Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

...

Number 209 in the Pulley community.

Luke drove to the vicinity of Billie Warwick's house.

On the way there, he had worried that Anlek Raul might be discovered by Billie Warwick.

When he arrived at the community, he found his worries were completely unnecessary.

Many cars were parked in the community; Luke glanced around and noticed something off about these vehicles—they were mostly clustered near Billie Warwick's house, and there were people inside, with windows closed and engines off. Obviously, they were also here to 'surveil' Billie Warwick.

As for who they were, it wasn't hard to guess.

Most likely, they were reporters.

Danny Carter was a fairly influential football star; as long as the case wasn't closed, it would remain a hot topic. The public was interested in the spectacle, and television stations certainly wouldn't miss out on such good material for news.

Unable to find Danny Carter himself, they started focusing on Billie Warwick instead. An exclusive scoop on her could also make waves.

Later, Luke met up with Anlek Raul to inquire about the stakeout the night before.

Anlek Raul was listless, with a strong smell of smoke in his car, fighting the urge to close his heavy eyelids.

Luke brought him a burger and coffee, "Eat up, then go home and get some sleep."

Anlek Raul hastily took a sip of coffee, hissing from the burn, "I haven't had water for several hours."

"Remember to buy a couple of bottles of water in advance next time."

"I just didn't want to pee in the car."

"Only with sufficient hydration can your body stay in good shape. You should try to get over it."

Anlek Raul said seriously, "I've tried... I can't pee."

Luke didn't want to continue the conversation, "Tell me about last night."

"After I got your call, I followed the address to find this place.

The lights in the house were still on at the time; occasionally, I could see someone walking past the window, one of them was the target woman, and there was a man who had physical contact with her, feeling like they were having an argument.

This morning, a little after eight, the man drove away.

But the woman is still in the house, she hasn't come out at all." Anlek Raul finished speaking and bit into his burger.

Luke took out a photo of Billie Warwick's boyfriend, "Is this him?"

"Yes, it's him."

"He's Billie Warwick's boyfriend," Luke pressed, "Did anyone else come by?"

"No one."

"Work hard, have your meal, then go get some sleep." Luke took out three hundred US dollars from his wallet and placed it in the car.

"Do I need to stake out again tonight?"

"Wait for my call." Luke left that brief message and got out of the car and left.

From Anlek Raul's description, it was clear that Billie Warwick indeed had a boyfriend, and that they had had an argument last night. Luke guessed it was likely related to the sexual assault case.

From this, it seemed unlikely the two had colluded to con someone.

After Anlek Raul left, Luke continued the stakeout in the car; Billie Warwick just went to the backyard to get some fresh air and soon returned inside the house.

The morning passed, and Luke didn't get any valuable clues.

Also, there were no updates from Danny.

Luke couldn't just wait foolishly; if Danny ultimately didn't come through with information, he would be in trouble.

In the afternoon, there was still no progress with the stakeout.

He decided not to wait anymore and made plans to act with Daisy.

At three in the afternoon, Daisy arrived at the community to meet up with Luke.

Daisy, in a professional skirt suit with a figure that turned heads, exuded the efficiency of a working woman, "Got any new leads?"

"No."

"Then what do you need me for?" Daisy posed impatiently.

"I was thinking you could help me investigate?"

"How do we do that?"

"Both the car theft and the sexual assault case happened in this community. It's likely that there were witnesses during the crime.

We could go door-to-door asking around; maybe we'll find some valuable clues."

Daisy said, "And what's my role?"

"Firstly, you're beautiful. If the neighbors are men, unless they're gay, they'll almost always open the door for you and will be willing to chat.

Secondly, a woman can lower the interviewee's guard, which is very important.

Lastly, you're a lawyer. That's an important status and makes it easier to gain people's trust."

"So, you're using me as a prop," Daisy concluded.

"Even as a prop, you'd get to know the new leads first, and I wouldn't give the other lawyers a chance even if they wanted to." Luke's tone grew firmer, in matters of work not love, it was crucial to keep control in his hands.

"If I'm the prop, what are you?"

"The eraser."

...

"Knock knock..."

Daisy knocked on the door of Billie Warwick's eastside neighbor.

Shortly after, the door opened to reveal a Black man in his thirties, "Hey, beautiful."

"Hello, my name is Daisy, and I am a lawyer." Daisy handed her business card to the person in front of her, and pointed to Luke beside her, "This is my assistant."

The black man took the business card, "Beautiful Miss Lawyer, what can I do for you? I don't think I could afford to hire you."

Daisy pointed to the house next door, "Actually, I'm here to find out about your neighbor, Billie Warwick."

"Billie Warwick?"

"Yes."

"I don't know her well; the house belongs to her boyfriend."

"How long has she been living here? What's her boyfriend's name?"

"About half a year, I guess. Her boyfriend's name is Redo Gate."

"How's their relationship?"

"I don't know about their private relationship, but it seems fine on the surface."

"What does her boyfriend Redo Gate do?"

The black man countered, "Whose lawyer are you?"

"I represent another person involved in this case."

"Danny Carter?"

"Yes."

"Wow... I should have guessed, only a rich man like him could afford a lawyer as beautiful as you."

Daisy ventured, "Did you see Danny Carter that night?"

"No, I was watching the game that night; I only found out something happened after the cops came."

"What do you think about this incident?"

"Heh... Personally, as a neighbor, I'd rather not comment.

But no matter what, a woman living at her boyfriend's place shouldn't let men who are interested in her into the house.

If I were Redo Gate, I'd be furious."

"That night, did you hear any unusual noises?"

"No, I was watching the game all night." The black man shrugged, "Miss Lawyer, it was nice chatting with you, but I really don't know anything about that night; sorry."

After finishing, the black man went back into his house and closed the door.

Daisy left the yard and asked, "Weren't you supposed to be the background? It seems like I was the one asking all the questions."

"If it had been me, I reckon that guy would have closed the door on me before I could even ask anything."

Daisy smiled, "So how will you thank me?"

"Hard work today, I'll give you a full body massage tonight."

Daisy "..."

...

"Knock knock..."

Daisy knocked on the door of the house opposite to Billie Warwick's.

No one answered.

"Knock knock..."

Daisy continued to knock.

After a while, she heard footsteps, and the door creaked open.

A black lady stood at the door, looked at Daisy, then turned toward Luke, "Who are you?"

"Madam, hello, my name is Daisy, and I'm a lawyer."

"Is there something you need?"

"I would like to ask you about some things."

The black lady pointed to the house across the street, "Are you talking about the girl who was sexually assaulted?"

"Do you know the girl?"

"Yes, but not well, just to say hello."

"Were you at home that night?"

"Yes."

"Did you see anyone suspicious?"

The black lady thought for a moment, "No."

Luke had been watching her closely and sensed signs of lying, he interjected, "Ma'am, did you see a Porsche 911 that night?"

"No."

Lying.

Luke said, "Ma'am, are you acquainted with Billie Warwick's boyfriend?"

"Not really."

This time there were no signs of lying. According to the big mama's claim of not being familiar with Billie Warwick and her boyfriend, then why conceal the truth?

As part of the investigative process, the police would also visit the surrounding neighbors.

This black lady could lie to him and Daisy, and she could as well lie to the police.

What would be the purpose of that?