Chapter 554

Luke asked, “What do you think of Cam Smith as a person?”

Lydia Cooney sighed softly, “People are complicated.

He’s an outgoing, enthusiastic, and somewhat idealistic person.

He is very serious when it comes to work, and has put in a lot of effort to develop a new type of antihypertensive drug, so he is a good colleague.”

Luke heard the implication, “I heard you guys dated?”

Lydia Cooney pursed her lips and nodded, “Yes.”

“Why did you break up?”

Lydia Cooney revealed a touch of self-deprecation, “This question should be personal, can I not answer it?”

Luke didn’t answer directly, “According to Cam Smith, it was because of your daughter?”

“What? My daughter.” Lydia Cooney looked puzzled.

“That’s right, he said that the two of you had a great relationship, but your daughter didn’t like him and that’s what caused you to break up.”

“Lies.

He’s lying.” Lydia Cooney said with some chagrin, “I can’t believe that he would actually blame my daughter for the breakup… This man is disgusting… Perhaps, I never saw through him.”

Blackie lit up with gossip, “So what was the real reason for your breakup?”

“He cheated.”

“Who did he cheat on?”

Lydia Cooney shook her head, “I haven’t seen it, I just saw his chat logs, that woman’s chat account is called Elvira.”

“When did you find out he was cheating?”

Lydia Cooney let out a long sigh and recalled, “It should be mid-April, I saw his chat logs, we had a big fight, and he didn’t admit that he cheated.

Falsely claiming that the other person was just a regular online friend.

I’m not a fool, their chat is very revealing, there is no way it is an ordinary netizen, and that’s just the chat record of that day, the previous records have been deleted.

Then we broke up.

He’s a liar, and I’m glad I broke up with him early.”

Luke made a note of the time and continued, “Has Cam Smith been staying at the company dorms?”

“No.”

“He has his own house, which is about a forty-minute drive, and probably to save time, he applied for quarters at the company in May, and occasionally stays in them.

I’m not really sure of the details, after all, we’ve broken up.”

Luke pressed, “Does Cam Smith have any bad hobbies?”

“No, he was a rather boring person, and now that I think about it, I’m not even sure why I was with him in the first place.

I feel like a big dork.” Lydia Cooney wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

Jenny handed a couple tissues, “Hey, be strong, even if it’s for your daughter.”

“You’re right, all I have now is my daughter, please make sure you get her out.”

“We’ll do our best, but we’ll need your assistance as well.”

“I will, anything I can do for you guys, just let me know.”

Luke pulled out a picture of slain drug tester Roher Horn, “Do you recognize him?”

“Kind of looks familiar ……”

Luke reminded, “He was a test drug operator for Kalman Pharmaceuticals.”

“I remember, he’s a drug trialer for a new antihypertensive drug.

What’s the problem?”

“He’s dead now!”

Lydia Cooney slapped her forehead, “Oh my God, this is terrible.

We developed the new antihypertensive drug for the benefit of all mankind, so why would some people try to obstruct the development by all means.

Compared to these events, the people behind the scenes are the most terrifying.

No, they don’t have any humanity at all, they are the ones who really deserve to die.”

“Have you seen Roher Horn anywhere else?”

“No.”

“Did the suspect, Walda Baker, ever mention Roher Horn?”

“No.

I swear I had nothing to do with Roher Horn’s death.”

“OK, let’s talk more about your daughter.

Describe what happened when your daughter was kidnapped, the more detailed the better.”

Lydia Cooney took a deep breath, her lips trembling softly, “I was on vacation that day, and in the afternoon I took my daughter to the mall and bought her some new clothes and a new Barbie doll that she had wanted for a long time.

She was so happy that day, she smiled all the time, I still remember her smile ……

In the evening we had a buffet dinner together, it was going to be a wonderful day and then …… “Lydia Cooney broke down in tears again, and after a while it took her a while to stop crying and continue, “I drove home, parked the car, and I opened the door with my new purchases.

I was about to turn on the lights when two hooded figures flashed out beside me, one of them held me and covered my mouth and nose with a towel.

My daughter was also being controlled by the other one and I tried to yell but couldn’t.

