Life in North America, you call this an autopsy officer?!
Chapter 72 - 64 Admit Guilt

Chapter 72: Chapter 64 Admit Guilt

"Mr. Hafeez, are you still satisfied with our investigative speed?"

Interrogation room.

Brian placed a cup of coffee in front of the previous homeowner and victim, Hafeez.

Hafeez glanced involuntarily at the surveillance camera’s unlit light above the room, picked up the coffee cup, and forced a smile on his unpleasant face, "Faster than I imagined. Thank you all, I feel my annual taxes are well worth it."

The issue with the deceased had been resolved.

The house cleaning fee had been compensated.

And there was a sum for emotional distress.

He was indeed very satisfied.

Seeing this, Brian chuckled and nodded, "Nowadays, kids are really getting worse, I remember when I was a child..."

The two of them started to chat casually.

...

Outside.

Ivan and a few others were sitting in the conference room, watching the hidden surveillance in the interrogation room, somewhat baffled.

"What is Brian doing?" Glenn asked with a puzzled face. "I feel like this Hafeez doesn’t seem to have any problems."

Ivan listened to their reminiscent chat and seemed thoughtful.

He seemed to know why Brian thought Hafeez was a problem.

Old Hardenn was kindly explaining to a new male and female detective, "This is an interesting interrogation method, you could learn something..."

Glenn, not pleased with Old Hardenn, looked aside, "Learn what? Chat about some trivial matters from their childhood?"

Old Hardenn touched his pendant, "Yes, if you want to open up a middle-aged man’s heart and you’re not sure of his interests, evoking his memories is the best way to do it."

"That’s hilarious, what does Brian need to open up a middle-aged man’s heart for..."

Glenn thought Old Hardenn was getting senile.

He wanted to say more but was immediately silenced by Ivan covering his mouth, "Shush, watch the surveillance!"

Everyone promptly turned their attention back to the surveillance.

...

After a casual chat, Brian abruptly changed the subject, "Mr. Hafeez, I’ve enjoyed our talk; you must be a good elder. But there’s something I’d like to ask your advice on."

Hafeez, holding his coffee cup, looked puzzledly at Brian, "It’s been a long time since I had such an interesting conversation with a young person like you. Go ahead, I hope my life experience can offer you some good advice."

Brian nodded then suddenly leaned forward, getting close to Hafeez’s face, "What device did you use to get a large amount of tetrahydrocannabinol into the body of the deceased?"

Tetrahydrocannabinol is the main ingredient in the drug marijuana.

It can be simply understood as nicotine in cigarettes.

Excessive consumption poses a risk of sudden death.

Hafeez’s grip on the coffee cup stiffened.

His eyes changed in an instant from a kind elder to a wary stranger, "Sorry, what are you talking about?"

Brian stood up, took a photograph from the table, and put it in front of Hafeez, "The marks on the sofa are clear. Why, when you saw the body, did you not mention the marks on the sofa? You didn’t mention it at first, and just now, when recalling the bad kids, you kept your mouth shut about this as well. Are you subconsciously trying to cover up your criminal motive?"

Smack!

Hafeez slammed the table, "What in the world are you talking about? Is this an interrogation? If so, please turn on the surveillance in the interrogation room; I want my lawyer to come over!"

"Calm down, calm down..."

Brian raised his hand to soothe,

"I know you’re anxious, but please don’t be hasty right now.

Mr. Hafeez, there’s one thing you must understand.

No matter how careful you are, there will always be traces left from what you’ve done.

I guess you used some kind of spray device.

In such a short time, you probably haven’t dealt with your stuff yet.

There should be a lot of residue left to check."

After finishing.

Brian didn’t give Hafeez the chance to retort, putting another photo in front of him:

"This is a wedding photo from your master bedroom. It’s clear, you love your wife very much. So, when you saw the deceased sleeping on your bed, using it as a footstool, you were very angry.

The master bedroom is a cozy place.

There are many loving memories of you and your wife here.

The deceased desecrated your love and memories.

Plus the previous couch incident.

So you came up with a way to let off steam..."

Hafeez’s face darkened and he remained silent.

The friendly exchange they just had seemed like an illusion.

Damn it!

He realized that the previous friendly conversation was just to confirm his criminal motive.

He had miscalculated.

...

Seeing Hafeez not speaking.

Brian wasn’t in a hurry.

He tapped on the table in front of Hafeez, "Actually it’s not hard to guess the tool, the most common spray device accessible to ordinary people is an atomizer, and to extract tetrahydrocannabinol from marijuana, one would need..."

Bang~

Hafeez suddenly stood up, knocking the chair to the ground with a loud crash.

He glared at Brian fiercely, "Cut the crap. If you’re going to correct me, then bring a search warrant and find evidence. Otherwise, you’re just wasting our time. I was a cop when you were still in diapers, kid!"

"So it’s former Detective Mr. Hafeez."

Brian nodded,

"You may leave.

But I’m sorry, Mr. Hafeez.

I just heard from a colleague that Los Angeles has recently seen a rise in thieves.

Maybe one will visit your luggage as soon as you leave.

But don’t worry.

My colleagues are elite.

They’ll quickly catch that thief for you.

However, just to be safe.

We’ll have to inspect the items first, to ensure the thief hasn’t left any harmful substances on them before returning them to you.

No need to thank us.

As a member of Los Angeles law enforcement, that’s what we’re supposed to do!"

Brian, who had been in contact with the Kamor family from a young age, knew very well how police operated over twenty years ago.

He believed his words would awaken Mr. Hafeez’s ’conscience.’

...

"You..."

Hafeez was so angry his lips were trembling.

His dead memories started to attack him:

Back then, he was just an old rookie transferred from patrol to the Detective Bureau.

The first thing his predecessor taught him was not to let regulations tie him down.

To catch criminals,

one must be even more shameless and ruthless than the criminals!

His first case involved bending the rules.

They had already identified the killer, but couldn’t find the evidence.

Without evidence, they couldn’t apply for a search warrant to legally collect the suspect’s DNA as crucial evidence for conviction.

So they faked a search warrant.

Get on the bus first, then buy a ticket.

Hafeez remembered the conversation from that time very clearly:

"Where’s the search warrant?"

"There’s no warrant, just a bluff."

"What if they don’t cooperate?"

"Simple.

If they get hurt, we can collect the evidence."

"Isn’t that against the rules?"

"What rules?

What’s our duty?

You suspect, you investigate. If they don’t cooperate, you pressure them. If that doesn’t work, you take them down. Who cares about breaking rules? If you’re even scared of complaints, how can you call yourself a detective?"

From then on,

Hafeez knew how to become a qualified detective.

But that was all in the past.

These rule-breaking practices, if done often enough, would backfire.

Sooner or later, you encounter a ghost.

Eventually, he was forced to resign.

...

Brian did not interrupt Hafeez’s reminiscing.

In fact, he hadn’t found any evidence at the scene or deduced all this because he smelled an excessive marijuana odor inside the nostrils of the deceased.

This was abnormal.

Marijuana is usually smoked in a joint, at most leaving a trail passing through the nasal passages when puffing and exhaling, not inhaled through the nose and exhaled through the mouth...

Besides that,

Brian also smelled the odor of the deceased’s feet on the wedding photo at the crime scene...

The wedding photo had been neatly arranged at the scene.

Combined with some observations,

he decided to bluff Hafeez.

Of course, Brian’s reasoning wasn’t wrong either.

As a former professional, Hafeez should know what to do to be more favorable to himself.

...

In the end, Hafeez confessed on his own.

He never expected that he was just coming back to take care of something.

And now, well,

he can’t go back...