Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Xinchuan Restaurant.

This is a Chinese restaurant that specializes in Sichuan cuisine.

A Ford Explorer was parked next to the restaurant, Luke rolled down the window and looked around inside.

He had already investigated the black sedan that appeared in the surveillance video from the maternity center and had identified the car owner.

Name, Wu Jiangping

Gender, Male

Date of Birth, March 3, 1985

Mobile number, 626 872 2523

Address, 202 Camo Street

Social Security number, 623-53-3341

Luke checked the car owner's photo, which was not the same man as in the surveillance.

To avoid complications, Luke dared not arrest people randomly.

According to their investigation, Wu Jiangping worked at this restaurant.

It was now past two in the afternoon, customers were gradually leaving, and only the chefs and waiters remained in the restaurant.

Luke had already visited the restaurant for an investigation before, Wu Jiangping worked in the kitchen, and he didn't encounter the suspect.

Even so, Luke didn't dare to act rashly, just in case other people might leak information or even tip off the suspect when the police approached Wu Jiangping, it would be difficult to control the consequences.

As for taking people to control the restaurant directly, it would cause a bigger commotion, and the police didn't have enough evidence to do so right now.

Generally speaking, restaurants would take a break after lunchtime.

Luke prepared to take this opportunity to approach Wu Jiangping.

At half-past two, Wu Jiangping, with a cigarette in his mouth, came out of the restaurant, and Luke and Small Black got out of the car and followed him.

Wu Jiangping was humming a little tune while walking, "Gray skies, your face.

After love, tears, laughter, and pain, all that's left is goodbye.

My tears, wetting my face.

To lose one's first love feels just like this..."

Small Black, following behind, shook his head, "Do you know what song he's singing? It sounds pretty good."

"You don't even understand the lyrics."

Unconvinced, Small Black retorted, "I have a good sense of music; I like the rhythm."

Luke couldn't be bothered with him.

Luke found the tune familiar but couldn't recall the name of the song.

Soon, Wu Jiangping walked into an alley, and Luke, observing no one else around, decided to start questioning.

"Wu Jiangping."

"Eh," the man ahead instinctively responded, then turned his head.

Small Black approached and showed his badge, "LAPD, I'm Detective Marcus, and this is Deputy Team Leader Luke."

Wu Jiangping was startled and quickly greeted them, "Hello Captain Luke, Detective. What can I do for you?"

"Is the black Honda with the license plate number 8LFB898 your car?"

Wu Jiangping scratched his head, "Uh... it used to be, but I've sold it."

"Who did you sell it to?"

"A colleague from the restaurant."

"Did he come to work today?"

"No, his wife has been unwell these two days, and he is taking care of her at home."

"If you sold the car, why didn't you transfer the ownership or change the name?"

"Uh..." Wu Jiangping looked nervous, eyes darting, "I just sold it, I've been busy lately and haven't had time to take care of the transfer.

I was planning to do it when I get less busy."

Luke was a bit unsatisfied, "Hey, we're cops, not fools. Do you know the consequences of lying to a cop? If you don't, I can take you to the station to enlighten you."

"No, no, no, that's not necessary," Wu Jiangping quickly stepped back, "I really did sell the car, but not transferring ownership wasn't due to being busy at work, it was the buyer's proposal to not transfer immediately."

"Who's the buyer? Why doesn't he agree to transfer the ownership?"

"His name is Wang Chao... uh... it's not that he doesn't want to transfer it, but..." Wu Jiangping sighed and hesitated.

Luke said to Small Black at his side, "Bring the car over, take him back to the station."

"Please don't, I'll talk... he's here on a tourist visa and doesn't have legal status here, that's why the car couldn't be transferred."

"His name is Wang Chao?"

"Yes."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"June 17th; he has been taking time off since then."

"Why has he taken so long off work?"

"His wife is pregnant, and he said she wasn't feeling well, so he took leave to care for her. The boss couldn't really rush him over such a matter."

"Where does he live? Who does he live with?"

"Just him and his wife, they live at number 289 in Cardin community."

"You're not lying?"

"I swear I'm absolutely not," Wu Jiangping finished, then asked somewhat nervously, "What's wrong with Wang Chao and that car? Could I be implicated?"

"That depends on whether you cooperate with the police or not."

"Cooperate, I will definitely cooperate."

"Is Wang Chao's home far from here?"

"Not close. Wang Chao used to live in an apartment closeby, and although it was old, it was convenient for work as it was close to the restaurant. Later, when his wife got pregnant, he moved to a more remote community to provide a better environment for her."

"Get in the car; lead us to him."

Wu Jiangping hesitated and shrank back, "Captain Luke, can I not go?"

"You can, but then we'll have to take you to the station first."

"Why? I haven't done anything, why take me to the station."

"Because Wang Chao is driving your car, and who knows if you are his accomplice. Considering the safety of the hostages, we have to handle this as a special case, and I hope you understand."

"What did Wang Chao do? Is it serious?"

"Kidnapping."

