Los Angeles Detective

  Chapter 553 Inner Ghost

  After Reid left, Luke told the team members about taking over the arson case.

  At first, they didn't react too much. When they learned that there was a high reward for the arson case, their enthusiasm for investigating the case was aroused and they were full of energy.

  The deputy team continues to track down Walda Baker.

   Luke took someone to take over the arson case.

  He first went to the fire station to understand the situation.

  According to the professional inspection of the fire department, the source of the fire was the new antihypertensive drug laboratory on the sixth floor. They found a large amount of combustion accelerant on the scene, which is why the fire was so rapid.

The fire department also checked the monitoring before the fire and found that the building of Calman Pharmaceutical Company had a power outage before the fire. Calman Pharmaceutical Company has a backup power supply, but this backup power supply is mainly for powering the laboratory and does not include camera monitoring , did not photograph the scene before the fire.

  The Fire Department also sent personnel to investigate the cause of the power outage and found traces of man-made sabotage.

  The final investigation result of the Fire Department is that someone deliberately cut off the power and used a combustion accelerant to set a fire at the Kalman Pharmaceutical Company.

   It is also based on this conclusion that Kallman Pharmaceuticals will ask Luke to take over the investigation of the case.

  Luke will carefully study the information obtained from the fire station. Kallman Pharmaceuticals has security guards, and the power supply room is relatively remote. It is difficult for outsiders to avoid security guards while destroying power supply facilities.

  Luke guessed that there should be ghosts inside the company.

  The inner ghost led the way, Walda Baker provided the combustion accelerant, and the two set fire to the laboratory of the new antihypertensive drug.

  After coming out of the fire station, Luke did not return to the police station, but went to Kallman Pharmaceuticals to investigate.

  The person in charge of receiving Luke and others this time is still the head of the R&D department, Fred Kramer.

  Luke came to Kallman Pharmaceuticals for two reasons. The first reason is that Kallman Pharmaceuticals spent a lot of money to ask the Robbery and Murder Division to investigate the arson case. Since Luke has taken over the case, he always wants to show up.

  The second reason is that Fred Kramer is the research leader of the new antihypertensive drug, and Luke wants to know some clues about the ghost from him.

   After greeting each other, Luke asked directly, "Director Kramer, has there been a power outage in your company before?"

   "Yes, it happened twice before."

   "Have you sent someone to investigate?"

  Fred Cramer thought for a while, "The first trip was also at night, when the security guards discovered it, but it just tripped, and they closed the switch.

  The second power outage was also due to tripping. We hired professional maintenance workers, and they replaced some equipment to make the circuit more stable. "

  Luke pressed, "When were the first two power outages?"

   "One time was in early May, and another time was around June 10th."

   "Do you think the two power outages were man-made or accidental?"

   "Our company has a lot of experimental equipment, and we have to work at night, which consumes a lot of power. I thought it was excessive power consumption...

   But now it seems that it is likely to be human-made. "

   "Do you think it was done by someone inside the company, or by someone outside?"

   Fred Cramer shrugged, "I don't know."

  Luke said, "From the existing clues and evidence, I suspect that Kallman Pharmaceuticals may have an insider.

  Do you have a suspect? Or people who feel more suspicious. "

  Fred Cramer was silent for a while, then shook his head, "Listen, in my current position, it is difficult to answer this question.

  Because of this arson incident, the company lost a lot of research materials, and the atmosphere was tense.

  We must unite and unite people, if I doubt my colleagues for no reason, there will be bigger problems in the company..."

   "OK, then I'll change the question.

  What do you think was the cause of the arson this time? "

   “Obviously someone wants to sabotage the development of new antihypertensive drugs. Our company has spent a lot of money, manpower and time for this. If the drug development fails, there will be a series of chain reactions within the company, and it may even go bankrupt.”

   "Who benefits most if new blood pressure drug research fails?"

   "What if?"

   "Yes, only the two of us know."

   "Jelson Pharmaceuticals.

  The Nebivolol antihypertensive drug developed by their company has a high market share. Once our company’s new antihypertensive drug is developed, it will definitely have a certain impact on the Nebivolol antihypertensive drug.

   This is a huge blow to Jelson Pharmaceuticals. "

Two days ago, Luke had just been to Jelson Pharmaceuticals and met Royce Woodman, the vice president of their company. Luke asked about the murder of the deceased Rochel Horn, but the other party did not clear.

  Luke didn't see any obvious signs of lying on the other side.

   Moreover, the reason why Luke found out about Kallman Company was also the clue provided by the vice president of Jelson Company.

