Nolan delivered the finishing blow: "Actually, we've already visited that bank. One of the tellers was quite suspicious. Jack and I were almost certain he was the murderer. I suggest comparing him to the victims of the other three robberies to see if they had any contact with him when withdrawing money."
Jack coughed lightly, delivering the fatal blow: "We can also consult the forensic doctor. I found that the deceased had made defensive movents at the scene, and the murderer's DNA was found under her fingernails. The teller we saw had obvious scratches on his neck and arms, which shouldn't have been left by a cat."
"Also, we bought a bag of cookies from the bank parking lot security guard, and he confird to us that the bank teller was driving a blue Honda."
Detective Calderon's face turned red. She took the stack of docunts, threw down an "I'll verify it," and fled.
Angela excitedly high-fived the two of them.
With the matter settled and more than two hours left before the end of the workday, Jack took a few muffins from Lucy and went back to patrol the streets with Nolan.
The muffins tasted pretty good, sowhat like a combination of almond brittle and a type of biscuit.
However, the Valentine's Day rush wasn't over yet. With less than an hour left before the end of the workday, the command center's call ca in again.
"Patrol car 7-A-26, ho invasion robbery, woman, locked in the bathroom, reports intruder breaking into her ho."
"7-A-26 responding, en route to the scene," Nolan replied, picking up the walkie-talkie.
Jack stuffed the remaining muffins into his mouth, expertly activated the sirens, checked the cars behind, and then, with a stylish drift, turned around and drove towards his destination amidst gasps from passersby.
Ten minutes later, he gulped down half a bottle of water before catching his breath. Not daring to waste ti, he got out of the car, pulled out his Glock, checked the magazine, and picked up the walkie-talkie to contact command center again.
"7-A-26, we have arrived. Please tell the hoowner to stay in the bathroom and not co out."
Actually, Jack was a little conflicted. This was the most abnormal thing about this world: being a low-level patrolman ant constantly encountering major cases and scenes of gunfire.
He'd been a policeman for over six months, and he'd already taken two months of administrative leave just for firing a gun. And everyone around him seed completely unfazed. It was just too illogical.
Of course, he'd still have to fire the gun later. The leave was still sweet. Now that he had a little money in his pocket, he was already itching to build a gun room in his small basent.
Like in those Hollywood blockbusters, with the press of a button, a series of clicks and steel plates would rise, revealing a glass cabinet filled with all sorts of aweso weapons.
Standing on either side of the door, the two n exchanged glances. Nolan raised his gun for cover, while Jack reached for the doorknob and turned it. With a click, the door opened. It was a typical LA-style bungalow, similar to a small villa. There were seven or eight rooms in total, all very clean. The two searched the house from top to bottom, but found no signs of forced entry, not even a disturbance in the master bedroom.
They exchanged puzzled glances. Jack went to the bathroom next to the master bedroom, knocked on the door, and called out, "Police, we've searched the whole house. It's empty and safe. You can co out now."
There was a rustling sound from inside, then the door opened. Jack stared in surprise, while Nolan's eyes darted around, unsure where to look.
A still-attractive blonde woman, heavily made up and wearing a tight-fitting floral print mini-dress with cutouts, stood before them.
The young woman, oblivious to everyone else, ignored Jack standing to the side, and swayed gracefully forward, placing her hand on Nolan's shoulder.
"Officer Nolan, it's you again who ca to my rescue~~~"
"Or maybe I should leave?" Jack holstered his gun and tiptoed backward.
Nolan stared, speechless, struggling to insert his Glock into its holster several tis.
"Seven minutes until I get off work, I should have enough ti." Jack turned to slip away, but Nolan grabbed him. This wasn't about paying hush money anymore; if he got away, even a seasoned rookie with a body cara wouldn't be able to explain himself.
This wasn't so deserted interstate highway where a highway patrolman could just pin a speeding woman to the hood and get away with it.
Nolan coaxed the woman back to the living room and made her sit down.
"Your false alarm is a cri!" Jack finally stopped the song playing on repeat in his head and began his righteous lecture.
He certainly had reason to be angry, not only because this woman had kept him from getting off work, but also because her shapely figure had seriously hurt his young heart. Even worse, this was the first ti a woman had completely ignored him like this when he was with Nolan!
"It wasn't a false alarm; I heard soone inside," the woman continued to argue.
"Just when Officer Nolan was patrolling nearby? I bet if I checked your phone right now, I'd find an app that scans for police patrol status."
"You were waiting for an opportunity, and only called the police when you saw us nearby."
Jack hadn't known about such apps in Arica before; he'd only learned about them unintentionally when Nolan had ssed with that "Southern Front" group and was planning a trap.
Now it was ti for the good cop/bad cop mont, and he'd chosen to be the bad cop. He had to make this woman realize the seriousness of the situation, otherwise Nolan would face endless harassnt. Tim, the old straight-laced guy, was very experienced in this kind of thing; everyone had heard him talk about it.
Seeing the woman lower her head and remain silent, Nolan's good-natured nature kicked in again. His gaze had swept across the living room, and he'd already roughly guessed the situation.
"I'll talk to her," Nolan said.
Jack nodded, stepping aside. He didn't want to make things too difficult for the woman.
The pile of things and photos against the wall above the fireplace, which he had seen during the search of the house, included a folded triangle of Arican flag in a wooden fra and several dals.
The photo showed an army soldier with the woman.
"Is that your husband?" Nolan's gaze shifted from above the fireplace.
"Yes." The blonde woman's expression darkened.
"Killed in battle?" Nolan continued.
The blonde woman nodded. "It happened about a year ago. Since then, I've been living in a daze, until today."
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