North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws
Chapter 55 - 54 Warehouse!_1

Chapter 55: Chapter 54 Warehouse!_1

They rushed back to the city from the suburbs, arriving by evening. Streams of cars flowed like dragons, and the haze of lights masked the starlight.

A pink Porsche was stuck in traffic, drawing curious glances from men and women alike.

Lawrence quietly watched couples walk by on the sidewalk, a rare tinge of melancholy crossing his usually fierce face.

Dean rolled down the window and whistled at a girl on a skateboard. After blowing a kiss back, she and her companion giggled and skated away.

He turned his head to Lawrence. "Not happy?"

Lawrence, without looking back, replied, "Today’s my wedding anniversary with my ex-wife."

Dean knew that Lawrence wasn’t telling the truth.

Lawrence had been a cop for many years with a decent income, yet he lived frugally. He wasn’t like Harry, who flirted with women everywhere. In fact, despite his obvious affection for Phoebe, Lawrence was too scared to confess his feelings.

For a man as strong and energetic as Lawrence, there could only be one reason, Dean mused. He was carrying a heavy burden—no money!

Lawrence kept quiet about it, and Dean didn’t ask. The car fell into silence for a moment.

BEEP BEEP.

The sound of honking came from outside. The clogged lane began to inch forward.

Lawrence turned his head, his expression serious. "Dean, do you know of any safe way to make a lot of money quickly?"

"I’ve already given you one," Dean raised an eyebrow. "Those photos I gave you are all of rich widows. Just win over one, and not only will you have an easy life from here on, but I’ll also get a hefty referral fee."

Lawrence’s expression turned blank, then he flipped Dean the bird. "FUCK YOU!"

This bastard, actually trying to pimp me out! Lawrence fumed inwardly. And to think I was so touched before.

The two men caught each other’s eye and burst into laughter.

「During the morning rush hour.」

Getting into downtown Los Angeles, a car truly wasn’t as convenient as a motorcycle.

By the time Dean and Lawrence returned to the Detective Bureau, only Harry was left in the office, wearing headphones and shaking his booty at his desk.

Lawrence tiptoed over to him.

SMACK.

OW!

Harry clutched his ass, leaping up with a shriek.

"Haha, Harry, you seem in a good mood," Lawrence laughed heartily, his face alight with the success of his prank.

Harry pulled off his headphones. Seeing it was Dean and Lawrence, he lowered the hand that had reached for his waist. "FUCK, Lawrence, you actually hit my ass! I’m never going drinking with you again!"

Dean collapsed into a chair, propping his feet up on the desk. "Harry, what did you find out today?"

At the mention of this, Harry perked up. "That bastard Marcus is a complete good-for-nothing! He has no property, no credit cards, no car—nothing at all. I even suspect he keeps getting jailed just for the free room and board. In the end, I had no choice. I paid a hacker friend to search all of Marcus’s information in Los Angeles online. Guess what I found?"

A hacker? Dean looked at Harry with anticipation. "You know a hacker?"

In his previous life, he was merely a tool for the organization, never having come into contact with such high-end talents who could navigate the online world with ease.

"Not only do I know her, she grew up in the same orphanage as me. We’ve been good buddies since childhood!" Harry said with a proud grin.

Lawrence, however, wasn’t about to indulge him. He raised a large hand. "Harry, stop beating around the bush, or my palm is going to get very itchy!"

Harry shrunk back, covering his ass, and hid behind Dean. "Alright, alright! My friend searched Marcus’s public records and shockingly discovered he actually rented a small storage unit on the 29th of last month. Monthly rent is 300 US dollars, leased for half a year."

"FUCK! That bastard Marcus actually lied to us today!" Lawrence’s face twitched, his eyes flashing with menace.

Three hundred US dollars a month. Even without a deposit, that’s eighteen hundred US dollars for six months.

