Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Luke sized up Terry, who was around 175 cm tall, with glasses, and looked like a rather scholarly young man, "Terry, I want to ask you a few questions.

Where were you between 9 PM and midnight the day before yesterday?"

The Yarters looked at Terry nervously.

Terry said, "I took out that white Volvo."

"Where did you go?"

"Kabool Mountain."

"What did you do at Kabool Mountain?"

"Whenever my dad goes on business trips, my mom always meets clients at night to show houses, which piqued my curiosity. I wanted to see what kind of clients they were."

Shirley's face showed regret as she slapped her forehead, "Oh my god..."

Terry said to his mother, "I'm grown up now; don't treat me like a kid anymore."

Luke cut to the chase, "Did you already know about the improper relationship between your mother and the 'client'?"

"At first, I just suspected it. After all, who would think their own mother could do such a thing, and she always seemed so loving toward our family and my dad. I never expected this.

The first and second times she said she was showing houses at night, I believed her.

But every time my dad went on a business trip, she would go out at night with clients, and each time she wouldn't return until after eleven or twelve. I'm not a fool; I could guess what was happening.

I kept hesitating about whether to tell my dad, but I didn't know how to start.

I knew that as soon as I brought this up, it would mean losing my family.

So, I've been dragging it out until today."

Luke pulled out a photo of the deceased, "Is this the man your mother was with?"

Terry took it, looked closely, and said, "It looks a bit like him, probably."

"What do you mean 'looks a bit like him'? Give me a definite answer."

"I can't give you a definite answer; I was afraid they'd notice me, so I just observed from a distance."

"The man in the photo was shot to death in a Mercedes the night before last. Did you do it?"

"No, I was just following them; I didn't kill anyone."

Hearing this, the Yarters let out a sigh of relief.

Terry continued, "Actually, I'm also very curious about what exactly happened that night?"

Luke stared at him, "Then describe what you saw, heard, and did that night."

Terry fell into recollection, "The night before last at dinner, my mom said she had an appointment with a client to look at houses that night. I asked her why she was meeting clients at night.

She said that client was busy during the day and only had time at night.

I said it might not be safe at night, and asked if she wanted me to go with her.

She refused.

I knew then that she was up to something again.

It was not the first time; every time my dad was away filming, she would find reasons to go out.

I don't know if she sees me as a kid or just stupid.

I'm at an age where many of my peers are dating; she thinks I don't understand these things.

I just didn't have the heart to confront her.

Around eight, my mom left in that Mercedes.

I felt very uncomfortable.

My dad was out earning money, and she was messing around with other men. That's wrong.

I thought about calling my dad, but... I couldn't bring myself to do it.

I was afraid it would destroy our family.

I knew the best thing to do was talk to my mother, ask her to stop, but... that was equally hard to bring up.

In the end, I followed in the white Volvo, planning to teach them a lesson.

After that, my mom drove to Kabool Mountain and met up with that man; they left in his car.

They had been to Kabool Mountain before, and I knew what they were up to.

I thought about catching them in the act with my phone, but... she's still my mother, and I didn't want to humiliate her.

But doing nothing made me feel too frustrated; it would be like admitting I'm a coward and also betraying my dad.

Later, I ran into four thugs on the side of the road, wearing trucker hats, vests, holding beers, and gathering around a black sedan.

I approached them and gave them a thousand US dollars to teach the man in the Mercedes a lesson.

That's all there was to it.

I never thought they would kill anyone, nor did I instruct them to kill, and a thousand dollars wouldn't be enough for them to commit murder.

I don't know what happened afterward..."

Luke pressed, "Describe those four thugs in detail, and their car."

"They were all white. The leader wore a green shirt, no eyebrows, and had a crew cut; another had a gold chain, long hair, and kept smoking, with tattoos on his hands.

I only remember these two. They were driving a black Tesla; that's all I remember."

Luke noted in his book, "Did you ever get close to the Mercedes where your mother and the deceased had their date?"

"No."

"Did you hear any gunshots?"

"Yes, but I was at some distance, couldn't hear well—just felt like something might have gone wrong.

So I left."

Boel asked, "Didn't you think of checking out the scene of the gunshots? Weren't you worried something might happen to your mother?"

"How was I supposed to know it was them in trouble? I don't have a gun, so what could I have done even if I had gone?

Apart from the police, only someone out of their mind would go watch the commotion at a shooting scene."

