Arrangements

Kenneth was a very hardworking young man.

His social connections were simple:

Before the age of twenty-two, he had always worked as a kitchen helper in the back kitchen of a five-star hotel in Los Angeles.

He was not, as Old Harden had previously said, the apprentice of some head chef.

Kenneth was just a gofer.

After he turned twenty-two...

There was no after for Kenneth.

He died.

In reality.

Kenneth had only left that hotel a little over a month ago.

A little over a month ago.

Kenneth had gotten into a conflict with the head chef in the back kitchen over certain matters.

The two had fought, and afterward, Kenneth was fired by the hotel.

After that, poor young Kenneth somehow got hold of a sum of money, set up a food truck stand, and because of its Chinese elements and decent taste, it took only a month for it to become the star food truck on that commercial street.

There was only so much foot traffic on the commercial street.

People all went to eat at Kenneth's food truck.

The business of the other vendors was naturally affected accordingly, and they showed hostility toward Kenneth.

Among them, a Black food-truck vendor named Audrin was the most obvious.

According to the information Ivan and the others had collected.

Half a month after Kenneth's food truck opened, Audrin filed eight or nine complaints against Kenneth on the grounds that he had not obtained a health permit, and those complaints only ended three days ago.

The reason was that Kenneth could no longer endure it.

He went straight to Audrin, and the two of them had a fierce fight.

Audrin was old and frail, and after being beaten by the deceased Kenneth, he had not set up his stall for several days.

The key was.

According to the information Ivan and the others provided.

In his early years, Audrin had gone to prison for stealing explosive materials from a mine, and while in prison, he underwent a sort of enlightenment and learned highly advanced blasting techniques. After he got out, he continued committing crimes and went back in for further study for quite a few years, only being released five years ago.

The time of the crime and the method were both there.

This was also why Brian felt the man was highly suspicious.

The only problem.

Was that the hooded man Brian had encountered back then had been agile, and probably was not too old.

If Audrin really was the mastermind.

Then that meant he had other helpers.

Aside from Audrin being highly suspicious.

There was another person whom Ivan and the others had marked out.

The man's name was Li Sen, a second-generation Chinese-American, forty-seven years old this year.

Li Sen was the head chef at a certain five-star hotel in Los Angeles, mainly responsible for certain specialty Chinese dishes, and he had some small reputation in the industry.

The deceased, Kenneth, had been fired by the hotel precisely because he fought with him.

His name had also been highlighted as a key point by Ivan and the others.

Aside from Audrin and Li Sen, the rest were either Kenneth's neighbors or friends with whom he had no particularly close contact and who had no real motive to commit the crime.

These people were nowhere near as suspicious as the first two.

Thinking of the deceased Kenneth's obsession.

Brian put down the files in his hand and asked Ivan, "Buddy, did you guys find out whether the deceased Kenneth had a girlfriend, or any emotional disputes in that area?"

Ivan shook his head. "Glenn and I went separately to ask Kenneth's neighbors and former coworkers about him. They all said Kenneth was a hardworking, honest man. He didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't even go to bars. He left home on time every day and came back on time. That was also why he had almost no friends."

"All right."

Brian was somewhat disappointed.

Although fulfilling Kenneth's obsession would be very difficult, for Brian, who urgently needed to strengthen himself at the moment, he still wanted to give it a try.

After all.

The method of fulfilling an obsession was not that rigid.

Right?

After everyone had finished reading all the materials.

Under Susan's coordination.

Everyone began pooling the intelligence they had gathered.

Brian also went over the autopsy results and his conjectures during the meeting.

Glenn whistled. "Looks like we've already found our suspect. Knows explosives, has a motive—everything points to Audrin, the Black vendor with a record. I'll bet a hundred bucks he's the killer!"

Ivan nodded along, indicating his agreement.

Because Audrin had had his business stolen, he had not only reported the deceased several times, but had also clashed with him, only to be beaten so badly he could no longer set up his stall.

There was more than enough bad blood between him and the deceased.

The key was this.

