Chapter 376
Chen Hui thought for a moment, “I don’t think so, I’ve never heard Old Ma mention it.”
“Did you guys know each other before coming to LA?” As far as Luke knew, generally coming to work abroad was introduced by someone, either a relative or a friend from the same hometown.
If there wasn’t an acquaintance to vouch for them, they wouldn’t dare to travel far away from home.
“Don’t know each other.
We met when we were working together, he took care of me quite well, so we naturally got together.”
“Does Ma Jiehui have any more familiar friends from the same hometown?”
Chen Hui’s face was a bit ugly: “The owner of Shu Du Cuisine Restaurant, Chen Jianxin, is from the same hometown as him, and I heard that he also has some relatives ……”
Friends and relatives turn against each other because of interests, this kind of thing is not uncommon, Luke feels the need to meet the boss of Shudu Cuisine Restaurant, Chen Jianxin, may be able to find out some new clues.
Chen Hui pointed out of the car window: ”Captain Li, that person wearing a dark blue T-shirt is Chen Jianxin, he is still watching the action outside Yu Xiang Restaurant.
Old Ma being victimized can be considered taking advantage of his heart.”
Luke got out of the car, walked to the entrance of Yu Xiang Restaurant and shouted, “Chen Jianxin.”
“Eh.” The man wearing a dark blue body shirt twisted his head and looked over, looking at his age about forty years old, medium, beer belly, looking a little rich.
Chen Jianxin’s gaze fell on Luke, “Who are you?”
Luke flashed his badge, “LAPD.”
Chen took a step back, he had been in Los Angeles for more than ten years and had learned a lot of English, and had basically integrated into the local life.
“Can I help you?”
“Do you know Ma Jiehui?”
Chen Jianxin glanced toward Yu Xiang Restaurant, “Recognize.”
“I heard that you two are Chinese hometown friends?”
“Right.”
Luke got right to the point, “We’d like to know something about him.”
Chen Jianxin was silent for a moment and sighed, “Hey …… go to my store and talk.”
Under Chen Jianxin’s leadership, Luke and his party came to Shu Du Restaurant, at this time, it was already past the point of eating, there were no more customers in the store, only two employees were cleaning up.
“This officer, what’s your name?”
“My surname is Li, I am the captain of the 1st Squadron of the Robbery and Murder Division, this is my colleague Jackson.”
Chen greeted the people pouring tea while asking, “Your ancestors are also Chinese, right, no wonder you speak Chinese so well.”
Luke’s eyes scanned the restaurant and asked seemingly unintentionally, “Is this a Sichuan restaurant for you too?”
“Yes, an authentic Sichuan cuisine restaurant, our restaurant’s Mao Blood Wanton and Husband and Wife Lung Slices are both excellent, someday when you have time to come over, I’ll cook it myself.”
Luke asked, “How is the business of the store?”
Chen Jianxin took the teapot from the clerk, “This is the tea I asked my hometown to bring from China, you can’t really buy it in Los Angeles, try it.”
Chen Jianxin poured a cup of tea for Luke and Jackson, and continued, “Business is not doing well in these two years, so I’m just trying to keep my head above water.”
Luke took a sip of the tea and asked, “How long have you and Ma Jiehui known each other?”
Chen Jianxin thought for a moment, “More than twenty years. The two of us dabble in a bit of kinship, to be exact he’s a relative of my brother-in-law’s family, there’s no blood, it’s not considered close.”
“Why did Ma Jiehui come to Los Angeles in the first place?”
“In order to earn money, is also a high-minded, the general public will not move the mind to work abroad.”
“Does he have a criminal record in China?”
Chen Jianxin shook his head, “That I have not heard.”
“Then what was the reason he didn’t return to the country for so many years?”
“In the beginning it was because he didn’t have an identity, and after he had an identity it was because he couldn’t spare the money.
This time a trip to the country, not only the round-trip airfare, which relatives do not have to buy some things, but also some relatives to help bring some medicine and milk powder, charge money, it does not look good; do not charge money, it is not a family of two, can not afford to send.
A trip home, a few months of work for nothing.”
Luke probed: “What do you think of this person Ma Jiehui?”
Chen Jianxin bristled, “Just not a sober person.”
“I heard that your two restaurants had a conflict?”
Chen Jianxin glanced at Luke, “Captain Li, I won’t hide anything from you.
I really don’t treat him well, this goods used to work in my store for a while before jumping ship to another store.
Then he opened his own restaurant and started working against me.
No, it’s not against me, it’s against the whole street.
You go out and ask around, not one person misses him.”