I tried to save my daughter but had no strength and then I lost consciousness, oooh ……”

Lydia Cooney covered her face and cried in pain, the memory was like a second injury to come her.

Jenny patted her shoulder and softly comforted, “I’m sure you and your daughter will be reunited again, God will bless her.”

“You’re right, my daughter is so cute, God will definitely not let anything happen to her.” Lydia Cooney, as if answering Jenny and as if cheering herself up, took a deep breath and continued, “When I woke up, my hands and feet were bound, Walda Baker was sitting next to me staring at me, and my daughter was gone.

I asked him where my daughter was.

He replied that my daughter had been taken by his accomplices and that if I wanted to get my daughter back I would have to listen to him.

I immediately agreed with him, telling him that I would do anything he asked me to do as long as he returned my daughter safely, and that I was willing to take out all my money and give it to them.

But it wasn’t the money he wanted, he wanted me to help him get into Kalman Pharmaceuticals and, to assist him in burning down the labs and information on the development of a new antihypertensive drug.

This is a very painful choice, the new antihypertensive drug is my research efforts, I have invested a lot of energy, I have been looking forward to its early release, can benefit all mankind.

I really don’t want to destroy it with my own hands.

He is like another child of mine ……

But I had no choice, they threatened me with my daughter, and I had to oblige them.”

“Why didn’t you call the police?”

“Walda Baker was watching me the whole time, I didn’t have a chance to call the police, and he kept threatening my daughter that if I didn’t cooperate, if I tried to call the police, I’d never see my daughter again.”

“When was the last time you saw Warda Baker?”

“On the night of July 11th, after Walda Baker set the fire at Kalman Pharmaceuticals, we parted ways.

He told me to go home and wait, that he would return my daughter before too long.”

“Tell us about the time and place of separation and the direction he fled?”

Lydia Cooney recalled for a moment, “After we left the office, we kept going east, and at the third intersection he turned into Manerville Street.

It must have been almost twelve o’clock.”

Luke checked the map, the car left Kalman Pharmaceuticals and drove into Manorway Street, following that direction would be exactly the right direction to return to the apartment where Walda Baker was living, and the timing matched, and Lydia Cooney’s statement basically matched.

“How did you get in touch with Walda Baker?”

“He gave me a prepaid cell phone and said he’d contact me if anything happened.

But the phone never rang.”

Luke asked, “Where is the cell phone?”

“It’s under the couch in the living room.”

Blackie walked to the living room and fished out a prepaid cell phone from under the couch and handed it to Luke.

Luke looked at it, prepaid cell phones like this were hard to trace, “Contact the tech team and have them arrive at the scene with listening devices.”

Luke looked at Lydia Cooney again, “What’s your daughter’s name?”

“Miriam Cooney.”

“Ramon, you take someone to gather surveillance from the surrounding neighborhoods and check for suspicious vehicles during the time period of the crime in which Miriam Cooney was abducted.”

“Okay Captain.”

Lydia Cooney looked at Luke, “Sir, are you sure you can save my daughter?”

Luke said soothingly, “Ms. Cooney, I can understand your feelings, but we just took over the case and still need some time to investigate.

If you recall any clues, I also hope you can tell us in time.”

“I will.”

And then, Luke called Blackie aside and instructed, “Marcus, you go and take charge of investigating Kem Smith, the head of drug testing at Kalman Corporation, this guy is likely to have problems.”

“Should we find a reason to arrest him?”

“No need for now, observe and follow him secretly first, I want to know what this guy is up to.”

“Understood.”

The murder case of Rohrer Horn, the arson case of Kalman Pharmaceuticals, and the case of Miriam Cooney’s kidnapping.

All three cases were related to Walda Baker.

Judging from the time of the crime, it would be the afternoon of July 10th, when Roher Horn was killed.

On the evening of July 10th, Miriam Cooney was kidnapped.

On the evening of July 11th, the Kalman Pharmaceuticals building was set on fire.

Afterward Walda Baker absconded.

The purpose of all three cases was to sabotage and stop the development of a new antihypertensive drug.

Luke had previously asked Fred Kramer, the head of research and development at Kalman, who would be affected if the new antihypertensive drug was successfully developed.

