Chapter 488

Three o’clock in the afternoon.

Mary pushed open the door to the 1st Squadron office, “Hey guys, the identification report you asked for is in.”

Jackson stood up, “Good news, or bad news.”

“Good question …… kinda stuck with me.” Mary didn’t seem to know how to answer and handed Jackson the appraisal report, “It’s better if you read it yourself.”

Jackson picked up the identification report and read, “DNA structure comparison of trace substances such as skin tissue and saliva of the suspect Sofia, and the DNA typing of Sofia De La Rosa, the victim of the kidnapping case ten years ago, match perfectly, and it can be determined that it is the same person …… ”

Jackson finished reading the identification report, the office turned quiet, and the people around were silent.

Although this result, the crowd had speculated before, but speculation is speculation after all.

Now that the appraisal results were out, they needed to deal with new issues.

For example, how to treat Sophia?

Ten years ago, she was the victim of a kidnapping case, and both the FBI and the police had made great efforts to rescue and find her, and now she was finally found.

The fact that she survived is a cause for celebration, but it’s not a cause for joy.

Because she had changed, from being the victim of a kidnapping to being the kidnapper of her people.

The transformation was psychologically difficult to accept.

She was only ten years old when she was kidnapped, and now she was only twenty, and she had been controlled by her kidnapper during the most important formative phase of her life, and no one knew what had happened during that time, and she herself might not be willing to talk about it, because it might cause her a second injury.

After a long time, Jackson said, “Regardless, I think she should be told about this.

It’s true that she committed a crime, but a suspect also has the right to know about her past life, and those are probably the best memories of her life.

Besides, she was probably coerced into committing the crime, and it was not her intention to kidnap Isha Redman.”

The lieutenant said, “Emotionally, I agree with what you guys are saying, but she did commit a crime, and her actions hurt the victim of the new kidnapping, Isha Redman.

It would be unfair to Isha Redman to give her a lighter punishment.”

Jenny nodded, “I talked to Issa Redman, during this period of her kidnapping, Sophia had been bringing her food and was the only person who hadn’t hurt her, she could feel Sophia’s guilt and kinks, and at one point she asked Sophia for help.

Sophia didn’t rescue her, but she didn’t tell the other associates either.

So, I agree with Jackson that Sophia was probably coerced into committing the crime.”

Luke waved his hand, interrupting the discussion, “I’ll report this matter to Reed.

Jenny, you are responsible for contacting Sophia’s stepmother and informing her of this finding.”

“YES, Sir.”

“Everyone else, finish what you have at hand and this matter will be discussed tonight.” Luke finished speaking and took the file to the Director’s office.

Eight o’clock in the evening.

The case was solved and the hostages were successfully rescued, it was originally a day to celebrate.

However, because of Sophia, everyone was a little pained, and no one mentioned going to a bar to celebrate, so each went back to their own homes.

Luke asked Daisy to join him for dinner.

The past two days were quite busy, and Luke was too lazy to cook, so he directly made an appointment at a French restaurant.

Sometimes picking a restaurant was not only because you liked the restaurant’s food, but also because you might like the atmosphere.

Luke arrived at the restaurant, ordered ahead and sat at the table playing with his cell phone, searching for news about the kidnapping, basically it was all about the kidnapping of the real estate tycoon’s son, Gary Sane Jr. It said anything and everything, and there was even a news report that he might have been kidnapped by some Italian mafia family.

Luke figured Anthony must have a headache right now.

There was nothing on the news about Issa Redman’s kidnapping, and it was reasonable to assume that the kidnapping had been solved, the suspects arrested and the hostages rescued, and news of the kidnapping would have reached the media’s ears through various channels by this time.

However, at Luke’s suggestion, Reed suppressed the news about the case and remained in the confidential stage, forbidding the police officers of any department to divulge it.

The main reason why Luke had this proposal was because Sophia’s identity was relatively sensitive, and once it was exposed under the news media, things might become unpredictable.

