"Hello, this is the 911 emergency center."
"I need to report an emergency, I'm super scared right now..."
"Can you speak up? I can't hear you clearly."
"Sorry, I can't speak any louder, he'll hear me..."
Luke found the recording of the emergency call and listened to it over and over again.
There was no issue with the name, address, or the black pickup truck mentioned; he was sure he had not found the wrong location.
Jackson had circled around the community; there weren't a few residents with pickup trucks, and two households even had black ones.
After some patient communication, the two residents with black pickup trucks agreed to let the police enter their homes for inspection, and the police confirmed there was no problem with these households.
Luke shifted the focus of the investigation to the mobile number that had been used to make the emergency call.
Upon investigation, it turned out to be a prepaid disposable phone, available in many convenience stores and shops, and the phone was no longer in use, which made direct tracking impossible.
In the end, they could only use the telecom base station to carry out the location tracking, which placed the call not at Prandle community number 105 but several kilometers east of the community.
Base station tracking could only determine a general area; finding the exact location and person who made the call was not easy.
However, one thing was certain: the information provided by the caller was wrong—Prandle community number 105 wasn't the crime scene.
With this finding, Luke was leaning towards the judgment made by "Xiao Hei": it was most likely a false alarm.
Eight o'clock in the evening.
At a round table on the east side of the bar, Luke, Jackson, John, and an Asian female officer sat together.
John took a sip of beer, "Guys, we are drinking at the bar when the case isn't solved yet; isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Jackson said, "John, it's just an ordinary false alarm case, no need to be so tense."
John frowned, "Are you still the Jackson I know?
Back when we all patrolled together, even if a bicycle was stolen, you would go all out to search for it.
Have you only got eyes for homicide cases since you've been at the Robbery and Murder Department?"
Luke said, "Watch it, John, I'm sitting right here.
By the way, where's your partner? Why didn't she come?"
Luke had once received a small favor from John and his partner, and he had promised to treat John to drinks at Mezke Bar.
"She's the type that warms up slowly, cold on the outside but warm on the inside, don't worry about her," John said, pointing at the Asian female officer, "This is Lucy Chen.
She's a rookie in the same cohort as Jackson and me, so I invited her to join us.
Luke, you don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not." Luke sized up Lucy Chen and asked in Mandarin, "Can you speak Mandarin?"
"I can, but I can't write."
"There's a Chen Kelin in Robbery and Murder Department Squad 2; do you know him?"
"No, Captain Luke, your Mandarin is really good, much better than mine."
"Then you'll have to practice more."
Jackson grumbled, "Hey, can you not speak a different language in front of me? It makes me feel like an idiot."
Lucy laughed, "Are you sure you only feel like one?"
Jackson surrendered, "OK, better change the subject. How about our captain tells us about his award-winning experiences..."
Before Jackson could finish, Luke interjected, "Nonono, let's talk about something else. Like your rookie days, the interesting stories among the three of you with such diverse ages, genders, and backgrounds."
Jackson shook his head, "Believe me, Captain, you don't want to hear it. It's all very... embarrassing stuff."
"I'm even more curious now."
"No," Jackson, John, and Lucy said in unison.
John suggested, "How about we discuss the false alarm case?
Captain Luke, how does the Robbery and Murder Department plan on investigating?"
Luke replied, "I was actually planning to talk to the resident Jamie Robinson today, but he refused and asked to see a lawyer.
Tomorrow, I plan to speak with him again.
How about you at the Western Division?"
John said, "The telecom company provided the base station's location where the phone's signal was last detected; we might step up patrols and door-to-door inquiries in that area."
Luke nodded, "Play to your strengths."
John said, "Our strengths aren't just in numbers. How about a friendly competition?"
Jackson inquired, "What kind of friendly competition?"
John proposed, "Let's see which department can find the person behind the false alarm first."
Jackson laughed, "John, I thought you were past the age of youthful impetuosity."
"Never underestimate the courage of a middle-aged man brave enough to switch careers in his forties."
"OK, you're on," Jackson extended his right hand for a fist bump.
"Buddy, you're on the losing side," John bumped fists as well.
"That's precisely what I was about to say."
Lucy joked, "Oh, gentlemen, I see sparks flying."
Jackson and Luke drove again to the address of the previous day's false alarm.
Since the caller had used a prepaid disposable phone, the police had few leads to investigate.
One was to check any clues related to the fake crime scene address, such as the surroundings and residents.
The other was to look into the area around where the phone signal was detected, but that approach required more police resources, so patrols and checks were the main focus.
Thus, Luke decided to leverage their advantage and investigate the first lead.
The car stopped outside house number 105 in the Prandle community.
Luke got out of the car and saw a patrol officer parked nearby.