“What’s the taboo he’s broken, he can’t open his own place just because he worked in your store, can he?”
“It’s not about opening a store, he opened a store is his ability, are hometown, no one eye gas him.
The key is that what he did is too taboo, not to give others a way to live.” Chen Jianxin said more and more angry, poured a cup of tea.
“His restaurant just opened when there are no guests, in fact, it is normal, who store just business to earn money, not all have to slowly simmer, time is long, there are repeat customers, naturally make money, it is not a matter of urgency.
But he is not the same, a look at the restaurant does not make money on the crooked idea, the same is a Mao Blood Wanton, I sold 20 dollars, he sold 15 dollars. My husband and wife’s lung slices cost 16 dollars, but he sells them for 12 dollars.
Many of my repeat customers look at his family cheaper, all run to his home to eat, you say he does not invite hate, who invites hate?”
Fighting a price war, indeed quite a taboo, Luke said, “How was it resolved later?”
“I definitely have to find him ah, I just thought he did not understand, the night with a bottle of good wine to find him, ready to drink a few cups with him, and discuss the matter resolved.
To put it bluntly, he lowered the price, my restaurant has no guests, I also have to lower the price, the number of guests is certain, why hurt each other.” Chen Jianxin hated the iron and steel said: “I told him the reasoning clearly, he poured out his bitterness with me, said he needed money, price reduction is no way out of the matter, just want to recruit more guests, thin profit and multi-selling.
He even dragged me along with him to lower the prices, saying that he was stealing the business of other restaurants.
I thought, other restaurants are not stupid, you lower prices, they will not also follow the drop, we all lower prices, the future business still do not do, where to earn money.
I later also think clearly, this goods is to make a time difference to recruit customers, his restaurant price reduction, customers are running to him, the restaurant’s popularity has opened, even if other restaurants follow the price reduction, he is also the first to benefit.”
Luke roughly understood, Ma Jiehui is guilty of peer taboo: “So, Ma Jiehui has made a lot of money in the past two years?”
“The money is definitely earned, but I guess it’s not much, it’s just hard money.
Don’t look at his store more customers, but the price of food has dropped, the interest is also low, is a laborious and unappealing two fools.
It’s because of him that all the restaurants around here have been in bad shape for the past two years.
Bah, something that harms people and harms themselves.” Revisiting old matters, Chen Jianxin was still filled with resentment.
Luke was not in the restaurant business and didn’t know how much interest there was in it, so he couldn’t tell whether it was Chen Jianxin’s heart that was black or Ma Jiehui’s detriment to himself.
However, there is an old saying that cutting off people’s wealth is like killing their parents, Ma Jiehui invites people to hate him for sure.
“What do you think about Ma Jiehui’s murder?”
Chen Jianxin took a look at Luke and said with some alarm, “I’m not sure about that. I don’t deal with him and don’t interact much, and I rarely inquire about him.
However, if you think about it, he can do this kind of lackadaisical and smoky thing, he still doesn’t know how many people he has offended.”
Luke stared at the other party’s expression, not seeing any obvious signs of lying, “I heard that you also poached an employee from Ma Jiehui’s restaurant?”
Chen Jianxin asked rhetorically, “You’re talking about Song Bo.”
“Yes, is he around?”
“In the store, but it wasn’t me who poached him, it was someone who resigned on his own and didn’t want to follow Ma Jiehui.
Only later did he come to my store to apply for a job, if you don’t believe me, ask yourself.” Chen Jianxin stood up and greeted, “Song Bo, come over here.”
A man with an apron walked out of the back kitchen and wiped his hands, “Boss, what is it that you’re looking for me for?”
“Ma Jiehui died, did you know?”
“I heard, what is it?”
“These two officers came to investigate the case of Ma Jiehui’s murder, didn’t you work in his store? The two officers want to talk to you.” Chen Jianxin pushed him down into a chair and slipped away himself.
Luke sized up the other man, he looked to be in his thirties, not very tall, a little nervous, “Your name is Song Bo?”
“Right.”
“How long have you been working at Majestic’s store?”
“Done less than a year, what?”
“Why did you leave his store?”
Song Bo replied, “Because the business in his store was too good.”
Luke laughed, “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of leaving a store with good business.”
Song Bo explained, “Officer, we are paid by the hour, one day’s work, one day’s money.
The number of customers he has is not directly related to our income.
He has more customers in his store, he earns more money and doesn’t pay us more.
I’ve worked in other restaurants for the same amount of money, but with less work.
I’m sure I’ll find a clean one, are you right.”
