Chapter 395

Detective Bureau.

Deputy Chief’s office.

“Knock, knock ……” Luke knocked on the office door.

“Come in.”

Luke entered the office and saw Reed carrying a freshly brewed pot of coffee.

Reed laughed, “Did you come in smelling?”

Luke sat down next to the couch, “It would be even better with donuts.”

Reed shook his head and reached for the coffee pot and poured Luke a cup of coffee, “Don’t tell me you came all the way out here for afternoon tea.”

Luke took a sip of his coffee, “It tastes good.

I’m here to debrief.”

“Any progress on the 2 homicide investigation?”

“Yes, we found some new leads.

You know about the robbery of the Getty Museum paintings?”

“I heard about it, does it matter?”

“We found out that the murdered police officer, Jens Haurage, rented a warehouse where $200,000 in cash was recovered along with floor plans of the Getty Museum, and maps of the security staff and facilities.

According to Jens Haurage’s partner, Jens Haurage had been working as a part-time security guard at the Getty Museum for the last three months.

Now that Jens Haurage is dead and the Getty Museum painting has been stolen, I suspect there may be some connection between the two.”

“Did you find out where the two hundred thousand dollars came from?” Reed frowned slightly, if it was a bank deposit, it was likely legitimate income and there were IRS gatekeepers, but $200,000 in cash was hard to say.

“No, his fiancée doesn’t know about the money either.”

Reed stood up and paced the office, “Do you think the $200,000 was stolen money?”

Luke said, “It’s hard to say.”

“There’s no one else here, so say what you think.”

“According to our investigation, Jens Haurage and his fiancée decided to get married in the summer of ’23, and he wanted to give his fiancée a memorable wedding, which required a lot of money to be prepared.

It was precisely because Jens Haurage did not have enough money that he went to work as a part-time security guard at the Getty Museum.

Assuming, Jens Hauraige had this $200,000 in cash at the time, he wouldn’t have had to worry about the cost of the wedding at all.

So, my guess is that the $200,000 would have been acquired just recently.

Besides, it is rare for a normal person to keep $200,000 in cash in a warehouse; it is neither safe nor common sense.

Unless there’s something wrong with the money that prevents it from being deposited in a bank.” Luke paused and continued.

“Then there’s the floor plans and security distribution maps of the Getty Museum stored in his warehouse, which are very detailed, and what would a part-time security guard want with all that?

The evidence makes one wonder if he may have had access to the suspects who robbed the painting.”

Luke didn’t put words into his mouth, but Reed had already understood what he meant, Jens Haurage was probably one of the suspects in the oil painting theft as well, and he had used the convenience of working as a security guard at the museum to get access to the museum’s floor plan drawings and security distribution maps.

And the $200,000 in cash was probably the stolen money that the robbery gang had paid him off with.

Reed said, “There is some truth in your analysis, but Jens Haurage was shot on the night of the 25th, and the oil painting was robbed in the early morning of the 30th.

Even if they had infighting, it would have been after the oil painting was snatched, so why would that group of suspects kill Jens Hauraige earlier?”

Luke replied, “This is indeed a doubtful point, and there is no clear evidence at the moment, but from the clues we’ve already investigated, Jens Hauraige is by no means the type of person who is irredeemable.

My guess is that he may have started out because he was short of money, and in a moment of desperation he mistakenly told the robbery gang about the security situation at the Getty Museum.

This resulted in $200,000 in cash, which was enough to get him married.

At this time, the robbery gang may have made new demands, for example, to involve him in the robbery plan, but was refused by Jens Hauraki.

He had a fiancée, a steady job, and didn’t want to get in too deep.

But once something is done, it’s hard to turn back. The robbery gang won’t allow anyone to quit in the middle of the program, and will probably kill someone to avoid leaking information.

These are just my analyses, there is still a lack of sufficient evidence.”

The killing of a police officer can easily cause other police officers to be on the same page, after Jens Hauraige was killed many people regarded him as a hero for protecting the city, but at this time, negative evidence of him was found, and he might even be one of the suspects in the robbery of the oil painting.

This time must be treated with caution, otherwise it is likely to cause unnecessary trouble.

Reed said, “Investigate as you see fit, but don’t jump to conclusions yet, and don’t easily suspect your colleagues before there is enough evidence.”

“I understand.”

Reed finished the remaining half cup of coffee in one gulp, “I’ll ask which department is in charge of investigating the oil painting robbery.”

Southern Division, Night Shift Detective Department.

