A cocky silver-haired old man continued, “Both victims are young white women, with long blonde hair, about 170 centimeters tall.

Both were attacked from behind with an electric shock. It can basically be confirmed that the suspect used a Taser, but no confetti was found at the scene…”

A Taser doesn’t use bullets; it subdues targets by firing electrified ‘darts’ and is a commonly used non-lethal weapon by police.

Every time a Taser fires a cartridge, more than forty colorful confetti pieces are ejected, each printed with the gun’s serial number, which can be traced to the weapon’s source.

“Other than similar physical features, no connection has been found between the two victims. According to the victims’ descriptions, the suspect is likely male and was wearing a hat.

Because it was dark at night, none of them could see the suspect’s face clearly…”

The silver-haired old man, Vincent Johnson, spoke at length. He was already over sixty, but thanks to the LAPD’s reemployment policy, he could continue working.

He might be the oldest officer in the detective bureau, or even all of Los Angeles, with rich experience in crime scene investigation—but don’t expect him to chase down suspects anymore.

“The crime scenes were all rather remote. When the female victims were found, they were completely naked. Their cash, jewelry, and clothes had all been stolen, but they hadn’t been assaulted…”

Luke Johnson still hadn’t gotten used to being an LAPD officer and often slacked off.

But upon hearing the case description, his professional instincts kicked in and he couldn’t help but start analyzing the case.

In the past, Luke Johnson had also worked on quite a few robbery cases.

Generally speaking, robberies have clear motives: either for money or for sex.

But in this case, the suspect’s motive was unclear.

If it was for money, he could have just grabbed the valuables and run—why strip the victims?

That’s unprofessional and increases the risk of getting caught.

If it was for sex, there was no actual assault.

It’s very contradictory.

After Vincent Johnson finished briefing the case, he went ahead and assigned tasks to the team members.

Luke Johnson was assigned to review surveillance footage, which was his least favorite task.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but Luke Johnson felt that Captain Susan Smith’s face looked even colder as she spoke in a slightly London-accented voice,

“One more thing: no one is allowed to disclose case details to the media. They already know enough.

I don’t want to see any more news coverage about this case, understood?”

“Yes, captain.”

……

Luke Johnson grabbed a cup of coffee and sat at his desk to watch surveillance footage.

Reviewing surveillance is a common investigative method for Chinese detectives.

But there are far fewer cameras in the US than in China. With roughly the same land area, talking about per capita coverage is a joke.

Americans value privacy more, so there aren’t many cameras for public safety; most are private, which makes investigations more difficult.

This method, which works so well in China, isn’t very effective in Los Angeles.

There had been two robberies in total, both on Friday nights. Luke Johnson was reviewing footage from 8 p.m. to midnight.

As for why the suspect chose Friday, Luke Johnson thought it might be related to the US payroll system.

Many American companies pay weekly or biweekly, usually on Friday afternoons.

Of course, that was just his guess—there was no evidence.

All morning, Luke Johnson watched surveillance videos, drank three cups of coffee, went to the bathroom twice, and smoked two cigarettes.

For lunch, he had a beef burger, fries, a fried chicken drumstick, and a grilled chicken wing.

In the afternoon, he continued reviewing footage. His eyes were sore, his butt was numb, and he still hadn’t found any valuable clues.

At 6:30, it was time to get off work.

Luke Johnson stood up, stretched, packed his things, and got ready to leave.

A bald white man standing by the printer looked at Luke Johnson and laughed, “You’re even more punctual than my alarm clock! Like your new nickname?”

Luke Johnson winked, “Alarm clock? Want to put me on your nightstand? Your wife would definitely fall for me.”

The bald white man scoffed, “Asshole.”

“Don’t praise me too much, or I’ll get cocky.

Guys, see you tomorrow.” Luke Johnson tossed out the line and walked straight out of the office.

The other team members had mixed expressions—some envious, some disdainful—but none of them left. With such a pressing case, they were all prepared to work overtime.

The silver-haired old man spread his hands, a bit helpless: “The robber might strike again the day after tomorrow, and this kid acts like it has nothing to do with him.

Why is a kid with no sense of responsibility still in the ‘Robbery-Homicide Division’?

Is this a retirement home?”

“Haha…” The colleagues burst out laughing.

“He’s always been kind of an asshole, but he used to be pretty dedicated to investigations.” The white man pointed to his own bald head. “Ever since he got injured, he’s changed. Could it be PTSD?”

The silver-haired old man sighed and waved his hand, “OK, let the captain worry about it.

I’m just the deputy.”

Chapter 3 One Week

Working overtime? No way.

In his previous life, Luke Johnson had spent most of his life burning the midnight oil and working overtime.