Chapter 481
Tesoro Fitness Club.
This was one of the more famous chain health clubs in Los Angeles.
The club is located on the third floor of the building, Luke, Blackie and Jackson got off the elevator and saw the billboard of the health club on the right hand side, according to the guidelines on the billboard, the health club is located on the east side of the third floor of the building.
Even without the guide sign as not difficult to find, to the east side of a dozen meters, they saw the health club separated by glass, the club is not small, estimated to be more than 20,000 square feet.
Jackson looked at the gym through the glass and said with some envy, “Wow, it feels like a great atmosphere here, with all the fitness equipment.”
Black spread his hands, “The cost of a membership would be ‘great’ too.”
Jackson nodded, in a rare moment of agreement with Black, “You’re right, I’ve been looking for a gym to work out at lately, I’ve researched a lot of gyms and this one has gotten good reviews online.”
Xiao Hei said, “So, you’re here for a field trip. No wonder you volunteered to get out of the car and want to come here with us to investigate.”
Jackson shrugged, “Half and half, the membership here is a bit expensive, I’m not sure if I can afford it?”
In the middle of the conversation, the three of them walked up to the entrance of the club, Black pushed open the glass door and walked right in.
It was now almost eight o’clock in the evening, but there were still quite a few people in the gym, both big muscular men and girls working out in yoga pants.
Xiao Hei skimmed his lips, “It’s already eight o’clock at night, and there are still so many people working out, why don’t you do something more meaningful?”
A bald muscular man who was playing with dumbbells heard Xiao Hei’s voice and raised his head, looking over with an unkind gaze.
Xiao Hei ripped open his shirt, ‘accidentally’ revealing his pistol, and glared back, “Hey, bald guy, do you have any comments?”
The bald muscular man looked at the pistol in Xiao Hei’s arms, and then looked at Luke and Jackson, feeling that these three were not to be messed with, he was very sensible and lowered his head, continuing to jerk the iron.
“That’s right, haha.” Blackie laughed indulgently.
Jackson walked to the front desk and said to a plump black girl, “Hey, how much is the membership card here?”
The black girl looked up at Jackson’s trio and replied, “$5,000 a year.”
“What about a monthly card?”
“Five hundred dollars.”
“That’s not a cheap price.” Jackson frowned slightly, the ordinary gym is only a few dozen dollars per month, the price here is ten times higher, and this is only the cost of the monthly card, if he has to go on the private tutor fee, he definitely can’t afford it.
The black girl at the front desk said, “We have the most professional coaches here, all kinds of exercise equipment, yoga hall, rock climbing hall, top floor luxury pool …… As long as you train once, you will definitely feel that it is worth it.
We are doing an event, you just need to fill out a questionnaire and you can try out at the club once.”
“Anytime?”
“Sure.”
“Come on, no need to overspend, let’s get down to business.” Black interrupted Jackson, flashing his badge, “LAPD, I need to see the person in charge of your place.”
“Hold on.” The black girl left the front desk and went into the cubicle office in the back, after a moment she came out and said, “Sir, come with me.”
Led by the black girl at the front desk, Luke’s trio entered the cubicle office.
In the office sat a young white man around thirty years old, wearing earrings, short yellow hair, handsome, with muscular arms.
“Three officers, welcome to the Tesoro Health Club.”
Jackson flashed his badge and introduced himself, “I’m Detective Jackson of the Robbery-Murder Division, and this is our Captain Lee.”
Seeing that Jackson had overlooked himself, Black added, “I’m Detective Marcus.”
“Elsie Hux, you can call me Elsie.
Three officers, what brings you to the club?”
Jackson asked, “Do you know Isa Redman?”
“Sounds somewhat familiar, but I come in contact with so many people on a daily basis that I’m not sure.”
Jackson pulled out a picture of Issa Redman, “She would be a member here.”
Elsie Hux looked at the photo, “Yes, she is indeed a member here, what’s the problem?”
“Did she come to the health club on March 12th after nine in the morning?”
Elsie Hux shook her head and lost her smile, “Like I said, I have a lot of people coming in here every day, and even though she’s a member here, there’s no way I can remember which day she came in.”
Black pointed overhead, “I see the club has surveillance, can you show us?”
Elsie Hux refused, “SORRY, that’s not in line with club rules, we want to ensure the privacy of our club members.”
Black asked, “What time does your club open?”
“It opens at six o’clock in the morning sharp, Sir, if you want to get a card here, I can consider giving you a top discount.”
Xiao Hei smiled and asked, “What time period do you have the most customers here?”
“Seven to eight in the morning, and by the way, we also have low-fat meals here that taste amazing.”
Black nodded, “OK, see you tomorrow morning at eight, we’ll be back with a warrant. There may be a big commotion then, so you’d better let the health club members know ahead of time.”
Elsie Hux stood up and questioned, “Hey, are you guys threatening me?”
“No, we’re just investigating a case, and if you’re not willing to assist us in viewing the surveillance, we’ll just have to apply for a search warrant, it’s a simple matter.” Blackie finished and made a move to leave.
