Chapter 671

Marico Lugo was startled and quickly denied, “No, I didn’t kill him. He was my good friend, I would never hurt him.”

Luke asked back, “If you didn’t kill the person, why did you lie?”

Marico Lugo gulped and hesitated slightly, “I ……”

“It’s hard not to suspect you with your lies and hesitation.”

Listen, the reason we’re here for you is that we’ve found out that you’re involved in this case.

Don’t think about running away anymore, tell me what really happened that night.”

“Woof woof ……”

Another bark came from the house and Luke looked up to find Marico Lugo’s mother standing by the window looking in.

Jackson said, “Your mother is still concerned about you, don’t let her down.”

Marico Lugo twisted his head to look at his mother and sighed, “I told you guys ……”

Last night, we didn’t go to the Nassim Bar.

Will Stout asked me to drive with him to meet someone.”

“To what place?”

“The north gate of Villawut Park; few people go there, and there’s no surveillance.”

“What kind of person did you meet?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t even get out of the car, I just chauffeured him.”

“Why did Will Stout want to meet the man?”

“He said the man owed him money and was here to demand it.”

I know it sounds crazy, and I don’t believe it, but after he met with the man, he did come back with a suitcase and split ten thousand dollars with me. I didn’t see it, but I’m guessing that box was full of money.”

“How much money?”

“I don’t know, and he wouldn’t tell me if I asked. I’m content to part with ten thousand dollars.”

“Are you sure it was last night?” Luke questioned.

Because according to Will Stout’s girlfriend, Will Stout transferred fifty thousand dollars to her yesterday afternoon, the time was not right.

Marico Lugo pursed his lips, “Yes, but last night was the second time, and the night before that it went too.”

“And the night before that to get the money too?”

“Yes, the same black suitcase, and he gave me five thousand dollars.”

“Did he see the same man?”

“I don’t know; he wouldn’t let me get too close or ask. I just looked at it from a distance and it seemed to be the same man.”

“Will Stout asked the same man for money two days in a row? Doesn’t that seem suspicious to you?”

“I asked, and he wouldn’t say.”

He’s a friend of mine, and he split fifteen thousand dollars with me, a simple thing, and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t help him. Besides, I was just driving, I wasn’t doing anything illegal.”

“It’s not that simple, you drove for him, looked out for him, and took his money, which is equivalent to being his accomplice. If he commits a crime, you won’t get away with it.”

“I’m not even sure what he was doing? Really just driving, never got out of the car since the beginning.”

Luke shook his head, “You still don’t realize the extent of the problem.”

“Asking the same person for money two nights in a row is a sign of insatiable greed, and with the second time comes more, and that’s why Will Stout was killed.

You, as his accomplice, could have been silenced as well.” Luke rubbed his chin, “You’re lucky to be alive right now.”

Marico Lugo revealed a panicked look, “You’re saying …… that person will kill me too?”

“Think carefully, was there anything unusual last night?”

Marico Lugo was silent for a long while and said, “After two o’clock in the morning, Mark suddenly barked and woke me up, and I scolded him.”

“The dog?”

“Yes.”

“Before, would Mark bark in the middle of the night?”

“No. Mark was trained by my mom to only do that when strangers come to my house.”

“Be good to him from now on, he saved you, and your mother.”

Marico Lugo broke out in a cold sweat, “Are you telling the truth?”

“The man who killed Will Stout was calm and professional, he had no reason not to kill you. Unless, of course, the operation was disrupted and had to be terminated.”

“My God, will he come back to kill me?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Tell me everything about Will Stott and that man, and as soon as we catch Will Stott’s murderer, you will naturally be safe.”

“That’s terrible!” Marico Lugo gasped, his body paralyzed as if he was deflated, “I will definitely cooperate with you and tell you everything I know.”

Luke nodded and stared at Marico Lugo and asked, “Where is Henrik Lawrie?”

“What Henrik Lawrie?”

“The candidate for governor of California, he was at the Nassim Bar in the early morning hours of December 11th, and Will Stout had a drink with him at a table.

After that, Henrik Lawrie disappeared.”

“Come to think of it, I was also at the bar in the early hours of that morning, and Will was meeting a strange guy, looking very different at the bar in a white shirt and suit pants.

Will went over to his table with a glass of wine and chatted for a while, and I wondered why Will would know someone like that. Will said it was an old friend, so I didn’t ask too many questions.”

“Did Henrik Lawrie’s disappearance have anything to do with Will Stout?”

“I don’t think it’s related; we left the bar together, and I was the one who drove him home when he had too much to drink.”

“Did you ever see Henrik Lawrie again after leaving the bar?”

“No, I swear to God.”

Luke stared at the other man, seeing no obvious signs of lying.

Robbery-Murder Division office.

Three o’clock in the afternoon.

The team members who had been out investigating were returning, and Luke called the crowd to a meeting.

Luke scanned the crowd and his eyes landed on the vice team, “Vice team, any new findings from the technical team and forensics?”

The vice squad said, “According to the technical team’s investigation, Will Stout’s house should be the first crime scene. There are no signs of the door being pried, and the murderer most likely entered the room through the window.”

