashimoto would call the police, and I didn’t think that the matter would become a big deal.”

“We can ignore this matter, but you have to assist the police in investigating the case of Hashimoto Yoshimi’s murder.” Luke took out a business card and handed it to the other party, “Call me when you think of any new leads.”

Melanie Hickman breathed a sigh of relief and took the business card, “Okay, I’ll keep it in mind.”

After leaving the office, Jackson asked, “Captain, do you believe her words?

I always feel that this woman is a bit mentally unbalanced.”

This time, Luke didn’t obviously see any signs of lying on the other side, but he agreed with Jackson that this woman was indeed a bit paranoid.

Seeing that Luke didn’t answer, Jackson continued, “If according to her, working until ten o’clock at night without finishing the job, this attitude is already very serious.

Since it hasn’t been completed yet, it means that the workload is overloaded or she is not capable enough, so it’s just a matter of directly talking to the leader.

But instead of choosing this most normal and easiest way, she chose to disguise it as an office burglary to attract the police to investigate.” Jackson pointed to his head, “Let’s say, hypothetically, that she has a problem here that continues to develop.

Next time, she doesn’t finish the job again, but she’s too afraid to face up to it, much less tell Yoshimi Hashimoto, will she kill him to avoid him realizing it.”

Jackson’s idea was an interesting one; Melanie Hickman might not be incapable of doing such a thing if her paranoia got so bad that she developed mental problems.

Just now, Luke had already made targeted inquiries, and did not see any signs that the other party was lying, assuming that the other party was really the murderer, how did she fool him?