Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

About twenty minutes later, there was a stir outside.

"Click."

The door opened from the outside, and a tattooed white teenager with long hair walked into the living room. His appearance matched one of the thugs that Terry had described.

Brian pointed at the long-haired teenager and introduced him, "Deputy Chief Luke, this is my son, Archil Martinez."

"Hello, Archil. I am Deputy Chief Luke from the Robbery and Murder Department. I came today to discuss a few details with you," Luke said.

Archil sat on the opposite side of the sofa, propping up his leg, and said, "I heard from my dad. You want to talk to me about a case, what's the case?"

"On the night of June 28, did you drive a black Tesla to Kabool Mountain?"

"Yes, what's the issue?"

"That night, there was a robbery and homicide on Kabool Mountain, and according to the victim, your car just happened to pass by."

"That's right. We were driving up the mountain and saw from a distance a masked person playing poker with a woman.

At first, we thought they were playing a game, some kind of kinky sex game.

One of my friends even thought about stopping by to learn something.

Then we heard a gunshot. That masked freak fired a shot.

We didn't want to get into trouble, so we just drove away," Archil said.

"Who else was in the car with you at the time?"

"Just my friends."

"Give me their names."

"Dominic James, Bobby Reel, Galica Yudo. Just the four of us."

"Who was driving at the time?"

"I was."

"Describe in detail what you saw at the scene of the crime."

"It was rather dark at the time, and the car was still moving, so it wasn't possible to see very clearly.

Plus, the gunshots rang out, and I was so scared my hands were shaking; I'm not sure how much I remember," Archil responded.

Luke pressed on, "How many people did you see at the crime scene?"

"Three people."

"Describe the physical characteristics of the three people and the details of the crime."

"There was a woman lying in front of the car door, she wasn't wearing clothes, I couldn't see her face clearly, but she was white.

There was someone in a mask playing poker behind her, probably wearing a black top and nothing below.

Apart from these two, there seemed to be another man in the backseat of the car.

As our car got closer, he stuck his head out and called for help. It seemed like his mouth was gagged, only making muffled noises...

Then the masked person shot the man in the backseat, the woman took the opportunity to run away. That's pretty much it," he explained.

"After that, did you go back to the crime scene?"

"No, the other party had a gun. I didn't want to cause trouble, so I left by another road."

"Why were you at the crime scene? Was it by chance, or for some other reason?"

"A kid in a white Volvo found us and paid us a thousand dollars to mess with the people in that Mercedes parked up there.

We thought it sounded fun, there was money to be made, and we could enjoy a show, so we agreed.

Who knew we'd nearly get caught in a shooting. If I ever see that kid again, I'm definitely going to demand compensation for mental distress."

"You witnessed a shooting, why didn't you call the police?"

"We didn't want to get into trouble, and to be honest, the cops I've met before weren't exactly friendly," said Archil, giving a knowing look.

Archil's account was broadly consistent with what Shirley and Terry had described.

Luke switched topics, inquiring about another case, "Last night, between nine and eleven, were you driving your black Tesla near Santa Monica Beach?"

"No, I wasn't there."

"However, according to our investigation, your car was seen traveling alongside the victim's car for a considerable distance, and that's why we came to see you," Luke said.

"Uh, actually, I was going to call the police today even if you hadn't come. My car was stolen."

Luke was quiet, while Brian, frowning, interjected, "What are you talking about? Your car was stolen?

When did that happen? How come I didn't know?"

Archil appeared nervous, "Yesterday, I went drinking at a bar with friends and accidentally got too drunk to drive, so I took a cab home.

I had parked the car on the street, and when I went to get it this morning, it was gone.

I figured it might have been stolen."

Brian cursed, "Fuck! Are you an idiot? How could you not tell me the car was gone?"

"That's exactly why I didn't tell you. If you knew, you would have yelled at me, and I don't want to be beaten.

Plus, I was drunk last night and couldn't remember if I had parked the car on the street or if a friend had taken it.

Today, I called my friends, and none of them had seen my car, so I was sure it had been stolen.

I was about to call the police when I got your call, so I hurried back home," explained Archil.

Luke stared at his expression and asked, "When was your car stolen?"

"I don't know. I was drunk yesterday."

"When was the last time you saw that car?"

"Around seven in the evening yesterday, we went to the bar for drinks, and after that, I never saw it again."

"How old are you? How did you get into the bar to drink?"

"I'm sixteen. I have a fake ID, lots of kids at school have them. It's not a big deal. You're not going to arrest me for that, are you?"

"Where were you drinking yesterday?"

"At the BoMarie bar, a few blocks from my house. The decor at that bar is nice, the drinks are good, and there are often pretty girls," Archil concluded.