Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Susan made a decisive call, "Okay, I will apply for a search warrant. We will conduct a search of the basement in secret and then decide on our next step."

"Chief Reid, what do you think?"

Reid nodded, "That's reasonable."

Susan closed her notebook, "That will be all for today's meeting. Chief Reid, do you have anything else to say?"

Reid stood up, "I came here today not only to attend the meeting but also to make an announcement."

Reid spoke with solemnity, "Luke, you have performed excellently recently and played a key role in the investigation of several cases, showing great improvement.

The department has decided to appoint you as the deputy team leader of the first team in the Robbery and Murder Department.

Congratulations!"

"Clap clap..." Reid began to lead the applause.

Everyone was taken aback, showing different expressions, but they all started to clap in unison.

The deputy team leader remarked with feeling, "A peer 40 years younger than myself, is it time for me to retire?"

Little Black muttered, "Deputy Team Luke, Detective Marcus, is this reasonable?

Why do this to me? Shouldn't it be Detective Chief Marcus?"

Luke had been prepared for the promotion to deputy team leader in his heart.

But when the official appointment came, he still felt somewhat excited.

That afternoon, Luke went to the relevant department to complete the procedures for his promotion to deputy team leader.

Detective Chief Luke officially became Deputy Team Luke.

Luke kept a low profile, showing no abnormalities compared to his usual demeanor.

David and Marcus teased Luke to treat them to a meal.

However, because the 'Holy Blood' case had not yet been solved, Luke did not want to draw too much attention and postponed the celebration until after the case was solved.

This promotion was very important for Luke.

To advance from detective chief to team leader, it was impossible to bypass the deputy team leader position.

David and Raymond had been detectives chiefs for many years, but they had never been promoted to deputy team leader.

The deputy team leader is akin to a candidate for team leader.

As soon as the position of team leader becomes vacant, the chances of a deputy team leader being promoted to team leader are very high.

As long as Luke could handle the role of deputy team leader and gain the recognition of his colleagues, he was very likely to take over the team leader position directly should Susan transfer elsewhere.

As for Deputy Team Leader Vincent, his chance for promotion was extremely small due to his age.

...

Two days later, 11 PM.

Jefferson Farm.

In the pitch-black night, a pickup truck drove towards the northeast corner of the farm.

The headlights were off, and the truck did not leave the farm, but stopped at the northeast corner.

Two people got out of the truck, one was the farm owner Jefferson, the other was his wife.

The couple looked around cautiously, whispering to each other. They didn't look like the owners of the farm, but rather like thieves sneaking onto the property.

Jefferson fumbled on the ground and lifted a wooden board, the turf on top blending indistinguishably with the surrounding grass.

Underneath the board was a dark cellar. Jefferson took out a flashlight, shone it down, and then descended into the cellar by a ladder.

Jefferson's wife frowned slightly, showing a hint of disgust, and followed him down.

Jefferson turned on the cellar light, and the whole space immediately lit up.

In the cellar, there were many glass vessels, plastic barrels, weighing machines, refrigeration equipment, and a small sealing machine.

Jefferson surveyed the items in the cellar and said to his wife, "Once we move all these things out, we will be safe."

Jefferson's wife said, "I've been wanting to move it out for a long time. You're the one who's been dragging your feet."

"You think I want to drag this on? I'm just afraid of those damn cops watching us," he replied.

For the past few days, Jefferson had been living on edge.

On the night of the incident, Jefferson fired a gun, and the surrounding farms could hear it.

Early in the morning, neighboring farmers had come to visit.

Jefferson knew he couldn't keep it a secret, so he chose to report it to the police, not taking it too seriously at first.

He knew these police officers all too well; in the past, when something was stolen from the farm, he had reported it, but nothing was ever recovered.

So what was there to fear? He reported it.

What he did not expect was that people from the Robbery and Murder Department would also show up, and they were not ordinary patrol officers.

This had him tense for quite some time.

He still couldn't quite understand how the people from the Robbery and Murder Department had found Darcy's body so quickly.

Luckily, before reporting it, Jefferson had anticipated all the questions the police would ask and practiced with his wife extensively, which is why they hadn't been seen through by the Robbery and Murder Department.

Jefferson said to his wife, "Let's pack up the stuff first and then haul it up with the rope."

The two started to organize the items in the cellar.

From the equipment at the scene, it was clearly insufficient to manufacture a unique product. This place seemed more like a site for mixing 'Holy Blood', combining existing substances with cow blood in certain proportions and then packaging it in sealed bags or glass bottles.

Jefferson's wife said, "There's some of the substance left here, what do you plan to do with it?"

Jefferson replied, "Let's hold on to the substance for now, we'll decide what to do with it later."

Jefferson's wife, not satisfied, said, "Hold on to it for what? Haven't these things caused enough trouble already?"

Jefferson responded, "That substance was bought with hard cash. If we sell it, it's a lot of money."

Jefferson's wife countered, "How to sell it? Who will sell it? Darcy's already dead and has caused us a heap of trouble.

I can't even sleep soundly at night, always feeling like someone's watching us.

And you still want to mess with this stuff? Are you planning to sell it yourself? Have you completely lost your mind?"