Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

The apartment door opened, and a black woman in her sixties asked, "What's going on?"

"Ma'am, we're investigating a shooting incident, The shooter may be hiding in the apartment complex, and we want to ensure the safety of the residents."

"Thank you, I'm fine."

"Ma'am, around nine o'clock this morning, did you hear any unusual noises?"

"I'm not sure..."

"You just need to tell us what you heard, and we'll judge for ourselves."

"I think I heard some arguing and the sound of things being thrown."

"Are you sure it was the sound of things being thrown and not gunshots?"

"It shouldn't be gunshots, it wasn't that loud."

"The shooter may have used a silencer."

"Then I'm not sure, I don't really understand firearms."

Jenny wanted to confirm if it was the sound of gunshots and asked further, "Do you know where the noise was coming from?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then pointed towards apartment 707, "It seemed to come from that unit, but I'm not certain."

"Do you know the people in that apartment?"

"Uh... I just moved here, so I'm not very familiar, I only know a man and a woman live there, both Caucasian."

"Thank you, we will check it ourselves."

"I don't want any trouble, please don't say it was me who told you," the woman said, then she closed her door.

Jenny took notes in her notebook and was preparing to investigate apartment 707 when the elevator doors opened and Luke walked out, "Captain, you're here."

"Any findings?"

"A resident reported hearing arguing and things being thrown in 707, I was about to verify the situation."

"You continue," Luke stood to one side on guard, as knocking on doors was easier for female officers.

"Knock knock." Jenny walked up to the door of 707 and knocked.

There was no response from inside.

"Knock knock." Jenny knocked on the door again.

"Who's out there, stop banging on that damn door," a man's voice shouted from inside.

Jenny yelled, "Los Angeles Police, open the door!"

After a moment, the door cracked open.

A Caucasian woman stood in the gap, showing only half her face, "What is it?"

Jenny flashed her badge, "Ma'am, please open the door and step outside."

The woman was stunned for a moment before slowly opening the door and stepping outside, her shirt sleeve was torn, and there was a palm print on her face.

Jenny frowned, "Ma'am, have you been attacked?"

"No."

"What happened to your face?"

"I fell accidentally."

"And why is your shirt torn?"

"When I fell, my shirt caught on the cabinet and got torn."

"That's quite a coincidence?" Jenny, with her years of police experience, judged that the woman was probably lying.

"Ma'am, is there someone else in the house?"

"Yes, my husband is here."

"Can you call him out?"

"Uh... he doesn't like interacting with strangers, and he doesn't have a very good temper, you can tell me whatever it is."

Jenny took a deep breath; she could guess what had happened, She glanced at Luke beside her and suppressed her anger, changing her approach, "Ma'am, we are investigating a shooting incident, The shooter may still be in the apartment complex, and we need to ensure every resident's safety."

"Uh, we're fine, there's been no attack by a shooter."

"Did you hear any gunshots around nine o'clock this morning?"

"No."

"Do you have a gun in the house?"

"No."

"Can we come in and check?"

"There's no need, we don't have a shooter in our house, you should go check elsewhere.

My husband doesn't like strangers in our home." The woman seemed somewhat panicked.

"Ma'am, have you ever suffered from violence?"

"No, you can leave now," said the white woman before closing the door right in their faces.

Jenny sighed and stepped aside to speak to Luke, "Captain, I think this woman is not in the right state, she may have been a victim of domestic violence."

Just now, Luke had also been observing the white woman from the side. She indeed looked panicked and was likely hiding something.

He was about to say something when his walkie-talkie buzzed, "Captain, I've found something on the sixth floor."

"Received," said Luke. He then ordered, "Leave two officers on this floor to keep watch, everyone else, follow me downstairs."

Jenny glanced at apartment 707's door; although she was still concerned, she knew that investigating the shooter was more important, so she followed downstairs too.

...

"Raymond, what's the situation?"

"Captain, while questioning the residents on the sixth floor, I faintly heard a ringtone. The sound insulation here isn't great, so it must be a resident's phone, but no one answered it, which I found odd.

After listening carefully, I think it came from either apartment 609 or 611.

I knocked on 611's door, and there was no response, nor did anyone open the door.

Later, I knocked on 609's door. The owner is a Black man in his thirties. He said that at around nine this morning, he heard some unusual noises that sounded like gunshots or something being smashed, but he wasn't sure.

He also mentioned that the original tenant of 611 had moved out and it should be vacant now. However, he heard noises of the door opening and closing this morning, along with voices and a woman's scream." Raymond asked, "Captain, shall we get in touch with the landlord?"

"Of course, we must contact them.

But if there were gunshots, screams from a woman, and an unanswered phone ringing in apartment 611, it implies there might be danger inside.

In a crisis situation, we need to take quick action and prepare a battering ram."

As the captain, it was crucial to take the lead and make decisive choices at critical moments.

"Yes, sir."

...

With a bang, the apartment door was forced open.

Raymond led the team rushing into the apartment, the officers holding their guns ready for a standoff.

"A victim found in the living room."

"Bedroom clear."

"Bathroom clear."

Luke holstered his gun and walked over to the injured man, checking his body; he was already without a pulse and breath.

"He's dead."

He squatted down to examine him. The man was dressed in a black suit and had an expression of terror on his face. His chest was soaked with blood, showing two gunshot wounds.

Raymond picked up a spent casing from the floor, "This one's a small-caliber pistol homicide."

Luke scanned the surroundings and asked, "What's your take?"

Raymond moved to the apartment's window and looked out, "The window has been opened. You can see the car accident scene from here.

There's a table placed near the window but judging by the table's original set and position, it shouldn't have been here.

It must have been moved here by the shooter to serve as a pedestal for a sniper rifle."

Raymond crouched down, picking up another casing, "There's also a 7.62mm casing here, which matches the bullet found in the driver who was shot.

This must have been the shooter's vantage point."

Raymond stood up, looking towards the dead man inside the apartment, "Given where the victim is, he must have come in from the doorway just in time to see the shooter and was then silenced by the killer."

Jenny asked, "Is there any chance they were accomplices and the apartment's victim was disposed of after being used by the shooter?"

Raymond replied, "It's unlikely. A professional hitman would choose a secluded spot for a cleanup job, not kill someone here. I think they were not working together."

Luke surveyed the scene, feeling something was off.

He looked around the room and went back to the apartment door, observing the hallway without noticing anything unusual.

Luke did a circuit of the hallway and stopped at the elevator door, pressing the button. It took a while for the doors to open.

Too long.

Then, Luke went to the stairwell and inside found a red high heel. Following the steps down, he soon discovered another high heel.

Jenny caught up, "Captain, what have you discovered?"

Luke held up a pair of high heels, "Neighbors thought they heard a woman's scream, yet we've only found a male body at the scene.

This suggests that the woman might have escaped. Waiting for the elevator would likely result in being caught and killed by the shooter, but there's no blood in the hallway.

She must have run down the stairs.

These high heels are probably what she left behind."

Jenny drew her gun, "I'll take a team and search the staircase."

"Stay safe," Luke cautioned.

At the same time, he hoped Jenny found nothing, which would mean the eyewitness was still alive.