Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

This is a very spirited young man, with thick brown hair, sharp features, and a few pimples on his face. He could be considered a sunny-looking handsome guy.

Accompanying Yarn Columbus was his mother, who looked around forty, wearing a pair of half-rim glasses, though her aquiline nose gave her a somewhat stern appearance.

Luke sized up the other party and asked, "Are you Yarn Columbus?"

"Yes, officer." Yarn Columbus had his hands clasped together, looking somewhat nervous.

Yarn Columbus's mother patted her son's shoulder and asked, "Officer, how should we address you?"

"My last name is Li, Mrs. Columbus."

"Officer Li, I'd like to know the reason you've invited my son here."

"Before that, I'd like to ask Yarn Columbus a few questions.

If our judgment is wrong, you can refuse the inquiry and leave directly."

Mrs. Columbus thought for a moment, glanced at her son again, "Go ahead."

Luke stared at Yarn Columbus, "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Which school do you attend?"

"Maraboya High School."

"That school's nice, not far from our house. My neighbor's daughter goes there too." Luke concluded, suddenly changing the topic, "Do you know Ali Bergman?"

Yarn Columbus pursed his lips, nodding, "Yes."

"What's your relationship?"

"I like her, and have been pursuing her.

We were about to establish a relationship, who would have known..." Yarn Columbus's eyes reddened, rubbing his eyes.

Luke pressed on, "Have you heard about what happened to her?"

Yarn Columbus's voice choked up, "I'm still having trouble accepting it, very saddened..."

Luke glanced at Mrs. Columbus, "Madam, this is why I invited Yarn Columbus here; he was very close to the victim.

We want to understand some of the victim's circumstances before her death through him, which will aid in solving the case.

Are you satisfied with this reason?

If so, I'd like to continue asking some questions."

Mrs. Columbus didn't answer immediately but looked toward her son.

Yarn Columbus nodded, "I'm willing to cooperate; I hope the person who killed Ali will be caught soon too."

Mrs. Columbus sighed softly and said to Luke, "Officer Li, you can continue asking, but if there's any ambiguity in the questions, we will refuse to answer."

"Of course." Luke flipped through his notebook, officially starting the inquiry, "Yarn Columbus, when was the last time you saw Ali Bergman?"

"The afternoon before yesterday, at school."

"Did she seem unusual at the time?"

"No, just said she was feeling a bit unwell."

"Do you have a car?"

"Yes."

"What kind of car?"

"A gray Ford sedan."

"Did you drive this car to Ali Bergman's house?"

Yarn Columbus swallowed, intertwining his fingers tightly, appearing somewhat nervous.

"Son, you don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable." Mrs. Columbus patted Yarn Columbus's shoulder, looking at Luke, "Officer Li, I feel that your last question was very pointed; my son is here to help solve the case, do not treat him as a suspect to interrogate."

Luke didn't speak and directly showed the community surveillance screenshot, "This is the surveillance footage from the night before yesterday, clearly showing Yarn Columbus driving to the victim's house after nine at night.

My earlier question was just to understand clearly if he went to Ali Bergman's house, and what he did."

Mrs. Columbus looked surprised at Yarn Columbus, "Son, didn't you say you were going to Martin's house?"

Yarn Columbus sighed deeply, looking at Mrs. Columbus, "Mom, could you step out for a bit? I'd like to talk to Officer Li alone."

"Dear, I must be by your side; you're still young..."

"Mom, I'm already seventeen; I can make my own decisions.

I haven't done anything illegal; I just... want to talk to Officer Li alone, can I?"

Mrs. Columbus stared at her son, after a long while, stood up, walked toward the door, and paused at the doorway, "I'll be outside; call me if you need anything."

"I will."

After watching his mother leave, Yarn Columbus spoke up, "That's right, I went to Ali's house that night."

"Was it at her invitation, or did you go on your own?"

"It's a bit complicated."

"Take your time, we have plenty of it."

"Recently, Ali talked to me about her mom; their relationship hasn't been good, and Ali would complain to me and mentioned that her mom had to go out of town.

So, we planned to go for a drive together the night before yesterday.

A few days ago, she told me that a close friend invited her over for a sleepover.

After meeting the afternoon before yesterday, she said she was sick and just wanted to rest at home, not going anywhere." Yarn Columbus rubbed his nose and continued, "That night, after dinner, I called her.

She said she was feeling unwell, hadn't eaten dinner, and was lying in bed resting alone.

I felt sorry for her, so I decided to drive over to see her and brought along her favorite bread.

It was just a bit late at the time, so I lied to my mom, saying I was going to a friend's house."

After making some notes, Luke prodded, "What happened after you went to Ali's house?"

"I drove there; the house was dark, and she didn't answer when I called.

I was a bit worried that she might be too sick to answer her phone.

Worried something might happen to her alone at home and having no key to her house, I climbed up to the second floor via the windowsill.

But there was no one on the bed in her bedroom." Yarn Columbus ruffled his hair in frustration, "I was a bit angry, assuming she was lying to me. I guessed she wasn't sick, but unwilling to go for a drive with me and went to hang out with her friends instead.

But now I realize something happened to her...

If, just if...

I had called the police then, she might not have been killed.

I deeply regret not believing her..."

Luke stared at him honestly, not showing any obvious signs of lying.

However, Luke didn't fully trust him and tentatively asked, "Can we search your car?"

If Yarn Columbus had killed Ali, he would surely need to use the car to transport the body.

"Sure, the car is parked downstairs."

Luke scrutinized him, yet Yarn Columbus showed no signs of guilt.

"Did you see any suspicious people or cars around at the time?"

Yarn Columbus seriously recalled and shook his head, "Didn't see any."

If Yarn Columbus was telling the truth and he indeed didn't kill Ali, then Ali must have met with misfortune before he arrived.

And Ali's two close friends also claimed that when they left, Ali was lying in bed.

Therefore, it's very likely that after the friends left, Ali encountered her misfortune before Yarn Columbus arrived.

Ali's two friends, Sharon Frank and Marissa Hawking, left the victim's community at 9:13 PM.

Yarn Columbus entered the victim's community at 9:30 PM.

That means if the murderer is someone else, the crime must have occurred between 9:13 and 9:30 PM.

From Luke's experience, this timing was 'tight'.

It's not that seventeen minutes is not enough time to commit a crime.

But the precision of the timing, the murderer would have met the two friends if it were earlier, or Yarn Columbus if it were later.

This kind of precise timing isn't impossible, but the probability is quite low.

More likely, someone is lying.

Regarding Yarn Columbus's candid attitude, the likelihood of him lying is small.

Then it's likely that Sharon Frank and Marissa Hawking are the ones lying. Perhaps they hid other clues beyond just claiming they went to a bar.

These two friends appear to be full of loopholes, seemingly trying to focus away from key issues.