Los Angeles Women's Prison.

The prison gate opened, and a woman in her thirties walked out, seemingly dazzled by the sunlight. She used her right hand to shield her forehead, her head lowered as she walked forward.

"Lindsay."

She stopped in her tracks, seemingly surprised that someone would call her.

Looking in the direction of the voice, she saw a black pickup parked not far away, with David sitting in the car waving at her.

After hesitating for a moment, Lindsay walked over, opened the car door, and sat in the passenger seat.

"You shouldn't be here, should you?"

"I took the day off," David said, looking at his somewhat unfamiliar wife. "You're hurt on the face, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just some minor issues," Lindsay said, pursing her lips and looking a bit at a loss. "Thank you, I don't have any money right now, those bail bonds..."

"That's the least of our worries, as long as you are okay." David started the car. "What do you want to eat? It's on me."

"Burgers, I've been going crazy for them in there."

"How about going to the place we used to frequent?"

"No, just find any place. I don't really want to go somewhere familiar."

The car drove on the road, and neither of them spoke. The atmosphere in the car was awkward.

Breaking the silence, Lindsay said, "Listen, maybe you should just pull over and let me out. That might be more comfortable for both of us."

"I've contacted a rehab for you," David said. "We'll go there after we eat."

Lindsay opened her mouth as if to say something but stopped short. "Thank you."

They arrived at a burger restaurant and sat in a corner. David ordered three burgers.

With reddening eyes, Lindsay said, "You still remember... mushroom burger, bacon burger."

"Even though it's not the same place, I thought you'd still want to taste these flavors."

"Yeah, thank you," Lindsay said, her head bowed as she gently wiped away the tears.

They didn't speak while eating.

After the meal, David took Lindsay to the rehab.

As they were parting, David hesitated and then said simply, "Call me if you need anything."

Biting her lip, Lindsay mustered her courage, "Let's get a divorce."

David paused for a moment, then nodded, "OK."

"We can still be friends. It's better for both of us." After saying that, Lindsay felt more at ease.

She walked briskly into the rehab center.

...

Detective Bureau.

Luke returned empty-handed, and his mood was inevitably downcast.

The deputy chief knew what Luke had been up to and asked, "Any results?"

"No." He couldn't bring himself to admit that he'd caught a minor girl faking an ID to get alcohol.

That was too embarrassing.

The deputy chief laughed, "That's more like it. Can't expect you to have all the luck."

Luke poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip.

He saw Little Black sitting at his desk, staring into space, looking dejected—not his usual style at all.

Something unusual surely indicated a problem.

Luke walked over to him and said, "Hey, got dumped?"

Little Black shook his head, "It's about work."

Luke looked out the window, "Wow... the sun coming out from the west?"

"I'm serious."

Luke pressed on, "Identification at the scene didn't go well?"

"No, we found Badman Pole's body."

"It's good to close the case; why so glum?"

Little Black sighed, "I don't know how to break the news to Jaden and Laura. It's not something easy for them to accept."

Luke guessed at his troubles, "Let me do it."

"Thanks," Little Black said with a firm tone. "But I want to tell them myself."

Luke couldn't be bothered to argue any further. As the deputy chief had said in the morning meeting, even smart people can get tunnel vision.

And he wasn't the smart one.

"Click..."

The office door opened, and Susan called out, "Luke, come in, please."

Luke nodded. Although he was reluctant to say it, he still needed to report to the boss.

Luke closed the office door, "Captain, you wanted to see me?"

"Good news," Susan gestured for Luke to take a seat and handed him a document. "You've been doing great lately and have earned a promotion. Here's the paperwork.

Congratulations, Detective Chief Luke.

"Wow..." Although he was already aware of it, actually receiving the promotion made him happy.

At least from now on, he could be on equal terms with David.

It also felt justified to give orders to Little Black and Jenny.

Detective Chief Luke—that had a nice ring to it.

The Los Angeles Police Department oversees 21 districts. These districts are further divided into 4 command areas, known as divisions.

Canyon Division, Central Division, West Division, Southern Division.

LAPD has nine ranks: Chief, Assistant Chief, Division Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Patrol Officer, Detective, Junior Patrol Officer, Police Officer.

In addition, there are two special divisions: Detective Bureau and Action Bureau, with some differences in their roles.

Detective Bureau roles: Division Chief, Department Head, Assistant Department Head, Captain, Deputy Captain, Detective Chief, Detective.

Outstanding or experienced patrol officers can apply to become detectives, requiring stringent assessments.

Even the regular divisions have their own night shift detectives.

The rank of detective is higher than that of a regular patrol officer.

Being a detective chief is a position.

Luke's current police rank is first-grade detective, which is slightly lower than David's.

Police ranks are assessed based on a comprehensive set of factors including length of service, abilities, and medals, which can also influence promotion to a certain extent.