“Ta-da ……” sounded a familiar footstep.

Daisy walked over to the table, placed her small satchel on the table and sat down across the table, “When did you get here?”

Luke glanced at his watch and blabbered, “Half an hour ago.”

“You’re early.”

Luke smiled and reached out with his right hand to take her slender left hand, “I wanted to see you sooner.”

“Didn’t you get back from Hawaii a long time ago? Then why didn’t you ask me out earlier?”

“I’ve been working on a case for the past two days, it’s rather urgent.” Luke picked up the wine dispenser and poured Daisy a glass of red wine.

“Can we talk about it?”

“It’s still in the confidential stage.”

“Forget it then.” Daisy shrugged, “Ordered?”

“Ordered, there’s your favorite steak, baked escargot, asparagus bisque, and orange spiced French toast.”

“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.” Daisy picked up her red wine glass and clinked glasses with Luke.

In fact, Luke had another purpose for coming here today, which was to inquire about the impact of Sophia’s encounter on the verdict of the case.

Luke knew that once Sophia’s encounter was publicized, it would definitely result in a lighter sentence, it was just that he couldn’t pinpoint this scale yet.

But when the words came to his lips, he still didn’t ask.

The case was still in the confidential stage, and it was still his suggestion, if he told Daisy, it was equal to slapping his own face.

If he didn’t tell Daisy the details of the case, but only consulted the suspects, Luke felt that he was a bit double standard, not only did he not want to tell others, but also let them help, things are not done this way.

So he just didn’t ask, and did his own job.

Because the food was ordered in advance, Daisy arrived soon after the food began to be served.

There was what Daisy liked to eat and what Luke liked to eat himself, the two didn’t have the same tastes.

The two ate while chatting about traveling to Hawaii.

Luke also wanted to ask Daisy to go to Hawaii with him, he hadn’t had enough, and traveling with his family was one thing, and touring with Daisy was another.

Luke had found a shortcut to a paid vacation, it was up to Daisy to find the time.

Just as the two were chatting, two women walked into the restaurant and were led by a waiter to a table against the wall.

Luke inadvertently swept a glance, the figure of one of the women seemed to be déjà vu, he looked sideways for a closer look, the woman was stylishly dressed, elegant, looked to be about forty years old, it was Sophia’s stepmother Kelly Lax.

Coincidence, I didn’t expect to run into each other here.

However, because of the angle, Kelly Lax did not see Luke.

Luke secretly observed Kelly Lax and the woman she was dining with, the woman looked to be around fifty years old, Asian, but not the three East Asian countries, with a darker complexion, ordinary clothes, and looked a bit formal.

Jenny had already notified Kelly Lax, but she hadn’t gone to the police station that afternoon, and must have been torn up inside.

The stepdaughter who had been missing for ten years had suddenly been found, and still appeared as a kidnapper, perhaps she had more things to consider than the police.

“Ringing ……” Luke’s cell phone rang, he took it out and saw that it was Anthony’s number.

“Hello, this is Luke.”

“How’s the kidnapping of Isla Redman going?”

“It was just solved today, the suspect was arrested and the hostage was rescued.”

“Wow, good job keeping it a secret, even I didn’t hear about it.”

“Although the case was solved, there were some minor problems, so the case was not released to the public for the time being.”

“Is there something I need to know?”

“Yes, there is indeed a situation to tell you about. “Luke looked around, “I’m in the cafeteria right now, so I can’t talk, so come by my office tomorrow. If you’re busy, it’s okay if I come to you.”

“Why tomorrow, come see me now.”

“No, I don’t want to see your face in the middle of the night, I’ll have nightmares.”

“Come on, there’s action today, maybe we’ll get a big fish.”

Luke was a little surprised, “Looks like the investigation is going well.”

“Yes, that sketch you drew worked, we found the person in Hawaii who directed the thief to steal your credentials.

