The United States has complex and varied police functions, including the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and CIA.
Each city's police department varies in size and capabilities. Many cities do not have a drug enforcement team due to budget constraints, so drug-related work is directly handled by the DEA.
Los Angeles, being a large and wealthy city, has a dedicated drug enforcement team.
An hour later, the Los Angeles Drug Enforcement Team arrived at Logan Sarm's house.
Luke made a brief handover to them.
There are two main benefits to handing the case over to the drug enforcement team instead of the DEA: one is the convenience of the transfer, and the other is the department's bonus allocation.
Luke could also earn a bit of extra money.
He looked forward to his paycheck next month.
Later, Susan convened a meeting with the team.
In the conference room.
Susan sat at the head of the table, glanced around at everyone, and her gaze landed on Luke. "Detective Jones from the Drug Enforcement Team just called to thank us. Luke, well done."
The Deputy Chief also said, "Your recent performance has been outstanding, reminiscent of my earlier days."
Luke smiled. The old man wasn't very good at compliments. He didn't want to be just a Deputy Chief for his whole career.
Susan said, "Alright, let's move on to the will case. Deputy Chief, could you summarize the case?"
The Deputy Chief flipped open his notebook and glanced at it. "This case is actually not very complicated; it's just that the sequence of events was somewhat disordered.
We first learned about this case on March 3rd, when Daisy was robbed. The suspect deliberately mimicked a taser robbery to avoid attracting police attention.
Then Luke discovered that Daisy's house had cameras, revealing that the case was more complex than initially thought, leading to the discovery of Lauren being attacked.
Further investigation into Lauren's attack led to finding Tony's body.
Subsequently, Caroline went missing.
Lauren escaped.
This is the investigation process, but not the order of events."
The Deputy Chief sipped his coffee and continued, "Although I haven't left the office, I've been compiling information from various sources and have clarified the case details.
According to the suspect Tim, the mastermind behind the case is someone named Cole Beck. Matthew checked, and it turns out this is a false identity. We only have a sketch of him.
Based on my deductions, the culprit Cole has known the victims Tony and Lauren for a long time. Many years ago, they came into some unexpected wealth.
This included an impressionist painting by Schilder Hasson.
The related cases in the will case are all triggered by this painting."
Marcus asked curiously, "Is this painting very valuable?"
The Deputy Chief smiled, "Bill Gates has a Schilder Hasson painting in his home. What do you think?"
Marcus's eyes widened, "Oh my God, I love it!"
"It's not just you who likes it; Cole Beck does too," the Deputy Chief continued. "I suspect that the three of them had an uneven share of the loot back then, and the painting was likely in Tony's and Lauren's possession.
To get the painting, Cole first kidnapped Tony, but the painting was not with Tony, so he attacked Lauren.
Lauren told Cole where the painting was stored.
Cole, along with Tim and Tony, went to the warehouse, but the painting wasn't found there, and in anger, Cole killed Tony.
Cole wanted to keep searching for the painting, but Lauren had already fallen into a coma, so he wanted to check if there were clues about the painting in Lauren's will.
According to Tim, Cole was also injured when he killed Tony, so he ordered Tim to seize the will from Daisy.
However, Tim was caught by Luke.
Cole healed his injuries, broke into Daisy's house to install cameras, and was once again discovered by Luke, prompting police intervention.
From Lauren's escape, it's evident that the wealth they acquired back then might not be clean.
Lauren was not only afraid of Cole but also of the police."
Marcus said, "So, the whole case has nothing to do with Lauren's children?"
The Deputy Chief nodded, "Based on the current situation, it appears that the children were indeed acting on Lauren's instructions."
Susan put a sketch of the suspect on the projector. "Alright, the arrest warrant for the suspect Cole Beck has been applied for. Here is his image."
Marcus asked, "What about Lauren?"
Susan said, "The suspects in the will case are Cole Beck and Tim. Lauren is a victim; he just escaped police protection, which doesn't imply guilt. His past is only the Deputy Chief's conjecture, with no evidence of him committing a crime."
Susan continued, "Marcus, is there any way to find Cole Beck?"
"If he's in Los Angeles, I can give it a try. If he's elsewhere, I'm powerless," Marcus replied.
The Deputy Chief said, "Actually, I have a method that might lead us to Cole Beck…"
The next morning.
Robbery and Homicide Division Interrogation Room.
Lawyer Dave was brought into the interrogation room.
The Deputy Chief and Marcus were responsible for the interrogation.
Other team members stayed in the observation room.
David had returned to the team and pointed at the glass, "Don't you think this setup is a bit strange?"
Luke laughed, "Dave likes Marcus."
Dave looked at the Deputy Chief and Marcus, then around the walls. "Is Officer Luke here? I prefer him."
"Hey, look this way," Marcus knocked on the table. "What do you think this place is?"
"I've already confessed. What more do you want?" Dave glared at the Deputy Chief. "Is it only if I admit to killing Steven that you'll let me go?"
The Deputy Chief took the opportunity to ask, "So, you admit to killing Steven?"
"No, I've said it a hundred times. That guy ran off to Mexico and is living it up."
The Deputy Chief countered, "You've been caught, and his warrant has been withdrawn. Why not come back?"
"It's Mexico. Anything can happen. Maybe he fell for a Mexican woman and settled down there. Mexican women are famously passionate.
Of course, Mexican gangs are not to be trifled with. Wandering around Mexico with forty thousand bucks… I've been praying to God that he comes back safely."
"Dave, save your crocodile tears. It's really disgusting," the Deputy Chief waved his hand. "I'm here today not to talk about Steven but Tony."
Dave sighed, "Now it's Tony?"
"Tony was indeed murdered."
"Has nothing to do with me."
Marcus stood up and handed several photos to Dave. "Don't piss your pants from fright."
Dave took the photos and examined them. His expression grew more and more distressed as he pounded on the interrogation chair. "Fuck! Fuck…"
"Stop! Why are you so worked up?"
"Who killed Tony?"
"What was your relationship with Tony?"
Dave took a deep breath to calm himself. "A friend."
The Deputy Chief immediately said, "Since you're friends, we want to ask you for some clues to catch Tony's killer as soon as possible."
Dave did not answer but instead asked, "When did Tony die?"
"Hey, now we should be asking you, okay?" The Deputy Chief took charge and asked again, "What is Tony Will's real identity?"
Dave remained silent for a long time. "Sorry, I'm not going to tell you."
The Deputy Chief threw his pen down and leaned back in his chair. "If you don't cooperate, Tony's killer will go free. Is this how you treat your friends?"
"I'm willing to cooperate, but not with you guys."
"Hmph." The Deputy Chief scoffed, "Who do you want to talk to?"
"The prosecutor."
The Deputy Chief's face darkened. "Listen, you need to talk to me first. If the clues you provide are valuable, I will help you apply for a reduced sentence."
Dave snorted. "I'm a lawyer."