The vice squad glanced down at the information and continued, “The forensic side has also conducted a preliminary identification.”

“The deceased was shot, 9mm bullets, one shot to the left chest and one to the head, both fatal wounds, the technique was very professional.

It’s difficult to determine the exact time of death because the body was frozen.

In addition, I sent officers to visit the surrounding area, and none of the surrounding neighbors heard the gunshots, so I’m guessing the killer may have used a silencer.

All of this points to the fact that the killer is probably a professional with specialized military training.”

Luke pressed, “Were there any clues found at Will Stout’s house related to the kidnapping?”

“No.”

Jackson said, “Could it be that we’re looking in the wrong direction and that Will Stott has nothing to do with the disappearance or kidnapping of Henrik Lawley?”

Black retorted, “If there was no connection, why would he be dead? And, where did he get that windfall?”

Luke thought back to the case and said slowly, “There’s also a possibility that Will Stout had no direct connection to Henrik Lawrie’s disappearance, but he saw or knew something about Henrik Lawrie’s disappearance. He used the clues he knew to extort money, but because of his insatiable greed, the man he was extorting was killed.”

The lieutenant said, “That’s an interesting idea, and assuming your analysis is correct, who was the man Will Stout was blackmailing?”

The crowd looked at each other with guesses in their minds.

Blackie didn’t like to play dumb, and didn’t have that many scruples, “Is it the two in the Four Seasons?”

Luke said, “This possibility is high.”

“I could tell before that there was something wrong with those two, and I’ve also been sending people to keep an eye on them at the hotel, they haven’t left the hotel, but that doesn’t mean they can’t contact the outside world.

And it hasn’t been a short time since Henrik Laurie disappeared. If Henrik Laurie had suffered a kidnapping, the kidnappers should have already made a blackmail call, but they had always denied it. It’s obvious that they are intentionally hiding something.”

Jackson said, “Can we talk to them?”

The lieutenant grunted, “Talk about what? Talk about the fact that they sent an assassin to take out Will Stout and you think they’ll admit it?”

Jackson shook his head, “I don’t think the killers may be the same two that stayed at the Four Seasons.”

Killing someone was no small matter, if Will Stott was not directly related to the disappearance of Henrik Lawrie.

How dare they kill so easily? And what reason would there be to kill?”

The lieutenant said, “Jackson, you’re too young. Those politicians have too many unseen things, and as long as someone touches those things, they won’t hesitate to kill each other.”

Blackie said, “Since we all guessed that it might be someone from the Four Seasons, aren’t we going to do something about it?”

“Do, of course.” Luke began to arrange the mission, “The place Will Stout chose for the deal is at the north gate of Villawut Park. Lieutenant, you take someone to check out which neighborhood.

Also, I suspect that after the murderer killed Will Stott, he also tried to kill Marico Lugo, only for the barking dog to scare him away.

So, he will probably kill Marico Lugo again to silence him.

Ramon, you take someone to keep Marico Lugo and his mother safe tonight.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The lieutenant mused for a moment, “That’s a pretty solid way to investigate, but it’s a little passive.”

Luke asked rhetorically, “Do you have any good ideas?”

“Can’t speak of a good idea, but it’s something to try.”

Half an hour later, the Four Seasons Hotel.

Inside the presidential suite.

Mrs. Lawrie leaned against the sofa in the bedroom with less elegance, her brow furrowed and her eyes a little dark, lifting the glass of red wine on the coffee table and taking a big sip.

“Ringing ……”

Her cell phone rang. She took out her cell phone and looked at it, the screen displayed an unfamiliar number.

She hesitated for a moment before pressing the answer button, “Hello.”

“Is this Mrs. Lawrie?”

“It’s me, who are you?”

“I’m a concerned citizen and I know where your husband, Henrik Lawley, is?”

Mrs. Lawley jerked upright, “Where is my husband?”

“Uh …… before we get to that, there’s a slight difficulty.”

“What difficulty?”

“I’ve recently lost my job and am having a hard time making ends meet, and with three children to support, I need some money, not too much, just enough to get us through this.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

“No, just a request.”

“How much money do you want?”

“It doesn’t have to be much, thirty thousand dollars will do.”

“How do I know you’re not ripping me off?”

“In the early morning hours of December 11th, I was drinking near Nassim’s Bar and saw your husband being kidnapped by a black SUV near the bar.

I happened to take a picture of the car’s license plate number. As soon as I receive the money, I will definitely tell you the license plate number.”

“Tell me the license plate number first, then I’ll give you the money.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

Pay the money first, then I’ll tell you the license plate number.

Thirty thousand dollars is nothing to you, is it necessary to bother with a poor man?”

“You better be telling the truth, if you lie to me, I will definitely call the police to arrest you.”

“If you call the police, you’ll never get that license plate number. As long as I don’t want to talk about it, there’s nothing the police can do when they come.”

After a long time, Mrs. Lawrie asked, “Just thirty thousand dollars?”

“Yes.”

“How can I give it to you?”

“At ten o’clock tonight, you have the money thrown off the Athlone Bridge. Get the money and I’ll tell you the license plate number. Then you can find out where Henrik Lawley is.”

Mrs. Lawley sneered, “You better not be lying to me.”