Detective Bureau.

Luke entered the office feeling refreshed.

Throughout this period, he had been striving to adapt to life, work, and social relationships in Los Angeles, which was no small pressure.

This cruise trip allowed his suppressed emotions to be released, and he felt entirely different.

Having not been at work for two days, he chatted with David for a bit, inquiring about the progress of the will case.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in his head, "Congratulations, Host, on successfully capturing two drug offenders and confiscating one kilogram of pure product, awarding you 10 lottery draws."

An options menu appeared in his mind, with the warehouse interface on the left and the lottery interface on the right.

Lottery!

The pointer stopped, and the selected area lit up displaying one thousand US dollars.

Continuing with the lottery…

After ten consecutive draws, he won 9 thousand US dollars and one Detection Card.

No new Function Cards appeared this time.

This was his third opportunity to draw a lottery, with the highest win rate being the first time.

From the ten lottery draws of the first time, he won two cards and eight thousand US dollars cash.

After taxes, he repaid David's debt and was left with over three thousand US dollars.

During the vacation, spending on Rolls-Royce rentals and cruise expenses took another two thousand-plus US dollars, leaving him with only three hundred US dollars on hand for emergencies.

The second lottery draw brought him two cards and 18 thousand US dollars.

He had not cashed it yet.

Adding the nine thousand US dollars won this time, the total was 27 thousand US dollars.

The Detective System's warehouse now had four Reserve Cards.

Adventure Cards, 2.

Bullet-Proof Card, 1.

Detection Card, 1.

"Creak..." The office door opened.

Susan walked in holding files, "Everyone, the meeting will start in the conference room in five minutes."

Luke quickly organized himself and walked into the meeting room with his notebook.

Everyone had arrived.

Susan said, "As you all know, Assistant District Attorney Carter and I have been negotiating with Dave these past two days. We have now reached a preliminary agreement, and he has provided some clues about Tony Will."

"Tony Will's real name is Tony Smith, and he is Dave's uncle." (Note: The suspect only changed his surname, not his first name, mainly considering reading convenience. It's already challenging to remember foreign names; a new name might be even more confusing. Changing only the last name without altering the first doesn't create issues for reasoning. Don't get hung up on this point.)

Susan put Tony Smith's information on the projector.

Name, Tony Smith

Gender, Male

Birth Date, May 12, 1976

Social Security Number, 623-53-7748

Address, Haim City, Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County has a larger population than the City of Los Angeles, and it governs multiple cities.

With nearly ten million inhabitants, the county seat is the City of Los Angeles.

The deputy chief put on his reading glasses, "I've been to Haim City, a very beautiful small city.

They have a delicacy called 'Kuta' which includes fish, lamb, onions, and a special spice. It tastes amazing."

Jenny, uninterested in the deputy chief's talk of delicacies, suggested, "We could contact the Haim City police department; they might have more information on Tony."

The deputy chief spread his hands, "As I said, Haim is a small city, and to my knowledge, they don't have a police department. Their police affairs are probably outsourced to the county sheriff's office.

We can contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office directly, but... based on my experience with them, don't hold your breath."

Los Angeles County is larger than the City of Los Angeles, so in theory, the county sheriff's office should have a larger jurisdiction than the city police department.

However, in most cases, the city police department independently manages the city area's police work.

The county sheriff's office has limited funding and law enforcement personnel and prefers not to meddle in unnecessary matters.

The county sheriff's office is generally only responsible for remote areas within the jurisdiction that have not yet established cities.

Some small cities unable to afford adequate funding outsource their police affairs to the county sheriff's office, which requires payment, of course.

Luke asked, "Why did Tony use a false identity 20 years ago?"

Susan shook her head, "Dave isn't sure either; Tony never mentioned it to him."

The deputy chief scoffed, "That guy is quite cunning; he might just not want to say. Other than Tony's identity, did he provide any valuable clues?"

"According to him, Tony visits a place on the outskirts of Los Angeles every year, where he might have hidden something."

"What kind of thing?"

"He doesn't know that either."

The deputy chief complained, "This guy has no sincerity; why bother reaching an agreement with him."

Susan explained, "As I said, it's only a preliminary agreement. If the clues he provides are worthless, he will not get the corresponding plea bargain."

Luke pressed, "What is the exact location of that place?"

Susan replied, "Dave isn't clear on the specifics either; we plan to take him there to identify the location."

Marcus chuckled, "We're going to see that pants-wetter again; I'm actually a bit nostalgic."

…

The next morning.

Several police cars entered Highway 73 from the suburbs of Los Angeles.

In a black Dodge, David drove, with Luke as his co-driver, and Marcus and Dave sat in the back.

Marcus looked out the window, "Highway 73 again; it reminds me of the time we entered the Gobi. Steven was driving; were you really in the trunk at the time?"

Dave shook his head, "No, I was lying in the back seat. Do you want me to show you how?"

