Luke said, "Is it because of this obsession that you decided to rob the bank?"
"No, I've said it before, I had nothing to do with the bank robbery, I knew absolutely nothing about it. Soster told me about it after he robbed the bank."
"Then did you know about Jacob Johnston putting materials into a bank locker?"
"Soster tells a different story. He said that after receiving your instructions, he and Marbury Karl acted together. They forced the information about the whereabouts of the data from Jacob Johnston at his home and even got the key to the locker and the password for it.
Then, the two of them took Jacob Johnston out to the wilderness and killed him.
The FBI has already taken Soster to identify the scene, so there is no way he could lie about that," Luke paused then continued, "According to Soster, after obtaining the bank locker key and password, he told you about it.
Since Marbury Karl and Jacob Johnston resembled each other in appearance, you had Marbury impersonate Jacob Johnston with his ID to retrieve the items from the bank locker. Marbury tried to open the locker, the key was genuine but the password prompt indicated an error.
According to bank regulations, if the password is entered incorrectly three times, the identity of the locker owner must be verified.
Marbury only tried once before hurrying out.
The three of you deliberated and suspected that Jacob Johnston had given a fake password, but since you had already killed him, there was no way to get the new one. You complained to Soster about this.
Soster suggested robbing the bank, and you agreed."
"He's lying, I really didn't know," Muriel Baldini said with conviction.
Luke took out a set of photos and placed them in front of Muriel Baldini, "This is the surveillance from North Hollywood Bank. The footage is from the date when Marbury posed as Muriel Baldini to retrieve items from the bank locker.
At that time, in order to get the materials as soon as possible, you waited outside the bank. This is your Maserati, although you did not leave the car, the camera still caught you sitting in the driver's seat. This shows you knew the materials were hidden in the bank, and you were aware of Soster's bank robbery operation.
Muriel Baldini sighed, "I regret it, I should have called a lawyer."
"If you truly regretted it, you shouldn't have committed a crime," Luke replied.
"Sometimes, when you're in a certain position, you have to do things, even if you don't want to."
"Let's talk about the night you were 'kidnapped,'"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Then let's talk about the death of the FBI agent in the explosion."
"That has nothing to do with me; don't try to pin that on me again."
"Then let's talk about your 'kidnapping.'"
"Sigh..." Muriel Baldini sighed deeply, "After they robbed the bank, things got out of control.
At first, I was too scared to contact them recklessly.
Lately, they said they wanted to lay low for a while and wanted to meet with me before they left.
I agreed and also prepared some cash for them.
After meeting them, I asked him about the materials, and he said they had been destroyed.
I hadn't even begun to feel relieved before you tracked us down, and things got out of control.
The three of us thought it over and decided to have me drive them out of there. The rest you already know."
Jenny said, "Ms. Baldini, I didn't expect you to be involved with someone like Soster."
Muriel Baldini laughed, "Officer Jenny, I'm not as good as you think, and Soster is not as bad as you think.
I was confident I could control him.
Actually, I'm curious why he would betray me."
Jenny responded, "He has always had something on you."
Muriel Baldini was unconcerned, "That's just a means of self-protection, I can understand that.
But I can't figure out what you used to make him betray me. Even if the lawyer did turn, as long as Soster didn't come forward to testify, you couldn't get any evidence."
Jenny countered, "What makes you so sure that Soster wouldn't testify against you?"
"Regardless of whether Soster betrays me or not, he will be sentenced to death for the crimes he has committed, spending the rest of his life in prison.
And I could secretly take care of him and his family."
"Nice thinking, but plans can't keep up with changes," Luke said dismissively, without elaborating.
If it were a regular interrogation, there was a high chance that Soster would not testify against Muriel Baldini. From that perspective, Luke indeed had to be grateful to Anthony, or it would have been difficult to make a breakthrough in the interrogation.
This also underscored the importance of cooperation: there is strength in numbers, and it's not a good habit to work alone.
At 7 o'clock in the evening, at Marcus's house.
With the case cracked and after days of continuous work, everyone finally had a chance to relax.
Marcus invited everyone to his home for dinner, also taking the opportunity to formally introduce Julian to everyone.
The two of them had already gotten married legally, but the wedding ceremony had not yet been held.
After everyone arrived at Marcus's house, Julian greeted them at the garden gate, "Everyone, I'm delighted you could make it to the gathering."
"Julian, you look lovely today; that blue dress suits you," Luke handed over a bag with a bottle of red wine, "This is a gift for you."
"Thank you," Julian said with a smile, taking it.
Little Black said, "Julian, let me introduce you to this gentleman. This is Chief Reid, he has taken good care of me at the police station."