Luke flashed his badge, "LAPD."
"Sorry, I don't remember that name."
Luke took out Helson's photo, "This is his picture."
The white bartender picked up the photo and looked at it carefully, "No, I haven't seen him."
"Of course, I've been coming to this bar for several years, and if he was a regular, I would definitely recognize him."
"Thank you," Luke took back the photo. He glanced at Jackson, who was still chatting with the bar's patrons.
Just as Luke had guessed, the cocktails hadn't decreased at all.
"Hey, Captain Lee," a woman's voice called out.
Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw a familiar black sister approaching, "Journalist Jones, long time no see."
The bartender asked, "Beauty, what would you like to drink?"
"A cocktail," Pari Jones said, then looked towards Luke, "Captain Lee, I heard you got promoted to the head of the first squad."
"Congratulations, you must be the youngest head in the detective bureau."
"Can't help it, I'm handsome, and wherever I go, I'm popular."
"It's not just about being handsome, your ability is also outstanding, you're one of the most impressive cops I've encountered."
Luke smiled, "Journalist Jones, you're quite eloquent, but unfortunately you're not my type.
Just say what you want."
"I've been tracking the decapitated woman case. You should know that the people of Los Angeles are very concerned about such cases, so I put a lot of effort into it.
But I didn't get much information, can you give me some news?
Even just the ordinary stuff is fine.
It doesn't have to be the kind that's kept confidential, although I know you wouldn't tell me that," Pari Jones said, her voice tinged with nervousness. To cover her embarrassment, she took a big sip of her cocktail.
"Oh my God! Is this supposed to be a cocktail?" Pari Jones rolled her eyes.
"Journalist Jones, we're hardly even friends, and we even have a bit of history, so why do you think you could get any information from me?"
"Captain Lee, you became a head of an authoritative department at a young age, you're capable, promising, and ambitious.
A little history doesn't matter much to me, we should look forward and make friends, it helps both our careers."
"You're very confident?"
"I get what you mean, it takes courage to come to you for help, and of course, it might seem a bit... shameless.
Most people wouldn't take this step, but I can, and that's an ability.
This courage is destined to make me a standout in the news industry."
Honestly, Pari Jones did impress Luke somewhat; this woman was resilient and shameless.
In many people's eyes, 'shameless' is a derogatory term, but in reality, those who are shameless often have an easier time in society.
After all, someone too concerned with saving face can't be a good journalist.
Still, Luke didn't think she was of any value for cooperation, "Why don't you go find Marcus? I remember you two were quite close."
Pari Jones sighed, "Marcus and I broke up, and as far as I know, he now has a new girlfriend, and I don't want to disturb his life anymore."
Luke laughed. He knew everything about her and Marcus; it was clear they played a real-life spy game, she wanted to sell Marcus out for a fortune, but in the end, it was she who got sold out by Marcus, and they broke up after a serious fallout.
Through her narrative, Marcus almost seemed like the heartbreaker.
Of course, Luke wasn't entirely innocent himself, one might even say he was the mastermind behind Pari's setback.
This was also the reason Luke didn't want to work with Pari Jones; if she could bite Marcus, she could just as well bite him.
Luke wasn't about to play the good Samaritan.
Seeing that Luke wasn't speaking, Pari Jones continued to persuade, "Captain Luke, you're different from before.
You're now a captain, and your role is not just solving cases anymore; you have to consider things more comprehensively and deal with more issues.
You need a friend in the news industry.
You will definitely need me."
Luke took a sip of his beer. In truth, Pari Jones wasn't wrong. As Luke's position climbed, he indeed needed more connections, and would definitely interact with the news industry in the future; having a few media friends with good relationships was important.
But there's no shortage of journalists, why should he choose someone he couldn't trust?
There was a time when Marcus was the intermediary, Luke may have considered using Pari Jones indirectly, but now that their relationship had ended, he didn't want to deal with her directly.
This woman indeed had ability, resilience, and shamelessness, qualities Luke admired.
But from Luke's experience, the people you admire are not necessarily your friends; they could also be potential rivals or enemies.
If he cooperated with Pari Jones, he might benefit in the short or medium term, but this woman had no bottom line, and in the long run, it could backfire on him.
Luke didn't want to raise a tiger that could turn on him. He might need journalists in the future, but there were plenty to choose from; he would rather find someone slightly less skilled, easier to control, with a clear bottom line, who wouldn't risk biting back.
"Journalist Jones, I do admire you.
I believe you'll become a good journalist.
But Marcus is not just my colleague; he's also a good brother.
He's taken a bullet for me.
You dated Marcus, although you've broken up, you were together.