It's like if you eat spicy hotpot, every other dish afterward tastes bland.
Having heard Luke's analysis, Xiao Hei couldn't believe it, "Maria is fooling us?
The so-called kidnapping and being forced to murder were all lies?
I thought she looked so sad, and I actually felt sorry for her.
Women, truly a terrifying creature."
"Luke, what should we do now?" Xiao Hei had an 'I'm not pleased' expression on his face.
"Since she's lying, it shows she's still rational. Even if we expose her relationship with that man, she won't admit the kidnapping was fake.
The best strategy is to use the breakdown approach, to make her lose her rationale." After that, Luke started arranging tasks in preparation for the next interrogation.
A ringtone sounded from a cell phone.
Seeing the caller ID, Luke recognized Reid's number.
"Luke, how's the investigation going?"
"We found photos of George's accomplice in Maria's house. It's very likely Maria is an accomplice; she lied."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Search the surveillance around the community, visit neighbors, investigate the whereabouts of the 'kidnapper' and the child.
After gathering new evidence, we'll interrogate Maria again."
"After the investigation, come to my office."
Half an hour later, Luke returned to the detective bureau.
There was a knock on the door of the deputy chief's office.
Reid, sitting behind the desk, looked up and said, "Come in."
Luke opened the door and entered, "Chief."
"Have a seat. Coffee?"
"Captain Susan is searching for the two kids' whereabouts, and I need to catch some sleep later on."
Reid's face turned serious, "Let's talk business then."
"What's happened now?"
"Dead!" Luke showed a surprised look,
"When did this happen? Was he assassinated again, or was there a health issue?"
Reid changed his tone, "Suppose, I mean just suppose George is dead, what do you think would happen?"
"The public might get upset with the police, thinking the LAPD uses excessive force, the media would probably make a big deal out of it, and George's family might sue for compensation, all sorts of trouble."
Reid nodded, "You're right, but you don't fully grasp the depth of the problem.
If George is dead, the detective bureau, LAPD, and Frank would all face huge difficulties.
And there's more significance to this event; some people might exploit this situation to make a big fuss."
Luke guessed, "So George can't die. You want me to protect him covertly."
"But protection isn't my strong suit."
"There are many ways to protect someone, and you can use your strengths to do it."
"As I just said, if George is dead, all actions against him would stop, no one assassinates a dead man, and George would naturally be safe."
Luke understood what he meant, "But if we announce 'George's' death, it could likely cause some trouble."
"Right you are, once George is dead, someone will manipulate things from behind the scenes, perhaps targeting the LAPD, or simply wanting to exploit the situation.
No matter what, these people have already offended the LAPD, using it as a pawn, trampling on it at will.
The LAPD fears no one, and Frank doesn't like being passive.
If these people aim to trap the LAPD and have a death wish, then let them come forward. Only by identifying our enemies can we fight back effectively."
"But if the LAPD releases fake news of his death, they'll later face condemnation from the media and public, and they'll be accountable as well."
"I never said the LAPD would release the news about George.
There are no airtight walls in the world; the news might spread through other channels, unrelated to the LAPD, which will deny any connection."
"You want me to handle this."
"I don't want to take the fall for it."
"I won't let my own people take the fall.
Letting subordinates take the blame isn't Frank's style either.
I said it, the LAPD is uninvolved.
It's just that, in our position, we're under a lot of scrutiny, which can make taking action inconvenient at times."
"Leave it to me," Luke thought for a moment. Being involved in this was an opportunity for him, and while there certainly were risks, it wasn't a big problem for him.
"Be careful, Captain Luke."