Yesterday, after getting off work, Luo An, upon Agent Norton's enthusiastic invitation, bought some small gifts and drove to the Norton's house for dinner.
The food at the family-style dinner was mediocre, but the atmosphere was warm.
Agent Norton has a wife who works in a private clinic and an adorable little daughter, both of whom also warmly welcomed Luo An's arrival.
Luo An received an excellent rating from yesterday's experience system, which rewarded him with a total of four elixirs: two detoxification potions and two night vision potions.
Luo An really liked the detoxification potion, as it was just as critical in pivotal moments as the hemostatic potion he had longed for but had not been rewarded with recently.
But night vision potions...
Luo An scratched his head, if he was on a mission at night, he would equip a night vision device on his helmet.
It seemed that he wouldn't need the night vision potions during the day.
"Forget it, just save it for now."
After pondering and not finding a use for the night vision potion, Luo An decided it wouldn't hurt to keep them and placed them in the storage column after a few seconds of contemplation.
"Are you sure you're saying you don't know?"
Reesi's voice interrupted Luo An's rumination, and she did not look pleased with Mrs. Maren's lack of cooperation.
"I'm sorry, both agents, I really..."
Mrs. Maren still shook her head; she was just a simple strip club owner, genuinely unaware of what the FBI was talking about.
Without waiting for Reesi to speak, Luo An, who had shifted his attention back to the matter at hand, chuckled lightly, patted his thigh, stood up, and directly spoke to Mrs. Maren:
"Congratulations, Mrs. Maren, by deceiving FBI agents, telling lies to FBI agents, lying, and refusing to cooperate, you have successfully violated federal laws.
Now, stretch out your hands. We'll go back to the FBI's interrogation room for a chat, and then you can take a rest in prison for a while."
Hearing Luo An's words, Mrs. Maren's face changed, and she looked up at Luo An:
"We don't care about the Journalist's affair, nor do we want to deal with those messes, OK?"
Seeing the change in her expression, Luo An first laughed in a heh-heh manner, indicating that this work belonged to the NYPD and he didn't wish to compete with them for work.
Then Luo An suddenly put away his smile and said coldly:
"Right now, we just want to catch that group of bank robbers!
We've received some information that some of your Journalists have seen those bank robbers, which is why we came to you today.
If you keep refusing to cooperate, we will definitely search this strip club over and over again!
I hope all your business here is legal and compliant, and you personally have no ties whatsoever to any gangs.
Hearing what Luo An said and seeing the coldness on his face, Mrs. Maren's expression changed repeatedly, and after a few seconds of silence, she said in a firm voice:
"Agent Sir, my girls are all nice, they definitely have not participated in the illegal activities you just mentioned.
But they have seen many clients, maybe they have seen those people you mentioned before, I can go ask them for you."
"That's good, go and ask those nice girls now."
Luo An's mouth twisted into a smile and he nodded, gesturing towards the office door with his finger.
Mrs. Maren, with an ugly look on her face, left the office, and Luo An sat back down in the chair.
Reesi, who had watched the entire process, rested her hand on her forehead and sighed:
"Why does it always have to be this way? They only provide clues or agree to cooperate with us after being threatened several times.
Can't these people just be straightforward?"
"No choice, who makes us the FBI and their backs are all dirty, right?"
Luo An said, spreading his hands.
It is very normal for them to be wary, fearful, and reluctant to agree directly since they stand in opposition to us.
There have even been FBI agents who have encountered direct armed resistance.
The time is only 2005 now, and it's still somewhat manageable to threaten gang members with words.
Wait another decade or so, when there is great technological advancement and those inexplicable organizations also start to emerge in America, ordinary FBI agents will have to carry high-definition portable law enforcement recorders during investigations, just like police officers.
Otherwise, even if the FBI agents catch a criminal, if there is a procedural error in the law enforcement recorder, the criminal might have a slight chance to turn the tables.
The famous Simpson murder case in America was due to the Los Angeles police being suspected of illegal evidence collection and other procedural errors, which resulted in much of the evidence being inadmissible, ultimately leading to Simpson's acquittal.
It can only be said that in America, anything is possible; this country is one big social experimental ground.
After waiting in the office for a long time, just as Reesi began to doubt whether Mrs. Maren was afraid and had already started fleeing, the office door was finally pushed open.
"You've come too early; everyone was resting at home, so we're a bit late."
Mrs. Maren walked in with a white-skinned and wheat-complexioned young woman, pointing at them and saying:
"Agents, these two girls might know the information you want."
Luo An nodded, gestured for the two women to sit down, and then turned his gaze to Reesi.
Reesi, seeing this, did not hesitate and quickly introduced the time of the first robbery incident before asking:
"Before that, did someone try to have you scout out the bank? Do you remember that person?"
"Indeed, there was such an incident, but it's been so long, I can't remember that person's name."
The white-skinned woman shook her head but immediately added:
"However, I remember that man was white, and he was bald."
The fact that the other party was a white male did not surprise Luo An and Reesi, but the bald detail raised their eyebrows, and they exchanged a look before shifting their attention to the other wheat-complexioned woman.
"I remember that man."
The woman, wheat-complexioned and named Julie, licked her lips while looking at Luo An and said:
"That guy's name is Kevin, and he's known for unsavory behavior."
Reesi was taken aback, stopped writing, and looked up to ask:
"What kind of unsavory behavior? Did he touch you inappropriately while you were dancing?"
Seeing Julie's not-unattractive face, her chest that was at least a D cup, along with her solid and strong long legs from years of dancing...
Luo An fell silent for a few seconds and considered her figure and occupation; it seemed normal for some customers to behave inappropriately with her.
After all, the quality of some American citizens...
Reesi's gaze lingered on Julie's chest and legs for a few seconds, and she too grasped the point.
"Don't misunderstand, agents."
Seeing the looks on their faces, Julie rolled her eyes and said with dissatisfaction:
"I'm not talking about him touching me inappropriately; I saw him stealing."
Julie meant that Kevin, whom she described as having unsavory behavior, was seen sneaking into their dressing room and changing area just before she was off work, taking some tattoo stickers.
Hearing Julie's words, Reesi was immediately taken aback, and then quickly turned her attention to Luo An, saying in a low voice:
"Luo An, I remember..."
Luo An knew what Reesi was about to say; in the second robbery case, a witness had seen a tattoo on the robber's right wrist.
So Luo An immediately sat upright, his expression serious, and he asked:
"Do you remember the specific pattern of that tattoo?"
Julie nodded, lifted her short skirt on her thigh, and revealed a snake-shaped tattoo at the root of her thigh:
"Many girls who dance don't want tattoos because they hurt, or they don't want others to know they do this line of work because of the tattoos.
So besides having someone draw a tattoo, they often wear tattoo stickers.
After all, getting a tattoo drawn costs money, while tattoo stickers are cheaper.
These snake-shaped tattoo stickers are part of our standard stock."
Seeing the snake-shaped tattoo that was identical to the robber's, Reesi immediately swore under her breath, and without hesitation, Luo An stood up and said:
"Ladies, please come with me back to the FBI building immediately.
I need you to describe the appearance of this bald white man from your memory, so we can create a composite sketch."