Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Boga Jay quickly dropped the tent flap and said perfunctorily, "That's my girlfriend's."

Jack reminded him, "Buddy, don't lie to the police, it will get you into trouble.

You're an adult, you should know that."

"I..." Boga Jay seemed a bit flustered.

Jack guided, "How about this, let's forget what you just said, and answer again, whose lace lingerie is that?"

"Oh my God, I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch."

Boga Jay shook his head and explained, "Last night, no, I should say early this morning, I felt something hitting the tent. When I opened the tent, I saw a bundle of white clothing at the entrance, with a faint fragrance.

I opened it and found a delicate lace nightgown and a pair of pink panties, also lace.

I looked around and saw no one, so I took them into the tent, they're what you just saw."

Luke pressed, "Are you sure there was no one around the tent at the time?"

"Of course, I'm sure."

"What time exactly?"

"Sorry, I was drinking and didn't have the habit of checking the time, just roughly knew it was after midnight."

"Were there any vehicles passing by?"

"Uh..." Boga Jay thought for a moment, "It seemed like there was a car, yes, there was a car."

"What kind of car?"

"A black sedan, I couldn't make out the license plate."

"Which direction was it heading?"

"It was heading from south to north, very fast, by the time I came out of the tent, it was already far away."

"Were the car windows open?"

"I didn't look closely."

"Did anyone else see it?"

"No, just me."

"What were you doing in the tent?"

"Drinking, a bottle of inexpensive but decent whiskey, sadly I've finished it, otherwise, I'd let you guys taste it."

"Thanks for the offer, but let's talk about those two pieces of clothing."

"They're just two ordinary pieces of clothing, nothing much to say."

Luke said, "Women's clothing isn't of use to you, why keep it?"

Boga Jay was a bit embarrassed, "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Of course."

"I haven't had a girlfriend for a long time, suddenly seeing women's nightwear, and the fragrant kind, I just wanted to keep it.

That's not illegal, is it."

Jack said, "It's not illegal, just a bit creepy."

Boga Jay defended, "Hey, I'm not creepy, don't look at me like that.

I've just not been with a woman for a long time, any normal man would have such needs, right?"

"It's normal to want a woman, but I don't understand why you would keep clothing that a woman has worn." Jack put on gloves and reached out, "Hand over the clothes."

Boga Jay was somewhat reluctant, "Why do you want these clothes?"

Jack explained, "We found a woman's body this morning, these clothes are very likely hers."

"What! Dead person's clothes!" Boga Jay was startled and picked up the lace nightgown from the corner of the tent, handing it to Jack, "It's yours now."

"What about the other one?"

"Uh, that one..." Boga Jay rummaged in the corner for a while, pulling out a crumpled pink panty, "Here it is."

"Wait a minute..." Jack shrank back his hand, "Why is this pink underwear like this?"

"I told you, I haven't been with a woman for a long time.

So, I manually relieved myself."

"Fuck, you really are a creep!" Jack showed a disgusted expression but still dutifully packed the clothing into the evidence bag.

"Buddy, looks like you're coming to the police station with us?"

Boga Jay felt a bit nervous, "Why? I told you, I have nothing to do with the body, I've never seen the body, I just picked up these two pieces of clothing."

"It's not just picking up, you're suspected of tampering with evidence.

So, we have to take you back for a detailed inquiry."

"Nonono, I'm innocent, I'm not usually like this.

I was very drunk that night, my mind was in chaos."

Jack said coldly, "Our police station coffee is really good, it can sober you up, come on, don't be shy."

"Ring ring..." Luke's phone rang.

Luke walked to the side, pressed the answer button, "Mary, any findings?"

"We traced the deceased's identity information through her fingerprints.

Her name is Ali Bergman, sixteen years old, a student at Maraboya High School.

She's from a single-parent family, living with her mother.

A month ago, she reported to the police, claiming to have suffered domestic violence.

A child welfare agency sent someone to investigate, but due to insufficient evidence, domestic violence was not established."

"Her guardian is her mother?"

"Yes, her mother is Sudanna Bergman."

"Send me her home address and detailed information about her mother."

"Okay."

After Luke hung up the phone, he said, "Mary has identified the deceased's identity through her fingerprints, and she reported domestic violence not too long ago.

Marcus, you and I will go investigate the victim's home.

Jackson, you take Boga Jay back to the station first, verify his alibi."

"Okay, I'll do my best, but some drunks don't even know where they are."

Luke reminded, "If you can't handle it alone, contact the deputy team leader.

Believe me, he definitely has experience dealing with such situations."

"Good idea, I will."

The three of them then set off in different directions.

Jack was driving and complaining at the same time, "That guy's really disgusting, I shouldn't have taken the lingerie directly just now.

I should have used something like tongs, I'm still not smart enough."

Luke reminded, "You were wearing gloves at the time, you didn't have direct contact."

"I'll try not to think about it." Jack waved his hand, as if to brush away the trouble, and asked, "Do you think the primary crime scene is at the victim's home?"

"The victim was wearing nightclothes before she died, it's very likely she was abducted from her home." With that, Luke picked up his phone and dialed the victim's mother's number.

