Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Afternoon of December 24th.

Today is Christmas Eve, and the streets and alleys of Los Angeles are filled with the joyful atmosphere of the holiday.

As Linda was driving, she asked her youngest son in the passenger seat, "Jack, haven't you always wanted to spend Christmas at the Luke family's place?

Now your dream has come true, cheer up a bit."

"Mom, I'm happy right now." The little chubby boy replied.

Linda shook her head, "You don't look happy."

The little chubby boy didn't reply, turning his head to look out the window.

"Ah…" Linda sighed lightly.

She clearly knew why her son wasn't happy; it was probably because he was missing someone, so she didn't press further.

Sometimes when you think about it, their kind of pure love is quite beautiful.

They drove into the Palisades Community.

Linda had always loved this community, with its beautiful environment and every house built very nicely.

Now, with the Christmas decorations, it was even more stunning. Every household had lit up with festive lights, and the holiday atmosphere was rich.

The car pulled into the Luke family's place where Luke and Robert were decorating the yard.

Linda parked the car, opened the trunk, and shouted, "Jack, get out and move the stuff."

The little chubby boy obediently went over, moving the things from the car trunk out of the garage, and saw Luke and Robert decorating a Christmas tree, "You planted a real Christmas tree in the yard?"

Luke smiled and asked, "That's right, do you like it?"

The little chubby boy went over and touched the branches, "It's a great feeling.

Where's Uncle Val?"

Robert, who was hanging lights, said, "He's working overtime at the supermarket, today it's triple pay, so he'll come back later."

The little chubby boy spread his hands, "That's not the Uncle Val I know."

Robert laughed, "People always grow up.

Val took quite a few wrong turns before, but he's been doing pretty well lately."

Linda took a walk around the yard and laughed, "Gentlemen, you've decorated the yard beautifully. How about we have a gathering tonight in the yard?

I'll go prepare the ingredients."

Luke said, "Mom, I didn't prepare a whole turkey, just bought some turkey meat. It's easier to roast this way."

Linda said, "Well done, we can't finish a whole turkey anyway, and I don't want to be eating turkey tomorrow and the day after."

Though it's not very traditional, Robert had no objections, preferring his grilled steak over turkey.

The three of them chatted and worked, and in the joyful atmosphere, they soon finished decorating the yard.

Afterward, they went to the kitchen to help Linda prepare the Christmas Eve dinner.

Since many ingredients were prepared in advance, dinner preparation was not complicated.

At six in the afternoon, they set up a table in the yard, and Robert opened a bottle of red wine and started drinking.

The dinner dishes were also coming out one after another.

Roast turkey, pies, smoked sausages, vegetable salad, pan-seared salmon, oyster soup, strawberries, pudding, Christmas cake.

Luke ate a piece of smoked ham and gave a thumbs up, "The taste is superb."

Linda clapped her hands, "OK, dinner is ready. Why hasn't Val come back yet?"

"No need to wait for that guy." Robert shrugged, "I just called him, he said he's spending Christmas with friends and won't be coming back today."

"Friends?" Linda frowned, "Is he hanging out with that group of no-good friends again?"

Robert shook his head, "I don't know, but he's been doing pretty well lately…"

Luke took a sip of wine and said with a smile, "Maybe things aren't as bad as you think.

Uncle Val is an adult, he needs some space and freedom."

Robert asked, "Sounds like you know something?"

Luke said, "No, we haven't been in touch for a while."

The little chubby boy took a big bite of pie and mumbled, "It's pretty obvious, Val is in love."

"What did you say?" Robert thought he had misheard.

The little chubby boy swallowed the pie, "Val found a girlfriend."

Linda curiously asked, "How do you know?"

"I saw him." The little chubby boy recalled, "Last month, Luke took me to a restaurant, and he was dining with a lady."

Robert said, "Just dining together doesn't mean anything. I sometimes eat with female friends too."

The little chubby boy continued, "We went to a couple-themed restaurant.

Aside from me and Luke, almost everyone there was a couple, and the restaurant was very expensive. If they weren't in a serious relationship, no one would go to such a restaurant to dine."

Robert frowned, "How expensive is that restaurant?"

The little chubby boy said, "I spent two thousand US Dollars with Luke."

Luke laughed, "We both have good appetites, so it doesn't represent the average spending there."

Linda glared at the two brothers, looking displeased, "Why didn't you invite me? You two brats can hardly cook up any romance."

Luke explained, "At that time, Jack was going through a breakup. He always wanted to go to that restaurant with Maggie, so I took him there to experience it."

Linda hummed, "Who wouldn't want to go to a restaurant where the per capita spending is one thousand US dollars?"