It stands to reason that if Jelson Company is the mastermind behind the arson case, he has no reason to tell the police the clues of Kallman Pharmaceutical Company, so that the police can investigate the arson case in time, which is tantamount to indirectly increasing the exposure risk of Jelson Company .

  Luke suppressed the speculation in his heart, and took out the photo of the suspect, Walda Baker, "Do you know him?"

  Fred Cramer picked up the photo and looked at it, shaking his head, "I don't know him. Does he have anything to do with the arson case?"

   "He is likely to be one of the suspects in the arson case?"

  Fred Cramer was a little surprised, "You guys found out so quickly."

  Luke nodded noncommittally, and asked, "Is the director of the testing department, Cam Smith, in the company?"

   "Yes, he has been contacting the test personnel for the past two days, inquiring about their physical conditions, and telling them some precautions to avoid the tragedy of Rochelle Horn from happening again."

   "OK, I want to talk to him again."

   Soon, Luke met Cam Smith in the conference room.

This is not the first time that Luke and Cam Smith met. The last time they met, Luke asked about the situation of his deceased Rochel Horn. In addition, he also asked about the situation on the night when the arson case occurred. It felt like the other party was hiding something, which was one of the reasons why he talked to the other party today.

   Cam Smith looked a little tired, took a big sip of coffee, "Captain Li, what can I do for you?"

   "I heard from Fred Cramer that you have been contacting the drug testers for the past two days. How is their situation?"

   "Everything is good, and no particularly obvious adverse reactions have been found so far.

   When do you think the drug will be on the market? "

  Fred Cramer sighed, "It's hard to say, all the experimental data of the new antihypertensive drugs have been burned, many things have to be redone, and a lot of money and manpower have to be invested.

   Moreover, the death of Rochelle Horn is also somewhat related to the new antihypertensive drugs...

   It may be difficult to go public in a short time. "

  Luke took out a picture of Walda Baker, "Have you seen him?"

  Cam Smith pursed his lips, picked up the photo to check, and frowned slightly, "I don't know him."

  Luke repeats the question, "Have you met him?"

   "No, I haven't seen it." Cam Smith returned the photo to Luke.

"Sure?"

"Sure."

  Luke saw traces of lying on the other party's face.

  This is interesting, this is the second time he has lied about the arson case.

  He should have met Walda Baker, but they should not be familiar with each other.

  So, the first time Luke asked him if he had seen Walda Baker, he said no, but he should have.

  Luke pushed the photo over again, "I suggest you to identify it carefully?"

"Why?"

   "Because he met you."

  Cam Smith shrugged, "Maybe, I'm a bit face blind, even if I see someone on the street, I may not remember it."

   Luke said, "The one in the photo is not someone, but one of the suspects in the arson case.

  So, I suggest you to recall it again.

  Did you see him the night of the arson? or someone else?

   Don't lie. "

   Cam Smith stared at Luke, "May I call a lawyer?"

  Luke smiled, "Of course, I have heard that your pharmaceutical company's lawyers are very powerful.

   I also want to know, do they value the interests of the company more than the interests of the employees. "

   “I have my own lawyer.”

   "You can do whatever you want." Luke stood up, ready to leave, "Looks like I should talk to Fred Kramer.

   Help him reintroduce you as a conscientious employee.

   Maybe, he will give you a promotion, who knows? "

   "Captain Li, please don't go.

  I don't want a lawyer anymore, we can have a good talk. "

   "What do you want to talk about?"

   "Can our conversation be kept private?"

   "Of course." Luke sat down again.

"I...on the night of July 11th, I did see two suspicious people, one is the person in your photo, and the other is a researcher from our company..." Cam Smith took a deep breath, hesitant to speak end.

   "What's the name of that researcher?"

   "Lydia Cooney."

   "Describe the situation?"

"I couldn't sleep that night, so I took a walk in the yard. When I walked near the west side of the building, I saw the side door on the west side of the building opened. Two people came out of it. One of them was the person in the photo. One was Lydia Cooney.

  Because it was dark at that time, they probably didn't see me.

  I was still a little surprised why Lydia Cooney came out of the building in the middle of the night, and then I saw a fire in the building, and I realized that the building might be on fire. "

   "Where did they escape, and what vehicle did they take?"

  “I don’t know. I saw the building was on fire and I was so focused on fighting the fire that I didn’t bother to find Lydia Cooney.”

   "What time was it?"

   "It's past eleven o'clock."

"The specific time?"

   "About eleven twenty."

  Luke took note of the time, "Since you have seen Lydia Cooney, why didn't you say it last time?"

   "She is an excellent woman who has put in a lot of effort to develop new drugs. I can see that new antihypertensive drugs are also her hard work.