The robbery of the oil painting was located in the Southern Precinct, and the case was also handled by the Night Shift Detective Department of the Southern Precinct.

Luke brought Porter to the Southern Precinct to understand the situation.

The person in charge of reception was still Detective Davo Galli, who was also the one who received Luke when he took over, the murder case of Jens Hauraige before.

Upon meeting, Potter greeted, “Davo, it’s been a long time.”

“Hey Porter, you’re finally willing to come back, how’s it feel to be in the Heist and Murder Division?”

Porter smiled, “Trust me, super exciting.”

Davo shook Porter’s hand, “Welcome home.”

Porter’s eyes scanned around the room and sighed, “Honestly, it feels pretty good.”

Davo Galli invited the two men into the conference room, “Captain Luke, I heard you wanted to know about the Getty Museum painting heist.”

“Yes, I suspect that Jens Haurage’s death is likely related to the oil painting heist.”

Davo Galli spread his hands, “But Jens Haurage had already been killed when the oil painting heist took place. Could this be a mistake?”

Luke said, “According to our understanding, Jens Haurage had been working as a part-time security guard at the Getty Museum before he was killed, and, we also found some clues in the warehouse he rented that were also related to the robbery.

From the evidence available, it seems likely that his death is related to the oil painting robbery.

The purpose of us coming here today is to find out about the oil painting robbery and see if there are any common clues between the two cases that might be helpful in solving the case.”

Porter said, “Davo, give us an overview of the oil painting robbery, we can exchange clues and intelligence, which will also be helpful to your investigation.”

Davo Galli hesitated for a moment and said, “The oil painting was being transported from the Getty Museum to the Bank of Hennington at about 1:00 a.m. on December 30th, and at about 1:30 a.m. the transport truck was traveling near the Polli Building on Foyle Street, and the road in front of it was stopped by a construction sign being placed on it.

The car then suddenly stalled and the communication devices of the three security officers in charge of the transport failed.

The transportation crew saw two heavily armed nuns coming around the corner of the street, and they also heard the sound of a car and guessed that there were probably accomplices.

One of the nuns was carrying a bazooka, and the glass of the transport vehicle was bulletproof, but not against the big guy.

Then three of the transport crew got out of the cab under threat from the four nuns, who opened the back door of the transport van and grabbed the ten paintings.”

Luke asked, “Why transport them in the wee hours of the morning? Shouldn’t they have been transported during the day?”

“It was requested by the Getty Museum, their museum received a threatening letter some time ago, someone claimed to steal Van Gogh’s oil paintings, so they purposely changed the transportation route and time.

I didn’t realize it was still being targeted by the robbers.”

“What did you say just now about the car stalling and communication failure?”

“This group of robbers is very professional, they used an electromagnetic pulse to cause the car to flame out and the transportation team members were unable to drive and escape.

As for the communication failure, they most likely used shielding equipment, the transportation team members were unable to spread the news of the car being robbed, and the police and security company were unable to support them in the first place.

This is also the reason why the robbers were able to escape without any problems.”

“There were four robbers in total?”

“Only four were seen by the three transportation team members.”

“Were there any women among the four robbers?”

“I don’t know, all four were wearing black nun’s robes and nun’s masks, and it was so dark that the transport crew had no way of distinguishing them under those circumstances.”

“Have you gotten any leads on the hijackers?”

Davo Galli shook his head, “Not yet.

They are very cunning, it’s definitely not their first time committing a crime, most likely they have a record, it’s not likely that they are roaming from other places.”

Luke stared at Davao Gali and pursued, “Why would the robbers know the route and time of the oil painting transportation team?”

“We’d like to know that too, it’s still under investigation.”

Luke said, “Can you make a copy of the dossier?”

“I can’t make a call on that, it still has to go up the chain of command.”

“Then give me the information on the three transport crew members, I’d like to talk to them.”

“No problem.”

After leaving the southern precinct.

Luke turned to Porter, who was off to the side, and asked, “What do you think?”

Porter glanced back at the Southern Branch building, “The feeling that Davao gives me …… doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with us very much, but it’s not willing to offend us, it’s very contradictory.”

Luke also had a similar feeling, through the conversation just now, he felt that Davao Gali should be hiding something.

This is not difficult to understand, after all, belongs to a different department, who all hope that the case can be solved in their own hands, not to mention the oil painting robbery is also associated with the reward of 2 million dollars, so that Davao Gali unreservedly tell Luke all the clues of the case, but unrealistic.