Once the call connected, a man's voice came through, "Hello."

Luke asked, "Is this Ms. Sudanna Bergman's phone?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"LAPD."

"What do you want with Sudanna?"

Luke didn't answer, he asked instead, "What's your relationship with Sudanna Bergman and why are you using her phone?"

"I'm her boyfriend, hang on, here she comes." The man's voice faintly came through the phone, "Honey, it's the LAPD on the phone for you."

"Hello, I'm Sudanna Bergman, are you the police?"

"Yes, Ms. Sudanna Bergman, are you in Los Angeles?"

"No, I'm out of town."

"Ma'am, when can you return to Los Angeles?"

The phone was quiet for a moment, "Why are you calling me?

Is it because my dear daughter reported domestic violence again? Sorry, I've been on a business trip in Atlanta these days, haven't even seen a shadow of her."

"Ma'am, your daughter hasn't reported any domestic violence."

"Then why are you calling me?"

"Your daughter has encountered some trouble that requires you to return to Los Angeles to deal with." Luke spoke as gently as possible.

"Exactly, she only thinks of me when she's in trouble.

So, what's the matter this time?"

"Ali Bergman is dead."

The other side was stunned for a moment, and then asked again, "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"We found Ali Bergman's body this morning."

"Liar, you must be a damn liar, yes, your Indian accent is so strong I can smell the curry from across the Pacific."

The call was abruptly disconnected.

Ten minutes later, Luke's phone rang again.

Sudanna Bergman's anxious voice came through, "Why isn't my daughter answering her phone? What happened to her?"

"Ma'am, I told you earlier, Ali Bergman has been murdered.

Our preliminary investigation suggests she might have been abducted at home, and we're on our way to your house to investigate."

"No no no, you must be lying to me, my daughter is so young, how could she be dead.

It must be a lie."

"Ma'am, please don't be agitated.

When you return to Los Angeles, I will explain everything in detail."

"You must be deceiving me, I'm coming back to Los Angeles right now, I'm going to expose your lies myself."

After the call was disconnected, the car was silent for a while.

The young officer slowly spoke, "This must be extremely difficult for her.

I have a lovely daughter, and I can understand her feelings.

If anyone ever laid a finger on my daughter, I wouldn't let them get away with it."

Luke said, "I can tell, you may not be a good guy, but you're definitely a good father."

The young officer laughed, "Haha, I have to admit, you know me well."

Twenty minutes later, Luke and his partner drove to Ali Bergman's house.

It wasn't far from Linda's house; funnily enough, the little chubby guy and the deceased were classmates.

Ali Bergman's house was a two-story building with a gray roof and white walls, a garage on the left, and an open front yard with a neatly manicured green lawn.

Luke got out of the car and surveyed the surroundings, not spotting anyone suspicious.

He walked up to the house and examined the lock—it's a modern electronic lock, undisturbed from the outside.

Luke then moved to the window, noticing a half-formed muddy footprint on the window frame, incomplete yet abundant with clues.

From Luke's experience, the footprint wasn't made long ago, evidencing an attempt to climb to the second-floor bedroom.

However, due to the incomplete print, it lacked wholly valuable information.

Half a meter away from the window lay a lawn; Luke speculated the mud came from stepping on that grass. Touching it, the soil was slightly damp, recently watered.

He closely examined the lawn near the window, finding a similar shoe print.

This print was more complete, and using an identification card, Luke swiftly obtained information on the print's owner.

[Shoes, thick-soled sneakers

Gender, male

Height, 175-180 cm

Weight, 60-70 kg

Age, between 15 and 18.]

The young officer asked, "Captain, should we search inside the house?"

"Definitely, who knows when the victim's mother will return."

The young officer stood by the door, "But these modern locks are complicated, I can't handle them."

Luke approached and entered the victim's mother's birthdate; wrong code.

Then, he entered the victim's birthdate.

"Ding dong..." The door unlocked.

"Haha..." The young officer chuckled awkwardly, "That's why I avoid using password locks."

They entered the foyer, the living room kept neat, no signs of vandalism or disorder.

The young officer mused, "Maybe we're wrong, it's cleaner here than my place."

Luke replied, "The killer might not have been after money."

The young officer gestured right, "I'll check the kitchen and bathroom."

Luke nodded, heading towards the left bedroom, peering inside. The room was orderly, the bed neatly made.

Inside, he found a photo of a Caucasian woman by the bedside, presumably Sudanna Bergman.

The wardrobe's attire was mature and sensual, not the apparel of a young girl.

Luke exited and took the elevator to the second floor.

Upstairs housed two rooms: a study and another room with an open door, with photos of Ali Bergman and peers on the nightstand and vanity.

The wardrobe contained clothing fitting a younger girl; Luke surmised this was Ali Bergman's room.

Ali's bed was narrow, about 1.5 meters wide, disheveled with the blanket on the floor, over a pair of pink slippers.

A smartphone lay on the nightstand.

These days, people don't leave without their phones, plus the slippers remain, yet the person is absent. This room is likely the crime scene.

Luke examined the room thoroughly, seeking any valuable clues.

"Ring ring..."

The phone on the bedside rang out unexpectedly.