"What brings you to my farm?"
"I heard there was a theft here last night."
"That's right, some short-sighted thief came to my farm to steal. I caught him, and then I chased him off," Jefferson patted the revolver on his waist, "I am capable of protecting my own farm.
This shouldn't be a big enough issue to alarm the Robbery and Murder Department."
Luke said, "A few miles west, near the cliff, there was a murder case. We're here to investigate the murder. Did you hear anything strange last night?"
"No, I only care about my own farm. The cliff you mentioned is quite remote and not many people go there."
"Did you see any suspicious vehicles last night?"
Luke changed the subject, "OK, then let's talk about the theft on the farm, see if I can be of any help."
Jefferson recalled, "Last night, at around one in the morning, I was lying on the roof, looking at the stars.
Lying on the roof of one's own farm, looking at the stars, drinking beer—it's really great.
I suggest you give it a try."
Luke thought to himself that he was indeed ready to try it, but he still lacked a farm of his own. Then, he noticed something questionable, "Looking at the stars at one in the morning, isn't that a bit late?"
"You're right, actually... I had a fight with my wife, and she kicked me out of the house."
"Continue with the case," Luke gestured for him to go on.
"I heard some noises, then I saw a figure sneaking into the farm.
I yelled at him, telling him to leave my farm or I would not be polite.
I got no response, but I felt like he was taking something.
I worried he was armed, so I fired directly.
After that, he ran off."
Luke asked further, "Which rooftop were you on when you were stargazing? And where did you see the thief?"
Jefferson pointed to a building, then led them to where he saw the thief, "It should be around here."
This place was not far from where Luke had found the bloodstains.
"Did you hit the thief with your shot?"
Jefferson thought for a moment, "Of course, my shooting is always great."
The patrolman chuckled, "Jefferson, as much as I enjoy your bravado, now is not the time."
Jefferson shrugged, "OK, to be honest, I'm not that certain.
It was too dark at the time, I was worried he had accomplices, and I didn't dare to get too close.
As long as he was off my farm, I didn't bother to meddle further.
Then, the next day I reported it to the police."
"Did you lose any belongings?"
"No, I caught him in time, he didn't manage to steal anything."
"Has something happened before?"
"It has, but it was a long time ago. I don't remember the exact timing."
"Is there anyone else on the farm besides you?"
"There's also my wife, but she was sleeping at the time and did not see what happened."
"Can you describe the physical appearance of the thief from last night?"
Jefferson shook his head, "It was quite dark at the time, I couldn't really make out the thief's appearance, but he must have been black.
That's the only thing I'm sure of."
Luke noted down, "If you shot the thief, where do you think you might have hit him?"
Jefferson thought again, "I don't know, it was too dark at the time to hit anything was difficult enough, it's hard to judge the exact position."
Through Jefferson's description, Luke roughly understood the theft that occurred last night.
The theft and Darcy's murder didn't seem to be closely related at first glance, the only possible connections being the proximity and the closeness in time of the incidents.
However, it was precisely these two details that made Luke feel that the two cases might be related.
If Jefferson's story was true, then the bloodstains found outside the farm likely didn't belong to the victim, Darcy.
Firstly, Darcy did not have gunshot wounds, and secondly, his injuries did not match the characteristics of the bloodstains.
Luke had a bold guess, wondering if the thief Jefferson had encountered could be Darcy's killer.
After killing Darcy, the murderer abandoned the car beneath the cliff. Being far from Los Angeles, it wouldn't have been easy to get back, and it was even a good distance from Route 1.
The best option would have been to find another mode of transport.
And the farm, being close to the place where the body was dumped, could have been where the murderer attempted to steal a vehicle.
Unfortunately for him, he encountered Jefferson lying on the roof stargazing, not only failed to steal a vehicle but was likely shot in the process.
However, since the thief was able to run away, the gunshot wound couldn't have been very serious.
But, he still left blood at the scene.
A very important piece of evidence.
If Luke's conjecture was correct, then he might have found key evidence for breaking the case.
By collecting bloodstains outside the farm for DNA comparison, they could find Darcy's murderer.
Even if that person wasn't Darcy's killer, they would still be a suspect in the attempted theft at the farm.
From any angle, this blood warranted testing.
If the blood outside the farm really belonged to Darcy's killer, according to Luke's previous deductions, this person might also be singer Angela's murderer.
In which case, the entire vampire killing case could thus be successfully solved!