Val said, "I have work, I'm recording a song... Actually, I wanted to play my song for you all at the last family gathering. But I was afraid your mom would beat me up."
Luke nodded, "That's a possibility."
"Buddy, thanks. When I've finished recording the song, I'll give you a copy."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Good." Val said, then turned and walked away, taking a few steps before reminding, "Don't tell your mom I came here, she's super annoying."
What can he say with an uncle ?
Just at this moment, David and others came down from upstairs, "Your friend was here?"
"Right, an unreliable friend," Luke replied noncommittally, "Why did you all come down?"
"We'll talk in the car."
After that, Luke, David, and Blackie got into the Ford Explorer.
David drove, Luke sat in the passenger seat, and Blackie listlessly sat in the back.
David said, "A female corpse was found on the beach."
"David, to be honest, do you like investigating cases?"
"If people could live a comfortable life without working, most would choose to be unemployed."
"That's not what I mean. I was asking, have you ever thought about transferring to another department besides the Robbery and Murder Department?"
David shook his head, "Marcus has quieted down, now it's your turn to talk nonsense?"
Luke didn't say more, although Blackie wasn't an outsider, this was still David's private matter, and he didn't point it out directly.
It wasn't something to be resolved in a short time.
Soon, the group arrived at the crime scene, and patrol officers had already cordoned off the area.
The body was on the beach not far from the road, and it was highly likely that it had been dumped into the sea and then washed back ashore.
Luke approached for a closer look. It was a Caucasian female corpse, apparently young, probably in her twenties, with golden hair. The body wasn't severely decomposed, suggesting she hadn't been dead for long.
She was wearing a blue jumpsuit, now rolled up to her waist, exposing light blue underpants. There were several abrasions on her body, and from Luke's experience, some were caused before death, and others post-mortem.
Among those, the injury that caught Luke's attention the most was on the neck. There was a bite mark on the left side, with two puncture holes that at first glance appeared to be from fangs, but on closer inspection, they seemed more like human bite marks.
Luke was somewhat puzzled. What could have bitten her ?
Besides those findings, not many traces were left at the scene. It definitely wasn't the primary scene, and the body had been washed by seawater, so there weren't many clues left.
Could they even confirm her identity?
As for the cause of death, that was a question for the forensic doctor.
The survey team and the forensic doctor who arrived later took over the scene.
Raymond, David, and Jenny went to the nearby area to make inquiries.
Luke, with Blackie, went to record a statement from the person who reported the finding.
The reporter was a white man in his forties, wearing a baseball cap, with a big beard, looking somewhat unkempt, with a stench of odor mixed with alcohol on him.
Luke asked, "Are you the reporting party, Jamie Andari?"
"Jamie, we'd like to take your statement."
"Sure, but make it quick. I'm planning to go back to sleep," he said.
Luke thought he had misheard. It was ten o'clock in the morning, hardly a time to sleep, "You mean sleep?"
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"No, it's your freedom.
Can you describe how you found the body?"
The reporter Jamie recalled, "I had just finished breakfast today, I made myself a fried egg and ham burger. After eating, I wanted to come to the beach to fetch some water to wash the dishes.
Then I saw a body by the beach. At first, I thought I was seeing things, but when I got closer, I realized it was real, and I was scared out of my wits, so I immediately called the police.
I haven't even washed the pot yet. I don't plan to wash it anymore; I'll just use it again in the evening."
Luke was a bit bewildered, "Fetching water to wash the pot? Don't you have water at home?"
Reporter Jamie pointed to the right, "That's my home over there. I live in a tent. Yes, I'm homeless.
Technically, I'm homeless now, I wasn't before."
Luke nodded and pressed, "Do you recognize the deceased?"
"No, it's the first time I've seen her."
"What time did you see her?"
"Around nine in the morning?"
"Can you be more specific?"
"When did you report it?"
"Less than two minutes after finding the body, I guess."
"Did you get close to the deceased?" Luke kept observing his expressions for signs of lying.
"Yes, I wanted to check on her, see if she needed help. I realized she was no longer breathing and immediately called the police.
Luke probed, "Before finding the body, did you see any suspicious people?"
"Think again. Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything?"
"Really, there's nothing."
From the statement taken just now, Luke clearly noticed the reporter had signs of lying.
The initial autopsy wasn't finished yet, so Luke wasn't in a hurry. He decided to have a good chat with the reporter to find out why he was lying.
As the reporting party, since he was lying, he must have been hiding some important case details, which might be the breakthrough in the case.
Luke didn't expose him right away but said in a casual conversational tone, "Jamie, why did you decide to live in this area?"
"It's quieter here, close to the sea. I love the ocean. When I've got nothing to do, I can play my guitar facing the sea, and that feeling is great."