This place was like another world.
Suddenly, Luke saw a figure in the distance.
That figure remained floating underwater, and Luke had already taken a breath. The other person, however, was still leisurely swimming through the water.
He had encountered a master.
Luke tried to swim over to greet the person.
However, the more he swam forward, the more he felt that something was off. That person's limbs didn't seem to be gliding, but rather moving along with the current.
Moreover, several minutes had passed, and he was still maintaining the same position.
After swimming forward a bit further, he finally made out the figure clearly.
The person had a rope tied around the right foot, no air tank on the back, and it seemed there was a heavy object dragging him down. The person appeared to be in an unconscious state, drifting in the water, unable to surface because of the heavy object on the foot.
Luke surfaced to take a breath and deeply inhaled.
"Luke, why did you swim so far?" Orty had followed over.
Luke pointed downward, "There's something underwater."
Orty slightly furrowed her brow, "Are you joking?"
"No, you'd better get ashore and make an emergency call." Luke said and dove back under to observe.
It was indeed a corpse, a Black male, to be precise, a boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old.
Luke sensed movement nearby and turned to look. Orty had also dived down.
Luke gestured, and the two of them resurfaced together.
"Oh God, this is my first time seeing a body..." Orty revealed a horrified expression.
Luke glanced at her and patted her back, "Don't worry, I'm a police officer, I'll protect you."
Orty took a deep breath, "I feel much better, what should we do now?"
Luke scanned the surroundings and memorized the approximate location, "First, let's swim back to shore to report the incident."
The two swam ashore, where Luke grabbed two towels and handed one to Orty, "You okay?"
"I feel a bit dizzy, need to rest for a while.
It's horrible, it's my first time seeing..."
"OK, you go rest first. Once things here are sorted, I'll come check on you."
Orty nodded and walked towards the swimming club wrapped in a bath towel.
Luke made the emergency call, and soon nearby patrol officers arrived on scene.
Luke didn't let them retrieve the body but rather had them patrol the area around the body with a boat to prevent it from being disturbed.
After everything was arranged, Luke headed to the swimming club, scanning the surroundings. He did not spot Orty and asked the curly-haired man at the front desk,
"Where's Coach Orty?"
"Oh, she said she had seen something terrible and left.
Sir, is there really a body underwater?"
"Yes, you might consider taking a short break for yourself. Also, what's Orty's full name? Give me her cell number."
"Sorry, I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? Isn't she a coach at your club?"
"Ah, the situation is a bit complicated, she's a temporary coach..."
"What do you mean by temporary coach, explain clearly?"
"Oh, it's not very convenient to explain."
Luke showed his badge, "What was that you said? I didn't hear you clearly."
"You're a police officer?"
"LAPD, tell me everything you know about Orty."
"This morning, you said you were looking for a diving coach. Since there was no reservation, I said I'd need to contact someone temporarily, which could take some time.
That's when she, Orty, came up and asked if the place needed a swimming coach?
Wow, you've seen her too," the curly-haired man made a curvy gesture with his hands, "Who could turn down such a gorgeous coach, so, I agreed to let her have a try.
Moreover, I've already paid her the trial fee."
"Didn't she leave any identification or cell number?"
"No, she seemed to have been scared off by the body and left in a hurry."
Luke stared at the curly-haired man, "I'll need the surveillance."
"Do you want me to apply for a search warrant and also investigate your club for harboring a murderer?"
"No, I'll give you the surveillance video."
"Thanks, you're a good citizen."
Just then, a Black man approached, "Deputy Luke, the woman who was with you left."
This Black man was Anlek Raul, the one who had gone to the Luke family's home to steal vinyl records.
He had been recruited by Luke as an informant.
Actually, Luke had long noticed that something was off about Orty.
Luke had learned to read lips and could deduce spoken content by observing the shape of a person's mouth when they talked.
Although he couldn't hear Orty's phone call, he could see what she was saying.
Although he didn't get the full picture, he knew the woman had come for him and seemed to be up to something.
Therefore, Luke had called Anlek ahead of time to have him keep an eye on Orty.
Only, he hadn't expected to accidentally discover a young boy's body underwater.
"She drove off in a white Toyota car; I wrote down her license plate number."
"Well done." Luke smiled and handed him five green bills, "Thanks, buddy."
"Deputy Luke, I'm glad to be of service," Anlek Raul stepped back, hesitant to take the money.
"Take it, it's yours by right."