Chapter 693
Eight o’clock in the evening.
Beverly Hills, Kaia Ekheti’s house.
A black SUV was parked outside of Kaia Ekheti’s home.
Luke and Jackson stepped out of the car, it was already dark and the streetlights on both sides of the road were on.
A patrol car drove by at the intersection in the distance, making the neighborhood still very safe, relatively speaking.
Jackson walked to the entrance of the compound and rang the doorbell.
After a while, a white man in a suit and headset stepped out from the shadows of the compound, he surveyed Luke and the two men warily and asked, “What can I do for you?”
Jackson flashed his badge, “LAPD, is this the home of Kaia Ehti?”
“Yes.”
“We’d like to talk to her.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear from Ms. Ehaiti that she has a visitor today. Do you have an appointment?”
Jackson said, “I’m investigating the robbery of Rebecca Mozelle and would like to get some information from her that won’t take too long.”
“Just a moment, you guys.” The white man finished and returned to the courtyard.
After a while, he came out again and opened the courtyard door, “Come in, Ms. Ehaiti has agreed to see you.”
The white man led the two Jackson’s into the courtyard.
Jackson asked, “Are you a bodyguard?”
“Yes.”
“When did Ms. Aihti hire you?”
“Today.”
The bodyguard brought the two men to the door of the house, where a middle-aged woman who looked like a nanny stood at the door, and told Luke to change into slippers for both of them before leading them into the living room.
A white woman in a long blue dress stood up from the couch, “What can I do for you two officers?”
Jackson flashed his badge again, “Ms. Ehaiti, hello. I’m Detective Jackson Beech of the Robbery-Murder Division and this is our Captain Lee. We are investigating the robbery of Rebecca Mozelle.”
Kaia Ehti smiled, “You guys don’t think I’m the robber, do you?”
Luke said, “Ms. Ehaiti, we didn’t mean that, we just wanted to get some information from you.”
“Sit down and talk.” Kaia Ehaiti made a gesture of invitation and continued, “However, I don’t know Rebecca Mozelle very well and won’t necessarily be able to help you.”
Luke asked, “Ms. Aihaiti, I heard that Ms. Rebecca Mozelle held a party two days ago, and you attended it?”
“Yes, there was a recent casting call for a TV show called California Girls, and she threw a celebration party when she got one of the roles. To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise to me that she invited me.”
Luke continued, “I heard that you guys competed for the same role in this TV show before?”
Kaia Aihai gave Luke a deep look, “Yes. However, then I had a more suitable movie role and gave up the role of the California girl. That’s why the role fell to Rebecca Mozelle.”
“But according to Rebecca Mozelle, she got the role on strength.”
“Strength?” Kaia Ehti laughed, “What strength does she have? Just the fact that she’s older than me? If I wanted the role it wouldn’t have even come her way. Although it’s a bit mean to say this, she’s really past her prime, the entertainment industry is so realistic.”
Kaiya Aihti thought for a moment and snorted, “No wonder she was talking shady the day of the party and actually came over to comfort me. However, it’s not hard to understand that the director couldn’t have told her the truth.”
Luke kept his eyes on the other party and saw no signs of lying and asked, “You’re also in the entertainment industry, you should know Rebecca Mozelle better than we do. Does she have any enemies? Or has she offended anyone?”
Kaia Ehti pursed her lips and said with a desire to speak, “Actually, I’m not a gossipy person.”
Luke said, “We’ll keep this a secret from the fourth person.”
“I’ve heard rumors that Rebecca Mozelle is very close to a producer, probably a lover. If it weren’t for that relationship, she might have struggled to even get this role as a California girl.”
“Does this have anything to do with her being robbed?”
“This producer is married, and, well, his wife is not to be messed with; at a party a few years ago, the producer’s wife beat up another female guest at the party simply because the female guest was having dinner with his husband. Of course, I’ve only heard about it, so maybe it’s not related.”
“Do you know the identity of the producer?”
“I haven’t inquired.” Kaia Ehti shrugged, “Why don’t you guys go ask her”
“We’ll ask her, but we’d also like you to reveal it ahead of time.”
Kaiya Ehaiti glanced around and whispered, “Bradley Linderman. Out of this living room, I will never admit it.”
The following morning.
In a black Challenger Warhorse, Blackie drove while looking at the co-pilot, Vice Team, and asked, “Vice Team, the fan we traced is most likely the suspect who robbed Rebecca Mozelle, are you sure it’s just the two of us who are going?”
The vice squad glared at him, “Do you think I can’t hold my gun steady?”
“That’s not what I meant, I just thought ……”
The lieutenant interrupted, “I don’t want you to think, just drive, got it?”
“OK, you’re the Boss.”
The lieutenant cocked his head to the other side and muttered, “Marcus is the cutest when he doesn’t talk.”
Blackie made a face straight back.
The car drove into the Cottle neighborhood.
Blacky lowered the speed of the car, looked at the door numbers on the side of the road, and drove forward a few hundred meters more before stopping in front of a gray two-story villa.
