Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Robbery and Murder Department, Team One.

Morning.

The office door pushed open from the outside. Little Black yawned as he entered the office and said with a smile, "Good morning, guys."

The deputy looked up at him and asked, "Marcus, how was last night's arrest operation?"

"Very smooth.

With the cooperation of our informant, no, I should say Mario Brana, we set up an ambush in advance. Just when those punks thought they had successfully stolen the car, I closed the net on them.

Those bad kids wanted to escape, but they couldn't get out of my grasp." Marcus clenched his fist.

Luke nodded, "Well done."

Little Black continued, "I interrogated the theft ring overnight, and they admitted to the theft on the night of March 23rd.

After their success, they even drank and celebrated together until the next morning.

Mario Brana's alibi holds; he didn't kill Officer Ossie Perkins."

Luke said, "Deputy, any findings from investigating the victim's home?"

The deputy said, "We met the deceased's girlfriend. She went on a business trip to San Francisco a week ago. They stayed in touch, and according to her, she hadn't noticed anything unusual about the victim.

At the same time, we also visited the surrounding neighbors. According to them, the deceased cherished his Lexus car and would put it in the garage every night.

The night before the incident, no neighbors noticed anything unusual about the garage.

Moreover, the tech team searched the garage. They only found the victim's fingerprints, but we can't rule out that the killer wiped his fingerprints after tampering with the car."

Luke asked, "Are there any signs of damage on the garage door lock?"

"No." The deputy shrugged and continued, "However, the garage window was open. The killer could have gotten in through the window."

Luke summarized, "So, it's possible the killer entered the garage by climbing through the window and then tampered with the car.

Does the victim's house have surveillance?"

The deputy replied, "No, but we retrieved the community surveillance and are currently combing through it."

Luke mused, "If the killer could get into the victim's garage, entering the victim's home shouldn't have been difficult either, and the victim was likely home alone that night.

Why didn't the killer just kill the victim directly but instead chose this method?"

Little Black said, "It shows the perpetrator is a coward."

Jackson shook his head slightly, "If he was truly a coward, he wouldn't choose to kill.

I actually think he might be more skilled at fixing cars, and using a familiar method to kill is more reliable.

I suspect his work might be related to cars."

Little Black said, "I have a suggestion. The car thieves I caught last night have connections with many used car dealerships.

Maybe they can trace some clues about the killer."

Luke said, "That's a good idea. We can give it a try."

Matthew's voice rang out, "Guys, I checked recent traffic accidents and found a case quite similar."

After Matthew finished, he put some documents on the projector, "The accident happened on March 20th, involving a white BMW sedan. The owner was Grace Dore, and the cause was also loss of control due to brake failure.

The white BMW crashed into a truck ahead, causing the car to lose control and flip over. The owner was also injured and is being treated at the hospital."

Luke asked, "Is there a detailed car accident assessment report?"

"No."

"Is there any connection between Grace Dore and the deceased?"

"We haven't found any yet."

Luke slightly furrowed his brows. The two traffic accidents were similar, close in time, and there was no detailed accident assessment report. He thought it necessary to investigate further.

...

Auburn Hospital.

In ward 402.

A white woman in her thirties lay on the hospital bed with bandages around her head and right leg, her face looking somewhat haggard.

Next to her sat a white woman in her sixties, holding a knife and peeling an apple, "Dear, do you want me to cut the apple into pieces?"

"Mom, I'm not really hungry right now."

"You need to eat more so you can recover quickly."

"OK, cut me half, and I'll eat half." The young woman on the bed took the apple, took a bite, and said, "Mom, you don't need to visit me every day; it's too tiring."

"Dear, I want to do it.

Doing what I want never feels tiring.

If I can't see you, I can't sleep well at night." The middle-aged woman patted her daughter's cheek.

"I love you, mom."

"I do too, dear."

"Knock, knock..."

A knock came from outside.

"Come in."

"Creak..." the door sounded.

Two men pushed the door open and walked in.

The middle-aged woman looked a little surprised at the two, "Who are you?"

"I'm Detective Jackson Beach from the Robbery and Murder Department, and this is our Captain Lee."

"Robbery and Murder Department?

Do you have anything to discuss?"

Luke looked at the woman on the bed, "Are you Ms. Grace Dore?"

"Yes, I am."

"We're here to investigate a car accident case."

Grace Dore showed a puzzled look, "Wasn't it already investigated before?"

Luke said, "On March 24th, a car accident occurred on Highway 105.

The cause was a sudden loss of control, crashing into the roadside rocks, the driver died on the spot.

After the accident, the police conducted a detailed assessment of the car, finding someone had tampered with the transmission and brakes."

The white woman showed a nervous expression, "That's terrible."

Grace Dore took a deep breath, "You suspect someone tampered with my car too."

Luke asked following her cue, "Do you know Ossie Perkins?"

Grace Dore thought for a moment, "No, who is he?"

"He was the victim in the March 24th car accident."

The white woman said, "Captain Lee, do you think someone wants to harm my daughter?"

Luke said, "We need to conduct an assessment on the accident vehicle to see if the damage and methods in both accidents are the same."

"Oh my God, this is terrifying, why would anyone want to harm my daughter?" The white woman couldn't help but grab Grace Dore's hand.

