Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

The wardrobe was filled with various garments, including black silk lingerie, flight attendant uniforms, police uniforms, nurse outfits, and whips.

On the dressing table lay cosmetics, and upon opening the drawers, there were a few Durex packets; nearby, the trash can by the bed contained several used Durexes.

Luke checked the bathroom next, finding only toiletries, makeup supplies, bathrobes, and additionally, a pair of men's slippers.

Luke asked Mary from the technical team, "Did you find anything?"

Mary sighed, "There's too much to find—hairs everywhere, different colors, textures, lengths, shapes. It's clear that many people have been here."

"Did you find any bloodstains?"

"No."

"Did you find any clues to the identity of the deceased?"

"Not yet, but after we process these hairs and the Durexes from the trash, we might find something."

"Thank you for your hard work," Luke said, then moved over to the forensic doctor Hila, "What was the cause of death?"

Hila stood up, gesturing, "The killer was likely behind the victim, strangulated them with a rope around the neck, leading to asphyxiation.

The time of death was probably between ten last night and two in the morning.

The victim was between 30 to 35 years old, 162cm tall, of Asian descent, and had played poker before."

"What about the murder weapon?"

Hila pointed to a belt next to a kimono, "If I'm not mistaken, it's probably that, but we'll need to do further verification before concluding."

Luke pointed at the letter 'H' on the victim's stomach, "What about this?"

The forensic doctor, Hila, said, "It was carved postmortem, and the wound is very clean, likely done with a sharp tool like a dagger.

Yet, we haven't found any similar tool on site."

Kevin asked, "Why would the killer carve a letter on the victim's stomach? What does this letter mean?"

Hila shrugged, "I don't know.

However, some psychopaths like to leave 'marks' on their victims, much like a dog marking its territory."

Kevin pointed to his head, "In that case, the killer might be a psychopath with these issues."

"That you'll only know once you capture them," Hila remarked and continued working on the body.

Luke scanned the apartment; it barely had any personal belongings, more resembling a temporary layover.

The deputy chief called from the apartment entrance, "Captain, has the person who reported this arrived?"

Luke exited the apartment, spotting a tall, roughly 1.8 meters high, black man with a close-cropped haircut, whose eyes occasionally darted inside, "Sir, you wanted to see me."

Luke said, "I am Luke Lee, the captain of the first team of the Robbery and Murder Department.

And how may I address you?"

"Kevin Rodman."

"Kevin, were you the first to discover the body?"

"Yes."

"What time did you find the body? And when did you report it?"

"I must have left around nine-thirty, then I noticed that the apartment door was ajar, not fully closed. I thought I'd stop by to say hello, but no one in the apartment responded.

I assumed she forgot to close the door, so I opened it to check...

God, I nearly wet myself, I actually did."

Luke and Kevin instinctively looked at his trousers.

Kevin Rodman said, "I changed them."

Luke shifted the topic, "Did you know the deceased?"

"Yes, we were neighbors, so of course I knew her."

"What was her name?"

"Masami Nagasawa."

"Are you sure?" Luke faintly remembered that seemed to be the name of a Japanese actress.

"She told me herself."

"Did she live here all the time?"

"No, she only came here at night."

Luke pressed further, "What did she do for a living?"

Kevin Rodman shrugged, "You know?"

Kevin from the technical team interjected, "Dude, we're police; we deal with evidence, not guesses."

"A streetwalker."

Luke continued, "So this was her place for meeting clients."

"Yes, I've seen her pick up clients on the street then bring them back to the apartment, several different men in a single evening."

Kevin added, "Did you ever patronize her?"

Kevin Rodman looked embarrassed, "I don't know how to say this?"

Kevin shrugged, "That means yes."

"It's not the same, I didn't pay.

You should understand, it gets noisy here at night, and living alone, I couldn't sleep.

So, I went to ask her to keep it down so it wouldn't disturb my rest."

"She was very polite, apologized to me, and even said she could compensate me..." Kevin Rodman gave a knowing look.

Luke then asked, "Kevin, did you see Masami Nagasawa last night?"

"Yes, I did.

Around eleven o'clock, I saw her bringing back a Caucasian man with brown hair, blue eyes, quite good-looking, about your height."

"How long did he stay?"

"Less than an hour, I guess."

"Did you see him leave?"

"No, but I heard noises."

Little Black "..."

Luke pointed to the ceiling of the hallway, "I noticed all the cameras in the apartment were destroyed. Were they destroyed last night?"

"They were always broken.

There are many residents, quite a mix, and the management of this building is so-so. Many people don't like being watched, so they smashed them."

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

Kevin Rodman spread his hands, "I'm already used to it."

"How many people came over last night?"

"At least three, then I fell asleep..."

"Do you know any other information about the deceased?"

"Yes, I know she had another car, a great car, probably parked in the parking lot here."

Luke said, "I like cars too. How about you show us?"

The group left the apartment and followed Kevin Rodman to a nearby parking lot.

Kevin Rodman pointed at a red Ferrari, "This is her car, isn't it awesome?"

"Are you sure?" Little Black looked surprised. How could a streetwalking girl afford such a nice car?

Kevin Rodman glanced at the license plate, "Yes, she always drove this car."

Luke instructed a patrol officer to look up the license plate on the computer, quickly finding the car owner's information.

Car owner, Hashimoto Yumi

Gender, female

Age, 34

Ethnicity, Japanese-American

Height, 162 cm

Weight, 110 pounds

Eye color, black

Hair color, black

Phone number, 626 836 7856

License plate number, 7erb390

Little Black looked at the photo of the car owner, puzzled, "If she can afford a Ferrari, why does she need to be a streetwalking girl?"

Luke called in a professional to unlock the Fe rrari, searching the items inside the car.

Other than documents and cosmetics, there were no other messy things in the car, and there was a briefcase on the back seat.

Luke opened it to check, finding some documents and an employee ID.

Name, Hashimoto Yumi

Company name, Yameini Architecture Design Company

ID number, 0005

Position, Vice President

Little Black checked up on his phone, "Wow, this is one of the top ten architectural design firms in the country, quite renowned.

The average annual income of the executives is over a million dollars. As a vice president, her salary should be even higher."

Luke also searched the company's data and found Hashimoto Yumi on the corporate website, confirming her identity.

As a vice president of a well-known company, Hashimoto Yumi had the means to buy a Ferrari and it matched her identity.

But why would a high-ranking executive from a public company be found in an old apartment?

Luke couldn't help but wonder, was Hashimoto Yumi really a streetwalker?

Luke again turned to Kevin Rodman and asked, "Are you sure she was soliciting clients?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Did she solicit clients every day? What were her working hours?"

Kevin Rodman thought for a moment, "Not every day, about once or twice a week, always after ten in the evening."

Luke pressed on, "On days she didn't come, did anyone else visit the apartment?"

Kevin Rodman shook his head, "No."

"How much did she charge each time?"

"About 300 US dollars."

Luke looked towards the red Ferrari, If based on her income, she couldn't afford the Ferrari in a lifetime even if she tried.

Why would a financially well-off corporate executive choose to moonlight as a streetwalker?