Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth
Chapter 843 - 396: Traces
Luke also noticed something unusual and stood up to look toward the door.
Port placed his right hand on his gun, ready to draw it at any moment.
The two officers at the door didn't enter immediately; they were a bit awkward too. If the people in the living room were impersonating police officers, it was no small matter, and these people might lash out and start shooting.
The safest method at this point was to prepare for action, enter the room holding their guns with both hands, disarm and search the two people, and confirm their identities while ensuring safety.
But it was hard to execute this in practice. Whether the other party would cooperate was uncertain, and even if they did, going through such procedures would certainly offend them.
If the two in the living room really were from the Robbery and Murder Department, they would definitely outrank them and might complain to their superiors.
Dolly White also noticed the officers' suspicion, "Sir, is there a problem?"
"No." The leading white officer took a deep breath and gestured to the companion behind him. Both placed their right hands on their guns and entered the house.
Seeing that officers were coming in, Luke raised an eyebrow, "Which station are you from? Southern District?"
"Yes." The white officer scrutinized Luke and his associate, "Sir, what do you do?"
Port also guessed that there might be some misunderstanding, "My name is Port, I used to work at the Southern District Police.
Now I'm transferred to Squad One of the Robbery and Murder Department, and this is our Captain Lee.
You should have heard his name."
The black officer in the back nudged the white officer, "Hey, it's Luke Lee, the one who solved the headless female corpse case and even won the Public Safety Officer Medal.
I've seen him on TV; there's no need to doubt."
The white officer looked at Port, felt a bit familiar, and moved his right hand off the gun, "Sorry, sir, we received a report and came to check the situation."
Luke glanced at Dolly White in the back, "What was the content of the report?"
"The homeowner suspected your identity as detectives and wanted us to help verify it."
"Then let's go by the book.
Port, show them your credentials."
Port took out his badge and documents and handed them to the white officer, "We're investigating the murder case of Jens Hauley."
The white officer checked the documents and then returned them, "Sorry, sir, no offense intended. This was a misunderstanding.
If there's nothing else, we'll get out of your way."
"Great."
The two officers apologized once more and then left the living room, quietly telling the departing Dolly White, "They are real detectives, no need to doubt, just cooperate with the investigation."
"Thank you, I understand." Dolly White guided the two officers to the door and then awkwardly returned to the living room, saying to Luke and his associate,
"Sorry, two people from the Robbery and Murder Department came this morning as well. I mentioned their name, but you didn't recognize them, and I thought something was fishy…
Moreover, Captain Lee is so young.
Apologies, I was overly suspicious and shouldn't have doubted you."
"No, you did the right thing." Luke didn't take it to heart, indicating for them to sit down and continued asking, "The detective you mentioned from the Robbery and Murder Department is called Jada Landis?"
"Yes, he came to my house, said he was investigating the oil painting robbery case, and asked about some details of the robbery."
"Did they come as a pair?"
"Yes."
"Describe their features."
"A man and a woman, the man called himself Detective Jada Landis, he's white, over 1.8 meters tall, wore glasses, and had a mustache.
The woman didn't give her name, she's black, had a ponytail, about 1.7 meters tall with a great figure."
"What specific time did they come? How long did they stay?"
"It should have been around 10 AM, they stayed for less than half an hour, leaving around 10:30."
"They claimed to be detectives from the Robbery and Murder Department?"
"Yes, I'm certain."
Luke stood up and called Reid's phone.
The Robbery and Murder Department has four squads, and though Luke knows most of the people, he had no memory of these two 'colleagues' described by Dolly White. Of course, they might have just been transferred to the Robbery and Murder Department, so Luke called Reid to verify.
Reid is the head of the Robbery and Murder Department, and there's no way he wouldn't know about personnel changes at the detective level.
Luke explained the situation of these two people, and Reid confidently told him that there was no detective named Jada Landis in the Robbery and Murder Department.
Impostors.
Someone was impersonating detectives from the Robbery and Murder Department to investigate the Getty Museum oil painting robbery.
Whether for the case or the Robbery and Murder Department, Luke couldn't ignore this.
Luke hung up his phone and said, "I've confirmed it, there is no detective named Jada Landis in the Robbery and Murder Department.
You've been deceived, those two were the fake detectives."
Dolly White shrugged, "Why would they do that? What do they want from me?"
"That depends on what they asked? Recap the questions they asked and your conversation, maybe we can guess their motive."
Dolly White recalled for a moment, "They asked for the names of the other two escort team members, and they inquired about the ten paintings, like whose works they were and if they depicted people or scenes?"
Dolly White shook her head, "We transport packaged paintings, to avoid bumps, at least five layers of protection are needed. You can't even see the painting or the frame.