Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"I'm just doing it for the money." The man in a baseball cap showed a pained expression and pleaded, "I've lost a lot of blood, I'm dying, can you call 911 for me?"

"Don't worry, I'll stop the bleeding." Luke hadn't hit a vital spot; the man wouldn't die anytime soon,

"What's your name?"

"Randy."

"Full name."

"Randy Silva."

"What's your relationship with Pari Jones?"

"We have no relationship, I told you, I'm just doing it for the money."

"Whose money, and what were you supposed to do?"

"Kuka hired me to retrieve a document from you."

"What document?"

"The one you were supposed to give to Pari Jones. I don't know the contents of the document."

"What's your relationship with Pari Jones?"

"The document originally belonged to Kuka. It was stolen by Pari Jones and her accomplice; Kuka hired us to get it back."

Luke said, "Such a lame excuse. Do you even believe it yourself?"

"Whether I believe it or not isn't important; what's important is that he would pay me.

I've seen enough to know, the more you know, the quicker you die. I'm just doing it for the money."

"Was it you guys who bombed the Jujutsu Club?"

"No, that had nothing to do with me."

"Was it Kuka who did it?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't go inserting myself in that kind of business."

"The incident tonight involving intercepting a police vehicle and police firing shots, was that your accomplices?"

"No, I have absolutely no idea."

Luke stared at him, seeing no clear signs of lying.

Three possibilities, first, he was lying, and Luke just couldn't see it.

Second, the explosions and the intercepting of the police vehicle were not done by his group.

Third, he was just a minor player, not involved and unaware of the other operations.

Among these possibilities, Luke felt the third was most likely.

So now, the priority was to find Kuka.

"Where's Kuka?"

"At Pari Jones's house."

"What's he doing there?"

"He went to ask Pari Jones for the documents, but she refused to give them. He suspects she hid the documents at her home, so he went there to search."

"Where's Pari Jones?"

"With Kuka."

"If you had gotten the documents from me, what would you guys have done next?"

"Kuka ordered us to meet at Pari Jones's house to verify the authenticity of the documents."

"And me?"

"Take you back with us."

"How many people are with you, how many are currently with Kuka?"

"There are four of us in total, Kuka also has one subordinate with him."

"What's the situation with Pari Jones right now?"

"That woman is tough, Kuka had to beat her before she confessed to meeting with you.

But Kuka hasn't killed her, at least not until he gets the documents." Randy Silva weakly shouted, "It hurts, I'm bleeding all over, save me, please."

"Relax, you're not going to die." Luke glanced at his watch, they had been talking for a while, and by all accounts, the patrolling officers should have been close by now.

The response time this time was slower than usual, but considering the location of the bar, it was normal.

This area is a predominantly black neighborhood; there weren't many patrolling officers to begin with.

Luke continued to inquire, "How did you meet Kuka?"

"We met at a bar; he's also Hispanic. Just got to talking and we hit it off."

"Do you have Kuka's contact information?"

"Yes, I have his mobile number."

"What is it?"

"It's stored in my phone, but before the operation, he asked everyone to turn off their phones and remove the SIM cards."

"Describe what he looks like?"

"He's a Latin man in his thirties, of average build, with a beard around his mouth, wearing a black jacket outside."

"What about another one of his men?"

"I don't know that person, Kuka brought him himself.

He's about thirty, a tall black man with earrings in his ears and very short hair."

With time pressing, Luke did not make a forensic sketch but simply noted down the situations of these two men.

Subsequently, he contacted the squad members and informed everyone about Pari Jones's situation.

"Whoo..."

The sound of the police siren finally rang out.

Luke handed over the injured Randy Silva to a patrol officer and drove to Pari Jones's house.

Pari Jones was no saint, having resorted to the dangerous tactic of luring trouble elsewhere; even though her actions were driven by a desperate will to survive, she indeed jeopardized Luke's safety.

Whether by choice or compulsion, the fact that she nearly got Luke injured and even put his life in danger was undeniable.

This account had to be settled.

But now, they could not let this woman die; based on the recent interaction with the suspect Randy Silva, Pari Jones must indeed possess some important information, otherwise, Kuka would not have taken such a big risk to kidnap two people.

That piece of information could be crucial to revealing the truth about Natasha's death and would greatly assist in solving the case.

Soon, Luke drove to meet with other team members, stopping the car on an empty lot about a mile away from Pari Jones's neighborhood.

Luke got out of the car and lit a cigarette.

The other team members also got out and gradually came over.

Participating in this operation were Raymond, Jenny, Black, Port, and Jackson; the deputy had already gone home to sleep.

It was Luke's idea too, in case he wanted to catch up on some sleep tomorrow, someone needed to manage things at the office.

Black came over, looked Luke up and down with concern, and asked, "Captain, you're not hurt, are you?"

"No harm done, just a bullet through my clothes.

I really liked this jacket, looks like I'll need to ask the chief for a reimbursement tomorrow."

Hearing Luke joke, Black felt relieved and pressed on, "How's Pari Jones?"

"According to another suspect, she's been taught a lesson, but she's not in mortal danger for now."

"So, she wasn't intentionally trying to trap you, but was being controlled and sought to use that method to get rescued?"

Luke replied, "From what we know now, that seems most likely."

Jenny also came over, pulling at the bullet hole in Luke's jacket, "No matter the reason, it doesn't change the fact that she nearly got you injured.

If it were any of us here, we might have ended up in the hospital.

I don't like this woman."

Black sighed, feeling somewhat awkward. The nature of his prior relationship with Pari Jones aside, it was he who relayed the message to meet with Luke, and if Luke had been injured, that would have made him culpable.

Even if Luke didn't blame him, he would feel guilty.

"Captain, what do we do now?"

"Based on what we know, Pari Jones holds some important information related to the case. Kuka kidnapped her precisely to get that information.

Our task now is to find and capture Kuka and retrieve the information." Luke extinguished his cigarette and continued,

"According to what another suspect reported, their rendezvous point is at Pari Jones's house; Kuka, along with one of his men, is watching her there.

Of course, the accuracy of this information needs verification.

So, in our attempt to capture Kuka, we need some preparatory work."

On the way here, Luke had already developed a plan for the capture, and said, "Firstly, we'll drive unmarked cars around Pari Jones's neighborhood to check for any surveillance vehicles.

Once we confirm there are no suspicious vehicles or people around, we'll further verify whether Kuka is indeed hiding at Pari Jones's house.

Only when these two conditions are confirmed will we implement the capture, and we must act cautiously and discreetly to avoid alarming the suspect and risking harm to any hostages.

Any questions?"

"None." everyone said in unison.

"Good." Luke checked his watch, "Gather your gear, we move in five minutes."

"Yes, sir."