North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws
Chapter 44 New Murder Case_1

Chapter 44: Chapter 44 New Murder Case_1

Tattoo culture in the United States is quite interesting.

For example, spider webs are a type of prison tattoo, signifying that the person has served a long sentence. Teardrops can mean the person has killed someone or is mourning a close friend or relative who has passed away.

Beyond that, tattoos are also a part of regional gang culture. They give gang members a sense of heritage and identity, while also serving to flaunt their status and intimidate rivals, creating a hierarchy.

When Harry mentioned that the tattoo in the photo belonged to a member of the Turing gang from Las Vegas, Dean finally remembered.

He had indeed seen that tattoo in Las Vegas!

Remember Santoni? He was a former medical examiner from the Los Angeles Forensics Department. After creating a fake autopsy report for Dean’s father, he resigned and disappeared without a trace. Mas later discovered his whereabouts.

Mas also died unexpectedly when he went to meet Santoni.

After learning what had happened, Dean, for safety’s sake, had secretly infiltrated Santoni’s home, only to unexpectedly find that someone had already been there. He hid in the shadows and eventually saw two men emerge, taking care to note their features.

Those two men had Turing gang tattoos!

Afterward, Dean accidentally found a cannon in Santoni’s garage. He then pretended to be a thief, quietly called the police, and muddied the waters there. To avoid exposing himself, Dean didn’t investigate the identities of those two men afterward.

Who would have thought that, after all this time, he would encounter people from the Turing gang again?

Could it be because of the cannon? Dean wondered. Did the force behind Santoni investigate, find out those two Turing gang members had entered Santoni’s place before the incident, suspect they were the informants, and... kill off everyone in the Turing gang?

Thinking about the missile he had seen that day, Dean felt his guess was quite plausible.

If they’d go as far as bringing out a cannon, playing with missiles would seem quite normal for them.

So damn brutal, Dean thought. I feel like even with a full hand, I wouldn’t be able to win against this unknown force.

As he was lost in thought, Niel’s head poked out from under the covers and rested on his chest. "You seem troubled."

"Yes," Dean replied helplessly. "Something has happened in Los Angeles, and I must hurry back."

"So you’re leaving me?" Niel’s large eyes stared unblinkingly at Dean. She looked innocent and clingy, her voice soft, but under the covers, her hands had already climbed dangerously high.

This was no frail woman lacking the strength to truss a chicken. Dean had experienced that firsthand the day before.

He could foresee that one careless answer would lead to the pain of dismemberment.

Faced with this deadly threat, Dean remained calm. His agile fingers moved with lightning speed, effortlessly neutralizing Niel’s strength and eliciting a pitiful whimper from her, like that of a defeated puppy.

Having neutralized the threat, Dean quickened his offensive while soothing her. "This matter is related to Mas’s death. As his good friend, I’ve been focused on avenging him. Even if it means my heart will be repeatedly pierced by the arrows of longing for you, I must leave."

"Dean~" Niel’s eyes welled up with tears as she pressed herself against him...

...

In the end, Niel still decided not to follow Dean to Los Angeles right away. This remained her decision, even though she had just shared her first time with Dean.

She was a woman with her own mind.

Dean didn’t insist.

「Two o’clock in the afternoon.」

Dean drove his even more dilapidated second-hand car back to the Los Angeles Detective Bureau.

The office of Squad Four was, as usual, deserted.

"Daisy, where are the guys?" Dean looked around and approached Daisy, who was applying a facial mask and watching a talk show.

"Hey, Dean! I’m so glad to see you’re okay," Daisy exclaimed, standing up in surprise. "There’s been a murder—seems like a friend of Harry’s. They’ve all gone out to investigate."

"Can you fill me in?"

With Harry not at the station, Dean had no choice but to ask Daisy. She was the clerk for Squad Four, always the first to know about any homicide cases the squad took on.

"There aren’t many clues." Daisy picked up a file from her desk and flipped through it. "The victim’s name was Annan, of Chinese descent. He made a living forging fake IDs. Though he wasn’t particularly daring and mainly served illegal workers, he was found dead in a parking lot early this morning."

"Harry and Annan were friends. Harry knew Annan had a habit of conducting his transactions in a parking lot after receiving an order. Using the parking lot’s surveillance footage, we’ve zeroed in on these two individuals."

Daisy handed over two blurry photos. Dean took them. Both men in the photos were Black. Their faces were indistinct, but traces of tattoos were visible on their exposed skin.

However, the two men had distinct physical characteristics. Compared to the surrounding cars, one was as large as a black bear, easily close to two meters tall. The other was much smaller; standing in front of his companion, he looked like a child not yet an adult.

These physical characteristics matched exactly with the two men I saw before!

Interesting. These two actually ran from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. I wonder if that’s why the unfortunate Turing gang was wiped out by that unknown force, Dean mused.

He fell into deep thought.

The missile strike on the Las Vegas highway, though in a remote area, was no small matter for a city. Yet, even a day later, there were no reports about it from the Las Vegas media—not on television, not in the newspapers. Only a few eyewitness accounts surfaced online. But without pictures, there was no proof, and the stories failed to make any waves. Clearly, an invisible hand was suppressing the incident. Connecting this to the heavy artillery previously found in a Las Vegas residential area... it seemed likely that high-ranking U.S. military officials were involved!

I can’t pursue this any further, Dean thought. It’s too dangerous; people could die!

With this realization, Dean immediately decided to conceal his knowledge of what the two Turing gang members looked like.

The unknown force that wiped out the Turing gang will eventually track down these two individuals. Santoni, the medical examiner who faked my father’s autopsy report, was one of their people. Who can guarantee that this unknown force doesn’t have operatives inside the Detective Bureau right now? If I get involved, no matter the excuse, I risk bringing disaster upon myself. My relationship with Harry isn’t close enough to take that risk.

Collecting his thoughts, Dean put down the photos. "Daisy, I’m going to find Harry and see if I can help."

"Alright, I’ll be left here alone again," Daisy said, reluctantly sitting back down. "Just call Harry directly. If he doesn’t answer, you can try calling Lawrence as well; they’re together."

Dean nodded and was about to leave.

Suddenly—RING RING RING!

The landline on Daisy’s desk began to ring.

Daisy quickly grabbed Dean. "You probably can’t leave now, Dean."

This phone connected directly to the dispatch center; when it rang, it meant another homicide had occurred!