A Dodge car was parked by the roadside.
Luke got out of the car and warned David, "If you dare to kick in a door without a search warrant again, you're dead."
David responded nonchalantly, "Come on, don't be so serious, I do it depending on the situation, not every time. In those crappy neighborhoods where low lives gather, it's no problem at all. It's perfectly normal."
Alyssa's house had no fences around the yard, the garage on the left, and the lawn on the right, which was trimmed fairly neat.
Luke waved his hand, "Step back, I'll do the knocking."
"We're partners, there should be more trust."
"Then just behave and earn my trust," Luke walked to the front door of Alyssa's house and knocked, "Knock, knock..."
There was no response from inside the house.
"Knock, knock..." Luke knocked again, harder this time.
"Who's the bastard knocking? Wait till I get out there, you're dead!" A grumpy voice came from inside.
"Creak..." The door opened, and a man in his thirties stood at the door, his face red and his hair a mess, "Who are you looking for?"
Luke smelled a strong odor of alcohol and, judging by the man's state, assumed he had not fully sobered up, "Alyssa."
"There's no one by that name here, you can leave now," the man said, preparing to close the door.
Luke blocked the door with his foot and flashed his badge, "LAPD, if Alyssa isn't here, then we have something to talk about."
The man saw the badge, somewhat sobered up with his attitude softening a bit, "What do you want?"
"I don't know, she might have run off with some rich jerk, who the hell knows."
"When was the last time you saw her?"
"Why are you asking this? What happened to Alyssa?"
"I'm the one asking questions right now, just answer them."
"I think it was Friday... yeah, Friday afternoon. She said she was going to her parents' house, and she hasn't come back since."
"Have you looked for her?"
"No, she sent a text saying we were done and told me not to look for her."
"What issues did you have between you?"
"Just some family trifles... Are the cops so idle that they care about domestic trifles now? Wait, why aren't you wearing uniforms?"
"We're not beat cops, we're detectives from the Robbery and Murder Department."
"Robbery and Murder Department! What are you really here for?"
"We're investigating a robbery case and Alyssa might be a target of the robbers, we need to confirm her safety."
"Haven't you ever doubted the authenticity of the text message? Never thought your wife might be kidnapped and the kidnapper used her phone to send the text?"
"Oh my god, oh my god..."
Steven touched his forehead with his hands, his face displaying a look of self-reproach, "Alyssa's phone has been unreachable, and I thought she was deliberately not answering my calls, that she wanted to leave me...
No, no, no, she won't come to harm, absolutely not!"
Luke, when investigating cases, feared encountering drunkards the most, just like the situation now.
"Steven, calm down, we're just here to find Alyssa. If you want to find her as soon as possible, you have to cooperate with the police investigation."
"OK, what should I do?" Steven moved aside, "Please come in, let's talk inside."
Luke entered the house, which was a mess. The coffee table was full of leftover food, and there was no space to even sit on the sofa.
"Right now, we need to determine whether Alyssa has left home voluntarily or if she has encountered danger. If it's the former, it's an issue between you and your wife. If it's the latter, the police will do everything to rescue her.
You're her husband, you know her better."
"If she wasn't kidnapped, where do you think she'd be?"
Steven replied without hesitation, "Her parents' house."
"Have you looked there?"
"If you know Alyssa might be at her parents' house, why didn't you call to ask?"
"I'm not on good terms with her parents. If Alyssa wanted to leave me, they would definitely support it. I even suspect they encouraged her. It's absolutely possible."
"Do you have any other way to contact Alyssa?"
"So, you have no way of finding Alyssa?"
"You guys can contact Alyssa's parents. She is very likely at her parents' house."
"We don't need your reminder, we'll do that." Luke stood up, preparing to leave.
"Whoa, you're leaving just like that?"
Luke paused, "When you sober up, remember to come to the Robbery and Murder Department to give a statement."
"I may have had a drink, but my mind is clear now. I can help you guys find Alyssa right now."
"OK, how do you plan to find her?"
"I..." Steven opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
"Before you sober up, don't let me see you again," Luke left a remark and turned to leave the house.
David followed behind, spitting in disgust, "Really want to punch that bastard."
Police Detective Bureau.
As Luke and David just reached the office door, they saw Captain Susan hurrying off.
"Where's the captain going?"
The deputy, while combing his thin silver hair, said, "The chief called her away. It probably has to do with the 'Taser Gun Robbery Case'. Have you found any leads on Alyssa?"
Luke accepted a cup of coffee, moistening his throat, "Alyssa wasn't home. We met her husband, who didn't know a thing, thinking his wife ran off with some rich guy."
The deputy said, "In most cases of missing wives, the husband is the primary suspect. Why didn't you bring him in for questioning?"
"The guy was drunk, completely soused. Do you want to record a statement from a drunkard?"
"No." The deputy shook his head, "But I've seen some suspects deliberately get themselves drunk to avoid making a statement. Every time you go to find him, he's drunk. Keep a close eye on him. From my experience, this guy might be problematic."
Vincent corrected, "It's deputy. Kid, don't try to butter me up, I don't fall for that."
Luke laughed, then looked towards Raymond, "Detective Chief Raymond, can you trace Alyssa's cell phone signal?"
Raymond said seriously, "I went to the tech department to ask them to locate Alyssa's phone and SIM card, but both attempts failed. She's currently unreachable."
Luke asked, "Any news from Alyssa's parents?"
Jenny answered, "I've notified Alyssa's parents. They are also unaware of Alyssa's whereabouts and, upon learning she might be missing, they seemed very anxious and are currently asking relatives and friends about Alyssa's location."
The deputy summed up, "Alyssa's phone is unreachable, she quit her job, and she cut off contact with her family. Plus, the disappearance happened on Friday night, and she shares similar physical characteristics with other victims... From all these circumstances, it looks like Luke's guess might be right—she is very likely the third victim of the Taser Gun Robbery Case. Additionally, from the content of the messages, the suspect appears to have a certain understanding of Alyssa, it could be someone she knows..."
Before the deputy could finish, the office door was violently slammed open.