To find out more clues about the oil painting robbery, either apply for a concurrent investigation and ask the Southern Division to transfer the case to the Robbery and Murder Division, but this is not very realistic, there is not enough evidence to prove that Jens Haurage’s death is related to the oil painting robbery.

Also, with a two million dollar reward on the line, the Southern Division’s Night Shift Detective Division may not be willing to turn the case over.

Who wouldn’t covet this piece of fat meat.

Even, may be in their eyes robbery murder division is running to this 2 million dollar reward, the heart will naturally produce resistance to the idea.

Wanting to know more about the clues of the oil painting robbery, it was still up to Luke to investigate on his own.

He was going to start with the three transportation team members, who had direct contact with the robbers and might be able to provide some valuable clues.

According to the information of the three transportation team members, Luke first found the leader of the 3-member transportation team, Dolly White, who was also the specific person in charge of this escorted oil painting.

Dolly White’s house was not far from the Southern Division, only about a ten-minute drive.

According to the information, Dolly White was a 35-year-old white man, unmarried, a former Army soldier who had retired and joined a security company.

Luke followed the address and found his home, a gray bungalow with a small yard, a neatly manicured lawn, and a dark blue pickup truck parked in front of the garage.

Luke surveyed the surroundings and Potter walked up to the door and knocked, “Knock knock.”

After a moment, the door opened.

A burly white man in his thirties stood in the doorway, sizing up the two Luke’s and asking, “Who are you guys?”

Porter flashed his badge and introduced himself, “I’m Detective Porter from Squadron One of the Robbery and Murder Division, and this is our Captain Lee.

We’re here to investigate the Getty Museum painting robbery.”

“Can I help you?”

“Are you Dolly White?”

“That’s me.”

“We’d like to take your statement.”

“Do you know Detective Jada Landis? He’s already given me a statement.”

“I don’t know the Detective Jada Landis you’re talking about, we’re different departments and the LAPD takes this case very seriously.”

“I understand, the Getty Museum has a two million dollar bounty on the case, and I would take it very seriously if it were me.” Dolly White stepped aside, “Come in.”

Dolly White led the two men into the living room and gestured for them to sit on the couch, “Would you like something to drink?”

“No, we’ll just chat for a few minutes.”

“That’s okay, I was going to drink anyway, how about black tea?”

“OK.”

Dolly White went into the dining room and came back out with a teapot in his hand, enthusiastically pouring tea for Luke and Potter and a cup for himself.

Dolly White looked over at Luke, “You’re the captain?”

Luke asked back, “Not like that?”

“No, just a little young.”

Porter said, “Captain Lee, despite his age, has solved several major crimes and is the best detective in the city of Los Angeles.

There isn’t one.”

Dolly White took a sip of black tea and put down her teacup, “Good, it looks like the detection of this robbery is in sight.”

Without any nonsense, Luke directly asked, “Mr. Dolly White, in the early morning hours of December 30th, were you in charge of escorting the ten paintings from the Getty Museum to the Henryton Bank?”

“Yes, there were three of us.”

“Who worked out the escort route?”

“Our security company has been working with the Getty Museum for a long time, and the escort route was worked out a long time ago, there were just different scenarios, and this time we chose option C.”

“Where was the location where you were attacked?”

“Foyle Street is less than a hundred meters from the Polly Building.”

“How many robbers were there in total?”

“I only saw four.”

“Did your three escorts not resist?”

“No. They had a lot of firepower and the three of us were surrounded. If we didn’t get out of the car as they told us to, we would definitely be blown away by rockets.

We’ll do our best to protect the cargo we’re escorting, but we won’t die for nothing with no chance of winning.” Dolly White sighed as she gripped her teacup in both hands, “I don’t know if they still have accomplices in that situation ……

I had to be responsible for my companions.

If I had made the wrong choice at the time, I would have gotten not only myself killed, but my two partners as well.

They still have families, and loved ones waiting for them to go back and reunite ……”

“Knock knock ……”

Just then, there was a knock on the door from outside.

“Excuse me.” Dolly White put down his cup of black tea, got up and walked to the door.

He opened the door to his room and outside stood two uniformed patrolmen, “Are you Mr. Dolly White?”

“Yes.”

“Did you call the police just now?”

“It was I.”

“What’s happened?”

“Ah …… the situation is a little complicated, two men claiming to be from the Robbery and Murder Division have just approached me, but I’m not sure if they’re real police officers, and I’d like to ask you to confirm them.”

“Where are they?”

Dolly White pointed behind her, “My living room.”