Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Near the Dorsen Bar.

Luke, Jackson, and Xiao Hei walked out of the parking lot.

Luke glanced around, "That's Dorsen Bar, right? Where's the entrance?"

Jackson stroked his chin and looked around, "Let me see."

Xiao Hei said, "Haven't you been here before? Why can't you find the entrance?"

Jackson replied, "I came at night, and it's completely different from the day, plus it was a long time ago."

Jackson thought for a moment, "Follow me, I know where the entrance is now."

Under Jackson's guidance, the three crossed the road and turned into an alley, where there was an underground entrance on the east side.

Xiao Hei asked, "Why don't we use the main entrance?"

Jackson pointed to the underground entrance with both hands, "This is the main entrance."

"Heh, I guess I had too high of expectations." Xiao Hei snorted.

"The outside doesn't matter. You'll see how great it is when you're inside." Jackson was the first to walk into the bar.

The three entered the bar passage, which gradually widened, and at the end was a dark gray leather door with a tattooed bald man standing at the entrance.

"Sorry, gentlemen, it's not business hours now."

Xiao Hei asked, "Can't we drink at the bar during the day?"

The bald man glared at Xiao Hei, "I don't know about other bars, but not here. Business hours are at night."

"I don't like this rule." Xiao Hei flashed his badge, "LAPD, I need to see your boss."

The bald man shook his head slightly, "I don't like cops either."

Xiao Hei gave him the finger, "I love that you don't like me but can't do anything about it. Stop the crap, just lead the way."

The bald man wasn't impressed, "Wait here, I'll report to the boss."

Jackson was also a bit displeased, "Are you sure you want three cops waiting at the door? You want everyone around to know this bar is under police scrutiny?"

The bald man took a glance at Luke and the others, "Follow me then."

After entering the bar door, it was like a gloomy cave inside, with a high ceiling. Directly opposite was a large black screen, and perhaps due to the dim lighting, it seemed a bit oppressive.

"Wait here, I'll go invite the boss." The bald man said, then walked further into the bar.

Xiao Hei curled his lip, "Anyone would think this bar is owned by the mayor, acting more high and mighty than the police chief."

Luke pulled up a chair to sit, thinking it was normal to have some connections if you could run such a big bar.

Luke was here to investigate, not to cause trouble. As long as they were willing to cooperate with the investigation, the less hassle, the better.

After a while, the bald man accompanied a white man in his thirties into the bar lobby. The man yawned, looking weary, and sat on the chair opposite Luke and the others, casually saying, "Sorry, I'm not used to getting up this early.

Officers, what brings you to my bar?"

Luke asked, "Sir, how should we address you?"

"Friends call me Pastor, and you can call me that too.

OK, tell me what brings you here."

"Mr. Pastor, we're here to ask for your help."

"According to my security, your attitude earlier didn't suggest you were asking for help."

"Sorry, that wasn't our intention.

But if we don't do that, your security wouldn't have let us in, and we wouldn't be able to see you."

Pastor turned his head to the bald man, "Did you hear that? The officer is praising you, double bonus for you this month."

"Thank you, boss."

"You can go now; I need to talk to these officers alone."

After the bald man left, Pastor stroked his chin, "Officer, what's your name?"

"My last name is Li."

"Officer Li, what can I do for you?"

"We're investigating a criminal case. Two people involved in the case had been to your bar, and we'd like to check the surveillance footage from that night to confirm their whereabouts."

"Check the surveillance..." Pastor muttered, then asked, "Do you have a search warrant?"

"Not yet."

"Officer Li, I'd really like to assist you in your case, but as the person in charge of this bar, I must protect our customers' privacy.

So, I'm sorry, I can't do that.

Hope you can understand."

"Of course, I completely understand." Luke stood up, making a gesture to leave.

Xiao Hei said, "Captain, we're just going to leave it like that? What about the case?"

Luke said, "We'll go back and apply for a search warrant, then investigate according to procedure once we have it."

Xiao Hei smiled, showing a look of understanding, "Can we get it today?"

"I don't know. Whenever we get it, we will come back."

"Damn, looks like we're working late again tonight." Xiao Hei complained, then said to Pastor, "Buddy, we'll see you tonight. Don't forget to clear the area by then."

"Wait a minute, just checking the surveillance, no need to clear the area, right?" Pastor questioned.

"Don't be silly, getting a search warrant isn't easy. We only have one shot at this, so we'll definitely search everywhere the suspects had been to avoid missing valuable clues." After saying this, Xiao Hei looked at Luke, "Captain, I suggest bringing more people, ideally calling in all the nearby patrol officers."

Luke said seriously, "I'll consider it."

Pastor stood up, "Hey, I don't like being threatened!"