Luke pressed, “If Majestic’s store has more customers and is doing good business, why doesn’t he give you guys a raise?”
“He values money more than mom and dad, can he spare more for us?
Besides, although there are more customers in his store, the food is cheap and the profit is low.
Raise the labor costs and he won’t make much money.
To put it bluntly, what he earns is our hard-earned money.
I’m not stupid, why should I bleed and sweat myself to help him earn those three melons and two dates.”
Luke said, “It sounds like you have a lot of resentment towards him.”
Song Bo complained, “This bastard is just lacking in virtue.
By knocking down the price of the restaurant’s food, his own restaurant’s interest is lowered, and he can’t make a few bucks with more customers.
Along with that, it makes the other restaurants’ business bad as well.
If this goes on, we can barely pay our wages at Shu Du Restaurant.
It’s hard for me to leave his store, but I still have to be pitied by him.
You say it’s exasperating, he’s drying out the restaurants in the surrounding area all by himself, what a thing to call it!”
Luke tried, “Do you have any clues about the murder of Ma Jiehui?”
“No, and it’s not as if God couldn’t take it and took him early.”
Luke “……”
Luke then took out a picture of the first victim, Yoshimi Hashimoto, and asked, “Do you recognize her?”
Song Bo scanned it, “No.”
Luke frowned, “Look closer.”
Song Bo picked up the photo, “Yo, pretty good looking.”
Robbery and Murder Division, Squadron 1 office.
Luke returned to the police station and called for a meeting.
While Luke was giving statements to the people involved in the case, the vice squad had been staring at the crime scene.
Luke called the crowd to a meeting to summarize the clues as well.
I don’t know if it was because he ate salty food at noon, Luke always felt a little thirsty, poured a cup of tea and drank it while saying, “Let’s talk about the progress of the investigation.”
The vice squad said, “The time of death of Ma Jiehui was between 9:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. He was stabbed to death by a sharp blade, which should be a dagger with a blade length of eleven centimeters.
A total of five stabs were made, each in a vital position between the chest and abdomen.
From the location and angle of the wounds, it is assumed that the height of the murderer was between 183cm and 195cm.
The deceased fell to the ground after being stabbed and there was no sign of being moved.
The murderer left a letter ‘a’ on the deceased’s body.
No murder weapon was found at the scene and no witnesses were found.”
Luke recalled the height of Chen Jianxin and Song Bo, both of them should be wearing shoes are not 180CM, and do not fit the characteristics of the murderer.
Jenny said, “We visited the surrounding neighbors, most people have a good impression of Ma Jiehui, saying that he is a sincere person, honest, hardworking, and can do business.
There are also some regular customers who feel quite sorry for him, saying that his food is not only cheap, but also delicious, and that the owner is a good person.”
Jackson said, “From what we know now, Ma Jiehui is a shrewd businessman, even if he offended his peers, it’s not so bad that he made a deadly enemy.
Moreover, the deceased Ma Jiehui also had letters on his body, and the first victim, Yoshimi Hashimoto, might have been done by the same murderer, but no connection between the two cases has been found yet.”
Kuro said, “Could it be because they are both Asian?”
Luke said, “Although they are both of Asian descent, the two countries are part of a world feud, so that reason is unlikely.”
Porter said, “Both of the dead men had letters carved into their bodies, an ‘H’ and an ‘a’, what does that stand for?”
The lieutenant thought for a moment and shook his head, “There are too many possibilities, too many combinations.
It’s hard to associate a meaning behind those two letters alone.”
Luke took his pen and wrote down the two letters, looking at it for a long time, but he didn’t have a clue.
As if Blackie thought of something, he said, “The first deceased, Yoshimi Hashimoto, was a part-time streetwalker with a pretty messy private life.
The second deceased, Ma Jiehui, was married in China but found a hitchhiking couple in Los Angeles, both of their private lives were indiscreet, could they have been killed because of this?”
Jackson said, “Even if these two people had indiscretions in their private lives, but they didn’t have any interactions or connections with each other, and their circles of life were completely different, so why would the murderer choose them as targets?”
Hearing the words of the two men, Luke thought briefly and speculated, “Not long ago, Chen Hui’s husband arrived in Los Angeles and turtled up to drive Ma Jiehui away.
Ma Jiehui was forced to separate from his girlfriend Chen Hui, his heart must be uncomfortable, will he have the idea of finding another woman?
Ma Jiehui could not find a suitable one for a while, would he go to find a street girl?
And the first deceased, Yoshimi Hashimoto, was a streetwalker.”
Although there was no evidence yet, if Luke’s speculation was valid, the two cases were linked.