Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Half an hour later, Luke and David arrived near Steven's home.

With the arrest warrant, they were not going to be restrained, calling the surrounding patrol officers for support.

As a higher-ranking officer, David acted as the temporary commander. He and Luke were responsible for the front door, while two patrol officers guarded the back door.

In order to avoid startling the suspect, Luke did not wear a bulletproof vest.

Once everything was ready, the team sneaked into Steven's yard.

David hid on the right side of the door while Luke stepped forward and knocked, "Bang bang ..."

No response.

"Bang bang ..."

Still no response.

Luke tested, "Steven, I know you're home."

Still no response.

David took out the walkie-talkie and asked, "Any movement at the back door?"

The patrol officer at the back responded, "No, nothing unusual."

"Prepare to move." David signaled to breach the door.

The next moment, he kicked the wooden door fiercely, "Bam!"

"LAPD!"

"Put your hands up!"

There was no one in the living room, and David gestured to move forward and search.

Luke and the others coordinated with each other, conducting a search in a crisscross pattern.

"Clear."

"Clear."

"Clear."

The house was not large and was quickly searched thoroughly. David was somewhat annoyed, "Fuck, that guy ran away. I misjudged him; I thought his love for his wife was real."

Luke holstered his gun, "It's precisely because he loves his wife that he would rashly do something irrational. If he didn't care about his wife, he wouldn't have committed the crime against the wind."

David disagreed, shaking his head, "A man who truly loves his wife would not hurt her."

Luke, tired of arguing, said, "You take someone to search the house; I'll report to the chief."

"Exactly who is the detective chief, you or me?" David complained verbally but still searched the rooms as Luke suggested.

Luke made a video call to Susan, "Captain, we've arrived at Steven's house. But we haven't found Steven; David is leading a search of the house."

On the other side of the video, Susan appeared, "I was about to contact you; we've made some discoveries here.

Susan adjusted the video distance so Luke could see others and continued,

"I received a call from the deputy chief, Matthew tracked Steven's movements through surveillance cameras.

The police station's surveillance showed that Steven left yesterday in his lawyer's car, and on-route surveillance showed they went near Steven's home.

About half an hour later, the car left Steven's community, this time with Steven driving.

Afterward, the car stopped at Rinan Street and Fani Street on Citibank Avenue for about ten minutes, then continued along Citibank Avenue heading south out of Los Angeles, entering Highway 73."

Luke asked, "Highway 73, is this guy planning to flee to Mexico? Where is that lawyer? Providing a vehicle for the suspect to escape is not a wise decision."

Matthew answered, "After the car left Steven's community, the lawyer was no longer seen; it was Steven driving all along.

I called the law firm, and lawyer Dave was off work today."

Jenny added, "I went to the technical department to locate Steven and Dave's phones, but both phones are out of contact and can't be located."

Luke pondered for a moment, "The car stopped at Rinan Street and Fani Street on Citibank Avenue for ten minutes; do you know what he was doing there?"

"I've asked Raymond and Marcus to look into it; you'll be notified if there's any news," Susan concluded, then assigned a new task, "You guys drive to Highway 73 now and track Steven."

Luke sighed, "The road is flanked by deserts; that's going to be a big task."

Matthew reminded, "Lawyer Dave drives a Mercedes S500; you can ask Mercedes to help with the location."

Susan instructed, "Jenny, take a trip to Mercedes."

Luke, you need to set off immediately."

...

In a black Dodge car.

David was driving, glancing at Luke beside him, "Shouldn't you be driving?"

"I didn't sleep well last night."

"Too much exercise?"

Luke shook his head, "It's because I didn't exercise that I couldn't sleep."

David laughed, "That's a good thing. It means you're still young."

Luke lit a cigarette and took a drag, "Do you think I should be more proactive?"

"My love life is a mess, am I qualified to advise you? If you want to start exercising sooner, you could ask Marcus.

If you're looking for a serious relationship, then ask yourself."

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

Luke glanced at his phone and smiled, "Speak of Marcus, and he calls."

"Hello?"

The phone played a rush of rap music, "Luke, where are you guys?"

"On the way up Highway 73, did you get results from your investigation on Citibank Street?"

"Yeah, Steven went to Citibank and withdrew $40,000 US dollars. This guy is richer than me now."

Luke turned on the speaker, "Where did he get so much money?"

"He didn't, but the lawyer did. Just a few minutes before he entered the bank, Dave's account transferred him $40,000 US dollars seamlessly."

"Did you find Dave?"

"No, Raymond and the deputy are investigating Dave's case. The chief asked me to support you guys."

"Then you better drive fast and not fall behind."

Luke hung up the phone and said to David beside him, "40,000 US dollars, enough for this guy to live comfortably for a while."

David retorted, "What do you think of that thoughtful lawyer? Gives cars and money; why don't I have such a good lawyer?"

Luke pondered for a moment, "The lawyer might have gray income, but helping a suspect escape so overtly by providing a car and money seems unlikely.

I'm more inclined to think the lawyer was coerced."

David, unimpressed with lawyers, sarcastically said, "I wonder if he regrets getting Steven out of the police station."

Luke shrugged, "Hope you still get a chance to ask him."

Driving from downtown Los Angeles towards the suburbs, one side is the sea, the other is mountains. Continuing along Highway 73, both sides of the road stretched into endless deserts.

Every so often, you could see gas stations or motels along the road, but not many buildings or plants other than a few cacti and bushes.

After driving on Highway 73 for more than 40 minutes, Luke received a call from Jenny, who had located Dave's Mercedes through the company's system and sent the location to Luke.

Seeing the location of the Mercedes, Luke frowned, as its position was far off the highway.

Straying from the road meant unknown risks and danger; harshly speaking, one could die in the desert and nobody would know.

Unwilling to hazard the desert rashly, Luke and his partner stopped at a nearby gas station, filled up on pizza, fried chicken, and instant noodles.

To prevent getting lost in the desert, they filled the car with gas and stocked up on some food and water.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Marcus also arrived at the service station.

All three were ready to go, just about to set off when, "Ding-a-ling-a-ling..."

Luke pressed the answer button, "Chief."

Susan's voice came from the phone, "How are you guys doing with the preparations?"

"The three of us have met up, ready to enter the desert in search of the Mercedes."

"Be careful."

Susan cautioned, adding, "Also, the deputy has a new finding. They discovered Alyssa's phone, clothes, and a modified taser gun in the kitchen exhaust duct of the shop.

It's confirmed that the same suspect is involved in all three cases."