Chapter 697
Luke had a general judgment about the case after learning a bit more about it.
There were two scenes in this case.
The second scene was the scene of the car accident, and Luke had already seen the photos.
The first scene was where the suspect had tampered with the deceased’s car.
According to the description of the deceased’s partner, the vehicle involved in the accident was a Lexus automobile bought by the deceased last year, which the deceased loved and drove to work every day.
The deceased is March 24th car accident, March 23rd and colleagues see him driving this car to work, that is to say, the suspect to the car tampering time should be the night of March 23rd or 24th early morning.
And then, the 1st Squadron split up.
The vice squadron went to the home of the deceased, Ossie Perkins, to investigate.
Luke led the investigation into the suspect, Mario Branagh.
West Scoville neighborhood.
It’s a black neighborhood with some dilapidated facilities and potholes, and the road is lined with wooden bungalows with some peeling paint.
Two black cars are parked on the side of the road.
Luke stepped down from the first car, his eyes scanned around, and saw two black men standing not far away, and those two black men seemed to be staring at them as well.
Luke ignored the two men and gazed at the gray house to his right, which had some peeling paint on the exterior walls, a small yard, a blue Toyota sedan on the east side, and some miscellaneous items piled up on the right side.
The yard has no fence, much less a door.
Xiao Hei entered the yard, walked straight to the door of the room, knocked on the door of the room: “Knock knock ……”
After a while, the door to the room opened, and a black woman in her thirties looked at Xiao Hei and the others and asked, “What can I do for you?”
“Is this the home of Mario Branagh?”
“Yes, what do y’all want with him?”
Blackie flashed his badge, “LAPF, is he home?”
The black woman was silent for a moment and nodded, “Yes, he’s home.”
“What is your relationship to Mario Branagh?”
“I am his wife.”
“Hello, Mrs. Branagh. We would like to meet your husband.”
“What do you want with him?”
“We are investigating a case and would like to see him for some information.”
“He has just been released on bail and should have nothing to do with the case you are talking about.”
“Well, we’ll have to ask to find out.”
Mrs. Branagh hesitated for a moment and stepped aside, “You didn’t come in.” She then stepped into the parlor and called out, “Mario, there’s someone here to see you.”
No one responded.
Mrs. Branagh went to the door of the first-floor bedroom, opened it, and shouted inside, “Mario, the police are here.”
“What!” A man’s voice rang out from the bedroom, “What did you just say?”
“The police are here.”
The man in the bedroom was a little disbelieving, “That joke isn’t funny, don’t you dare try to trick me into getting out of bed.”
“I don’t give a damn if you want to get up or not, the police are really here, in the living room.” Mrs. Branagh said and closed the bedroom door.
Luke looked at the door and then back at Mrs. Branagh, “Ma’am, may I have a moment alone?”
“May I decline?”
“Of course.”
“Excuse me, I have a pair of dishes left to do.” Mrs. Branagh finished and walked to the kitchen.
After a while, the bedroom door slowly opened, and a black man poked his head out, and his face became a bit ugly when he saw Luke and the others, “Who are you guys? Why did you come to my house?”
Blackie once again flashed his badge, “PD, we’ve come to find out something about you.”
“Are you guys mistaken, I’ve only just been released on bail.”
“We know that you were only released on bail three days ago, and besides, we’re well aware of your charges.”
Mario Branagh took a deep breath and sat down across the couch, “What do you guys want to know about me?”
Black pulled out a picture of Ossie Perkins, “Do you recognize him?”
Mario Branagh glanced at the picture and grunted, “Yea, of course I know this guy, he’s the one who got me.”
“From what we understand, you once threatened to get back at him?”
Mario Branagh spread his hands, “I can’t remember.”
Luke said, “Want to see the video from the law enforcement recorder?”
Mario Branagh shrugged, “OK, I admit I said it, so what?”
“Ossie Perkins is dead.”
Mario Branagh froze in surprise, “You mean the guy who captured me is dead?”
“Yes, he was killed.”
“Wait, you guys don’t think I did it.” Mario Branagh laughed, “I told you guys I just got bailed out.”
“Ossie Perkins was just killed too.”
The smile on Mario Branagh’s face froze, “I didn’t kill him.”
Luke pressed, “Where were you on the night of March 23rd, between nine p.m. and five a.m.?”
Mario Branagh pursed his lips and replied, “I was at home.”
“Are you sure you didn’t leave during this time?”
“Yes.”
“Who can give you proof?”
“My wife.”
Luke stared at the other man, vaguely recognizing the signs of a lie, and said, “You’re still out on bail, and you should be well aware of what happens when you lie to the police.”
Mario Branagh retorted, “I’m not lying.”