Upon hearing this, Wu Jiangping's face turned green, "Captain, this has nothing to do with me, I really don't know about this."

Luke took the opportunity to ask, "Where were you between 9 and 12 on the night of June 19th?"

Wu Jiangping thought for a moment, "Our restaurant closes late, almost 10 o'clock, and we were having a late-night snack. It was about 11 o'clock.

After that, I went back to the dormitory and played cards with my colleagues before going to sleep."

Seeing Luke look at him with a scrutinizing gaze, Wu Jiangping hurriedly said, "Everything I'm saying is true, if you don't believe me, you can investigate, I have a clear conscience."

"Since you have a clear conscience, then take us to Wang Chao's home, get in the car."

...

Half an hour later.

289 Cardin Community.

This place is located in the eastern part of Los Angeles, an older community. The environment isn't too great, and the public security is somewhat disordered, but it's cheap.

Luke parked the car at a distance and then observed for a while but didn't see Wang Chao.

At this time, it was already past three in the afternoon, and with every passing minute, the hostages were in more danger.

Luke decided to deploy the operation.

The stakeout method was simple. Luke first called for backup from four patrol officers to help capture the suspect who might be at home.

Besides that, he had Wu Jiangping knock on the door under the guise of a visit, and when the door opened, everyone would rush in to capture Wang Chao.

Sometimes, plans do not need to be too complicated; they just need to work.

Afterward, everyone acted according to Luke's deployment.

Wu Jiangping knocked on the door, while Luke and Xiao Hei hid on both sides of the door, two patrol officers supported nearby, and another two watched the back door to prevent the suspect from fleeing.

Everything was ready, and Luke gestured the signal.

Wu Jiangping took a deep breath and knocked on the door, "Thump, thump."

No one responded.

Wu Jiangping knocked again, "Thump, thump."

Still no response.

Luke pointed to his mouth.

Wu Jiangping said, "Wang Chao, it's Jiangping, open the door."

Still no response.

Now there were two possibilities: the first was that the person was hiding in the house, silent.

The second possibility was that the person had left.

Since they had already knocked on the door, they had to ascertain which situation it was.

Luke went to the window to observe and didn't see any sign of people. Then, he opened the glass and, stepping on Xiao Hei's hand, climbed directly through the first-floor window.

Luke, gun in hand, surveyed the surroundings and then slowly went to the door and opened it.

Xiao Hei walked in with one patrol officer, while another stayed outside with Wu Jiangping.

The house was small, and Luke and Xiao Hei quickly searched the premises without finding anyone.

However, they did find some items used by pregnant women.

Besides, judging by the scene, the kidnapper had prepared well when leaving, taking many items along.

But Luke neither found any stolen money nor any hostages.

So the question arose:

How could Luke prove that Wang Chao was the kidnapper?

If he couldn't prove that Wang Chao was the kidnapper, then everything he was doing now was meaningless.

Putting himself in the kidnapper's place, Luke wondered, what would he do?

After that, Luke left the house and went to the backyard.

The yard was planted with various vegetables, including green beans, cucumbers, and eggplants.

Luke walked around the yard and faintly heard a sound.

He listened carefully...

The sound seemed to come from underground.

Next, Luke began to step on every inch of soil in the yard.

"Bang, bang!"

After some trial and error, he found a patch of ground that felt different from the rest.

Luke inspected carefully and noticed something off: it looked like a cover.

Luke lifted the cover to reveal a steel plate, topped with a thick layer of dirt and lawn – it was hard to notice anything unusual without looking closely.

When the steel plate was lifted, the strange sound grew louder.

"Mmm mmm..."

This time, Luke heard clearly; from his experience, it sounded like muffled sobs.

Below the steel plate was a hole, very dark, and Luke didn't dare to go down rashly, in case the kidnapper was hiding there.

If Luke went down now, wouldn't he become a live target?

With this in mind, Luke had Xiao Hei fetch a selfie stick from the car, and then, extending the selfie stick to its maximum length, he inserted it into the hole and rotated, taking pictures to cover every corner inside.

After taking the pictures, Luke checked them. The hole was small at the top but larger inside, about ten square meters, with very little furniture. In a corner, two women, one larger and one smaller, were bound.

Luke didn't see the kidnapper, so he had no worries for the time being. He then descended into the hole, gun in the right hand and holding onto the ladder with the left.

The hole was dark, without any lights, so they had to rely on the person above to shine a flashlight down.

After entering the hole, Luke observed the surroundings again to ensure safety before approaching the two women bound up like rice dumplings.

"Mmm mmm..." The two women were visibly agitated, shaking their bodies and making sobbing sounds.

Luke confirmed their identities; they were indeed Betty Kenneth and Amy Ma.

He flashed his badge, "Don't be nervous, I'm Luke, the Deputy Captain of the Robbery and Murder Department, I'm here to rescue you."

Then, Luke untied the ropes binding the two women.

The two women were still in shock and huddled together, crying.

Now that the hostages had been found, where was the kidnapper?