Chapter 667

Inside the black SUV, Blackie muttered as he drove, “This white candidate for governor is pretty energetic when he gives speeches and seeks out call girls at night.”

Jackson, sitting in the passenger side, shrugged, “Henrik Lawrie’s wife is in the next bedroom, why would he need a call girl?”

“Haha ……” Blackie laughed as if he’d heard a joke, “Anyone who likes bread any more will want a change of flavor once in a while. Man, you’ll understand when you get married.”

Jackson looked out the window, a little out of breath, “I still find it hard to understand that a gubernatorial candidate sneaks out of his hotel at night to find call girls and go to a bar alone. It doesn’t fit his image at all.”

“Everyone has two sides, and these politicians are even more so, it’s perfectly normal for them to be human during the day and release their nature at night.” Black paused for a moment and asked, “Speaking of releasing their natural instincts, I’m reminded again of that call girl Sharan Sanda, she has a great demeanor, I didn’t expect her to be in this business at all.”

Jackson said, “Perhaps, she has her own hardships.”

Blackie said, “Actually, I’m more curious if that doctor boyfriend of hers would know about this?”

Jackson shook his head and lost his smile, “Your point of view is always so novel.”

“One has to stay curious enough doesn’t he? Otherwise, what’s the point of living?”

In the midst of the small talk, the car drove up to the entrance of the Nasim Bar.

Luke’s trio stepped out of the car, the surrounding streets were a bit run down, the bar’s entrance was just an old sign, and a smell of urine was faintly wafting around.

Jackson frowned slightly, “The bar at the Four Seasons is much better than this.”

Xiao Hei said, “The most important thing about a bar is not the environment, but the atmosphere, some people just like the atmosphere of this kind of bar, it will make them more comfortable and relaxed.”

Jackson glanced at Xiao Hei, “Suddenly I realized that you know a lot.”

Blacky patted him on the shoulder, “Take your time learning, rookie.”

Luke ignored the two men, observing the surroundings of the bar before heading inside.

There were no lights on inside the bar, it was a bit dim, but vaguely, he could still see the layout of the bar, which was decorated simply, somewhat similar to the western style.

The bar was lit, and there was a middle-aged Mexican man scrubbing glasses, “Good afternoon, gentlemen, what would you like to drink?”

Blackie flirted, “Your bar is really frugal, you can’t even spare the lights.”

“It’s not often that customers come to the bar this early.” The bartender smoothly turned on the bar’s lights, but it still wasn’t too bright, “The three gentlemen look a bit strange, is this your first time in our bar?”

Luke flashed his badge, “LAPD, we’re here to investigate a case and would like to ask for your bar’s assistance in the investigation.”

The bartender sighed, “It’s not a good sign to meet the police early in the morning.”

“Don’t be so arbitrary.” Luke pulled out twenty dollars, “Here’s a tip for you.”

“Thanks, honestly, this is the first time I’ve seen such a generous cop.” The bartender revealed a smile and asked, “Officer, is there anything I can help you with?”

Luke pulled out a picture of Henrik Lawrie, “Have you seen this man? He was wearing a white baseball cap yesterday and must have come into the bar around two in the morning.”

“It kind of rings a bell, he was wearing a shirt and suit pants, the average bar patron rarely dresses so formally, this guy looks like a rich guy, it’s very solid.” The bartender pointed to the table diagonally across from him, “If I remember correctly, he would have sat in that seat and ordered a beer or rum, I can’t remember.”

Luke turned, looked at the spot the bartender was pointing to, and asked, “Did he come alone, or did he come with someone else?”

The bartender thought for a while, “Seems like one …… No, I vaguely remember another person …… Sorry, there are so many customers in the bar, I can’t possibly remember every one of them. ”

Luke said, “I would like to see the surveillance of your bar.”

“I can’t make that call, I’d have to tell our boss.”

“Then go ahead and say it now, while there are no customers in the bar right now, we’ll leave after checking the surveillance and it won’t affect the normal business of the bar.”

The bartender nodded, “That doesn’t sound too bad.” The bar surveillance room was in a somewhat cramped room.

Xiao Hei looked at the rudimentary equipment and grumbled, “I was right, this bar is very good at saving money, there are only two cameras in the entire bar, one indoors and one at the entrance.”

“Better than nothing.” Jackson sat aside, opened his laptop, and began to check the surveillance video.

Because he knew the approximate time that Henrik Lawrie came to the bar, it was easy to find Henrik Lawrie’s surveillance.

At around 2:00 a.m., Henrik Lawrie’s figure appeared outside the bar, and Jackson repeatedly viewed this video, confirming, “He entered the bar alone.”

After that, Jackson switched to the bar’s indoor surveillance, and at the same time, Henrik Lawrie entered the bar, ordered a drink, sat down at the table diagonally across from him and drank, his eyes scanning around from time to time, as if searching for someone, and as if admiring everything around him.

Jackson said, “From the surveillance, we can see that a number of customers in the bar have observed Henrik Laurie. Hasn’t he been recognized.”

Luke said, “No one would think a candidate for governor would come to a bar like this for a drink, and it’s only natural that he’d be looked at with that shirt and suit pants so solid.”

Jackson asked, “Why doesn’t he change his clothes and come out to play?”

