Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"Uh..."

Brooke was flustered, standing there speechless for a long time.

Luke tested, "Is this an admission?"

"No... it's just that I overlooked it.

Lorne is my family, and seeing him injured, I was worried and focused only on treating him—I might have let my concern cloud my judgment."

"That's not a very clever excuse."

"What I'm telling is the truth."

"Who took Lorne to the hospital?"

"Sofia, she called the ambulance."

"What did she tell you?"

Brooke thought for a moment, "The scene was a bit chaotic, we didn't communicate much... After receiving Lorne, I treated him immediately..."

"What was Lorne's condition at the time?"

"Not good, he was already unconscious."

Luke said, "I'm not a doctor, but I know some basic common sense. Before treating, doctors should ask about the patient's condition. Lorne was unconscious, so they should have asked the accompanying family members. That should be the basics, right?"

"Uh..." Brooke thought, "Maybe I didn't explain clearly, we talked about Lorne's medical condition, just didn't mention other things..."

Luke pressed, "What do you mean by other things? I'm asking about Lorne's condition. You really aren't good at lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Then recount the conversation you had with Sofia on that day."

Brooke took a deep breath, "I need to clarify something first—are you interrogating me? If so, I need a lawyer."

Luke countered, "Your stepfather was beaten and abused, you concealed the incident, the police wanted to understand the situation from you, yet you refuse to cooperate and instead want a lawyer. Do you think that's normal?"

"I... just want to protect my own rights. I'm innocent. Lorne and I have always had a good relationship, I would never hurt him."

"The situation now is that he has been injured, and as someone who knows about the case, you haven't been helpful, which makes it hard to believe your words.

You can call a lawyer, right now." Luke made a gesture of invitation and advised, "But I must remind you.

Once a lawyer gets involved, everything will have to proceed formally.

Do you know how many good things Dean Cook had to say for us just to keep you from being taken directly to the police station and instead let you stay in the conference room for questioning?

"Once this gets out, the reputation of Omey Hospital will definitely be affected... you might have to retire early."

Brooke broke out in a cold sweat, "You don't need to scare me, it's not as severe as you say."

"Perhaps, I'm just an outsider. You should know the rules of your own industry better than I do." Luke glanced at his watch, "You can call your lawyer now; we will meet at the detective bureau in half an hour."

Brooke took out his phone, looked at it for a long while, then put it back in his pocket, "I won't call a lawyer. I'm innocent and willing to cooperate with your investigation."

"Describe your conversation with Sofia."

Brooke thought, "It was just some simple inquiries about the medical condition, how he became unconscious? How long was he unconscious? Whether he had taken any medication before losing consciousness. Afterwards, I mainly communicated with the paramedics, they knew more about Lorne's physical condition."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"You didn't notice anything unusual while treating Lorne?"

Brooke explained, "Actually, I didn't want to say this... I was flustered at the time. I haven't been solely responsible for treating a patient for very long, and since Lorne is my father, I was especially nervous and almost made a mistake.

So... I made some unprofessional judgments."

"Do you know who beat and abused Lorne?"

"No, how could I know that? Like I said before, we have always had a good relationship. Seeing him in the hospital bed also saddened me, I definitely wouldn't hurt him.

Not only do you want to find the person who hurt Lorne, I want to even more."

Luke noted a few key points in his notebook, "Can I trust you?"

"Of course."

Luke continued to inquire, "Was Lorne admitted to the hospital on February 26th?"

"Yes."

"Where were you that day? What were you doing?"

Brooke recalled for a moment, "I was at the hospital, my colleagues can confirm."

"If I ask you to look at Lorne's medical report again, would you think there is something wrong?"

"I'm just a doctor, not a forensic doctor or a policeman. I don't have that kind of alertness. Moreover, Lorne has always been kind-hearted. I can't think of anyone who would do such a thing to him."

Luke glanced at his notes, "Brooke, do you know the consequences of deceiving the police?"

"Wow, why would you say that? I'm not lying."

"This is just a friendly reminder. You are a doctor with a great future, don't mess it up."

Brooke shook his head, "What I'm saying is true."

"Good, thank you for your cooperation."

Brooke sighed with relief, "Do you know who hurt Lorne?"

"That's exactly why we came here today." Luke said, closing his notebook, "Okay, you can leave now."

"Is that it?"

"We're done here for now, but Dean Cook wants you in his office. Good luck." Luke packed up his things and left the conference room with David.

David asked, "Do you believe him?"

Luke shook his head, "No."

"Neither do I. This guy definitely has issues. Either he's covering for someone, or he's an accomplice to the person who assaulted Lorne."

Subsequently, Luke went back to the outside of Lorne's hospital room.

"Knock knock…"

"Come in."

Luke and another person pushed the door open and greeted, "Mrs. Caroline, Miss Sofia, we meet again."

Caroline said coldly, "I don't want to see you in the hospital, please leave."

"We just received a call from O'Malley Hospital. Mr. Lorne was subjected to electric shocks, beatings, and abuse before he fell into a coma. We are here to investigate."

"What? What are you talking about? My husband simply fell accidentally and then went into a coma, no one beat or abused him."

Luke countered, "Were you at the scene when Lorne fell?"

"No, I found out later."

"How did you find out?"

"Sofia told me, she's the one who found Lorne had fallen."

Luke looked towards Sofia, "Can you describe what happened at that time?"

Sofia said, "Sure, I live in a rented place outside and was going back to my father's house to pick up some things. When I entered, I found my father lying on the living room floor and the items on the coffee table scattered around. I guessed he might have fallen, so I immediately called 911."

"Was anyone else present?"

"No."

"Were there any signs of a struggle in the room?"

"I was too scared at that moment, I didn't notice much." Sofia finished, showing an angry, aggrieved expression, "You don't think I hurt my father, do you? He is my father, my only relative, I would never hurt him."

Luke stared at Sofia for a while, then looked towards Caroline, "Madam, I heard that the will video is with you."

"Is there a problem?"

"Mr. Lorne was abused and beaten before he fell into a coma, and we suspect it may be related to the video will. That will video is now part of the evidence related to the case, please hand it over to the police for safekeeping." Luke extended his hand to receive it.

Caroline took a step back and refused outright, "No, that's something Lorne left for his family, not for you cops."

Luke asked calmly, "Are you intending to destroy the evidence?"

Caroline hesitated for a long while, "Was my husband really beaten and abused?"

"Yes."

Caroline pulled a hard drive out of her bag, "Take good care of it."

Luke took the hard drive, then placed a business card on the table, "Ladies, I understand how you feel and know you care deeply about Mr. Lorne. I believe you would also want those responsible for harming Mr. Lorne to be legally punished, to face the consequences of their actions. So do we. If you have any other leads, please contact me immediately."

Luke went to the bedside to look at Lorne, then left the hospital room.

David asked quietly, "Who do you think is lying?"

"Everyone."

"Do you have evidence?"

"No."

It had been more than ten days, and the crime scene had already been tampered with.