The police searched Abal Flick's house and car, and did not find any items suspected to be tools used in the crime.
Meanwhile, Abal Flick's wife also confirmed that on the night of the incident, June 28, he was indeed at home.
With an alibi and no issues with his statement, Abal Flick could temporarily be ruled out as a suspect.
During the interrogation of Abal Flick, the police also discovered some new clues.
For instance, the red-haired girl who was with him that night was one of the victims and had close contact with the killer, perhaps able to provide some valuable clues. The question now is how to find the red-haired girl.
Quickly, Luke thought of two other people—Joanna and the bearded man from the silver sales gang they caught last night.
Luke showed Abal a photo of Joanna, but Abal did not recognize Joanna.
However, Joanna and the red-haired girl shared the same line of work and worked at the same location; it was very likely they were connected.
The bearded man had violated bail regulations and was already in custody.
Selling silver wasn't a major issue for Joanna; she could have been bailed out after paying a fine, but she made the mistake of impersonating LAPD.
Getting bailed out wouldn't be so easy now.
Vincent, the deputy team leader, was responsible for interrogating the bearded man.
Luke was in charge of talking to Joanna.
Joanna, in an orange prison uniform, was brought into the interrogation room.
Luke took a moment to look her over, "You're dressed very nicely today."
Joanna wanted to curse, but she didn't dare. With a blank expression she said, "Haven't you already asked everything you need to? What else do you want with me?"
Luke handed her a cup of coffee, "Do you remember the robbery and murder case I mentioned to you before?
We've found a new victim, know her physical characteristics, but can't confirm her identity. This person is likely one of your colleagues; we'd like you to help identify her."
"A colleague." Joanna sneered, "What's in it for me?"
"What do you want in return?"
"I hope to avoid charges and be released on the spot."
Luke laughed, "Impossible. You're not under arrest for just one charge. At most I can help you get one charge dropped, provided you help me find this victim."
"Sounds good, tell me about her." As long as she could get the charge of impersonating LAPD dropped, getting bail would be easier.
"I'm looking for a red-haired woman, under thirty years old, around 170cm tall, who also sold silver on Kabool Mountain before.
She was assaulted and robbed on the night of June 25. Does that ring a bell?"
Joanna thought for a moment, "Do you have a photo?"
"No photo, but these features should be quite distinctive, right?"
"True, red hair is rare, but in our line of work, it's common to wear wigs or dye hair, and I'm not always blonde."
Luke thought for a bit and continued, "She has a heart-shaped tattoo on her right arm, and 'come on' inked on her lower back."
Joanna laughed, "I know who you're talking about.
Her name is Maxine. We worked together before, but she went solo and we lost touch."
"What's her full name?"
"I don't know. In our line of work, no one reveals their full name, we mostly just go by nicknames."
"I don't have her contact, but I have a way to find her, assuming I can get out of here first.
I'm not threatening you; it's just that cats have their paths and mice have their holes.
Me finding her as a colleague is a whole different concept compared to the police looking for her.
You get that, right?"
Luke said, "The police can drop one of your charges. You can process your own bail as a trade-off, and in exchange, you need to help me find Maxine."
"I have another condition."
"You have to drop the charges related to Maxine selling silver. Otherwise, even if I find her, I won't be able to convince her to come to the station to assist the investigation."
"We're not interested in the silver selling; we just want to catch the murderer." Luke's expression was serious as he added,
"What if you try to deceive the police? You know the consequences."
"If I can't find her, I'd rather come back and serve time than be targeted by you. I know what to do."
don't impersonate a cop again." Luke dropped the comment and left the interrogation room.
"Thank you, I'll find her as soon as possible."
At nine o'clock in the evening, Luke arranged to meet with Blackie and Jackson to investigate Kabool Mountain once again.
The suspect had chosen Kabool Mountain for two crimes in a row.
Although it would seem logical that after the second incident, in which the victim was shot and things escalated, the suspect would likely be alert and choose a different location to commit the next crime.
But some things can't be assumed by logic, what if the suspect is just bullheaded?
Moreover, choosing Kabool Mountain for both crimes, there must be some evidence or clues left behind, or even additional witnesses.
Luke felt it was still necessary to investigate.
This time the three of them split into two groups again, Luke on his own, while Blackie and Jackson worked together.
The two groups had different objectives. Luke was on patrol duty, actively looking for clues and witnesses.
Blackie and Jackson were in charge of fishing.
To go fishing, the black Ford Explorer was not suitable.
Blackie originally wanted to use Luke's Mercedes, which was just a daydream, right?
How could Luke agree?
Eventually, they used Jackson's car, a gray BMW 7 series.
Blackie scowled and patted the roof of the car, "Is it appropriate for a cop to drive this sort of car?"