Luke quickly said, "Mom, I'll take you there for your birthday.

Just you alone."

"That's more like it." Linda nodded, glancing at the somewhat dazed Robert nearby, "Hasn't Val mentioned this lady he recently met?"

"No." Robert shook his head. He wasn't against Val having a girlfriend, but the level of spending made him a bit anxious...

However, with Val not around, talking about it made no difference. Robert laughed, "Forget about him, let's eat."

After dinner, the four of them played cards while watching TV.

Past ten at night, Christmas carols could be heard outside...

Luke and the other three started exchanging gifts.

Luke bought a watch for Robert, a necklace for Linda, and the chubby guy got a Lego set.

That night, all three stayed at Luke's house; his home was big, with enough rooms.

On the 25th and 26th, Luke spent his days with his family, living leisurely and relaxed.

December 27th, in the morning.

Luke received an invitation from Nami Inoue to go on vacation at Malibu Beach.

Malibu Beach is located in the southwest of Los Angeles and is one of the most famous beaches in Los Angeles.

The weather is great today, with clear blue skies and a gentle breeze, perfect for sunbathing by the sea.

The beach is filled with rocky landscapes, and Luke even saw an Asian couple taking wedding photos, adding a touch of romance to the atmosphere.

Luke lay on a chair, watching as Nami Inoue, having just changed into her swimsuit, walked over wearing a light blue swimsuit, her skin fair, her chest full, with a slim waist and long legs, embodying the charm of an Eastern beauty.

Nami Inoue sat on the chair next to him, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," Luke handed her a glass of orange juice on the table, "Bought this for you."

"Thank you." Nami Inoue took the orange juice, sipped it, and asked, "How was your Christmas?"

"Rarely had time to accompany family, not bad.

How about you?"

"It was good at first, but as time went on, it got a bit boring."

Luke laughed, "So, you invited me to the beach today to find some excitement."

"To be specific, I want to dig some news from you."

"Are you referring to the Henrik Laurie kidnapping case?"

"Yes, wasn't the case originally investigated by the Robbery and Murder Department? Why was it handed over to the special units?"

"It's a bit complicated, and there's a gag order from above. The case needs to be kept confidential."

Nami Inoue blinked her big black eyes, "Even me?"

Luke smiled, "I really can't say much."

"Then tell me what you can, even scraps are valuable to us."

Luke pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, before the case was handed over, we had already successfully rescued the hostage, and the case was basically cleared up.

It's just that due to certain departments' intervention, we had to hand over the case to the special units."

"So, the special units took credit for your work?"

Luke said, "I didn't say that."

Nami Inoue's lips slightly curled, "You're right, I found this out myself.

Can you tell me how you found the hostage's whereabouts?"

"The kidnappers extorted ransom from the hostage's family. We placed a hidden tracker in the ransom box and tracked it to the kidnappers' hideout.

While the kidnappers were counting the money, we launched an action, killed the kidnappers, and rescued the hostage."

Nami Inoue laughed, "Such a brilliant action, can you share more case details with me?"

Luke thought for a moment, "During the investigation, we received multiple extortion calls, all claiming to know the hostage's whereabouts, demanding ransom payment before revealing it."

Nami Inoue asked, "How do you judge whether what they say is true or false?"

"Let them describe some details. If they match, it means they indeed have something to do with the kidnapping.

But it's not absolute. For example, we received an extortion call where someone claimed he saw Henrik Laurie being kidnapped. Actually, he just encountered Henrik Laurie and knew the general location and time of his kidnapping, not the actual scene.

But because what he provided was similar to Henrik Laurie's kidnapping situation, it was easily misleading for the case investigation."

Nami Inoue gratefully said, "Luke, thank you for telling me these.

Currently, reports on this case rarely have such detailed information."

Luke raised a glass bottle of cola, clinked it with her, "Friends are supposed to help each other, aren't they?"

"You're right." Nami Inoue took a sip of orange juice, her lovely cheeks somewhat lost in thought as if considering how to report the news tomorrow.

Luke changed his posture, comfortably lying on the chair, watching swimsuit beauties passing by.

What he just said was half true, half false, already enough for Nami Inoue to write a news article. Sometimes such half-true, half-false news more easily captures citizens' attention.

Moreover, what Luke said just now indirectly credited the LAPD with the success.

As for whether it would be exposed, Luke wasn't worried at all.

Before, after breaking a case, especially influential ones, the police would hold news conferences, so reporters wouldn't dare to randomly write. Even if they did, the police might contradict it, ultimately taking the police's statement as primary.

But this case is different; completely confidential, so there wouldn't be any public press conferences. Thus, what Luke said becomes the truth.