Chapter 409
Robbery-Murder Division.
Interrogation Room.
A black woman with a ponytail sat in the interrogation chair, her eyes wide and darting.
This case was big or small, and she had to find a way to save herself, and the prerequisite for that was to get in good with the interrogating detective.
She was a detective who had seen people from all walks of life and in all shapes and sizes, and was a good judge of character.
Last night, that Captain Marcus who had arrested her wasn’t a hard man to get along with, and by getting along with him, she should be able to get a good plea deal.
She puffed out her chest, asking herself if she still had some charisma, it wouldn’t be hard to get along with Captain Marcus.
“Cluck ……”
A door slam interrupted her thoughts.
Marcus and Luke both walked into the interrogation room.
The ponytailed black girl flashed a smile, “Captain Marcus, you’re finally here.”
Luke thought he heard wrong and glanced at Marcus, the other squeezed his eyes while smiling sarcastically, knowing that his old habits were back.
He didn’t bother to expose him either.
Marcus smiled a little awkwardly, “How did you sleep last night?”
“Not great, I had insomnia.”
Marcus looked at Luke and saw the other man sitting on the sidelines drinking coffee with no intention of opening his mouth, cleared his throat and continued, “Hey, I need to ask you a few questions.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“What’s your name?”
“Michelle Harold.”
“Michelle, I like that name, my mom used to have a Ragdoll cat by that name, it had a V-shaped head, big eyes, long tail, and the only downside was that it tended to shed hair.”
Michelle Harold “……”
What kind of brainwave is this?
Does it have anything to do with me?
“Ahem.” Black coughed lightly and returned to the topic, “Any idea why you were arrested?”
Michelle Harold wanted to speak, “I think …… there might be some misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?” Black frowned slightly, not satisfied with this statement, and directly covered a big hat, “Murder is not a misunderstanding, are you ready to spend the rest of your life in prison?”
“Murder?” Michelle Harold was not calm, somewhat at a loss for words, “We didn’t kill anyone.”
Blackie bristled, “We’re from the Robbery and Murder Division, if you didn’t kill anyone, why are we arresting you?”
“I admit I’m at fault, but we didn’t kill anyone.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I …… we posed as detectives from the Robbery Murder Division, and we’re willing to cooperate with the investigation, but we don’t kill people.
What I said is true.”
“Impersonating a police officer is not a mistake.
The police are a sacred profession, and impersonating a police officer is a serious offense that carries a sentence of at least one to two years in prison, are you ready for that?”
“Captain Marcus, I admit to impersonating a detective from the Robbery and Murder Division, and I regret my actions.
At the same time, I’m willing to cooperate with your investigation, and I hope I can be given a favorable plea deal, and I’ll cooperate with you.”
“Hey.” Xiao Hei smiled, “You don’t have a chance, I’m married.
However, if you plead guilty well and can provide us with some valuable clues.
We’ll consider giving you a favorable plea deal.”
Michelle Harold breathed a sigh of relief, “I will, and again, I apologize for murdering Detective Division in a fake robbery.”
Black pressed, “Why were you posing as Robbery-Murder Division detectives?”
“We’re investigating the Getty Museum painting robbery.”
“Why are you investigating this? Who are you guys?”
“We’re detectives.”
“Which detective agency?”
“The Navis Detective Agency.”
“Whose commission did you receive? Was the commission taken on through the Navis Detective Agency?”
“No, the customer did not issue the commission through the Navis Detective Agency, but a private commission that contacted me directly.”
“Who was the commissioner?”
“According to the contract, I can’t disclose the identity of the employer, it’s a taboo in the detective industry.
I can assure you, however, that we are not hurting anyone or using our status as detectives to do bad things.”
“I’d love to help you, but if that’s your attitude, I’m afraid you’ll be spending next Christmas in jail.”
Michelle Harold gave a torn look.
Luke put down his coffee cup and said, “What was the commission?”
Michelle Harold frowned slightly, “This also needs to be kept secret.”
“What do you want for Christmas the year after? I’ll have someone send it to you.”
With a panicked look on her dark face, Michelle Harold looked aside at Captain Marcus, and when she saw that the other party just shrugged without any other indication, she took a deep breath and
“Although according to the contract, the detective can not disclose the content of the commission …… but I am willing to assist you.
The employer asked us to learn as much as possible about the oil painting robbery, for example, whose work was the robbed painting? The name of the painting? The packaging? And a variety of other details.”
“Did the employer commission you to look for the oil painting?”
“No.