“Wait.” Elsie Hux called out to Blackie, “I am willing to assist you in your investigation, but I hope you can keep it a secret.
The guests here are very privacy conscious and would not want me to hand over the club’s surveillance to the police.”
Blacky assured, “Mr. Elsie Hux, our investigation process is supposed to be confidential, you can rest assured of that.”
Elsie Hex walked over to the computer and while pulling up the surveillance, he asked, “What happened to her? Why are you guys checking her whereabouts.”
“She’s been kidnapped.”
“Jesus Christ, that’s terrible.
However, I can assure you that this has nothing to do with our health club, so if I give you the surveillance, I won’t get in trouble for the club.”
Black sighed, “Come on, have a little compassion, it’s Isha Redman you should be worried about right now.
She’s a member of your club, are you going to stand by and do nothing about her kidnapping?”
Elsie Hux got up and stepped aside.
Jackson walked over to the computer and pulled up the video from March 12th, “Captain, I saw Isha Redman.
She arrived at the health club at 9:20 a.m. and left the club at 10:00 a.m. She shouldn’t have been acting out of the ordinary at that time, she shouldn’t have been kidnapped yet.”
Blackie muttered, “She did come to the club, which means her quasi-boyfriend wasn’t lying, so we can rule out her quasi-boyfriend as a suspect.”
Elsie Hux also came over to the computer screen, “The fact that Isha Redman left the club means that her kidnapping has nothing to do with our club.”
Luke asked, “Where can I view the surveillance of the entire building?”
“The guardhouse on the first floor.”
“Thanks.” Luke left the office with those words.
Jackson and Black walked out as well.
Jackson walked up to the front desk and stopped, looking at the black receptionist girl with a desire to speak.
The black girl puffed out her ample breasts, grinned her thick lips, and smiled, “Sir, are you wanting my number?”
“No, I want a questionnaire.”
Black girl “……”
Luke and the three of them went to the guard room on the first floor, flashed their badges, and explained their intentions.
After some patient and friendly persuasion, the person in charge of the building agreed to let them view the surveillance.
From the building’s surveillance video, it could be seen that Isa Redman left the health club and took the elevator to the underground garage on the first floor.
There were surveillance dead spots in the underground garage, and Isha Redman lost sight of her as she passed one.
Luke guessed that this was likely where she had been abducted and taken into the car and grabbed.
Luke checked the surveillance of the garage exit again, and a red Lexus drove out shortly after Isha Redman’s disappearance.
The driver in the cab was wearing a baseball cap and mask, so it was hard to see what he looked like, however, his outfit caught Luke’s attention, a decent person wouldn’t dress like that in a car, obviously to avoid having his appearance captured on surveillance.
Luke pointed to the Lexus in the surveillance video and asked the building security, “Do you have any information about this car?”
The security guard checked on the computer and said, “Yes, it’s a monthly rental car with a fixed parking space, and the renter is Isha Redman.”
Black looked stricken and muttered, “That means Issa Redman could have been kidnapped from her own car. But his parents never said anything about a car.
Why wouldn’t her parents mention such an important clue?”
That was indeed a question, and Luke wanted to talk to Issa Redman’s parents as well.
But before that, he had to investigate the underground garage of the health club to see if he could find any new clues.
Subsequently, the technical team also rushed to the underground garage to investigate the scene, however, two days had passed since the abduction of Isha Redman, and the scene had already been vandalized, so not much evidence could be found.
Clues from other sources came together to Luke one after another, firstly, the license plate number of the Lexus was investigated, and the car was owned by Issa Redman’s mother, Mrs. Redman.
Secondly, the exact time the Lexus left the garage was 10:20 a.m., and the kidnapper made the ransom call at 12:00 a.m. This time relationship made more sense.
Generally, after kidnapping a hostage, a robber will make a ransom call as soon as possible to avoid the hostage’s family calling the police.
If Isha Redman was kidnapped on the night of March 11th, it would be a bit late to make the police call at noon on the 12th.
Moreover, by investigating the surveillance, it can be found that Issa Redman often comes here to work out and has a relatively regular schedule.
Thinking differently, if Luke was the robber, he might also choose this place as the ambush location, even saving on transportation.
Luke glanced at his watch, it was already more than nine o’clock in the evening, he decided to get in touch with Issa Redman’s parents.
Because he was worried that the kidnappers might be watching near Isha Redman’s house, Luke didn’t rush to Isha Redman’s parents’ house, but chose to video call them instead.
When the video was connected, there was a white middle-aged couple sitting across from him.
Luke introduced himself, “Mrs. Redman, sir.
I am the captain of Squadron One of the Robbery and Murder Division, Luke Lee. I am now in charge of the investigation into the kidnapping of Isa Redman.”
Mrs. Redman couldn’t wait to ask, “Captain Lee, did you get a lead on my daughter?”
“Yes, we found out the exact location where your daughter was kidnapped.
Your daughter wasn’t kidnapped on the night of March 11th, but at noon on March 12th in the underground parking lot of the Tesoro Health Club.”
Mrs. Redman wondered, “Where did she go that night of the 11th?”
