Half an hour later, the group left the motel.

Marcus got along well with the little boy and made a fist bump gesture, "Hey, buddy, remember to call me if you need anything."

The little boy returned the fist bump and then went back to the motel.

Luke asked, "Did you get it?"

Marcus pulled a transparent, sealed bag from his pocket, containing a few strands of hair, "I shouldn't have lied to him; he's a good kid."

"You're helping him find his dad; he'll understand."

"Hope so."

David hung up the phone and came over, "I reported the situation to the captain. She decided not to summon the victim's brother, Maquire Hary, today?"

"Why?"

"The evidence isn't sufficient yet. The conflict between Maquire Hary and Badman Pole isn't enough to prove that Maquire Hary is involved in his sister's death.

Moreover, the captain thinks if Maquire Hary were to kill, he wouldn't do it himself.

Let Matthew check Maquire Hary's financial situation; maybe it will provide a new clue."

Luke nodded, "A very prudent approach."

...

Luke's Harley was still at Daisy's place.

After work, Luke contacted Daisy, who had to work overtime tonight, possibly busy until after nine.

He estimated it would be ten by the time she got home, and nearly eleven after she'd freshened up; after a long day, Luke didn't feel it was right to still insist on doing activities together.

He simply rode the Harley back to his own place.

Halfway there, he had dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

By the time he got back to the Ruidu community, it was already eight o'clock at night, and it was getting dark.

Suddenly, a white shadow darted out in front of him.

Luke hit the brakes hard but didn't turn away, maintaining his lane.

Only when they were about to collide did he realize it was a white long-haired dog.

The motorcycle skimmed past the dog, fortunately avoiding a traffic accident.

Luke stopped the motorcycle and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Woof woof..." The dog, too, was frightened and kept barking at Luke.

Luke recognized some dogs, but couldn't identify this white long-haired dog; it was slightly smaller than a Great Pyrenees and a Samoyed but barked more fiercely.

The long-haired dog was snarling, barking more and more fiercely, its saliva splashing onto the ground.

Luke was also getting annoyed; fortunately, he'd not been riding fast, or else he really wouldn't have been able to stop in time, and might have had a nasty fall.

"Scram, or I'll stew you," he snapped, wishing he had something handy to give the dog a beating.

A woman in her forties, of Asian descent, ran over and scolded, "Can't you ride a bike, driving over my dog like that?"

Luke was taken aback, thinking to himself, can't you talk properly? "Auntie, I was driving normally; it was your dog that ran into my bike. You should be the one apologizing."

"Who's your auntie? Why should I apologize? You clearly drove over my dog, and I haven't even asked you for medical expenses yet, have you no shame?"

"Your dog shouldn't be running onto the road. How can you still argue?"

"Is this road yours? Just because you can use it, my dog can't? Who's being unreasonable?"

"I don't want to argue with you, just tie up your dog. If it interferes with my driving again or dares to bark at me, I'll hit it every time I see it."

"What right do you have to hit my dog? Dare touch it and see what happens, just try it," the dog's owner said, hands on her hips, a look of 'mess with it, and it's not over' on her face.

Luke directly pulled out his gun, "This dog is threatening my personal safety. I'll count to three, and if it snarls at me again, I'll shoot it."

"Three"

"Click!" Luke cocked his gun.

"Stop, stop, don't shoot, why are you like this, can't you take a joke?" The dog's owner was terrified, quickly hugged the dog, and pinched its mouth shut, afraid that Luke would really shoot.

"Nasty habit." Luke put away his gun and rode off on his Harley.

Once Luke was far away, the dog's owner stood up, "You shameless jerk, are you even a man? Bullying even a dog.

I'm not afraid of you at all.

Just because you have a gun, what does that make you, ugh."

...

The next day, at noon.

Robbery and Murder Department office.

Susan walked into the office and cleared her throat, "Everyone, I have something to announce."

All heads turned toward her.

Susan continued, "The technical division compared the cut finger of a Black man and Badman Pole's son's DNA, and found a 99.95% genetic similarity, supporting that there is a parent-child relationship between the two.

The owner of that cut finger is likely Badman Pole."

The deputy said, "Although it's not good news, we've confirmed the identity of the second body."

Marcus sighed softly, "That poor kid must be devastated. I don't even know how to tell him."

The deputy suggested, "Let's not tell him yet, wait until he's more prepared. Announcing it later might make it easier for him to accept. At least it won't be so painful then."

Luke analyzed while stroking his chin, "The female councilor Layli Harry was murdered, likely out of vengeance.

Now that Badman Pole is also dead, it's very likely that the same person killed them both. But why?

Did the two have a common enemy, or did they harm someone's common interest?"

The deputy proposed, "Could it be that someone kidnapped Badman Pole's family and forced him to assist in killing Layli Harry? Then they killed Badman Pole afterward, ensuring no one knows who the real murderer is?"

Luke, following the analysis said, "That line of reasoning makes sense.

But if I were the murderer, after killing Badman Pole, I would conceal his body, not plant his finger in the victim's mouth.

And what about the other two fingers? What are their owners' identities? Surely no one would kill three people just to murder Layli Harry.

That's completely illogical."

Everyone was silent for a moment, then Matthew stood up from his seat, "Hey, I found a new lead."

Susan signaled, "Let's hear it."

"I checked the bank account of the deceased's brother, Maquire Hary, and found that on the morning of March 30th, the morning the victim was murdered, Maquire Hary withdrew three hundred thousand US Dollars." Matthew was interrupted before he finished.

"Wow, this guy finally slipped up, couldn't he have hired someone to commit the murder?"

"I wasn't finished." Matthew, slightly annoyed, raised his voice over the interruption, "Just now, Maquire Hary's account withdrew another four hundred thousand US Dollars."

Xiaohei remarked, "Where do these bastards get so much money? These two transactions add up to seven hundred thousand US Dollars, which could cover my salary for ten years."

Luke pondered for a moment, "If Maquire Hary is indeed the murderer and hired someone to kill his sister or Badman Pole, then the money on March 30th was likely a down payment, and the money taken out today is likely the final payment.

This means he might be dealing with the murderer right now."

Susan immediately ordered, "Matthew, lock down Maquire Hary's location.

Everyone else, get ready to move."

"Yes, captain."