Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Luke said, "I'm not sure if they will come back, but what you're facing now is the FBI and the police.

Witnesses have seen you plant the bomb in the Vaughan Jujutsu Club, and your UPS company's dispatch system has a record.

You are the murderer!

If you're unwilling to reveal the mastermind behind this, you will be held responsible for this case.

Without a plea deal, you'll be directly sent to the trial bench.

I believe you understand what kind of verdict the jury will deliver."

"No, I'm not the murderer. I'm innocent, it was just an ordinary delivery, there wasn't even a bomb inside.

And even if there was a bomb, it's got nothing to do with me. I'm just the delivery guy, not the sender, that package wasn't mine," Brando Salvalto said with great agitation.

"Then why did you run? Why didn't you stop when the police car intercepted you?"

"I thought I was speeding and didn't want to cause any trouble."

"So you didn't hesitate to let your accomplices intercept the police car and fire at the officers?"

"I didn't."

"Don't be too quick to deny it. The FBI and the police will round up all your accomplices, and even if you don't admit it, they will identify you."

Brando Salvalto fell silent again.

Luke advised, "I know what you're worried about.

You're afraid of retaliation from the Gonsede Gang after betraying them.

But you really don't have to worry, as I just said, the police and the FBI will clear out all the members of the Gonsede Gang in Los Angeles.

The Gonsede Gang can't retaliate against everyone, and they won't know who the betrayer is.

Plus, I can guarantee there's more than just you.

If you don't talk, others will.

And advantageous plea deals are limited; the police will only provide them to those who assist in solving the case first.

Only then can you escape the death penalty.

Do you understand?"

Brando Salvalto hesitated for a long while before saying slowly, "What I'm telling is the truth, I really didn't know that there was a bomb in the parcel."

"Then why did you let your accomplices intercept the police car?"

"I was worried you were coming to catch me?"

"Why would we catch you?"

"I... am dealing drugs, I thought you were here for drug enforcement."

"You sell drugs through the delivery service?"

"Yes, because I'm a courier, I have to deliver packages to strangers every day, I can drive to different places without making people suspicious.

Also, there's no need to gather in a group, so I don't worry about being discovered by the police, and the customers just wait at home to receive the drugs."

"Where do the drugs come from?"

"The Gonsede Gang."

"Are you a member of this gang?"

"I don't know if I count as one.

You should know it's predominantly a Latin gang, and my identity is somewhat awkward.

I also know they don't fully trust me.

But, I need the money."

Luke said, "Is it possible that because you're white and not completely trusted by the gang leaders, they secretly placed a bomb in the courier to test you?

If things went smoothly, it would be a gesture of your loyalty.

If not, and they couldn't protect you, they'd simply get rid of you once and for all."

"I don't know, my mind is all over the place right now.

Although I've delivered couriers to that jujutsu club before, are you sure there was a bomb in that package?"

Luke countered, "Do you know Natasha?"

Brando thought for a moment and shook his head, "The name sounds familiar, but I can't recall who it is."

"She's the one who received the courier."

"I didn't see her; I remember a young Latin guy received the courier."

Luke pressed, "What did he say to you then?"

"I didn't say much, just helped sign for a delivery,"

"Think carefully again, are you really sure you've never heard of the name Natasha?"

Brando thought for a while, "I don't know."

Luke was somewhat helpless too, this guy was just a foot soldier in the gang, probably clueless about the issues between Natasha and the gang.

Luke had been observing him and didn't see any obvious signs of lying.

Previously, the police had identified Brando as the bomb deliverer for two reasons, the first being an identification from Carlos, who claimed that after he signed for the delivery, he handed it to Natasha, and Natasha took the package upstairs to the office, where the explosion occurred not long afterward.

The police listed deliveryman Brando as a suspect, but at that time it was just a suspicion with no direct evidence.

Later, when police found Brando and tried to intercept the car he was driving, not only did he not stop, but the pursuing police car was intercepted and shot at, which only served to confirm Brando Salvalto's suspicions.

If, according to Brando's statement, he fled because he was involved in drug trafficking, and not because of the bomb, then it would be questionable whether he was the perpetrator who planted the bomb.

Luke didn't find any signs of lying from the other party, which meant that it was very likely he was telling the truth, leading to two possibilities.

The first possibility was that there indeed was a bomb in the parcel he delivered, but he himself was unaware of it, merely being used by the upper echelons of the Gonsede Gang.

The second possibility was that someone else killed Natasha and neither the Gonsede Gang nor Brando knew about it; they were just scapegoats found by the real mastermind behind the scenes.

Luke analyzed that the second probability might be higher.

If there really was a mastermind behind the scenes, who could it be?

Another smuggling group?

Bossita?

Assume the mastermind was the Bossita Gang.

They indeed had a motive, they wanted Natasha dead and could also frame the Gonsede Gang, leading the FBI and police to raid the Gonsede Gang, thus achieving their goal of monopolizing the smuggling market.

If Luke hadn't caught Carlos, based on the current situation, the Bossita Gang would indeed be the biggest beneficiary.

If that's the case, was Carlos still hiding something?

Previously, Luke found something off about Carlos by asking related questions and noticing signs of lying and concealment; at the moment, he just couldn't be sure, so he deliberately lay low and later, Carlos's attempt to escape the hospital indirectly confirmed Luke's suspicions.

He recalled the conversation with Carlos carefully; although there were signs of lying, Carlos had seemed earnest when talking about the bomb and Natasha, showing no signs of deceit.

If he wasn't lying, then where was the problem?

Luke delved deeper, hypothesizing the first possibility that the bomb had nothing to do with the Bossita Gang Carlos belonged to, and that it might have been planned by another smuggling organization behind the scenes.

The second possibility was that the bomb was indeed planted by the Bossita Gang, but the gang's higher-ups hadn't told Carlos and had delivered the bomb through other means or people.

Luke analyzed all possible scenarios, now all he had to do was to rule out the impossible choices, and what remained would be the truth.

To do this, he needed to investigate more evidence.

Having organized his thoughts, Luke asked again, "Who were those people that intercepted the police car and shot at the police that day?"

"They were also members of the Gonsede Gang."

"What are their names?"

Thinking for a moment, Brando answered, "One is named Leandro Scola, another is Isis Babosa, and there was one who got shot and died on the spot, and was buried right away."

Luke noted down the two names and contacted Raymond to pay special attention to these two individuals.

Luke asked a few more questions about the Gonsede Gang, but Brando Salvalto was just an outsider to the gang and knew very little.

The interrogation ended.

Luke and Little Black walked out of the interrogation room.

Little Black sighed, "I thought we had caught the culprit, but the case has become more complicated again. What's your take on it?"

Luke frowned, "I've asked everyone who needs to be asked; now we can only investigate from other leads.

Contact UPS again, re-verify the package that was sent to Natasha."

Little Black replied, "Didn't we already check that before? Natasha bought a multi-socket outlet from Amazon.

Such a large-scale company shouldn't have any problems."

"I'm not suspecting Amazon, but I want you to investigate which part of the delivery process could have had a bomb placed in it.

Find everyone who might have come into contact with the package, got it?"

Little Black spread his hands, "That's a big project."

"You can ask the deputy to help," Luke said, then turned and left.

"Where are you going?"

"To the Genoa Bar.

Brando is just a peripheral low-rank member, he doesn't know much. Maybe the FBI has already caught a big fish, and I don't want to miss out."