"Describe the appearance of the gunman?"
Theodore obviously hesitated for a moment. "He was wearing a mask, a hat, and gloves; I couldn't see his face clearly, and I was so nervous at the time that I can't remember now."
"Describe it in detail."
"It was the typical clown mask you see often. I was too nervous at the time to see it clearly."
Luke twirled the pen in his hand; whenever he asked about details, Theodore's answers were unclear—either he was hiding something, or he hadn't experienced it firsthand. Of course, it's also possible that, as he said, he was too scared to remember.
"Let's stop the recording here."
"Have we reached a consensus on a guilty plea?"
"I will provide your statement to the prosecution, and if they find it acceptable, a plea agreement can be reached."
"How long... how long will I be sentenced?"
"You should ask your lawyer that, not me." Luke said and then left the interrogation room.
After leaving the interrogation room, Hope asked, "Do you really intend to give that statement to the prosecutors?"
"No, I will give it to the captain."
"Do you think this kid is lying?"
Luke countered, "You should know more about his situation than I do; what do you think?"
Hope frowned slightly. "I think something is definitely going on here."
Hope rubbed his chin, a serious expression on his face, "Two possibilities, either he was threatened, or he is taking the fall for someone."
"You don't think he is the murderer?"
"I've seen too many guys like him; they worship freedom, despise the law, and live each day as it comes, with no long-term plans.
If they weren't driven to a dead end, they would never confess willingly; he was too eager, so eager that it's almost embarrassing."
Hope might be average in his investigative abilities, but he understands the black community better.
"So, do you lean towards him taking the fall for Holip, or being threatened?"
Hope rarely showed a serious face, "It's tough to say, maybe it's both. I think we should meet Triss; that woman definitely knows more than we do.
Trust me, a black hustler like Theodore can't keep any secrets in bed."
"I'll take your word for it." Luke patted Hope's shoulder, and together, they went to the captain's office, then drove to Theodore's house.
Both Theodore and Triss's brother had been released without implicating her.
By the time they drove to Theodore's house, it was starting to get dark.
The car stopped in front of Theodore's house, and Luke got out from the passenger side.
Not far away, two black men smoking turned to look at Luke.
Luke also turned and stared at them, his right hand resting on his gun holster until the two men, feeling uneasy, turned and walked away.
Hope chuckled, "Don't be so tense, they won't dare to mess around with me here."
"I kind of hope they do mess around; it would be a good chance to test my gun skills."
Hope was somewhat surprised, "That's rather fierce."
"No need to be polite with these scumbags." Luke had understood this in his past life, but unlike then, now he could use his gun more freely.
Hope laughed, "Buddy, ever since you shot that suspect at the auto repair shop, you've become more and more confident in your shooting. I need to say this might be an illusion.
You used to shoot worse than I did; last time was probably a fluke.
We should have a warm-up match sometime, putting money on it."
Luke curled his lip, "You'd end up betting your underwear."
Hope thought Luke was bluffing and said nonchalantly, "Thanks for being so kind, leaving me a pair of underwear."
Luke stopped in his tracks. "Cut the crap, let's knock on the door."
"Who's out there? I'm in a bad mood, big time. If you don't want to get beaten up, better scram early." Triss's voice came from inside.
"Creak…" The door opened.
Triss glared, her eyes nearly spitting fire, "It's you two jerks again, what the hell do you want? Planning to arrest me too?"
Hope said, "Triss, cool it, we came to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about between us. You can leave now, and I never, ever, ever want to see you again."
"What about Theodore? Do you want to see him?"
"You were the ones who took him away from me; you have some nerve bringing him up!" Triss's voice choked, "Darn it, you guys are devils. My brother was arrested by you, my boyfriend was arrested by you, and now you come here to mock me.
My life has been ruined by you guys, and soon I'll be homeless again. I don't even know what to do next; are you happy now?"
Luke said sternly, "Triss, don't be hostile towards us; we are here to help you and Theodore. I believe you know something, and if you want Theodore to get out sooner, let's talk things through."
Triss was silent for a long time, then stepped aside.
Luke and Hope entered the house, glancing around out of habit.
They sat on the couch.
Triss crossed her arms in front of her, "Just say what you have to say. If you talk nonsense again, I'm not sure I can stop myself from throwing you out."
Luke got straight to the point, "On May 10, between 3:20 and 4:00 PM, were you with Theodore?"
Triss said coldly, "I don't want to talk about that."
"This is very important for Theodore, it's related to whether he will go to prison."