Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Luke walked into the yard, yawned, and now that it was almost one in the morning, he was starting to feel sleepy. He settled into his car and lit a cigarette.

After a short rest, Luke got out of the car to check the situation. "Any findings?" he asked.

Jackson shook his head, "No freshly dug traces in the yard."

Little Black said, "No new clues found in the house either."

Luke couldn't help feeling a bit frustrated. Had they been busy for nothing?

John came over, "Luke, I've found something."

"What did you find?"

"You know,

I've been in the housing construction industry before becoming a cop, and I've spotted a problem with the structure of this house."

"What problem?"

"I suspect there might be a compartment in the house."

"Interesting, show me."

"Come on, it's in the study."

John led Luke into the study, and others, curious, followed.

The study was simply decorated with a desk, bookshelves, and a storage cabinet. John walked beside the bookshelf and knocked on the wall, "thud thud."

He knocked on the adjacent wall, "bang bang."

John pointed to the wall beside the bookshelf, "The wood paneling of this wall is much thinner than that of the other walls, and the dimensions of the study are also incorrect. It should be about three square meters smaller."

Luke looked over at Little Black, "Did you know about this?"

"I..." Little Black wanted to explain something, but it was difficult to say, he shook his head, "No, I don't understand construction."

Luke said to John nearby, "I'll leave it to you."

"OK," John replied. He searched the study for a while but didn't seem to find an entrance. Then he left the study and went outside.

Outside the study was the living room, with a brown liquor cabinet placed in it. John observed for a bit and then felt around on the shelves of the cabinet.

"Click."

It seemed he had activated a switch.

A smile appeared on John's face as he flipped switches on every shelf of the liquor cabinet. Then he pulled out the wooden frame of the cabinet, and the inside wood panel rotated outward, revealing a passage about fifty centimeters wide. Though not large, it was big enough for a person to enter.

John took out a flashlight and shone it inside, "Captain, this is it."

John stepped aside, allowing Luke to go in and investigate. The compartment was nearly one meter wide and over two meters long, containing a simple shelf with several file bags and a briefcase inside. The case held cash and a handgun.

Luke found a file bag marked 'Natasha,' which contained photos and documents.

"John, congratulations, you've earned another merit," Luke said.

...

The following morning.

Robbery and Murder Department office.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Luke, holding a cup of coffee, convened a meeting with everyone.

The entire squad was already there, but most were yawning, having stayed up until midnight the previous night before going home.

Luke placed the information obtained the night before on the table, "Guys, these are the documents we took from Pari Jones's house last night.

From the contents of these documents, it seems that Pari Jones was investigating a smuggling case across the border, and Natasha's death might also be connected to this matter."

Jackson said, "Smuggling isn't anything out of the ordinary. Is it really necessary to take such a big risk and create such a spectacle with a murder?"

Luke said, "According to the documents, Pari Jones was investigating a criminal organization called 'Porta.' This organization was not only organizing large-scale smuggling operations but was also involved in other criminal activities like selling silver, smuggling, and fraud."

Little Black said, puzzled, "Pari Jones is a journalist; I can understand her investigating these, but what's the connection with the victim Natasha?"

Luke replied, "There's a file on Natasha in these documents, and if what's recorded is true, Natasha also came to Los Angeles through smuggling when she was just a teenager, underage."

Although the details in the record are sparse, some information can still be inferred from what is available.

Firstly, Natasha was not even 14 years old at the time. Responsible parents would never let their child immigrate illegally alone.

And irresponsible parents wouldn't go through the trouble of arranging for their daughter to be sent to Los Angeles.

Something must have happened here; the biggest possibility is that Natasha's parents had also attempted to smuggle themselves, but something went wrong during the process, which is why Natasha ended up in an orphanage.

Having reviewed these files, Luke felt the information was incomplete and surmised he would have to find Pari Jones herself to uncover more clues.

However, from the available data, it could be deduced that Natasha's murder was very likely connected to a smuggling organization known as 'Porta'.

Little Black said, "So, you mean Pari Jones was probably kidnapped by this 'Porta' smuggling organization?"

Jenny frowned, "I've never heard of this group, are they also part of the Los Angeles gangs?"

With a sip of coffee, Luke started assigning tasks, "Marcus, go to the Anti-Narcotics and Vice Department and ask around; they have more insight on the gangs."

"Vice-captain, you take another look at this dossier, especially the information regarding the Porta organization, I have a feeling there's something off about this data."

"Raymond, Jackson, Jenny, you guys follow up on that red sedan that attacked us, some unlucky soul got hit by me and will likely seek treatment at an unlicensed clinic."

"Yes, sir."

Port pointed at himself, "Captain, what about me?"

"You're with me, I have other plans."

…

Will Base Hospital.

Christian Sodi had been brought here for treatment after being injured.

Hospital 5th floor.

A black police officer was standing guard outside room 509.

Suddenly, a nurse hurried over, "Sir, there's trouble downstairs, can you take a look?"

"Why the commotion?"

"He wants some psychotropic drugs, but the doctor disagrees, and now he's being very unstable."

The black officer glanced at the room, "Sorry, I'm on a mission."

Desperation showing in her eyes, the nurse said, "The man causing the disturbance downstairs is armed. It's dangerous; doctors or patients could get hurt at any moment. Are you just going to stand by and watch?"

Upon hearing there was a gun, the officer's expression changed, "OK, lead the way."

The nurse eagerly agreed and led the officer towards the stairwell, "The man causing the disturbance is on the second floor, a black man wearing a red top."

Taking out his handgun, the officer followed the nurse downstairs.

Shortly after the officer left, a male doctor wearing a mask came by. He walked straight to room 509, peered through the glass of the door, and slowly opened it to enter.

The masked doctor approached the bedside and suddenly pulled off the covers.

"Police, don't move!" The man in the bed turned around, holding a gun.

The masked doctor quickly said, "Don't shoot, I'm a doctor, I'm here for rounds."

The man lying in the bed was Port, the officer recently assigned to the Robbery and Murder Department.

Luke also emerged from the bathroom, holding a gun, "Take off the mask.

Do it slowly and don't make any unnecessary movements."

Following Luke's command, the male doctor slowly removed the mask, "I really am a doctor; you shouldn't be pointing guns at me."

With a smile, Luke looked at the Latin man before him, "Although we've never met, we've caught your accomplice.

If I'm not mistaken, you must be 'Kuka'."

"You've got the wrong man, I'm not him," the male doctor quickly denied.

Luke continued, "Are you with the Porta organization?"

The male doctor didn't reply.

Port walked up and handcuffed him, finding a handgun on him, "Doctor, is this what you use to treat your patients?"

Seeing the handgun, Luke became even more convinced and proceeded, "Natasha and Pari Jones were investigating your organization, so you decided to silence them.

You used a bomb to kill Natasha and even searched her home for information, information which must have been very important to your organization.

But unfortunately for you, you didn't find it.

Then, you turned your attention to Pari Jones, kidnapping her, but again you didn't find the information." Luke snapped a photo of him and sent it to the group continuing,

"I know you won't rest easy, and sure enough, you've set your sights on Christian Sodi."