According to Marcus, he arrived at the Shane family’s home on the afternoon of September 29th, penniless, to start working. On the 30th, the Shane family was preparing to continue employing him before they all left on a trip. Where did he get the money to rent a storage unit? This could only mean one thing: Marcus was lying!

HUFF.

The more Lawrence thought about it, the angrier he got, hot air snorting from his nostrils. "FUCK! I’m going to the hospital to find him now!"

"Wait!" Dean stopped the enraged Lawrence. "Buddy, Marcus is still seriously injured and hasn’t recovered. We can go to him anytime. But if we want to break through his psychological defenses, it’s best to first find out what’s in that storage unit."

Harry also chimed in, "Yeah, Lawrence. Tomorrow morning, we’ll get a search warrant, go to the storage unit, and then have a good talk with Marcus."

"Fine." Lawrence clenched his fists. "After we check the storage unit tomorrow, I’ll let that little punk know the consequences of deceiving Lawrence!"

Dean silently mourned Marcus for a second. He then turned to Harry. "By the way, where are the Deputy and the others? I thought they’d be working overtime."

"They made some progress too. Robert recovered all the furniture and appliances from Villa 76, so the Deputy took the forensics team there to do bloodstain pattern analysis simulations," Harry said, tossing a stack of files to Dean.

Dean caught them and began to flip through them.

These were records of interviews conducted by the Deputy and Phoebe. They had used technical means to check the Shane family’s recent phone call records and then followed up with individual visits. Most of the information concerned the recent activities of the four members of the Shane family. However, two entries, marked with double horizontal lines, caught Dean’s attention.

The first entry was information provided by a friend of Bert’s: "On August 27th, Bert and his friends left a bar. He was about to drive them home when, at a turn, the car’s brakes failed, causing an accident. Fortunately, it was late at night and the streets were empty, so only the car was damaged and no one was injured. An inspection at the repair shop revealed that someone had maliciously cut the car’s brake lines. The incident was reported to the police, but nothing came of it."

Bert was Shane’s eldest son. It seemed someone really was threatening the lives of the Shane family.

The second entry contained valuable information obtained after the Deputy and Phoebe revisited the Shane family’s neighbors: "On September 26th, Shane’s wife reported that someone was stalking them, had broken a window in their house, and had rummaged through their belongings."

Old Hunter spoke with the patrol officer who had responded to the call and learned something was amiss. After the police arrived on scene, Shane had rushed back and prevented them from entering the house to inspect, claiming it was all a misunderstanding—just a friend playing a joke. However, according to the neighbors, the Shane family had a fierce argument that evening.

Setting the files aside, Dean unconsciously tapped his fingers on the table.

He had originally thought an extramarital affair was the motive for the murder. After all, the previous dog killing, the words like ’Spirit,’ ’Lies,’ and ’Filthy’ found behind the picture frame, and the new clues the Deputy’s team had uncovered—they all seemed to fit his theory. But Harry’s discovery indicated that Marcus had not only lied but also had an unknown source of income. He was a major suspect. And the sordid dealings between Hutt, Shane’s boss, and Shane also pointed to a potential motive for murder—to silence someone!

Seeing Dean’s thoughtful expression, Lawrence and Harry knew he was deep in thought. They quietly moved aside and started to vape.

Suddenly, Dean’s finger tapping on the desk halted.

That’s it!

Marcus and Shane’s wife actually had something in common! They both came from Arkansas.

The Shane family had moved to Los Angeles nine years ago.

Considering Marcus was about the same age as Bert, Shane’s son, could it be that Marcus’s parents and the Shanes shared some unknown, old grudge?

Thinking of this, Dean looked at Harry. "Harry, are Marcus and Shane’s wife from the same place in Arkansas?"

Harry shook his head immediately. "I noticed that too and specifically checked. Marcus grew up in an orphanage and doesn’t know the Shane family at all. Otherwise, Shane’s wife wouldn’t have hired him."

That makes sense!

Dean irritably pulled out a cigarette. It seemed they could only hope the storage unit would yield new clues tomorrow.