Morning of December 30th.

Robbery and Murder Department, Squad One Office.

Luke held a morning meeting to consolidate the leads of the investigation.

Mary from the technical team also participated in the meeting.

Mary took out a document and said, "Yesterday, we searched the house of the Gray family and found large sections of bloodstains that had been treated.

These bloodstains had been treated with disinfectant, making it impossible to extract complete DNA, but we could identify the blood type as O.

The deceased, Kilo Jones, also had blood type O.

Additionally, we found two drops of blood suspected to belong to the deceased in the bedroom. These two drops were quite hidden, so they were not cleaned up in time.

We extracted DNA from the blood, and it matched the DNA of the deceased, Kilo Jones."

Little Black summarized, "So that means the bedroom in the Gray family's house should be the scene of Kilo Jones's murder."

Mary said, "I'm only stating the evidence and identification results from the crime scene; you will have to determine whether it's the murder scene."

Luke linked the situation in the bedroom with the case clues. Although it was not yet possible to completely confirm the Gray family's bedroom as the murder scene, all existing evidence pointed to this being highly probable.

Luke asked, "Have we found the address of the Gray family's suburban holiday house?"

Jenny said, "Yes, we checked their property records, and Mr. Gray indeed owns a property in the suburbs of Los Angeles, which is likely the holiday house the neighbors mentioned."

If the Gray couple are indeed the murderers, then their suburban holiday house might be another hideout, where some evidence of the case might also be left behind.

Luke immediately led the team to the suburban holiday house.

...

Suburban Los Angeles.

Olive Villa District.

This area is located near the seaside, with beautiful scenery, and many houses are built on the hillside, offering a sea view from their yards. The sunset glow sprinkles on the sea, resembling a fairyland.

Many wealthy people take short vacations here, enjoying the holiday scenery and tranquility.

Luke and his team arrived at the Gray family's holiday house, which covered a large area, with foliage surrounding the yard. Two tall palm trees, a massage swimming pool, and various flowers and plants made the yard very comfortable and serene.

Luke walked to the gate of the yard and pressed the video doorbell several times, but there was no response.

Then, Luke took out his gun, waved to his team behind him, and instructed, "Stay alert.

Raymond, lead a team to search the yard.

The rest of you, follow me to search the interior of the villa."

"Yes, sir."

The one-meter-high wooden fence around the yard was easy for everyone to climb over.

Little Black took out a lock-picking toolbox and opened the villa door.

Port was the first to rush into the villa with his gun.

The villa was silent, with no sounds, only the faint sound of the team's footsteps.

Soon, everyone searched the first-floor living room, "Clear."

"Clear."

"Clear."

Everyone split up to search the villa and found no trace of anyone.

Luke checked the dining room and bedroom and found signs of habitation. There was still food on the dining table and leftover red wine.

Two wine glasses, two sets of cutlery.

The food on the table had not yet spoiled, indicating the last meal wasn't too long ago.

"Search the villa carefully to see if the suspects left any clues." Luke headed to the garage because if the Gray couple intended to escape, they would likely flee by car.

Luke had previously checked that the Gray couple owned three cars: a sedan, an SUV, and a pickup truck.

Only the sedan was found at their house in Los Angeles, so the other two vehicles were likely at the holiday house.

Luke entered the garage to check, and found only a pickup truck inside, with no sign of the SUV belonging to Mrs. Gray.

Port shouted, "Captain, we found a secret room in the villa. It seems like there's a sound coming from inside."

Luke returned to the villa and followed Port to the secret room entrance.

The secret room door was hidden under a carpet, hard to find without a thorough search. Lifting the carpet revealed a door at chest height, about eighty centimeters wide. Opening the door led to stairs below.

Luke shone his flashlight downward, walking down the stairs to find another door, with muffled sounds coming from within.

Luke pressed his ear to the door to listen carefully; it sounded like someone's muffled cries for help.

He looked to Little Black beside him and asked, "Can you open the door?"

Little Black tapped the deep blue iron door, "I need some time."

Luke glanced at his watch, "I'll give you ten minutes. If it's not open by then, we'll use a door-breaker."

"I'll give it a try."

Little Black took out the lock-picking tools again and started working. This time, opening the door took even longer than the villa door.

A few minutes passed.

"Click!" A crisp sound echoed.

The lock opened. Little Black wiped the sweat from his forehead and stepped aside, "I need a break. It's up to you now."

Port kicked the iron door open, and Jackson was the first to rush in with his gun, "LAPD!"

"Police! Don't move!"

Port, Luke, and the others followed closely behind. The secret room wasn't large, illuminated by the flashlights.

Inside the secret room was a white woman in a burgundy nightgown, sitting in the corner. Her hands and feet were shackled, and her mouth was sealed with tape, exposing her long legs.

There was no one else in the room, but there was a safe and an ordinary wooden cabinet.