Audrin had a criminal record. Not only had he once worked as a blasting worker in a mine, but after getting out of prison, he had also sold homemade explosives.

Anyone who saw that information

would treat Audrin as the prime suspect.

Old Harden took a sip of coffee, yawned, and said, "Young people, don't look at everything in such absolute terms. I've seen plenty of cases with twists. Why did the deceased and that cook called Li Sen get into a fight?"

Although deep down, he also felt Audrin was highly suspicious.

But as a Black man, he did not like the fixed impression Glenn and the others had of Black people.

Glenn found Old Harden's seniority act rather hard to stomach and said perfunctorily:

"I was the one who investigated that.

According to information provided by the hotel kitchen staff, that Li Sen was different from most Chinese. He had a terrible temper and treated them badly too.

But before the fight, Li Sen hadn't particularly targeted the deceased.

The reason the two of them clashed seemed to be that the deceased wanted to secretly learn some of Li Sen's seasoning recipes."

After hearing the reason, Old Harden's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Buddy, you may not know this.

Chinese people take these secret recipes very seriously.

The deceased was originally just an ordinary kitchen helper, yet after leaving the hotel, he could make such delicious Chinese food.

I suspect he had already gotten his hands on them.

The grudge between that Li Sen and the deceased probably wasn't as simple as you think."

Hearing this, Brian could not help nodding as well.

That was true.

Especially since Li Sen was a second-generation Chinese immigrant.

Counting back, his parents' generation could be considered truly old-school.

Many of those people still followed the old traditions from China.

Stealing the very thing someone relied on to make a living

was no small matter.

If Old Harden's guess was true, then the hatred between the deceased and Li Sen was indeed no small thing.

"I don't really understand it, but I still insist we focus the investigation on that Audrin," Glenn said, sticking to his view.

Old Harden shrugged and said nothing.

He was past the age of needing to win every argument.

Ivan, who looked like a brute, was actually much more thoughtful.

He clapped his hands. "This is easy to solve. Audrin may be hiding explosives. Tomorrow, Glenn and I will go investigate him. As for Li Sen, Team Leader Susan and Brian can handle that. As for Old Harden..."

Ivan grinned. "This afternoon, through an informant friend, we received reliable information. The number on the lunch box lid should refer to an apartment room near the commercial street. Recently, a lot of single women have been renting there. We need someone experienced to go over and feel things out."

Old Harden's aged face stiffened, and he became agitated. "What do you mean, experienced! I'm already this old. Is it appropriate for me to go to a place like that?"

Susan, who had been watching the show the whole time, curved her red lips upward. "I'm a woman, and Brian is so handsome that if he went there, it would draw suspicion too. Old Harden, aside from you, there really isn't anyone more suitable."

Old Harden:

He glared at Brian.

If this kid had not tricked the words out of him earlier, how would he have been labeled an old john on his very first day with the team!

It was already very late.

The assignments had been arranged.

The group took their IDs and firearms and got off work.

Brian did not go home right away.

He first went to a flower shop and bought two bouquets, then drove out to a cemetery in the suburbs.

There was one obsession he had yet to fulfill: dancing and pissing on Carolina Ellis's grave.

Even now, just thinking about that case made Brian uncomfortable.

A few days ago, it had already been closed.

The killer was still Andreas.

After that animal hammered his female neighbor and his own wife to death, Brian executed him.

After the police discovered Andreas's body, the autopsy found bodily fluids from the female neighbor on his pants. Following that clue, they found the hammer Andreas had not yet disposed of.

Brian had thought the case would drag on for a long time.

After all, Andreas had died by his hand.

Unexpectedly, perhaps because there were too many backed-up cases lately.

And also because of the establishment of the NW Department.

There had been major changes at the detective bureau.

In short, the case was closed as Andreas committing murder and then suicide.

The bodies of the two female victims were also cremated yesterday and sent to the cemetery for burial.

"Thanks to Tom for providing this information in time."

Brian sped up.

He wondered what kind of gift he would receive after fulfilling that animal Andreas's obsession.

The second chapter should be around five-thirty, a little later.