Counselor Lee, you get a share of the credit here as well.”

Luke glanced at his watch, “When are you planning to move?”

“Around eleven o’clock at night.”

“OK, give me an address and I’ll be there by ten.” Luke also wanted to know which asshole was behind his back.

Daisy put down her knife and fork and asked, “Got a mission?”

“Not really, stopping by after dinner to cool off.”

10:30 PM.

Near Los Angeles International Airport.

On a wide highway leading to the airport, Luke pulled over and met up with Anthony.

Anthony handed Luke a cigarette, lit one himself, took a drag, and pointed his cigarette-clamped finger to the sky, “It’s a nice night, is that Sirius?”

Luke took a drag on his cigarette as well, his eyes scanning the surrounding area, “I haven’t had a good night’s rest in a row, I didn’t come out here tonight to look at the stars with you.”

“Don’t worry, that asshole who’s been shitting on you behind your back will throw himself at you, all you have to do is wait quietly, trust me, heh heh.” Anthony smiled becomingly.

Luke had probably guessed as much, “That guy just returned to LA?”

“That’s right, he booked a flight back to LA from Hawaii today and has a pickup reservation.

I’ve arranged for someone to pick him up.”

“FUCK!

I was put on the spot by this guy, and I’m not even in the mood to continue playing in Hawaii, but he continued to stay in Hawaii in style and didn’t come back until today.

It’s not fair.”

Anthony laughed, “I know, that’s why I chose this place, so you can show a little bit of what’s going on inside you with your body.”

“That’s sweet of you.” Luke smiled and asked back, “How did you find him?”

“I checked all the flights from Los Angeles to Hawaii around the time you left for Hawaii, and one of them had a male passenger on March 12th who looked a lot like the suspect in the sketch, and we pulled the airport surveillance and found that he had no traveling companions.

That made me think he was very suspicious, so we searched him and found out he was a detective.”

Luke concluded, “Which means that this guy was probably hired to keep me from returning to Los Angeles from Hawaii, and after he instructed the thief to steal my papers, he took the opportunity to spend a vacation in Hawaii himself.”

“That’s right, this guy is very calculating. If it were me, I’d be tempted to punch him too.” Anthony rubbed his hands together and changed his words, “By the way, don’t you have news for me? What news?”

“The mastermind of Isha Redman’s kidnapping was named Hugo Chowdhury, and the unlucky man was killed outright.

According to the confessions of the other suspects, he was the one who contacted the victim’s father and the one who called himself Mr. V. As to why he called himself Mr. V, his accomplices don’t know.”

Anthony thought for a moment, “You suspect that Hugo Choudhury calling himself Mr. V has something to do with the bloody V letters found on the yacht in the kidnapping of the real estate mogul’s son, Gary Sane Jr.”

Luke said, “But it’s likely not a coincidence that both cases are linked to the letter V.

If Hugo Choudhury is really related to the kidnapping of Gary Sane Jr, I think instead he didn’t need to deliberately remind the police to link the two cases, and besides, we haven’t found any clues that Hugo Choudhury is related to the kidnapping of Gary Sane Jr.

As far as I can guess, Hugo Choudhury should have thought about the possibility of the hostage’s family calling the police.

By calling himself Mr. V, he most likely created a misunderstanding for the police to think that the person who kidnapped Isha Redman and the person who kidnapped Gary Sane Jr. are the same group of people, misleading the police to investigate the case.” Luke continued his analysis.

“If I am correct in this deduction, it means that Hugo Choudhury had nothing to do with the kidnapping of the real estate tycoon’s son, Gary Sane Jr. but knew about the presence of the letter V in blood on the yacht where the crime took place.

And I’ve read all the kidnapping news and there was nothing about the blood letter V on the news, so how did he know this detail of the crime?”

“You’re right, it’s true that this detail has not been released to the public.” Anthony immediately guessed, “You think he’s related to that FBI mole?”

