Evening.
Detective Bureau.
Robbery and Homicide Division Conference Room.
Luke reported on the progress of the case investigation and the arrest process.
Susan scanned Luke and Marcus, "Which one of you shot the suspect?"
Luke said, "It might have been me."
Marcus shrugged, "It could have been me too."
The scene was quite chaotic at the time; all three were shooting wildly, so it was hard to be sure.
Susan asked, "Do you need to rest?"
As an experienced officer, Luke was not significantly affected by the shooting. Moreover, David had already avoided the case, and if he took a break, the team would be short-staffed.
"No." The will case was almost solved, and Luke did not want to give up halfway.
Marcus also shook his head, "I just wander the streets of the slums when I walk. The sound of gunfire is like my lullaby. It's nothing."
"Good, welcome back to the team."
Marcus grinned, "Is there a welcome ceremony?"
"There's no budget for that at the moment. If you want to pay for it yourself, we can arrange something for you."
"Captain, you're so thoughtful, but I'll pass."
"Okay, with the pleasant welcome ceremony concluded, let's continue discussing the case." Susan shifted gears, "What's the situation with Logan Sarm? Can he give a statement?"
Marcus replied, "He was shot in the arm. He's using his injury as an excuse, claiming he can't give a statement until he recovers."
Susan summarized, "So it's still unclear what the connection is between these two and Lauren?"
Luke continued, "Actually, I found some clues. I checked Logan Sarm's phone and found a familiar number in the contact list.
It's Lauren's youngest daughter, Emma.
Logan Sarm and Emma have had multiple calls, the most recent one was yesterday evening."
Jenny frowned, "Emma is only eighteen? I don't think someone her age would kidnap their father."
Susan analyzed, "Emma is set to inherit $100,000, while her sister Sophia inherits millions. Emma has expressed dissatisfaction with the will multiple times after learning about it.
She has sufficient motive and reason to kidnap her father Lauren."
Luke said, "I called Emma's phone number, but no one answered. Finding her might be difficult."
Susan pointed to Marcus, "Marcus, can you find her?"
The Next Morning.
Luke drove his Harley into the detective bureau. As he parked, he saw three familiar figures coming down the stairs.
Raymond, Marcus, and Jenny.
"Hi, where are you guys heading?"
Marcus boasted, "I've found out Emma's whereabouts."
Luke was somewhat envious of Marcus's knack for gathering information. "I'll go too."
Raymond said, "You and Jenny have other tasks."
With that, Raymond and Marcus got in the car and left.
Luke turned to Jenny, "Where are we going?"
"To the bank." They got in the car, and Jenny explained, "Matthew checked Lauren's bank account and found a withdrawal of $100,000 yesterday morning."
Luke smiled, "Nice work. Whoever withdrew the money is the one who kidnapped Lauren."
They arrived at the bank, showed their credentials, and reviewed the bank's surveillance footage from yesterday.
Upon seeing the person withdrawing the money on the footage, both were surprised.
It was Lauren.
Luke carefully examined the footage and confirmed it was indeed Lauren himself.
Lindsay wasn't lying. This likely wasn't a kidnapping but rather Lauren attempting to escape.
"Ding ding ding…"
Luke's phone rang. He answered, "Hello."
"How's the investigation going?" Raymond's voice came through the phone.
"We checked the bank surveillance. It was Lauren who withdrew the money. He's been awake for a while, just lying around watching. Have you found Emma?"
"Yes, she was drunk and not very coherent. We asked her a few questions.
She doesn't know Lauren's whereabouts.
However, she admitted to hiring Logan Sarm to get Lauren out of the hospital.
But she denies it was a kidnapping, saying Lauren instructed her to do so and promised to redistribute the inheritance."
"How did she know Logan?"
"They met through a dating app," Raymond said with some frustration, "I need to help her sober up and bring her back to the station for questioning. We'll talk more later."
They exchanged basic information, which confirmed the fact that Lauren had escaped.
But there was one thing Luke still couldn't understand. If Lauren was trying to escape with Emma and Logan Sarm.
Then Emma and Logan Sarm's charges wouldn't be severe. Even if caught, the issue wouldn't be too big.
Logically, Logan Sarm had no reason to shoot at the police.
A minor crime turning into a major one didn't make sense.
Luke suspected Logan Sarm might have a prior criminal record, making him fearful of police pursuit.
Then considering Emma and Logan Sarm's relationship.
Emma said they met through a dating app, but with a twenty-year age gap, it seemed unlikely they had much in common.
Something didn't add up.
They did share one common interest: drug use.
Luke vaguely guessed why Logan Sarm might have fired the gun…
"Luke, we got the surveillance video. We should go now." Jenny called out.
They got into the car. Luke said, "Jenny, let's not head back to the station yet. Let's visit Logan Sarm's house."
"Why?" Jenny asked, puzzled.
"I think there might be clues about Lauren at Logan Sarm's house." Luke needed a reason to search Logan Sarm's house.
They arrived at Logan Sarm's house, where the yard was cordoned off, and the door was sealed.
Luke had already reported to Susan.
They tore off the seal and entered the house.
The house was very messy, with dirty clothes piled on the sofa, beer bottles scattered everywhere, and takeout boxes on the coffee table, emitting a foul odor.
Jenny scanned the house and shook her head, "I really don't understand why people live like this?"
Seeing Luke searching around, Jenny couldn't help but ask, "Luke, what exactly are you looking for?"
"You'll find out soon," Luke didn't explain further. It wasn't about being secretive.
Some things can be done but not explicitly stated.
Police investigations need a reason, and what is found is another matter.
If you want to search for something openly, you need to apply for the proper search warrant, which is not easy.
Not to mention whether it can be granted, but if you miss the best investigation time, everything might change.
Jenny didn't idle either and joined Luke in searching.
After a few minutes, Luke found a bag in the toilet's water tank, "Jenny, I've found something here."
Jenny came to the bathroom door and saw Luke holding a plastic bag containing several small bags, which, from her experience, likely contained hard drugs.
The amount was enough to convict Logan Sarm for several years.
"Wow, how did you know Logan Sarm was hiding a large amount of drugs?"
Luke smiled, "I was just looking for clues about Lauren. It might just be luck."
Jenny didn't press further, "Well, lucky Luke."
Luke guessed Logan Sarm was hiding drugs because, during the previous visit to the hotel to find Emma, he noticed signs of drug use.
Logan Sarm was also an addict.
It's likely they knew each other through their drug use, considering their frequent contact.
Luke suspected Emma might have bought drugs from Logan Sarm.
Combined with Logan Sarm's unreasonable act of shooting at the police, it seemed Logan Sarm might be hiding a large amount of drugs, which would land him in prison if caught.
Since Luke wasn't with the DEA or the Los Angeles drug squad, the best way was to search under the pretext of looking for Lauren.