Boel said, "But didn't you hire a bunch of thugs to make trouble?"

"Right, a thousand bucks, split between four thugs—that's two hundred fifty US dollars each." Terry replied, "Would you kill for two hundred fifty dollars? Huh."

Shirley interjected, "Terry's right; I've seen the group he mentioned. When the murderer tried to kill me, a black sedan did pass by. I've told you this, I mentioned it before.

Terry isn't the killer; he didn't kill Baron.

He saved me.

"If he hadn't hired those thugs to cause trouble, I wouldn't have had the chance to escape in the chaos."

Luke asked, "When did you leave Kabool Mountain?"

"After the gunshot, around ten o'clock."

"Did you see any suspicious people or vehicles during that time?"

"All I could think about was how to deal with my mother's affair, I wasn't paying attention to anything else."

Luke changed the subject, "Had you been near the victim's house before?"

"Yes, about a week ago I drove a white Volvo to the victim's house."

"What were you doing at the victim's house?"

"Actually, I had been following them for a while.

I just wanted to know who that man was, whether he had a family, any children?

If he had children, I wondered if they suffered the same troubles as me.

I saw the victim's wife, and I thought about telling her.

But unfortunately, before I got the chance, they spotted me. Seeing him walk towards the car, I drove away.

I wanted to change everything but…

when I actually faced it, I still lacked the courage.

It's not something to be proud of, I didn't even know in what way or identity to stop it all.

Was I supposed to tell that man, 'I'm your lover's son, stay away from my mom'?

I felt like an idiot; I might get laughed to death."

Terry revealed a self-mocking smile, "Actually, this outcome isn't too bad either. The issue is resolved. I'm not the one who snitched.

I don't have to carry these things anymore.

These times have been… really exhausting."

Terry looked at his mother, then at his father, "I've said my piece, the rest is for you two to sort out, whether to talk it through or to divorce, I don't care.

Just let me know when you've finished talking."

After saying this, Terry went straight upstairs.

"Sorry, sorry, it's my fault this family is ruined… it's all my fault…" Shirley cried helplessly.

Yovon's eyes were red, "Deputy Chief Luke, do you have any other matters? If not." Yovon made a gesture to see them out.

Luke waved his hand and left the house with his team.

Yovon escorted everyone to the door.

Boel advised, "Mr. Yarter, this is a private matter for your family, and I shouldn't interfere.

But whatever decision you make, please think of Terry."

"I will. Right now, nothing is more important to me than Terry.

In the past, I put most of my energy into my performing career, neglecting my own family.

I will handle this matter.

Not just for me, but for Terry."

…

At two in the afternoon, behind the Detective Bureau.

The investigation into the Yarter family was paused for now.

All three members of the Yarter family were suspected to some degree.

Shirley was the only known person to have been at the crime scene and witnessed the shooting.

The police's understanding of the scene also came from her account.

The reason the police didn't continue to investigate her further was that her statement essentially matched the situation at the scene, and there were no discrepancies.

As Shirley's husband, Yovon had a potential motive for the crime, which was why the police investigated him.

But from the current evidence, the person driving the white Volvo was his son.

It's very likely that Yovon himself didn't know about his wife's affair, and he was temporarily ruled out as a suspect.

As for Yovon, he had been to Kabool Mountain and admitted to being near the victim's house, but he did not admit to being at the crime scene, nor to having killed Baron.

The police had also checked the surveillance of the white Volvo, which was indeed a substantial distance from the crime scene.

At the same time, the four thugs described in Yovon's statement and the black Tesla matched the description of the witnesses previously described by Shirley.

There were currently no loopholes in Yovon's statement.

Based on the available evidence, the family of three seemed unrelated to Baron's murder.

As for the inner conflict within the family, that was something they would have to resolve themselves.

Luke was now facing the problem of the case investigation hitting another deadlock.

Just then, Susan walked into the office, clapped her hands, and said, "Guys, the forensic analysis of the bullet marks on the victim's body is out.

We've found the gun owner after comparing the bullet marks."

Susan placed a file on the projector.

Name, Abal Flick

Sex, Male

Date of Birth, March 14, 1987

Phone number, 626 876 764*

Social Security number, 623-53-483*

Purchase date, April 13, 2021

Model, Colt Law Enforcers

Address, 122 Fenna community

Susan said with a serious face, "This man is likely the killer, very dangerous.

Guys, check your equipment, move out in five minutes.

Bring him to the station!"