"Yes, I haven't had dinner yet. How come you're here?"
"I was studying jujutsu here. I had just left when the explosion occurred."
The deputy chief asked, "Did you know the victim?"
"Can you confirm the victim's identity?"
From what he could gather, Luke thought the victim must be Natasha, but the body was severely disfigured by the blast, making it hard to recognize.
The deputy chief suggested, "Based on my experience, we should first confirm the victim's identity."
That's why I asked you to stay at the scene. No one in Los Angeles has more experience than you."
"Seeing a captain butter up his deputy is a first for me," the old man said before he strode off.
Luke was not in the mood for jokes. He turned to Jackson and asked, "Have you contacted Natasha's family?"
"Yes, I found the address of Natasha's adoptive parents."
The black SUV slowly stopped in front of a white two-story villa.
Luke got out of the car and instinctively scanned the surroundings. The lights were on in the house, and there were several sunflowers in the yard.
The two walked into the yard. Jackson reached the door first and pressed the doorbell, "Ding-dong..."
After a moment, the door opened, and a tall Caucasian old man appeared. "Hi, young man, what can I do for you?"
Jackson eyed the man, "Are you Mr. Sergey Belanov?"
We've never met before. Who are you?"
"I'm Detective Jackson from the Robbery and Murder Department. This is our Captain Lee."
"Robbery and Murder Department?"
"What do you need from me?"
"We're here concerning Natasha."
"What about Natasha?"
"This evening, there was an explosion at the jujutsu club where Natasha was, and the situation is fairly serious. We've come to gather some information."
"Oh God! Was Natasha hurt? How is she now?"
"The explosion occurred in Natasha's office. According to a club member, she was inside at the time..."
"No, no, no..." Sergey Belanov leaned against the door frame, his eyes red and his voice choked up, "Are you sure Natasha died in the explosion?"
"No, we can't confirm that yet."
"Dear, who is it outside?"
Sergey Belanov took a deep breath, "A friend invited me for a few drinks, I'll step out for a moment."
Sergey Belanov closed the door, "Please don't tell my wife... She has a heart condition and can't handle this kind of shock."
"Let's talk in the car."
The three of them sat in the car, Sergey Belanov in the back seat, looking dazed. "May I smoke a cigarette?"
With trembling hands, Sergey pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, but after several tries, he couldn't get it to light.
Luke took out his own lighter and helped the other man light his cigarette.
"Thank you," Sergey Belanov took a few puffs of the cigarette, and his expression eased a bit.
"I can't believe this has happened. We had dinner together just the other day, and I can't accept it..."
Luke asked, "Has Natasha been acting unusually lately?"
"I don't know, she's a strong kid, knew my wife wasn't well, and always kept worries to herself to avoid causing her stress."
"Do you have any other children?"
"We have another adopted son, but he is not in Los Angeles now."
"They got along well, but they weren't particularly close.
My adoptive son was a few years older than Natasha. By the time she joined our family, he was already off to college and seldom came home to stay."
"When did you adopt Natasha?"
"My son was about to go to college, and my wife and I decided to adopt another child. I always wanted a daughter, envisioning her running to hug me when I got home from work.
But reality and wishes often differ.
We met Natasha when she was just 12 years old. She was quiet, not lively, and not the type I had hoped to adopt.
We originally wanted to adopt a vivid and cheerful child who could bring laughter to our home.
But Natasha was different. She was reserved, always seemed to have something on her mind, and preferred to stay quietly in a corner.
That time we went to the orphanage, we didn't find the child we wanted to adopt." Sergey Belanov took a deep drag on his cigarette and sighed,
"Fate is a curious thing.
After coming home, my wife couldn't stop thinking about Natasha, felt sorry for her, and wanted to protect her.
Later, we returned to the orphanage with gifts.
After a few visits, we decided to adopt Natasha.
It turned out we were right, Natasha was a good child."
"Do you know anything about Natasha's biological parents?"
"No, information about her biological parents is confidential. Natasha also didn't like to talk about it, so we never asked."
"Has Natasha made enemies with anyone?"
"Not that I know of."
"Does she have any close relations?"
"A few months ago, a 16-year-old boy was fostered at her place. I've met the boy a few times; he's a Latin-American boy."
"Why would she foster Christian at her home?"
"Natasha is a kind child; she hoped to help troubled children who had lost their parents like us, help them out of their difficulties, and provide them with a home.