Jackson shrugged, "You're overthinking it, no one is threatening you, we're just following police procedures and regulations."

Little Black laughed, "That's right, you have your rules, and we have ours."

"Officer Li, hold on a minute." Pastor's tone softened as he invited Luke and the others to sit down again, "I want to know which department you're from? What case are you investigating specifically?"

Little Black replied, "Robbery and Murder Department, we're investigating a murder case.

What are you worried about? Could it be that something illegal happened here?"

"No, absolutely not.

I never get involved in illegal activities, but as you probably know, the clientele at bars can be quite mixed, so I have some concerns."

Luke advised, "I'm very aware of the shadiness in bars; we're not interested in that.

The Robbery and Murder Department is only responsible for investigating major criminal cases."

Pastor hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind, "OK, I can take you to the surveillance room, but the footage cannot be taken away."

"No problem." Luke agreed readily; as long as they found concrete leads, the search warrant would just be a formality.

Pastor led the three of them through the corridor behind the bar to a room with a sign that read 'Surveillance Room'.

Pastor opened the door to the surveillance room; it was dark inside, somewhat dim, and he casually turned on the wall lamp.

The surveillance room wasn't big, only about ten square meters, and a Black security guard was lying on the chair resting; maybe the sudden light stung his eyes, he rubbed them and stood up, "fuck, which bastard..."

Halfway through his words, he saw Pastor standing at the door, got startled, and swallowed the rest of his sentence.

"Boss... why are you here?"

"I'm here to ask if you need a pillow and a blanket?"

"Sorry, boss, I shouldn't be sleeping here." The Black security guard hurriedly stood up and tidied up his clothes.

"Play the surveillance footage."

"Okay, boss."

The Black security guard opened the computer and found the surveillance footage, "Boss, all the footage is here."

"You can go now."

"Okay, boss."

After watching the Black security guard leave, Pastor asked, "Officer Li, do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you."

Pastor nodded, "OK, then I'll leave first, I'll be at the bar; if you want a drink, come over anytime."

Jackson said, "Thanks, we don't drink during work hours."

Pastor closed the door and left.

Little Black said to Jackson, "Why refuse so quickly? We could ask for something to drink; even a glass of juice wouldn't be bad."

Jackson laughed, "You're right; we could also find a couple of hot girls for a dance; what do you think of my suggestion?"

Luke interrupted the two of them, "Guys, it's time to get to work."

"OK, you're the boss." Little Black patted Jackson's shoulder, directing him to the computer, "Rookie, start working."

"I'm no longer a rookie." Jackson grumbled but kept his hands moving, opening the footage from November 15th.

Little Black reminded, "Sharon Frank and Marissa Hawking arrived at Dawson Bar around 9:40; you can start from that timeframe."

The bar had a lot of surveillance; Jackson first clicked on the entrance footage, and the time was exactly 9:40.

The video played at fast speed, and soon it was 9:45; Jackson pointed at the screen, "I think I see Sharon Frank and Marissa Hawking... wait, there's another girl with them."

Little Black leaned over, resting his right hand on the chair, looking at the screen, "Is it the deceased, Ali Bergman?"

"Can't see clearly." Jackson replayed the footage, still couldn't see clearly, then checked another camera angle, concentrating on the screen, "No, the third girl isn't Ali Bergman; it's someone unfamiliar, looks like she has black hair.

From their behavior, they seem very close, probably came together."

Luke also focused on the screen, "Find a clear shot, take a screenshot."

"Got it."

Little Black was puzzled, "Who is the third girl? Why is there another person?"

Jackson speculated, "Could they have encountered each other by chance at the bar entrance?"

Little Black countered, "Three acquaintances randomly meeting at the same bar, what are the odds?"

Luke pondered, "If this girl was also prearranged, could she have also been to Ali Bergman's house?"

Jackson asked back, "If she was at Ali Bergman's house, why did Sharon Frank mention Marissa Hawking, but not her?"

Luke speculated, "That implies this girl has differences with Sharon Frank and Marissa Hawking, or she has a different perspective on Ali Bergman's death."

Little Black suggested, "Since she's involved, should we approach her?"

Luke shook his head, "We don't know her identity or her role in this case, approaching her isn't the best choice."

Jackson said, "I agree with the Captain's approach; we can first learn about her indirectly, confirm her relationship with the deceased, and her attitude towards the deceased before further contact."

"Suck-up." Little Black muttered, then asked, "What do we do now?"

Luke said, "Jenny just texted that the deceased's mother is at the station for identification; I'm planning to go talk to her.

Maybe she knows the third girl."

Little Black clicked his right fingers, "And the deceased's boyfriend, the deceased might not have shared secrets with her mother but might have with her boyfriend."