Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"Was Rochelle Horn killed by you guys?"

Thomas Colley shook his head, "I don't know who Rochelle Horn is."

Luke vaguely saw traces of lying on his face.

"Was the arson committed by you guys together?"

"It was Walda Becker who did it, I was just helping him watch over Milia Kuni, that's all."

Luke again saw traces of lying on his face.

Obviously, this guy was trying to downplay his role and put the blame on Walda Becker.

"Where is Walda Becker?"

"I don't know."

Lying.

Luke wiggled his finger, "I don't like liars. Tell me, where is Walda Becker? ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire.net

If you help us catch Walda Becker, I can offer you a deal to become a state witness."

Thomas Colley thought for a moment, "That guy ran away, sly as a fox, leaving me here to watch over Milia Kuni.

That bastard really screwed me over."

"Where did he run to?"

"I don't know."

"How did he escape?"

"I don't know."

Luke stared at him, realizing he was continually lying. Clearly, he probably knew where Walda Becker was.

Luke had already promised to help him become a state witness, so why was he unwilling to talk?

"What kind of relationship do you have with Walda Becker?"

"Just a pair of bad friends, met at the casino, then had drinks at the bar a few times. I've been short on cash lately, and then he said he had a job for me.

I initially didn't want to do it, but he threatened me.

Said I already knew about it, and that he'd kill me if I didn't go through with it."

"Are you and Walda Becker close?"

"Not particularly, just acquaintances."

If the relationship is just average, Thomas Colley would have even less reason to hide Walda Becker's whereabouts.

Suddenly, Luke thought of a possibility, "When was the last time you saw Walda Becker?"

"Last night."

"Where?"

Thomas Colley pointed to house number 406, "Right there."

"Did he say anything about leaving?"

"No."

"When did you notice he was gone?"

"I checked the house early this morning and found no one inside. I thought he just went out, so I waited in the yard, but instead of Thomas Colley coming back, the police showed up.

I nearly wet myself when I saw you guys.

Thank God my bladder is pretty strong."

Luke felt the man was still lying, covering up Walda Becker's whereabouts, probably to evade more responsibility, "Is Walda Becker dead?"

Thomas Colley's eyelids twitched, looking at Luke in shock.

There's a lead.

Luke continued to press, "Did you kill him?"

Thomas Colley swallowed, "I didn't. You're accusing me."

Luke saw panic and signs of lying on his face, "So you're the one who killed him."

"I told you I didn't, don't pin all this nonsense on me."

"Where did you bury his body?"

"Are you crazy?" Thomas Colley shook his head, "I'm telling you again, Walda Becker is the mastermind of the kidnapping case. If you're so capable, go catch him instead of dragging my name through the mud."

Luke was increasingly convinced that Walda Becker might have been killed by him.

He wasn't in a rush, knowing Walda Becker couldn't run, "Why did you guys kidnap Milia Kuni?"

"Walda Becker made me do it."

"Why did you listen to him?"

"He promised to give me two hundred thousand US dollars when it was over, but that bastard ran away.

Believe me, I want to catch that bastard more than you do."

Luke shook his head, as there wasn't a single truthful word from this guy. He was always evading responsibility.

However, through micro-expression analysis, Luke gleaned several clues he wanted.

This guy's answers were either false or evasive, always shifting the blame to Walda Becker, even falsely claiming that Walda Becker had fled.

As long as the police couldn't catch Walda Becker, they couldn't unveil his lies. As an accomplice, if he acted repentant enough, he might receive a lenient sentence.

In Luke's experience, this guy was actually Walda Becker's superior and mastermind, hiding behind the scenes. Once achieving his purpose, he killed Walda Becker, creating the illusion of his escape, letting Walda Becker take the blame.

If Luke hadn't seen through his lies, he would probably have gotten away scot-free, while the police were tirelessly tracking a now dead Walda Becker.

Luke gathered his subordinates, "Walda Becker likely has been killed by Thomas Colley. Our task now is to find Walda Becker's body.

Marcus, you search Thomas Colley's home.

Raymond, you take people to search house number 406."

"Yes, Captain."

Thomas Colley became a bit anxious, "Hey, what are you doing? Why are you digging up my lawn? You have no right to do that!"

Little Black chuckled, "Hearing you say that makes me even more motivated."

Little Black started digging harder, muttering, "You know what? I hate it when someone else's yard looks better than ours.

My mom would always yell at me, you lazy bum, get out and weed the yard, don't forget to water my flowers.

How did I end up with such a lazy boy..."

Driven by his desire to tear up the lawn, Little Black quickly dug up the entire yard but found nothing suspicious.

It wasn't long before Raymond came over, "Captain, there's nothing suspicious around house number 406 either."

Thomas Colley shouted, "I told you, I didn't kill him.

It was that guy who ran away, you should issue a wanted notice, not dig like a gopher."

"I don't need your advice," Luke replied, then turned to Raymond, "Take Thomas Colley back to the station."

"Yes, Captain."

After Thomas Colley was taken away, Luke fell into thought, where had Walda Becker gone?

Luke's gaze fell in the garage of house number 406.

The garage had been searched before, containing a black Chevrolet sedan, but no person inside.

Luke called over Ronnie Prada, the loan shark boss, pointing at the black Chevrolet sedan, "Is this your car?"

Ronnie Prada circled around the black Chevrolet sedan, "It's mine.

Captain Lee, did Walda Becker slip away again?"

Luke didn't reply directly, instead, asked, "Does the car look different to you?"

Ronnie Prada checked the car again carefully, "It looks cleaner. Walda Becker is so lazy, he'd hardly wash it for months.

Last time I saw the car, there were mud spots on the tires. Now it's much cleaner."

"Any other changes? Like new damage or missing items?"

Ronnie Prada opened the car door and inspected inside and out, "I haven't used this car for a long time, didn't notice any other changes."

Luke shifted his line of questioning, "I recall you mentioning at the station that a friend of your friend saw Walda Becker yesterday afternoon."

"Yes."

"And someone saw this black Chevrolet sedan return to the community from outside this morning?"

"Yes."

"Can you be sure?"

"I can."

Luke nodded, "Alright, you can go for now. Come to pick up your car once the case is closed."

Ronnie Prada gave the black Chevrolet sedan a complicated look, then turned away.

Luke fell into contemplation again, according to Ronnie Prada, Walda Becker should still have been alive yesterday afternoon, meaning he was likely killed in the evening, implying he couldn't have driven the Chevrolet sedan out in the morning.

In other words, it was likely Thomas Colley driving the black Chevrolet sedan in and out of the community this morning.

Luke speculated that this guy might have driven out to dispose of a body.