Grace Dore consoled her, "Mom, don't worry, I'm fine now, aren't I?"

"You're like this and you say you're fine...

And if someone really wants to hurt you, they might strike again, it's terrifying." The more the white woman spoke, the more nervous she became, looking at Luke and saying, "Captain Lee, you must catch the person who wants to harm my daughter as soon as possible.

I've always felt this traffic accident was unusual. My daughter's car was only bought a year ago, how could it suddenly have an accident?"

Luke asked, "Ms. Dore, did you buy a new car?"

Grace Dore shook her head, "No, it was a second-hand car.

However, the car was in quite good condition, it never had any problems before.

The car suddenly losing control... I also found it very surprising."

"Before the car accident, did you offend anyone?"

Grace Dore thought for a moment, "No."

"Did you notice any suspicious people around?"

"Didn't notice."

Luke asked, "Is there anyone around you involved with the automotive industry?"

Grace Dore frowned and pursed her lips.

The white woman was stunned for a moment, her face changed slightly, and she said slowly, "My... my daughter's husband is a mechanic."

"How is your relationship with your husband?"

Grace Dore blurted out, "It's good, he's very kind to me.

This accident definitely has nothing to do with him, I believe he wouldn't harm me."

"Oh my God... that accidental insurance!" The white woman widened her eyes and looked at her daughter on the hospital bed, "Honey, didn't he buy you an accidental insurance policy last month?"

Grace Dore's face changed slightly, she swallowed and retorted, "Mom, so what? It doesn't mean anything."

Luke asked, "Why did he buy insurance?"

Grace Dore looked at Luke and said, "My husband said it could provide more security for the family."

"Who is the beneficiary?"

"My husband."

"Ms. Dore, we would like to talk to your husband."

Grace Dore looked at Luke, opened her mouth, and finally just sighed.

...

Robbery and Murder Department lounge.

An hour later, Luke met Grace Dore's husband in the lounge.

Luke invited him to sit down, introduced himself, and said, "I'm Captain Luke Lee of the first team of the Robbery and Murder Department."

A medium-built, somewhat rakish white man stood up and shook hands with Luke, "I'm Marico Marquis, Grace Dore's husband."

"Mr. Marico Marquis, we've asked you here today mainly to learn about your wife's car accident."

Marico Marquis replied, "I heard from my wife.

If someone really did something to the car to harm my wife, that's terrifying.

I came here also to find out."

Luke asked, "I heard the car involved in the accident was bought by you from a second-hand car dealership?"

"Yes, I also work at that dealership, the car was a birthday gift for my wife."

"After the car accident, why didn't you apply for an accident assessment of the car?"

"Because it required an additional fee, and I didn't think it was necessary."

Jackson frowned and said, "Your wife was in a car accident and is still in the hospital, and you didn't think it was necessary?"

"Hey, that's not what I meant, maybe I didn't express myself clearly.

The car was not only bought from the dealership where I work, but I also inspected it when it was acquired. It hadn't been in accidents and had no major issues, so I bought it for my wife."

"Since you're familiar with the car, what do you think about the vehicle losing control?"

"It's likely that a brake or transmission part failed, but the problem is, the car was severely damaged in the crash, making it hard to determine where the problem is.

And the car's warranty period from the dealership had expired." Marico Marquis said with some frustration, "It's not that I don't care about my wife, but the car accident has already happened, what difference would an assessment make?

I care more about her personally and have been taking care of her in the hospital.

I never imagined someone tampering with the car.

She's a very nice person, I can't think of anyone who would want to harm her.

This possibility never entered my mind before."

Luke flipped through some documents and asked, "It's said that last month you bought an accidental insurance policy for your wife?"

Marico Marquis paused for a moment, sighed, and said, "My God, you don't suspect me, do you?"

Luke said, "It's not that I'm suspecting you, I just want to clarify the situation."

"Yes, I did buy her accidental insurance, the beneficiary is me."

"Why did you suddenly buy insurance for her?"

Marico Marquis shrugged, "A good friend of mine was unemployed for a long time and recently started a new job selling insurance.

So he approached me...

I was persuaded.

On one hand, I wanted to help him, and on the other, to provide more security for the family.

I don't think I did anything wrong."

"What's the name of your friend who sells insurance?"

"Orhan Raffati."

"Tell me his contact information."

Marico Marquis looked through his phone contacts, "Phone number, 212 836 2897."

Luke jotted it down.

Marico Marquis spread his hands, saying somewhat helplessly, "I've said everything I need to, if you still suspect me, then please provide evidence."

"I'm not suspecting you, just conducting a routine inquiry." Luke had been observing him without spotting any obvious signs of lying, but Marico Marquis's situation did seem a bit suspicious.

He knows cars, can repair them, the car involved in the accident was a gift from him, and he had recently taken out accidental insurance for his wife.

Quite a coincidence.

He changed the subject, "Actually, the main reason I asked you here today is to ask if you've offended anyone.

This person would likely be familiar with both you and your wife, and might be involved in the automotive industry."

Marico Marquis rubbed his hands together, his expression complicated as he said, "A few days ago... I did have some conflicts with a colleague at the dealership, but it was nothing major.

I don't think they would do something like this."