“That’s just my guess, and it could be a coincidence. But as long as it’s a possibility, we have to be on guard.

You know that kidnapping cases are usually investigated by the FBI, and if Isha Redman’s father hadn’t been energetic enough and persistent enough, this case wouldn’t have been transferred from the FBI to the Detective Bureau.

If this case was investigated by the FBI, think about what the consequences would be.”

Anthony’s face was stony, “I’m going to dig up that asshole! I swear.”

“Wait for your good news.” This was another reason why Luke had asked Reed not to publicize the case for the time being; with Hugo Chowdhury, the mastermind of the case, dead, no one could guarantee if there were others involved in the kidnapping.

Even if there were, the trail had been broken and would need to be investigated in other ways.

“Wooo…… a car drove by and stopped on the side of the road not far away.

Several large men rushed out from the side of the road, opened the car door, and shouted, pistols raised, “FBI!”

“Freeze, hands in the air.”

“Get out of the car with your hands on your head.”

A white man was pushed out of the car amidst a chorus of shouts and Luke walked over to examine the man, who bore a strong resemblance to the sketch he had made.

The white man was held down and searched, cuffing his hands before being dragged by two agents over to Luke and Anthony.

Luke lifted his chin and smiled, “Hey boy, recognize me?”

The white man’s face paled slightly before he calmed down and sighed in relief.

Anthony laughed, “Is he looking down on you? Why do I get the feeling that he’s more relaxed since he saw you.”

“Shut up.” Luke glanced at him and continued, “What’s your name?”

“Colin Pereira.”

“Any idea why you were arrested?”

“No.”

“A very dry answer.” Luke grimaced, “We suspect you are involved in a kidnapping case, please come back with us to investigate.”

Colin Pereira tried, “Do you have a warrant for your arrest?”

Anthony shook his head, “No, we don’t need that.”

Hearing this, not only did Colin Pereira not relax, but his body trembled, “I really wasn’t involved in any kidnapping case, I was just traveling to Hawaii.”

Luke said, “You should know who I am, I’m standing right in front of you, the FBI is present, and you’re lying now.

Do I look like an idiot to you, or do you think he’s an idiot?”

Anthony laughed, showing his big white teeth, “People who think I look like an idiot have usually gone to God.

No, it should be Satan.

God doesn’t take in assholes who are ten times worse.” He pointed at the dark wasteland around him, “Want to pick your own spot?”

Colin Pereira looked at Luke and then at Anthony, “No, I don’t want any trouble and I wasn’t involved in the kidnapping.

I admit I took a commission, that’s all.”

Luke pressed, “What commission?”

Colin Pereira sighed, “I was hired to stop you from returning to Los Angeles.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who asked you to do that?”

“I ……” Colin Pereira gave a difficult look, and after a long tangle said, “I didn’t ask her name, it was a white middle-aged woman, she had red hair, wore a very pretty diamond necklace, and was very generous.”

“Are you sure it was red hair?”

“Yes.”

Anthony took out his cell phone and found a picture, “Is it her?”

“Yes, that’s her.”

Luke took the phone and looked at it too, “Who is she?”

Anthony whispered, “Little Gary Sane’s mother.”

“Is it biological?”

“Gary Sane Jr. has red hair too.” Anthony finished and patted Colin Pereira on the shoulder, “Man, thanks for that, that’s an important clue.

Also, I just told a good lie, we have a warrant for his arrest.”

Hearing Anthony’s words, Colin Pereira was visibly relieved and wiped the sweat from his forehead, “I really had nothing to do with the kidnapping, everything I said was true, I’m just a detective, that’s all.”

Anthony said, “Whether you know it or not, you are indeed suspected of being involved in a kidnapping, and that’s not good for you.”

“Hey, I know the rules, whatever you guys need from me. As long as I can be given a favorable plea deal.”

Seeing how receptive the other man was, Anthony smiled, “Man, I’m starting to like you a little bit.”