The vice squad looked toward the villa on the right, “Yes, this is it.”
And then, the two of them, Xiao Hei and the Vice Squad, stepped out of the car and looked towards the courtyard on the right hand side.
The yard was not big, only twenty to thirty square meters, the lawn was neatly tended, and the outside was separated by a white fence.
At this moment, a white man was playing with a kitten in the yard.
The cat was slender, with a pair of pointed ears, small and rounded paws, and silver-blue fur on its body was shiny and beautiful.
The lieutenant and Blackie looked at each other with a little more sense of caution.
The white man also noticed Blacky and Vice Squad, stood up, and asked, “What can I do for you?”
Xiao Hei asked, “Sir, this cat is beautiful, did you keep it?”
“Uh, it belongs to my friend’s family, she’s kind of in the middle of something right now and asked me to keep it for her.”
“Can I ask the name of that friend of yours?”
The white man frowned and questioned, “Who the hell are you people?”
Blackie flashed his badge, “LAPD!”
The white man spread his hands, a helpless smile on his face as he pointed to the cat on the ground and asked, “So, you’re here for it.”
The lieutenant pushed open the door to the courtyard and walked in, “To be exact, we’re here for you.”
“Looking for me for what?”
“What’s your name?”
“Jonny Harlin.”
“Do you know Rebecca Mozelle?”
“Yes, she’s a wonderful actress and my idol.”
I heard she was robbed, how is she now? Has there been any injuries? I’m concerned about her and want to know everything about her.”
Without answering directly, the lieutenant asked instead, “Have you written to her?”
“Yes, I’ve written her a lot of letters, and as I’ve told you guys, I’m an avid fan of hers and I love her super much.”
“Have you seen her lately?”
“NO, I’ve been busy lately and I haven’t seen her in a while.”
The lieutenant pointed to the cat on the floor, “What about it?”
Jonny Harlin picked up the cat on the floor, “I know what you’re going to say. The cat does belong to Rebecca.
I saw the news about her being robbed and I was worried about her, so I went to her house. But by the time I arrived, she had already been taken to the hospital by ambulance and I didn’t see her. There were a lot of police, reporters and tourists at the scene.
I didn’t know what I could do until I saw it. I often went to Rebecca’s house to deliver the mail, I knew it. It should know me too.
There were a lot of strangers gathered at Rebecca’s house, and I thought it would be frightened, so I brought it home. I had no intention of stealing it, it’s just that I knew Rebecca didn’t have the energy to take care of it now that she was hurt. I’ll give it back when Rebecca gets home.”
The lieutenant stared at the other man and asked, “Where were you between twelve and four o’clock yesterday morning?”
“I was home sleeping, where could I have been if I wasn’t home that late?”
“Is there anyone who can prove it for you?”
“Sure, my mom and dad can, I live with them all the time.” Jonny Harlin finished as if he understood something, “Wait, you guys don’t suspect that I robbed Rebecca, do you.”
“Gosh, I admit I love Rebecca and am obsessed with her. But it was a fan-to-idol kind of love. I would never have hurt her. I swear I had nothing to do with the robbery.”
The lieutenant pressed, “Do you know Rebecca Mozelle well?”
“Yes, I’ve always liked her and followed her, and I admit to writing some rather explicit letters, but …… that was just a longing, a student-age fantasy about a sexy adult female teacher. But that’s all it was, and it doesn’t mean I would do anything about it. I think you guys know what I mean.”
It seemed to the vice squad that Jonny Harlin was a crazy fan of Rebecca Mozelle, that he had been following her and probably knew something he didn’t.
“According to our investigation, the case in which Rebecca Mozelle suffered a robbery may have been committed by an acquaintance, do you have a suspect?”
Jonny Harlin was silent for a moment, “Before I answer your questions, I would like to ask about Rebecca first. Is she okay now? Was she hurt badly?”
Blackie replied, “Her injuries aren’t too serious, she’s already been treated in the hospital, she’s just in some shock and needs to recuperate for a while.”
“That’s good.” Jonny Harlin breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and said, “I have two suspects.”
Blackie and the lieutenant looked at each other, both a little surprised.
“Tell me about them.”
“The first one is called Bradley Linderman, he’s a producer. I heard he’s been harassing Rebecca.”
The lieutenant wrote down the name, skimmed it, and followed up with, “Who’s the second guy?”
“Wendell Dumas.”
The lieutenant heard something familiar about the name, as if he had seen it somewhere before, “Who is he?”
“He’s Rebecca’s manager and a profit-minded guy, Rebecca’s career would be better off without him. Have you guys ever seen Dirty Sweethearts?”
Black and the lieutenant both shook their heads.
“You guys should check it out, it was a great TV show, but it was because of Wendell Dumas that that show was cut short. I hated him so much. In fact, it’s not just me, a lot of Rebecca’s fans don’t like him. Rebecca should have left him a long time ago.”
“You think the case of Rebecca Mozelle’s mugging might have something to do with these two?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have proof?”
Jonny Harlin froze for a moment and asked rhetorically, “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”