Luke looked over at Mrs. Branagh, “Ma’am, it’s clear to me that your husband is lying, and I don’t want you to do anything stupid.”
Mrs. Branagh looked at Luke, ignored her husband’s pleas for help, and lowered her head, continuing to brush the dishes.
Luke glared at Mario Branagh and continued, “I’m going to give you one more chance, where were you that night?”
Mario Branagh still didn’t answer, looking slightly flustered.
“A police officer was killed, you should know the seriousness of this matter, all the people involved in the case will be carefully scrutinized by us.
You have a motive to commit the crime, and you also have a criminal history. Based on those two points alone, we’ll keep an eye on you. If I don’t find out that your alibi is false, your bail can end early.”
“Wait, I really didn’t know that Ossie Perkins was killed, and besides, I had nothing to do with his death. I could swear to God.”
Luke repeated his previous question, “Where were you on March 23rd between 9pm and 5am?”
“I ……,” Mario Branagh said in a desperate, perfunctory voice, “I can assure you that I did not see Ossie Perkins during that time.”
“Your assurances won’t serve as evidence. What you need is an alibi.”
“What if, I have no alibi to offer.”
“Then we’ll do our own investigation, and if it turns out that you’ve been breaking the law in the meantime, you should be well aware of what that means while you’re out on bail.” Luke stood up and made to leave.
“Wait.” Mario Branagh called out to Luke, clenching his chin with his hand and said helplessly, “I admit that I was very angry when I was arrested that day, and I said some irrational things, but it was all just a moment of anger, that’s all. I’ve forgotten about it, and I don’t dare to really get back at Ossie Perkins. I didn’t want to reveal my whereabouts that night for other reasons.”
Luke sat back down on the couch again, probably understanding what the other man was saying, “Look, the reason I’m here today is to investigate the murder of Ossie Perkins. Not interested in your petty thievery.
I can give you my word that our conversation today will not be used as evidence against you in court, as long as it doesn’t involve the case of Ossie Perkins.”
“Can I trust you?”
“You have to trust me.”
“OK,” Mario Branagh took a deep breath, “I …… will tell you a story, just a story.”
“Go ahead.”
“A young man met some bad friends and under the compulsion of the bad friends made a mistake that many people make and happened to be caught by the police. His family is desperate and wants to bail him out, but they don’t have enough bail money. So, they had to borrow money from everywhere to get the young man out.”
“The young man was grateful and guilty. Because of him, the family is more difficult he wants to repay the money himself, which is a man’s responsibility.” Mario Branagh sighed and shook his head slightly, “But it’s easy to say, but it’s hard, really hard, to pay back the money.
“It was also at this time that the group of bad friends came back to the door. They had ways of making money.
The young man knew in his heart that he shouldn’t continue to hang out with these bad friends …… But he really needed the money. So, he went anyway.”
Luke pressed, “What kind of money-making ways did those bad friends offer the young man?”
Mario Branagh bristled, “The same way as before.”
Blacky grunted, “You’re the one who got busted for stealing a car, just got bailed out, and you’re going back to stealing cars?”
“Don’t look at me like that, everyone has their own difficulties.” Mario Branagh asked rhetorically, “Most of that bail money for the young man was put together by his bad friends. What would you do if you were him?”
“That means only those bad friends can provide an alibi?”
“Yes. But that’s simply not possible, you know what I mean.”
“Nothing’s impossible.”
I’m sure they’ll go on stealing cars, as long as the next time they do it, they’ll come up with a stolen car. They will naturally give an account of your whereabouts on March 23rd.”
“I won’t betray them.”
“You have to. Besides, we’ll get you together and they won’t suspect you.”
“I’m still out on bail, and if I get caught …… again it’s all over.”
“That’s easy.” Luke pointed to Blackie who was on the side, “From now on, you are his informant. Moreover, we’ll give your parole officer a call.”
Looking at Mario Branagh who was still a bit hesitant, Luke struck while the iron was hot: “When will they act next?”
“I don’t know, they haven’t …… yet.”
Before he could finish, Luke interrupted him with a stern tone, “Hey, Mario Branagh, don’t lie to me! Otherwise, I’m calling your bail bondsman right now, understand?”
Mario Branagh nodded slightly.
“Very well, I’ll ask again, when are they going to make their next move?”
Mario Branagh was silent for a moment and replied, “Tonight.”
After leaving Mario Branagh’s house, Luke said to Blackie, “Marcus, you are in charge of today’s capture.”
Blacky was a bit surprised, “You’re not going?”
Luke wasn’t interested in a few car thieves and patted him on the shoulder, “Man, it’s time for you to be on your own.”
Marcus revealed a thoughtful look, thinking of the many personnel transfers within the Bureau recently, secretly pleased, “Could it be that I’m going to be promoted as well?”