The employer was more interested in the condition of the painting when it was robbed than the whereabouts of the painting, and that’s why we approached the security guard who escorted it to find out what happened.”
The content of the commission relates to the employer’s purpose.
If it was for the reward from the Getty Museum, it should be to inquire about the whereabouts of the oil painting, but the content of the employer’s commission was not, which was interesting.
Does that mean the employer knows the whereabouts of the oil painting?
Then the identity of the employer is not hard to guess.
He was most likely the buyer of the robbed oil painting.
This also matches the content of his commission.
The probability of prying into which oil paintings were robbed, the state of the oil paintings and their packaging is to determine the authenticity of the oil paintings and whether they were swapped in between.
The robbed oil paintings could not be brightly asked to be appraised.
Luke boldly guessed that this employer was probably one of the oil painting buyers or potential buyers.
Moreover, the other party did not trust the professor very much.
Luke said with a straight face, “I want the employer’s identity.”
Michelle Harold revealed a difficult look, her gaze sneaking towards Captain Marcus on the side.
Marcus smirked, “You’re not the only one who’s been arrested.
The white guy is in the other interrogation room, if you know what I mean.”
Michelle Harold licked her thick lips, her eyes flickered, and after a long moment of contemplation, she said, “Albus Stone.”
“The California ‘Buffet’?” Luke thought of the old man lying in a hospital bed being resuscitated by a taser.
“Yes.” Michelle Harold responded, asking rhetorically, “You’re already investigating him?”
“What state was he in when you last saw him?” Luke suspected the old man was faking.
“In a wheelchair, on a ventilator, wheezing with two more words, looking like he was dying.
I even wondered for a moment if he would live until we finished the commission.”
“You completed the commission?”
“Yes. We did some investigations on the oil painting robbery, and then after talking to the security guard who transported the oil painting, we basically figured out the condition of the painting before it was robbed, and then we found our employer to report the situation.
Thankfully, the old man was still alive at the time.”
“Do you know why Albus Stone hired you guys to investigate the condition of the oil painting?”
“No idea.”
“Was there anyone else beside him when he met you?”
“No, he spoke to us alone, and at the time I wondered why the old man, sick as he was, didn’t get an agent.”
“How did he find you?”
“By telephone.”
“How was the payment made?”
“Cash.”
“Where was the meeting place?”
“At his family’s big villa, it’s the first time I’ve seen a villa with a yard that big.”
“Do you know the whereabouts of the ten paintings?”
“No.”
Luke pulled out the professor’s forensic sketch, “Do you recognize him?”
“No.”
“Do you know anything else about Albus Stone?”
“No.”
“Have you had any previous contact with him?”
“No.”
“Then how was he able to find ye?”
“I don’t know, but when a big employer comes to the door, we can’t afford to say no.”
“Are you willing to identify him?”
“Will it reduce the sentence?”
“Of course.”
“At your service …… Captain Marcus.”
Luke “……”
Blackie hated to stick his head in his pants.
It was nearing noon.
Luke led the team to Albus Stone’s house.
As soon as he got out of the car, he felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, the courtyard door of the villa was open, and at the door stood a white man wearing a black suit, a black tie, and a white flower on the chest of the wearer.
Luke walked to the courtyard door, the white man asked in a deep voice, “Sir, are you also here to attend Mr. Albus Stone’s wake?”
Luke frowned, was he really dead?
“When did Mr. Albus Stone die?”
“Last night.”
That was too much of a coincidence.
“Where are Mr. Albus Stone’s remains?”
“Still at the cottage, and will be transferred to the church this afternoon, where a memorial service will be held.”
As he spoke, the white man led Luke into the villa, where an awning had been erected and a dais set up on the west side of the villa’s courtyard, with Albus Stone’s effigy and a clear glass freezer on the dais, and a stereo next to it playing melodious and slow music.
Below the stage sat a number of people attending the wake, some mourning silently, some reading with a book, and others sitting quietly in the corner with a cup of coffee.
Luke slowed his pace and walked over to the freezer to check it out, in the freezer lay an old man, a white man, still looking peaceful, the same man he had seen resuscitated in the hospital bed that day.
Really dead?
A person who will die to bother to hire a detective to investigate the oil painting to do what?
Could it be …… extermination!
Luke’s heart was filled with questions, but in the face of a dead man, he had no way to ask.
Luke gazed at the bottom of the platform, saw a familiar figure, exactly also only met the other side, Mrs. Stone.
Luke walked over to the old woman and said comfortingly, “Ma’am, I’m sorry to hear about Mr. Stone’s passing.”
Mrs. Stone looked over at Luke and shook her head, “He left in his sleep and went peacefully.”
