Chapter 50
“Uh ……”
Brooke panicked and stood there speechless for a long time.
Luke tried, “Is that your default?”
“No…… is my neglect.
Lawn is my family, I was worried when I saw he was hurt, and I was so focused on helping him heal that I probably lowered my ability to discern when I was concerned.”
“That’s not a smart excuse.”
“What I said is true.”
“Who was it that brought Lawn to the hospital.”
“Sophia, she called an ambulance.”
“What did she tell you?”
Brooke thought for a moment, “The scene at that time was a bit chaotic, we didn’t have much communication …… After receiving Lawn, I helped treat him first ……”
“How was Lawn’s condition at the time?”
“Not very well, already unconscious.”
Luke said, “I’m not a doctor, but I also know some basic common sense, the doctor will ask about the patient’s situation before treatment, and when Lawn is unconscious, he should ask the accompanying family about the situation. That should be the basics.”
“Uh ……” Brooke thought for a moment, “Maybe I didn’t express myself clearly, we talked about Lawn’s condition, just not the rest of it …… ”
Luke pressed, “What do you mean other things, I asked about Lawn’s condition. You’re really bad at lying.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Then recount the conversation you had with Sophia that day.”
Brooke took a deep breath, “I need to get one thing straight first, are you interrogating me? If so, I want a lawyer.”
Luke asked rhetorically, “Your stepfather was beaten and abused, you hid what happened, the police asked you for information about what happened, and instead of assisting the police in their investigation you want a lawyer, does that seem normal to you?”
“I …… just want to protect my rights and have a clear conscience. I’ve always had a good relationship with Lawn and I would never hurt him.”
“It’s hard to take your word for it when what’s happening is that he’s already been hurt and you’re not doing a good job as a person with knowledge of the case.
You can get a lawyer and call now.” Luke made a gesture of invitation and added admonishingly, “I have to warn you though.
Once a lawyer gets involved then it’s all about procedure.
You know how many good words Dean Cook said before we didn’t take you directly to the police station but stayed in the conference room for questioning.
Once this matter becomes public, the reputation of Ome Hospital will definitely be affected …… It’s not likely that you’ll have to live an early retirement.”
Brooke sweated coldly, “You don’t have to scare me, things aren’t as serious as you say.”
“Maybe, I’m just a layman, you should know more than me about the rules within your industry.” Luke glanced at his watch, “You can call your lawyer now, meet me at the detective bureau in half an hour.”
Brooke pulled out her cell phone, looked at it for a long moment, then put it back in her pocket, “I’m not calling a lawyer, I have a clear conscience and I’m willing to assist you in your investigation.”
“Recount your conversation with Sophia.”
Brooke thought for a moment, “Just some simple inquiries about her condition, how did she pass out? The duration of the coma? Any medications taken before the coma. After that, I mostly communicated with the EMTs, who know more about Lawn’s physical condition.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t notice anything unusual when you treated Lawn?”
Brooke explained, “Actually, this is something I originally didn’t want to say …… I panicked at that time, I hadn’t been independently in charge of patient treatment for a long time, and as Lawn is my father, I was particularly nervous and almost made a mistake.
So …… made some unprofessional judgments.”
“Do you know who Lawn was beaten and abused by?”
“No, how could I possibly know, like I said before, we’ve always had a good relationship, and I was sad to see him lying in a hospital bed, and would never hurt him.
Not only do you guys want to find whoever hurt Lawn, but I do.”
Luke jotted down a few key points in his book, “Can I trust you?”
“Of course.”
Luke continued to inquire, “Lawn was taken to the hospital on February 26th?”
“Yes.”
“Where were you on that day? Doing what?”
Brooke recalled for a moment, “I was at the hospital that day, as my coworkers can attest.”
“If I showed you Lawn’s diagnostic report again, would you have a problem with it?”
“I’m just a doctor, not a forensic scientist or a police officer, and don’t have that kind of alertness. And Lawn was always good with people, I can’t think of anyone who would do something like that to him.”
Luke scanned the transcript, “Brooke, do you realize the consequences of lying to the police?”
“Whoa whoa, why would you say that, I didn’t lie.”
“It’s just a kind reminder, you’re a doctor with a great future, don’t mistake yourself.”
Brooke shook her head, “I’m telling the truth.”
“GOOD, thank you for your assistance.”
Brooke breathed a sigh of relief, “Do you know who hurt Lawn?”
“That’s exactly why we’re here today.” Luke finished and closed his laptop, “OK, you can leave now.”
“Is that the end of it?”
“We’re fine on our end for now, but Dean Cook wants you in his office, good luck.” Luke gathered his things and joined David out of the conference room.
David asked, “Do you trust him?”
Luke shook his head, “No.”
“So do I. There’s definitely something wrong with this guy. Either he’s harboring someone or he’s an accomplice of the suspect who assaulted Lawn.”
Luke then went back outside Lawn’s hospital room.
“Knock knock ……”
“Come in.”
The two Luke pushed the door into the ward and took the initiative to greet, “Mrs. Caroline, Miss Sophia, we meet again.”
Caroline said with a cold face, “I don’t want to see you guys in the ward, please get out.”
“We’ve just received a call from Ome Hospital, Mr. Lawn was electrocuted, beaten, and abused before he went into a coma, and we’re here to conduct an investigation.”
“WHAT? what are you guys talking about? My husband obviously fell accidentally before he passed out, no one beat or abused him at all.”
Luke asked back, “You were there when Lawn fell?”
“No, I didn’t know until later.”
“How did you find out?”
“Sophia told me, she’s the one who found out about Lawn’s fall.”
Luke looked aside to Sophia, “Can you tell us a little bit about what happened?”
Sophia said, “Yes, I live out of a rented apartment and was going back to my father’s house to get something that day, when I entered I found my father lying on the living room floor and things scattered on the coffee table, I guessed that he might have fallen and rushed to call 911.”
“Was anyone else present?”
“No.”
“Were there signs of a struggle in the house?”
“I was too freaked out to pay that much attention.” Sophia finished with an angry, resigned look, “You don’t think I hurt my father!
He’s my father, the only family I have, I would never hurt him.”
Luke stared at Sofia for a moment and then looked aside at Caroline, “Ma’am, I heard that the video of the will is sitting with you.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Lawn was abused and beaten before he went into a coma, we suspect that it might be related to that video will, that video will now belongs to the evidence related to the case involved, please hand it over to the police to keep it for them.” Luke reached out for it.
Caroline took a step back and refused outright, “No, this is what Lawn left for his family, not for you police.”
Luke asked lightly, “Do you want to destroy the evidence?”
Caroline hesitated for several moments, “Was my husband really beaten and abused?”
“Yes.”
Caroline pulled a hard drive out of her bag, “Keep it safe.”
Luke put the hard drive away and placed another business card on the table, “Ladies, I can understand how you feel and I know you care about Mr. Lawn.
I’m sure you also want to bring the suspects who hurt Mr. Lawn to justice and pay the price they deserve.
So do we.
If you have any other leads, please contact me first.”
Luke walked over to the hospital bed and looked at Lawn, then left the room.
David inquired in a low voice, “Who do you feel is lying?”
“Everyone.”
“Any proof?”
“No.”
It had been ten days and the crime scene had long since been destroyed.