At that time, Fred Cramer named Jelsen Pharmaceuticals because Jelsen Pharmaceuticals’ antihypertensive drugs had a high share of the market.

This made Luke also somewhat skeptical of Gelson Pharmaceuticals and consider whether he should go to Gelson Pharmaceuticals to investigate some more.

But a time and can not think of a good reason to investigate, this large pharmaceutical company’s legal department is very powerful, and is a large taxpayer, can not be based on no evidence of speculation and suspicion of door-to-door investigation.

To Luke’s position, it is also necessary to pay attention to some of the implications.

“Ringing ……”

Luke’s cell phone rang.

He took out his phone and saw that the screen displayed the cell phone number of Inoue Naomi, an intern reporter of CBS TV.

“Hi, beautiful, what can I do for you?”

“Captain Lee, do you have time tonight? Have a drink together.”

“Of course, I’m always available at the invitation of a beautiful woman.” Luke answered with a smile.

Last time, Luke and Inoue Nami had a relatively smooth cooperation, after that, the other party had not taken the initiative to contact him, with Luke’s understanding of this woman, the other party should not simply ask for a drink, the probability was that there was something else going on.

Inoue Naomi proposed, “How about still asking at the Milos Bar from last time?”

Luke glanced at his watch, “I’ll be busy today, odds are I won’t have time to drink.

Let’s make a date at the last Japanese restaurant, and we’ll talk while we eat.”

“Okay, see you tonight.”

Evening, six fifty-five.

Hanagi Tori Teppanyaki.

The Japanese restaurant had been introduced by Nami Inoue, and the two of them had arranged to meet in a private room on the second floor, which was cleaner and more suitable for conversation.

When Luke arrived at the private room, Naomi Inoue had not yet arrived.

Luke had been busy all day and just had a burger for lunch, he was already starving and took the waiter’s menu and started ordering first.

Wagyu beef, oysters, and fatty sausage were a must, they were delicious the last time he had them, and Luke ordered a few new dishes.

I had heard of grilled tilapia, this dish is also very unique, but Luke thought about it, still feel a little strange, the probability is that it will not be delicious, did not order.

Luke had just finished ordering when Naomi Inoue walked into the private room, “Mr. Lee, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s just the right time, I just finished ordering, see what else you want to order.”

Nami Inoue took the menu and ordered a seafood miso soup, then the waiter closed the door and left.

Luke poured Inoue Naomi a cup of oolong tea, “Ms. Inoue, what is it that you wanted to see me about today?”

“Captain Lee, our Department of Information received a report letter today about Kalman Pharmaceuticals.” Nami Inoue paused briefly, glanced at Luke, did not see an abnormal look on the other party’s face, and continued.

“According to the whistleblower letter, Kalman Pharmaceutical Company was conducting illegal human experiments under the guise of developing a new drug, only for this experiment to fail.

Many of the people involved in the experiment and drug testing had adverse reactions in their bodies, and Kalman Pharmaceuticals destroyed all the experimental data in order to escape responsibility.

Even he himself was threatened by Kalman Pharmaceuticals.”

Luke asked, “Who is the whistleblower?”

“Roher Horn.” Naomi Inoue took a sip of oolong tea and put down her teacup, “After we received the whistleblower’s letter, we realized that this was likely to be a big news, and then investigated the whistleblower’s situation ……

As a result, we found out that Roher Horn had died on July 10th, and that his case was investigated by the Robbery and Murder Division.”

Luke stroked the stubble on his chin, “If Roher Horn suspected that Kalman Pharmaceuticals was conducting illegal human experiments, why didn’t he call the police?”

Nami Inoue hesitated for a moment, her eyes swept around and whispered, “He said in his report letter that he didn’t trust the police and felt that the police had been bribed by Kalman Pharmaceuticals.

That’s why he asked the news media to expose it, and also said that he hoped to keep his identity a secret, otherwise, he would probably be retaliated against by Kalman Pharmaceuticals.”

Luke didn’t show it on his face, but his heart was already cursing.

These assholes had even counted on the police.

Kalman Pharmaceuticals did intend to donate a legitimate charitable donation to the police.

No matter who was behind it, when Luke found out, he would have to settle the score for him.