Blackie laughed, “Couldn’t be helped, his clothes are all the same.”

“Guys, something new.” Jackson pointed to the screen, “Around two-fifteen a white man sat down at his table with a glass of wine, the two of them sat there for about ten minutes and it looks like they probably know each other.

Could Henrik Laurie have come to the bar to meet this man?”

Luke said, “Find a clear screenshot of the white man.”

Jackson manipulated it and, eventually, saved a fairly clear screenshot that roughly made out the white man’s face.

Luke took a picture with his cell phone, “Keep looking at the surveillance.”

According to the surveillance, around two-thirty, Henrik Lawrie stood up and left the bar.

Jackson switched back to the outdoor surveillance, “He left alone, the white man is still drinking at the bar.”

Wait a minute, Henrik Lawley didn’t take a cab on the side of the road after he left the bar, he went to the alley next door. What was he doing there?”

While Luke was pondering, Black spoke up, “There are usually four possibilities when a person leaves a bar and goes to a nearby alley in a hurry.”

If it was two people, the odds were that they were clapping for love.

If it’s one person, it’s vomiting, getting high, or peeing.

Henrik Laurie only had one drink and couldn’t have gotten drunk, so vomiting is unlikely. That leaves only two possibilities peeing or getting high.”

Luke picked his thumb up, “That’s a good analysis.”

Jackson played back the video, scrutinized it, and said, “After Henrik Lawley left the bar, I spotted another figure who also went into the alley. That’s right, Henrik Lawley may have been followed.”

Luke followed up with, “Was it the white man that Henrik Lawley was just drinking with?”

Jackson said, “No, the one who followed Henrik Lawrie out of the bar looks like a black man, the surveillance footage is not good and the light is dark, so I can’t see the other person’s face, but it seems that the black man has a tattoo on the back of his neck.”

Luke also checked the video, and it was indeed a bit blurry, and said, “Send the video to the technical department, and have them process it.”

“Understood.”

Luke left the surveillance room and went back to the bar.

The bartender asked, “Officer, would you like a drink?”

“No, thanks.” Luke pulled out his cell phone and found a screenshot of the white man who had been drinking with Henrik Lawrie at the bar, “Do you recognize this man?”

The bartender looked at it and said, “It’s not very clear.”

“You should go complain to the owner about the bar’s poor surveillance. Take a closer look.”

“Hamill, it looks like him.”

“Does he come to the bar often?”

“Comes in once or twice a week, I guess.”

“What’s his full name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where does he live?”

“I haven’t inquired.”

“How can I find him?”

“I’m sorry, I’m really not sure, he comes alone most of the time and I don’t know much about him. If you want to find him, come by the bar at night, he usually comes by after ten.”

Luke pulled out another screenshot of the black man who had followed Henrik Lawrie out of the bar, “Recognize him?”

The bartender shook his head, “No, this picture is so blurry I can’t even make out the face.”

Luke points to the back of the black man’s neck, “Where’s this one tattooed?”

“The bar has a lot of tattooed customers, nothing impressive.”

Luke put away his cell phone and left a business card, “Remember to contact me if you think of any clues.”

“I will.”

Leaving the bar, Luke’s three returned to the car, Jackson twisted his head and asked, “What do we do now?”

Blackie said, “No need to ask, of course we find these two guys.”

Jackson shrugged, “Of course I understand, I mean, how do we find them? How about you come up with an idea.”

Luke interrupted the two, “Arrange for a couple of officers to come to the bar tonight and stake out the bar, if they come across these two bring them in for questioning.”

Blackie suggested, “Should I stay and keep an eye out.”

Luke thought about it, “We’ve already shown our faces just now, it’s more appropriate to let Ramon come over to keep an eye on them.”

“OK, you’re the boss.”

The following morning.

Detective Bureau.

Luke came a little earlier than usual and first went to Reed’s office to report for work. He then returned to the Robbery and Murder Division to call a meeting.

Luke swept his eyes over the crowd and said, “Guys, tell us about the progress of the investigation.”

Jenny replied, “Everything is normal over at the Four Seasons, neither Hans Dragoon nor Mrs. Crowley have received any blackmail calls.”

Luke frowned; this normalcy was rather an anomaly.

Ramon said, “Last night, I took a stakeout of the Nassim Bar and did not find the two suspicious people who had contact with Henrik Lawley.”

Luke said, “The white man who drank at the same table as Henrik Lawrie is a regular at the bar and probably lives nearby.

Tonight, you continue to bring people to keep an eye on him, and if you can’t find the white man himself, you can ask the bar’s customers if they know him.”

“Understood.”

“The tech team has processed the video over there and sent two clearer videos.” Jackson stood up and put the videos on the projector to play.

The lieutenant put on his glasses and pointed to the projector, “I feel like the tattoos on the black man following Henrik Lawrie look a little familiar.”

Jackson trailed off, “Lieutenant, do you recognize this man?”

“No, I just said that his tattoos look familiar, much like the tattoo patterns of a certain gang. But I can’t think of the exact gang.”

Porter said, “There are hundreds of gangs, large and small, in Los Angeles, and many of them have specific tattoos; it would take quite a while to determine which gang’s tattoo it was.”

The lieutenant laughed, “Why don’t you go to David? He should know more about these gangsters.”