Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Luke said, "This is interesting now.

The company is so large, why did the thief only target her office?"

Melanie Hickman shook her head, "I'm not sure either."

"What exactly was stolen then? You should know that."

"It was just some documents that were missing."

"What were the documents related to?"

"Many documents were missing. The police investigated too, but ultimately, they couldn't determine the cause or find the suspect."

"It seems your company has surveillance installed. Since the police were here, didn't they check the surveillance?"

"They did, but President Hashimoto's office just happens to be in a blind spot, invisible to the cameras."

Luke walked to the door of the lounge, glanced at the surveillance on the roof—the large office outside was equipped with four cameras, "Where is President Hashimoto's office?"

Melanie Hickman pointed not far away, "Over there."

Luke looked toward the office, then at the surveillance, "This angle should have captured it."

Melanie Hickman pointed toward the southeast corner, "Previously, there was only one camera in the office area. It was because of the theft that three more cameras were installed."

Luke looked toward the southeast corner; it indeed seemed like it couldn't capture the vice president's office.

Only office documents were stolen, and yet the camera was cleverly avoided. From Luke's experience, it must have been someone from inside the company.

"How long has Hashimoto Yumi been with your company?"

"About three years."

"Did anything happen to Hashimoto Yumi before or after the theft?"

"At that time, President Hashimoto had just been promoted to vice president. Since she had just taken over the work, there were some areas she wasn't familiar with; she was busy until late daily.

She really cherished this opportunity for promotion."

Luke looked at Melanie Hickman, sensing something off about her expression, as if she was hiding something.

"How does Hashimoto Yumi usually treat you?"

"Pretty good."

"She's now dead, and it was a brutal death.

Do you hope to catch the killer?"

"Of course."

Luke spoke earnestly, "Melanie, I too hope to catch the killer of Hashimoto Yumi soon.

But we currently have few leads, and there are many doubts about her case.

I hope you can assist us."

"How can I assist?"

Luke went over the interview content in his mind; she had just been promoted to vice president a month ago, her office was robbed, and a month later, she was murdered—are these events connected?

"Since you are her assistant, you should be quite familiar with her situation at the company. Does she have any enemies there?"

Melanie Hickman hesitated, "Uh… We're all colleagues...

Even if there are occasional disputes, they are work-related, so I wouldn't say there are enemies."

"You're right. Then did Hashimoto Yumi have any competitors in the company? Or someone she conflicted with at work?"

"Well, there was one."

"What's his name? What is his position?"

"Operations Director Franco Hood."

"What was the conflict between them?"

"Previously, when the position of vice president was vacant, there were rumors that Director Franco Hood would be promoted to vice president.

But in the end, Hashimoto Yumi was promoted instead, and the two often had differing opinions at work."

"What trouble did the last theft cause for Hashimoto Yumi?"

"A very important strategic plan was stolen. Fortunately, we worked overtime to re-organize another plan; otherwise, we might have lost a major order."

"What would have happened if the new strategic plan hadn't been organized in time?"

"At that time, President Hashimoto had just been appointed as acting vice president. That strategic plan was her responsibility. If it had failed, it might have taken a while for her to be confirmed permanently, which would have been troublesome."

Luke said, "Now that Hashimoto Yumi is dead, who do you think will take over as vice president?"

Melanie Hickman looked uneasy, "It should… probably be Director Franco Hood."

"Is he in the company right now?"

"Yes."

…

Director's office.

"Knock, knock…"

A knock sounded outside, and a middle-aged Caucasian man was reading documents and didn't lift his head, "Come in."

The assistant pushed the door open, "Director, there are two police officers outside looking for you."

Franco Hood raised his head, "What do the officers want with me?"

Before the assistant could answer, Luke and Jackson walked in.

Jackson introduced himself, "I'm Detective Jackson from the Robbery and Murder Department, and this is Captain Lee.

We'd like to ask you some questions regarding Hashimoto Yumi."

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"She's dead."

Franco Hood was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Is this some kind of April Fool's joke? It's not funny at all."

Luke showed his badge, "We don't have time for jokes."

Franco Hood stood up, a hint of confusion on his face, "Hashimoto Yumi is really dead?"

Luke took out a photo of Hashimoto Yumi's body, "See for yourself, is this her?"

Franco Hood glanced at it and recoiled in shock, "How did she die?"

"It's still unclear, we came to the company to investigate the cause of her death."

"This is so sudden."

"Director Hood, it is said that you were quite familiar with Hashimoto Yumi during her lifetime; we want to understand her circumstances."

"Sorry, you might be disappointed, but although we had some contact at work, it wasn't anything close."

"Since there was contact at work, you must have met often, did you notice anything unusual about her recently?"

"I didn't notice anything."

"Did she have any conflicts with anyone at work?"

Franco Hood looked at Luke and laughed, "Captain Lee, you're not suspecting me, are you?

Should I call my lawyer here?"

"No need, we're just talking. Did you have any conflicts?"

Franco Hood sighed lightly, "Wow, how should I put this?

The higher up you go, the fewer paths there are for promotion.

I did have some disagreements with her at work, but I had no reason to kill her, nor the necessity."

"With Hashimoto Yumi gone, who will your company appoint as the new vice president?"

Franco Hood grabbed his phone, "I'd better call my lawyer."

Luke spoke seriously, "You can call your lawyer, that's your right.

But acting this way will only arouse more suspicion from the police.

Don't you think you're overreacting?

If you are innocent, why not clarify things?"

"I have nothing to clarify because I haven't done anything. I don't want to talk about this topic anymore."

Luke changed the subject, "OK, then let's talk about something else.

According to our investigation, a month after Hashimoto Yumi was promoted to vice president, her office was burglarized. Are you aware of this?"

Franco Hood hummed lightly, "I'm too aware of it, she came running to me right after her office was burglarized.

I ignored her.

Eventually, she called the police, and the officers came straight to me for questioning as soon as they entered the company; the whole company knew, and it was very embarrassing for me.

You don't think I'm the thief too, do you?

Do I look like one?"

Luke said, "Of course not, I just want to hear your side of the story."

Franco Hood said, "This has been bothering me for a long time, and I even investigated it privately.

I actually found some clues."

"What clues?"

"I think someone tried to frame me," Franco Hood snorted, "There are two possibilities for the so-called office burglary.

The first possibility is that Hashimoto Yumi staged it herself, there was no burglary at all, she just failed to handle something properly and tried to pin it on me.

The second possibility is that it was stolen by Hashimoto Yumi's assistant."

Luke frowned slightly, "Melanie Hickman?"

"Yes, her."

"Why would Melanie do that?"

"You'll have to investigate that yourself, I'm not sure."

Luke recalled his previous conversation with Melanie Hickman. At the time, he felt she was concealing something, and upon further questioning, she revealed the conflicts between Franco Hood and the deceased.

Luke had thought she didn't want to offend Director Franco Hood, so she was hiding something.

Now it seemed, she was likely using Franco Hood as a shield.