Luke asked rhetorically, “Did you know that Issa Redman had a new boyfriend?”
“No.”
“He went to his new boyfriend’s house the night of March 11th, and his new boyfriend’s house is in the same neighborhood as the party.”
“Why didn’t she tell us?”
“I’m afraid that’s something only she knows.” Luke turned the tables and said, “Mrs. Redman, don’t you own a red Lexus car?”
“Yes, I did buy a red Lexus.”
“Where is that car of yours now?”
“Uh …… probably in the garage.
No, I haven’t seen it in a long time.” Mrs. Redman looked over at her husband, “Honey, have you ever driven that car?”
Mr. Redman sounded certain, “No, I never drive that car.”
Mrs. Redman said, “Then it would be my daughter who drove it away, what’s the problem?”
“Our guess is that after Isla Redman was kidnapped, the robbers took her red Lexus. You didn’t realize the cars disappeared together?”
“God, I can’t believe I didn’t realize …… I was so careless!” Mrs. Redman covered her forehead with her hand, showing a remorseful look.
Mr. Redman put his arm around his wife’s shoulders and comforted, “Honey, you can’t be blamed, I didn’t notice it either.” He looked up and turned to Luke, “Captain Lee, I contacted my daughter on the night of March 11th and knew she was riding in a friend’s car to the party, so I overlooked the car.”
Luke asked, “How many cars does your family have?”
Mr. Redman thought for a moment, “I think there are about a dozen.”
Mrs. Redman said, “There are a dozen cars in yours alone, and if you add mine, there should be more than twenty.”
Luke suddenly understood.
It seemed that having more cars wasn’t a good thing.
But then again, Luke couldn’t figure out why a family of three would need so many cars.
“Mr. Redman, does that red Lexus have a locator device installed? We need to find that car.”
Redman shook his head, “I don’t drive that car, I bought it for my wife.” He looked at his wife again, “Honey, does your car have a locator device?”
Mrs. Redman looked confused, “I don’t know anything about those and I haven’t driven that car in a long time.”
Luke backed off, “Are the guys from the police department’s tech team still at your house?”
“Yes, they’re always there.”
Luke said, “You can question the tech team and with their assistance contact the Lexus manufacturer to see if you can locate the car.”
Mrs. Redman asked rhetorically, “Isn’t it true that if we find that car, we’ll be able to find out where my daughter is?”
Luke was honest: “I would hope so, but it’s unlikely.
Forty-eight hours have passed since Isha Redman was abducted, and it’s unlikely that the hijackers would make such a cheap mistake.
However, the hijackers had been driving this automobile, and it is likely that some clues would have been left behind.”
Mr. Redman said, “Okay, I’ll contact the car manufacturer in a moment.”
Luke hesitated and tried, “Mr. Redman, I heard that you were the one who offered to let me participate in the case investigation.”
“Yes Captain Lee, we’ve seen the news about you and know that you’re the best detective in Los Angeles, if anyone can save our daughter, it would be you.”
“Thank you for your trust.
Also, I’d like to ask, who else have you told about wanting me to investigate the kidnapping? Or who else knows about it?”
“Director Reed, my wife and I, and yes, Gary Sane.”
“Real estate mogul Gary Sane?”
“Yes. His son was also kidnapped on the night of March 10th. Two of our fathers had the same encounter.”
Luke was a little surprised, “How are you two connected?”
“We already knew each other and had some business dealings.
Although I have money, it’s not easy to exchange a large amount of gold in a short period of time.
I know that Gary Sane has channels to buy gold, and I hope I can exchange some gold from him.
His son has also been kidnapped and the robbers are extorting ten million dollars in ransom, so I can provide him with some cash.
It would be to everyone’s advantage.” Mr. Redman sighed and continued his recollection, “When we met, I explained my intentions. Gary Sane appeared agitated, and he was frustrated with the FBI, who he felt had leaked the news of his son’s kidnapping.
The kidnappers had not been contacting him and he was worried about his son’s safety.
So, I told him about wanting to ask you to look into the case.”
“Are you sure these four are the only ones who know?”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
“Someone tried to stop me from returning to Los Angeles. But it’s not a big problem, I’ve solved it.”
Mr. Redman was a little agitated, “Why would someone stop you from returning to Los Angeles to investigate the case, wouldn’t someone want my daughter to be rescued?”
“It’s a possibility, do you have a suspect?”
The couple looked at each other and shook their heads, “No.”
Luke pulled out the sketch of the suspect who had hired the female burglar to steal the documents, “Do you recognize him?”
“No.”
“Regarding this matter, you guys shouldn’t mention it to Gary Sane as if you don’t know anything, I’ll conduct an investigation.”
“I know.
Captain Lee, thank you for coming back.
It’s been so long since my daughter was kidnapped, and the investigation has finally made progress ……”
“And thank you for trusting me, I will do my best.” Luke hung up his cell phone.
Who was trying to stop himself from coming back?
Chief Reed couldn’t be.
Aside from the Redman couple, there was only Gary Sane.
If it was one of those three, that meant there might be a mole in the kidnapping.
Who could it be?