   While seeing her come out of the building...

   But I always feel that she will not do such a thing.

   I was going to check with her in person, but I haven't been able to get in touch with her. "

   "You have a good relationship with Lydia Cooney, and you know her well?"

  "Yes, we dated before and broke up about three months ago. Just because I know her well, I think it is impossible for her to do such a thing. There may be some misunderstanding.

  If I had told you then, it would have had a bad influence on Lydia Cooney.

  I originally wanted to check it out, but I haven't been able to contact her...

  Actually, even if you don’t come today, I might take the initiative to explain the situation.

  I have been struggling with this matter..."

   "Why did you break up?"

   "Her daughter doesn't like me..." Cam Smith shrugged and said helplessly, "Obviously, to her, her daughter is more important than me."

   "Has Lydia Cooney been at work these two days?"

   "No, because the building is on fire, it is impossible to continue working, and many employees are temporarily furloughed."

   "You said you tried to contact Lydia Cooney, how did you do so?"

   "I've called her, but I haven't been able to reach her."

   "Do you know where her home is?"

"Yes."

   "Why don't you go find her at home?"

   "I... I dare not, I am also worried that she is really related to the arson case and will do some irrational things."

   Luke said, "If Fred Kramer heard this, he would be disappointed."

   "Please, don't tell Professor Fred Kramer and the company about this. I know there is something wrong with my approach, but Lydia Cooney and the company are very important to me.

  I am a human being with feelings...that's why I hesitate.

Feel sorry. "

  Luke didn't feel that this guy was sorry for him. He just took over the case. If Cam Smith had confessed before, the local police must have intervened in the investigation and even caught Lydia Cooney.

  Then, Fred Kramer would not go to the police detective station on purpose, and ask the robbery and murder department to take over the investigation of the case, and the high reward has nothing to do with the first squadron.

   "Where is Lydia Cooney's house?"

  …

   Mauldin Community.

   This is a Caucasian community, only a 20-minute drive from Kallman Pharmaceutical Company. There are neat two-story villas built on both sides of the road. The lawn is very neat and the environment is good.

  Xiao Hei looked out the window enviously, "I quite like this community, and I'm also considering changing to a house with a better environment."

   Luke said, "Then investigate the case carefully. As long as the suspect in the arson case can be caught, everyone can share a lot of the reward of one million dollars."

  Xiao Hei showed an excited expression, "You are right, I have also saved some money recently, if I can get this reward, I can consider changing the house."

  When it came to offering a reward, Xiao Hei became more motivated. After the car stopped by the side of the road, he was the first to get out of the car.

  In the car, Luke had already arranged the task. Raymond and Jenny went to guard the back door, and he and Xiao Hei called the door from the front.

  Xiao Hei walked to the door and rang the doorbell, "Ding Dong..."

no respond.

  Luke listened attentively, but heard nothing.

   "Ding Dong..." Xiao Hei rang the doorbell again.

   Still no response.

  Luke walked around the house, all the windows were closed, and the curtains were drawn, so he couldn't see what was going on inside.

  The more this is the case, the more Luke feels that there is something wrong with this house.

  Luke said on the intercom, "Ramon, no one in the house responded, we are going to enter the house and search."

   "Got it, be safe."

  Luke asked Xiao Hei beside him, "Can you unlock the door?"

   "You can try it." Xiao Hei took out a lockpicking tool from his pocket and tried to unlock the door.

  Xiao Hei fiddled with it for two minutes.

   "click..."

  The door lock is open.

  Xiao Hei grinned, showing some big white teeth, as if you were going to praise me.

   Luke raised his thumb, gestured towards the house, opened the door, and entered the house one after the other.

  The two cooperated with each other, first searched the living room on the first floor, then opened the back door, and Raymond and Jenny also entered the room.

  The four of them worked together, and the speed of the search was greatly accelerated.

   While searching, Luke paid attention to the environment in the room. The house was very clean.

  There are four rooms and two toilets in the entire villa, two of which are obviously inhabited. Judging from the clothes and items, the master bedroom should be an adult woman.

  The person who sleeps on the side should be a girl, who is not very old, and there are many plush toys and Barbie dolls on the bed and table.

   Soon, the four searched the room.

  Jenny put away her pistol, "Captain, no one was found in the house."

  Xiao Hei shrugged, "So do we, maybe that guy has run away."

  Luke didn't answer. Searching for suspicious people in the house was only the first step, and the next step was to investigate the scene carefully.

   There was a cup of coffee on the coffee table, and Luke touched the cup with his hand.

hot.

  (end of this chapter)