Marcus frowned, "Lay on my legs, and you're a dead man."

Dave smiled and looked out the window, "Can you open the window, please?"

Marcus replied, "You can see outside just fine through the window; it won't affect identifying the place."

Dave retorted, "I just want to feel the outside world."

David said, "For safety reasons, we can't open the glass. If you have an accident, we all have to file reports."

"Wow, you're really thoughtful," Dave shook his head and fell silent, his gaze still fixed outside the window, "Hey, slow down, it should be around here."

Luke picked up the walkie-talkie, "This is Unit 7A1, requesting to reduce speed, over."

The speed of the convoy decreased.

After a few more minutes, Dave said, "Stop, it should be around here."

"This is Unit 7A1, suspect has identified a possible target location, pulling over to the side of the road."

...

Several vehicles stopped at the roadside.

The rest of the officers got out of their cars to survey the surrounding area.

In total, more than ten officers were deployed, including people from the Robbery and Murder Department as well as patrol officers and marshals.

After confirming the surroundings were safe, Luke got out of the car with Dave, "Are you sure it's here?"

Dave walked around the area and pointed toward the east side of the road, "See that cliff? To the west of the cliff there's a bush, it should be near that bush."

Sure enough, the group arrived under the cliff Dave had mentioned, and there was a bush.

Susan looked around and measured up the area, "This bush is quite large, can you be more precise?"

"I've only been here once, and I just sat in the car waiting, I never got close, so I can't be certain of the exact location."

Susan nodded and went to communicate with the technical team.

Dave's gaze swept around, eventually landing on Luke, "Officer Luke, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Luke glanced at him, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could do me a favor."

"Why me?"

"I feel like you're the easiest to talk to."

On first hearing this, it sounded a bit like buttering up.

But upon thinking it over, Luke realized it wasn't wrong.

There was no point even mentioning David and Marcus, neither were particularly reliable.

Susan and the deputy both always had a 'keep out' look on their faces.

Raymond, Luke had rarely heard him speak.

Jenny was probably the one with the strongest sense of justice in the team, she definitely wouldn't give Dave the time of day.

"Let's hear it."

Dave licked his lips, "I want to see Alyssa, could you ask if she's willing to visit?"

Luke took a bottle of mineral water from the box, "Want one?"

"No thanks, I'm good," Dave declined.

Luke twisted off the cap and took a sip, "I can't help you with this favor."

"I know, my actions have hurt Alyssa. I want her to come so I can make amends."

"Who knows? Maybe it's a second injury. I don't want to become your accomplice."

"I won't hurt Alyssa..." Dave began to explain. "At least not intentionally; I want to change her plight, pull her out of the mire."

Luke said, "Then stop bothering her."

Dave sighed before continuing, "You must have looked into Alyssa's situation. If she was doing well, would she still go to those places to dance?"

Luke spread his hands, "That's her choice, it's none of my business."

"You're right.

But I care, I don't want her to live that life anymore."

"Dave, you're about to go to prison, you should think about yourself," Luke rejected him again. "I won't ask her about the visit for you."

The technical team had already started their work not far away, using various instruments to survey the site.

A technician with a long-pole detector called out, "There's something here."

A crowd gathered around, and after consulting with Susan, the technicians began to dig into the ground.

Marcus, curious, walked over to watch.

Luke stayed behind to keep an eye on Dave.

Raymond stood nearby, expressionless.

"OK, Officer Luke, you're right, it's selfish of me to ask Alyssa to see me. I have another favor to ask."

Luke gave him a look, "Why should I help you?"

"Consider it a favor owed to you."

"You're on your way to prison, what good is a favor to me?"

Dave said confidently, "I am a lawyer."

"Not anymore, you're not."

Dave pointed to his head, "But my past connections and experience are here, and that's what's important."

Luke thought for a moment, "What's the favor, tell me."

"I really want to help Alyssa, I want to give her some money, can you pass it to her?"

"Why don't you hire a lawyer to talk to Alyssa? If she gets compensation, maybe she'll speak for you in court. You should know how to handle that."

"You're right, I did that often before; nobody's better at it than I am. And that's exactly why I know Alyssa won't agree. She won't speak for me in court for money, and I don't want to force her."

"Since you know that, why give her money privately?"

Dave's tone was sincere, "I'm not giving her money to reduce my sentence.

I just want her to be well, to not fall into old patterns, and especially not to go back to dancing in clubs. The thought of all those men watching her... it drives me insane.

If she goes back to dancing, I can't guarantee I won't break out of prison.

I want her to live the way she likes, without worrying about money."

Luke looked at him for a long time without speaking.

Humans, what a complex creature.

If there were a woman who felt this way about him... that would make life worth living.

"I'll think about it," Luke didn't give a definitive answer.

"Thank you."

Luke nodded, thinking to himself whether to give Paul a heads-up that this guy was still considering getting Alyssa back in the club to dance.

A death wish.