Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Daisy said, "We agree to this agreement, but a written contract must be signed, otherwise I cannot guarantee the interests of my client."

At the same time, an additional clause must be included, stating that if my client acted in self-defense, the supermarket may not use that as grounds to dismiss him afterwards."

"No, no, I can only give a verbal promise, I can't sign a specific contract." Kathu was somewhat resistant and obviously did not want to take on more responsibility.

Daisy shook her head, "Do you think this way the supermarket can stay out of the affair?

Impossible!

Before, when we were negotiating with the suspect, everything they talked about was the supermarket.

The reason the suspect framed Val was principally to seek compensation from the supermarket.

From this perspective, Val is taking the fall for the supermarket.

The supermarket and Val are now in a situation where they either flourish or flounder together."

Kathu fell silent, his chin rested in his hand as he adopted a thoughtful expression.

Daisy continued, "Don't think you'll only get involved in this case if you sign the agreement.

From the moment the suspect robbed the supermarket, the supermarket was already involved in this case.

Only if you provide Val with sufficient support will he be willing to fight on the front lines without reservations.

If the supermarket can't even do this, then, when we discuss a settlement, we will no longer consider the interests of the supermarket, but only those of my client."

Daisy added, "We are a team now, I hope you understand that."

Kathu sighed softly. The beautiful lawyer did have a point; the supermarket indeed found it difficult to stay detached from this matter.

Moreover, what worried him more was that if the supermarket really dissociated itself too clearly from Val, it might not have to take on joint liability, but it could affect the employees' work motivation and sense of responsibility.

If a zero-dollar shopping incident occurred again, forget stopping it; employees might stand aside and watch the scene unfold.

If such a situation arose, that would be terrifying.

"OK, I can represent the supermarket to sign the agreement, as long as Val acted in self-defense, the supermarket will bear all costs related to the case in full, and Val will be on paid leave during this period."

Daisy looked at Luke and glanced at Val, and seeing that they both had no objections, said, "OK, I'll draft the agreement."

"Knock knock..." The office door sounded.

Kathu said, "Come in."

The African American manager walked in, holding a tray with four cups of coffee.

"Thomas, thank you for your efforts."

"Don't mention it." Thomas distributed the coffee to everyone.

Normally, this type of work wouldn't require his involvement, but today was different; this sort of occasion wasn't suitable for too many participants.

Luke took a sip of coffee, "Does the supermarket have a backup of the surveillance footage? I'd like to see the footage."

Kathu replied, "After the incident, the police officer in charge took a copy of the footage, and I too have seen the surveillance video. Indeed, it did not capture Val in conflict with the robber."

Luke said, "What you can't perceive doesn't mean there aren't any clues."

Kathu reminded, "It's not just me who saw it; the police have seen it too."

Luke flashed his badge, "I'm the Assistant Captain of the Robbery and Murder Department, and when it comes to investigations, the Robbery and Murder Department is LAPD's pride, and I am the pride of the Robbery and Murder Department.

If there's an unsolved case in Los Angeles, I'm the most likely to crack it."

"Wow..."

Kathu laughed, leaning back on the sofa, this guy...

Really can talk big.

However, the Robbery and Murder Department was indeed intimidating, and being an Assistant Captain, he probably had some skills.

He hadn't expected Val to have such a connection.

Kathu took out a laptop from the table and opened a video, "Please watch."

Luke started viewing the video; the first video showed the suspect Harbot entering the supermarket, pushing a shopping cart and beginning to steal items.

Of course, there were many blind spots in the cameras, making it impossible to see every move of the robber.

In the footage, Luke also spotted Val, who quite clearly exhibited dissatisfaction.

After taking the items, the suspect calculated the total with a calculator and then pushed the cart out of the supermarket, entering a blind spot.

At that moment, Val followed him.

Because it was a blind spot, the subsequent images were no longer visible, but judging from the reaction of the surrounding crowd, it seemed the two had had a confrontation.

Daisy, aware of Luke's capabilities, asked, "Did you find anything?"

Luke countered, "If we escalate the suspect's misdemeanor to a felony, would it help clear Val of charges?"

Daisy considered for a moment, "Of course, the sentencing for a misdemeanor and a felony greatly differ.

If we have evidence that can convict the suspect of a felony, I believe the suspect would be willing to negotiate a settlement with us.

We wouldn't submit the evidence of the felony, he admits Val was acting in self-defense, and both parties reach an understanding privately; that would resolve the matter."

Kathu stated, "We've reviewed it, and the items that the suspect robbed totaled only 940 US Dollars, which doesn't meet the felony threshold."

Luke pointed to the suspect in the video, "What about these shoes?"

Seeing everyone looking over, Luke continued, "I've carefully compared the footage of the suspect entering and leaving the supermarket. Although he wore black shoes both times, the patterns on the two pairs of shoes were different.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the shoes he wore when leaving had grey horizontal stripes on the sides.

I suspect that after entering the supermarket, the suspect must have changed into a different pair of shoes, with the two pairs' colors being so similar and the surveillance footage not being very clear, the police and the supermarket missed it."