Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Marindel Bay Pier.

Around five in the evening, Luke steered the boat back to the pier.

The catch from this fishing trip wasn't too much.

The person who caught the most fish was Reid.

Next was Luke.

The other three only caught a few fish each.

Luke and Reid each kept 10 fish, and the rest were distributed among the others.

Once on the pier, Luke put the catch into the trunk of his car and said goodbye to everyone.

Reid approached him, "Luke, how did you feel about today?"

"Not bad," Luke replied.

Reid patted his shoulder, "The purpose of the island trip is to relax and provide a place for everyone to chat.

It also lets us get to know more colleagues, making future cooperation easier and better serving the citizens of Los Angeles."

Luke handed him a cigarette, "Are you familiar with Chief Percy?"

"Yes, we've known each other for over ten years.

He's doing well in Internal Affairs.

You might have heard, he wants his son to follow in his footsteps, but his son isn't interested in working in Internal Affairs at all.

He's actually interested in joining the Robbery and Murder Department.

The gathering today was organized by him, quite hastily.

It's not easy for him.

Given his special status, he rarely joins fishing trips, let alone organizing them.

But for the sake of his son..." Reid expressed an understanding look.

"Of course, most of the time, the purpose of a fishing trip isn't that clear. More often it's about everyone coming out to have fun. Getting to know colleagues from other departments.

It might not be useful now, but it could be in the future.

Knowing more people can make many things different.

You'll understand eventually."

"Ding-a-ling-ling..."

Luke's cellphone rang.

"OK, you go ahead and take your call, we'll talk another day," Reid waved his hand and left.

Luke also waved and then picked up the call, "Hello, this is Luke."

"I'm Daisy's father, Lawrence. Can I talk to you?" a man's voice came from the phone.

Luke was surprised, "What do you want to talk about?"

"About Daisy."

Luke thought for a moment, "Where?"

...

Soaring Bar.

Luke was not unfamiliar with this bar; it was where he and Daisy had their second encounter.

"Hey, I'm over here." A white-haired, white old man waved, it was Daisy's father, Lawrence.

"Luke, may I address you like that?"

"Of course." Luke greeted the bartender and ordered a whiskey. "What did you want to talk about?"

Lawrence shrugged, "Actually, it's nothing much, just wanted to chat about Daisy. How long have you two been together?"

"It's been a while," Luke replied noncommittally, turning the question back, "How long have you not seen Daisy?"

Lawrence gave an awkward smile, "You're quite sharp, young man."

"Thank you," Luke took the whiskey handed to him by the bartender and took a sip.

Lawrence pressed, "Did you tell Daisy about our meeting?"

Luke set down his glass, "No, isn't this our little secret?"

"You're right," Lawrence nodded, and the conversation fell into a brief silence.

Luke had agreed to meet Lawrence partly out of respect for Daisy's father, and partly because he wanted to learn more about Daisy's background.

He had known Daisy for three months and been dating her for two, but he didn't know much about her family, as Daisy never spoke about it.

To put it bluntly, their interactions were limited to themselves, with hardly any crossover between their circles.

Luke had twice invited Daisy to family gatherings, and both times she refused.

It seemed to him that Daisy was rather rational, not one to open up easily.

Luke suspected that this might have something to do with her upbringing.

After a while, Lawrence slowly began, "You're not wrong, I indeed haven't seen Daisy in a long time.

I'm not exactly a good father. I divorced her mother when Daisy was around ten years old.

Daisy has lived with her mother ever since, and our relationship has never been very close.

I have always tried to improve our relationship, but with little success.

How about you? How did you meet Daisy?"

Luke responded, "I'm a police officer, and we crossed paths in our work. We had mutual attraction and naturally ended up together.

What brings you to seek out Daisy this time?"

Lawrence sighed, "Daisy's younger brother got into some trouble.

A while ago, he went to a friend's party. They had a great time and drank quite a bit.

The friend boasted about his new car and suggested Daisy's brother take it for a spin, and he agreed.

But he was unfamiliar with the car's performance and had been drinking, so he got into an accident.

The insurance company refused to pay, and Daisy's brother's friend turned against him.

He claimed that Daisy's brother stole the car and wrecked it, demanding compensation.

It's a complete frame-up.

Daisy's brother is not that kind of person, but the problem now is that everyone at the party was the plaintiff's friend, and no one is willing to testify on his behalf.

The cops took Daisy's brother away without distinguishing right from wrong, and he's still locked up in the station.

I want to help him, but I'm powerless.

Now, only Daisy can save him, so..."

Lawrence downed the drink in his glass, "Another, please."

Luke had not seen any official records mentioning that Daisy had a brother.

"How come I didn't know Daisy had a brother?"

"Uh... Gordon was born after I divorced Daisy's mother, and even though the siblings haven't seen each other often, she knows about her brother."