Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"Listen, this is the third time I'm asking you, are you willing to take the field sobriety test?"

Lawrence Miller took a deep breath, "Okay, I'll take it."

"Then let's proceed to the test."

Under the watch of two police officers, Lawrence Miller had no choice but to comply and walked over to an open space.

The white police officer said, "This area is fairly even, are you satisfied with it?"

"Yes."

"Now we'll start with the straight line test."

Lawrence Miller took a deep breath and began to walk the straight line slowly, following the officer's instructions.

The two officers watched closely by his side.

Lawrence Miller walked very slowly, took three steps forward, his body wobbled, and he took a step back, nearly falling over.

"Sir, I'd like to try once more."

The white police officer didn't give him a hard time, "Start again from where you just were."

Lawrence Miller returned to the starting point, calmed himself for a moment, and walked forward again. This time he was smarter, taking a step, pausing to stabilize his frame before moving on.

Lawrence Miller took nine steps forward, and the white police officer said, "Okay, now turn around and walk back."

Lawrence Miller stood still for a while before turning around and walking back.

He took a step forward, his body swayed, and he took a step back.

He stopped, steadied himself, and then took another step forward.

He had to pause with each step to stabilize himself before continuing.

Finally, Lawrence Miller made it back to the starting point; it took him much longer than an average person.

However, the conditions for a DUI conviction in Los Angeles are lenient, the white police officer hesitated for a moment, "You passed."

Lawrence Miller let out a sigh of relief, "Can I go now?"

"There's a second test, you have to stand on one leg, with one leg off the ground, the other supporting you."

"Which leg should I stand on?"

"Whichever you prefer."

Lawrence Miller rubbed his face with his hands, stood on his right foot, and slowly raised his left leg, "Is this okay?"

"Raise it a bit higher, at least above the height of a Coke bottle."

Lawrence Miller raised his left leg a little higher, his body wobbled, and he almost fell down.

He tried again, still unable to stand steadily.

The white police officer said, "Go lean on the car."

Lawrence Miller pleaded, "I can try one more time."

"No need, you're under arrest."

"Please don't, I have a friend who is a police officer; just let me go this once."

"Don't pull that with us."

"I'll give you money, we can make a deal."

"Are you bribing us?"

"No, my friend told me… this could work."

"Your friend isn't here; this has nothing to do with your friend.

If you bribe us, you'll be criminally charged, so you better keep quiet." The white police officer scolded him, cuffed him again, and pushed him into the police car.

"Oh God, why is this happening?" Lawrence Miller wore an exasperated expression.

Though the convictions for DUI in Los Angeles are lenient, once charged with DUI, the offense is quite serious.

Additionally, he now faced the additional charge of resisting arrest, piling fines upon penalties.

…

The next morning.

Detective Bureau.

Luke yawned as he entered the office.

Last night, Lawrence Miller had repeatedly called Luke and Daisy.

Daisy didn't answer, and after the third ring of his cellphone, Luke picked up impatiently.

Over the phone, Lawrence Miller told Luke about being caught for drunk driving and asked for his help.

Luke explained that there was nothing he could do.

Lawrence Miller then asked for second best, requesting that Daisy represent him as a lawyer, but she also refused.

Lawrence Miller was both downhearted and angry, yet powerless to change his situation.

After Daisy was briefed about Lawrence Miller possibly going to jail, she felt somewhat conflicted.

She pulled Luke out of bed to join her for a drink.

Luke could sense that deep down she felt more of a sense of relief and relaxation.

Xiao Hei said, "Guys, there's a wine tasting festival in a few days. Who wants to go with me?"

"Where?" Luke had been intending to save up for some high-quality liquor.

"San Fernando Street, wanna join?"

Luke poured himself a hot coffee, took a sip, and said, "Of course, just call me when it's time."

"I'm late," Port Hafid walked into the office, holding a paper bag in his hand.

Xiao Hei said, "Newbie, that's no good work attitude."

"Sorry, I should have come earlier.

But after my wife heard about the transfer, she made doughnuts for everyone. I waited for the doughnuts to be ready, so I got held up a bit."

The deputy chief asked, "Did your wife make them herself?"

"Uh... yes." Port Hafid opened the bag and took out a box to share with everyone.

"Thanks," the deputy chief took a doughnut and had a bite, "Tastes good."

Luke, who was eating a chocolate flavored one, commented, "Goes well with the coffee."

Jenny praised, "Really delicious, your wife's cooking is great."

"Thanks, she'll be very happy to hear that.

You guys go ahead and eat. There are some left in the bag; I'll take them to colleagues in other departments." After saying this, Port Hafid left the office.

The deputy chief quickly finished the doughnut and pulled Luke aside to ask in private, "Luke, why did you choose this kid for the team?"

Luke countered, "Is there a problem?"

"He lied. These doughnuts weren't made by his wife at all."

Curious, Luke asked, "Deputy Chief, how do you know?"

"I've been eating doughnuts all my life, and there isn't a famous doughnut shop in Los Angeles I haven't been to.

The doughnuts we just had were bought from a pastry shop. I go to that shop often, and I recognize the taste; I can't be mistaken."

Luke frowned slightly, also unsure why Port Hafid would lie, "Deputy Chief, what do you think?"

The deputy chief laughed, "From my experience, it seems there might be problems with his marriage, but he doesn't want people to know.

So he bought doughnuts from outside, claiming they were made by his wife.

Of course, this is just my guess; there might be other reasons."

Luke had chosen Port Hafid for three reasons: firstly, he had experience in investigating cases; secondly, he was familiar with the people in the Southern District; thirdly, he had a complete and harmonious family, with a wife and a son and a daughter.

In the first squad, except for Xiao Hei who was newly married, everyone else was either single or not doing very well in their marriage.

There is no need to go into detail about the deputy chief.

Raymond often worked overtime, never arriving late or leaving early, and he usually spent his free time at the shooting range; it would be strange if his marriage was going well.

Luke had hoped Port Hafid's arrival would bring some positive influence, but now it seemed that hope had likely been in vain.

Being a police officer and balancing work and life is really hard...

"Ding-a-ling..."

Luke's phone rang. He pressed the answer button, "Chief...

Yeah, I got it...

Okay, I'll bring people over right away..."

After hanging up, Luke announced loudly, "Guys, we've got a new case.

Get ready. We'll meet downstairs in five minutes."

"Yes, sir."

...

Half an hour later.

Muli Lanka Street.

The street traffic had been blocked, and police lines were stretched on both sides of the road, with police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances parked around.

On the lane heading from south to north, there were several crashed cars.

The cars showed signs of having been on fire, which were now extinguished, leaving a mess.

There were also bloodstains left by the injured around the cars, and a bloody corpse.

The body was that of a male, with burn marks on it, blackened all over, with numerous cut marks, and a significant wound on the chest where a large area was stained with blood.

After surveying the scene, Luke gathered a few team members and asked, "What do you think?"

Port Hafid said, "Captain, the officers from the Southern District were the first to arrive at the scene. I asked them about the situation.

According to them, that burned BMW was the vehicle responsible for the accident. It was originally traveling from north to south before it lost control, crossed into the opposite lane, and collided with another car.

The following vehicles couldn't stop in time and also crashed into each other, resulting in injuries and cars catching fire.

The driver of the BMW, who caused the accident, died on the spot, and the other eight injured were taken to the hospital."

Xiao Hei asked, "Is there a possibility it was an accidental event?"

Raymond stated with conviction, "Impossible, the deceased was shot to death."