"Captain, do I need to do anything else?"

"No, Deputy Director Reid has already taken care of it for you. It's all been greenlit, you just need to sign."

Using his words, "Someone with your talent shouldn't waste their energy on such trivia."

Luke smiled, "That's really thoughtful."

Susan nodded, "As long as you are capable, Reid will support you. That's one of his strengths."

"Captain, thank you for your help as well."

"Did I help?"

"Of course, you've always been pushing me."

"OK, I'll take that as a compliment."

Luke opened his mouth, about to say something, when suddenly a noise came from outside.

...

Outside the office.

Reid came in with Layli Harry's brother, Maquire Hary.

Everyone was a bit surprised, wondering why these two were together.

Susan and Luke also came out of the office.

Reid came over, patted Luke on the shoulder, "Did you hear the news?"

"Yes, the captain just informed me. Director, I am very grateful for your support."

"That's what you deserve." Deputy Director Reid smiled and turned to the crowd, "OK, let me officially announce it.

Ladies and gentlemen, from today, Detective Luke is formally promoted to Detective Chief."

The crowd had mixed reactions, some surprised, some envious.

The first to react was the deputy team leader, who applauded, "Detective Chief Luke, you truly deserve it."

Little Black exclaimed in amazement, "Wow, are you really going to be the detective chief now?" Little Black had a bad feeling that his days ahead wouldn't be easy.

Raymond said, "Luke, congratulations."

"Thank you."

Jenny pointed at Luke, "Detective Chief Luke, don't forget to treat us someday."

"No need to wait for another day. Everyone should go out tonight. Director, I hope you can join us if you have the time."

"Of course, I've been wanting to have a few drinks with you, and it's been a long time since I've had a drink with the deputy team leader."

The deputy team leader shrugged, "Reid, you've been too busy, not me."

"You're right, I'll take the blame tonight." Reid said, then pointed to Maquire Hary standing nearby,

"Now, I would like to introduce Mr. Maquire Hary.

You all know him.

Layli Harry was a lady worthy of respect, and her death is a loss for all of Los Angeles.

Maquire Hary is also a generous gentleman. To thank the Detective Bureau for catching the murderer, he is willing to donate three hundred thousand US dollars for the maintenance and procurement of the police station.

Furthermore, to thank the Robbery and Murder Department's Squad One for recovering the extortion video, he is willing to offer a reward of two hundred thousand US dollars."

Little Black was somewhat surprised, "So you're saying our team can get two hundred thousand US dollars."

Reid nodded and said with a smile, "If you want to refuse, you can."

"No no, I'm very happy to accept this reward." Little Black quickly retracted his words.

Afterward, Maquire Hary said a few words of thanks and left with Deputy Director Reid.

Little Black couldn't wait to ask, "Our Squad One has a bonus of two hundred thousand US dollars, how much would my share be?"

"The two hundred thousand isn't to be divided equally but allocated based on the contribution to the investigation. The murderer was discovered and caught by Luke. That kid will definitely get the most."

"He deserves it." Little Black was able to maintain his composure and said with a smile, "I didn't see it before, but this Maquire Hary is quite generous, throwing out two hundred thousand dollars just like that.

Are wealthy people not usually stingy?"

The deputy team leader sneered, "Didn't you catch on? He's handing out this money to shut us up."

"What do you mean?" Little Black still didn't quite understand.

Luke reminded him, "He's worried that the video of Layli Harry playing poker could leak."

Little Black was dismissive, "Leaking evidence is illegal, who would do that?"

Luke said with a smile, "What matters isn't whether you would do it, but that he thinks you would."

"Well said." The deputy team leader agreed.

In fact, there was something he hadn't mentioned yet. When Layli Harry was murdered, the police arrived at the scene at the same time as the reporters.

Those reporters aren't clairvoyant, how did they get the news?

Without much thought, it's clear there must be insiders within the police force.

Such things are common, as reporters will make friends within the police force to get 'exclusive' news, hoping they can provide some 'exclusive' information.

It's somewhat similar to police placing undercover agents within gangs.

However, for reporters, there are more choices regarding informants.

Police officers aren't fools and wouldn't risk breaking the rules to provide 'top-secret' intelligence.

Most of the time, they offer leads that are valuable to reporters but won't affect the police investigation.

Just like with Layli Harry's murder, a lot of people in the police station were involved, and it's hard to say who told the reporters.

It could have been an unintentional act.

Or maybe not just one person.

In any case, investigating it would only lead to a huge mess.

That's also why Maquire Hary was willing to offer a bonus; frankly, it was to buy off people like Luke.

Although Luke and the others would never do something that breaks discipline.

But Maquire Hary doesn't understand them.

He thinks buying peace of mind with money is worth it.

And that's enough.