Luke pressed, “Mr. Stone passed away in the cottage?”
“Yes.”
Luke would think of his last visit, Albus Stone’s bedroom had a full set of testing and resuscitation equipment, as well as doctors and nurses, if there was anything unusual about Albus Stone’s body, they should be able to detect it first, once resuscitation was carried out it would be a lot of fussing again, and surely there would be no talk of peacefulness.
“Was there a doctor present when Mr. Albus Stone left?”
“No.
Two days ago, my husband felt God’s call to have the instruments removed and the doctors and nurses left.”
“It was Mr. Stone who voluntarily gave up the treatment?”
Mrs. Stone shook her head, “His condition was so severe that it was almost impossible to treat him anymore. Instead of voluntarily giving up treatment, he wanted to go peacefully and voluntarily gave up resuscitation.”
“Why would Mr. Stone suddenly give up resuscitation?”
“Not suddenly; he had long had similar thoughts, but only made up his mind a couple of days ago.”
“What prompted him to make up his mind?”
Mrs. Stone’s eyes reddened and she choked out, “Detective, I don’t want to talk about it now.
My husband has just died ……
All I want to do now is to stand by his side quietly and see him off.”
Luke said darkly, if I really want to wait for you to send him away, what am I going to find out?
“Mrs. Stone, I’d like to talk to you alone.”
“Talk about what? Do you think this is an appropriate occasion?” Mrs. Stone questioned in a low voice, quite disgruntled in her tone.
Luke said, “It is because of this occasion that you are asked to talk alone.
Mr. Stone is involved in a major criminal case, and I’d like to get some information from you.”
“He’s dead, is there anything more important than that?”
“Even though he’s dead, the case is still not closed.”
Mrs. Stone had an angry look on her face, “You ruined his wake, I’ll sue you.”
Luke took out his cell phone and dialed a number, “Jackson, it’s time for a search warrant.”
“NoNoNo, please.” Mrs. Stone paled and yanked Luke aside, “What the hell are you doing?
My husband is dead and you’re searching his hearth.
What do you want the guests present to think?
This is disrespectful to my husband.”
Luke said coldly, “I am sorry about Mr. Stone’s death, and I don’t want to disturb his wake.
My coming here today to investigate is exactly what I owe him.
Besides, I don’t like being threatened.”
Mrs. Stone said solemnly, “SORRY, I take back what I just said, I will not sue you.
I will not sue anyone.
Please don’t apply for a search warrant, I don’t want my husband to go away unsettled, and I don’t want to embarrass him.”
“That’s fine, but I have a few questions I’d like you to answer for me.”
“Ask.”
“What was the exact time of Mr. Stone’s death?”
“Half past eleven last night.”
“How did he die?”
“Heart failure.”
“Who was all present at the time?”
“My children and I. He had stopped his heart when we found him and went peacefully.”
“Who was the first to find out?”
“Me.”
Luke carefully gauged the other man’s expression before continuing, “What does Mr. Stone have to do with the Getty Museum painting heist?”
“As far as I know nothing, he’s too sick to have that kind of leisure time.”
“Has Mr. Stone purchased any paintings recently?”
“No.”
“Where is Mr. Stone’s former collection of oil paintings?”
“My husband loved collecting and was fond of oil paintings; he had many of them, some kept in the bank, some loaned to museums for exhibitions, some at home, and some given to his children, and it was quite a mess.
I’ve seldom asked about it before, and need to get a count, so I can’t give you an accurate answer right now.”
Luke “……”
Despite the seriousness of the answer, it always felt like the other man was showing off his wealth.
“Did Mr. Stone see any guests in the days before his death?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of people?”
“I don’t recognize them.”
Luke pulled out several photographs, including the Michelle Harold photograph, “Is there anyone you recognize in here?”
Mrs. Stone looked closely at the photos and pointed to Michelle Harold, “I know her.
My husband met her before he died.”
“What was his relationship to your husband?”
“I really don’t know, it’s the first time I’ve seen her.”
“What did they talk about?”
“I don’t know, my husband was the only one present.”
Luke pulled out a few more forensic sketch portraits, including one of the professor, “Is there anyone you recognize in here?”
Mrs. Stone looked more closely and shook her head, “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure.”
Knowing Michelle Harold, but not the professor, that didn’t fit the presumption?
Could it be that Albus Stone was not the buyer?
Then why was he investigating the robbery of the painting?
Luke came to Albus Stone’s house to ask for clarification, but the other party was already dead.
Leaving the questions in Luke’s mind unabated.