The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 274 Accomplices
Darren was getting a little tempted: "How about I bring Lucy along?"

Upon hearing this, Eric decisively interrupted, "No, wait. Your safety is the most important thing. That guy might be armed with a long gun. Are you sure you can handle him with a rookie?"

If it were Darren alone, he might be able to let Darren explore on his own, but with Lucy, a newbie, on the side, it's a different story.

These words instantly snapped Darren out of his excitement at discovering his target. He glanced instinctively at Lucy, who was rolling her eyes in the passenger seat, and coughed lightly.

That's so embarrassing!
Darren shifted his gaze to the target vehicle a little over ten meters away and said helplessly.

"Okay, I'll stay put for now."

Eric fastened his seatbelt, gripped the steering wheel with one hand, and slammed on the gas. Under his control, the Explorer police car shot off like an arrow, speeding towards the textile factory.

“Listen, keep your distance,” Eric added.

"Continue to monitor the perimeter from a distance and all exits you can see."

Do not approach, do not enter! I will immediately notify Will and Weston to move closer to you and establish a blockade on the perimeter.

I'm about a five-minute drive from you. Let me assess our next steps when I get there.

“OK! I won’t come any closer. The channel will remain open until you arrive,” Darren replied.

Eric switched channels and notified Will and Weston one by one.

-

It's half past three in the morning.

There were few cars on the road at that time.

Eric did not turn on the siren or lights, relying solely on his familiarity with the roads in the area to speed through the empty night streets.

Finally, he floored the accelerator and sped off, compressing the original five-minute drive into three minutes.

Eric drove into the semi-abandoned industrial area on the outskirts of the factory before slowing down, turning off the headlights, and gliding slowly by relying only on the dim parking lights and his memory of the surroundings.

This old joint textile factory, known locally as the old textile factory, is located near the intersection with an old railway branch line, in a transitional area that is both semi-industrial and semi-abandoned.

The area is surrounded by small logistics companies that are still in operation, a junkyard for scrapped vehicles, and some abandoned industrial buildings.

The location is relatively remote, but not completely isolated. Occasionally, homeless people, graffiti artists practicing their skills, or people engaged in illegal transactions may be seen there.

Eric glanced at the quiet surroundings and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Based on his judgment, the wanted criminal was unlikely to be hiding here; the most likely explanation was that he had abandoned the car here.

As for what it's like, you'll have to see it for yourself to know.

Behind the main factory, over a row of relatively low but large warehouses, Eric spotted Darren's patrol car, which was also turned off and its lights off.

Then, they spotted the target vehicle about ten meters in front of Darren.

It was a black Chevrolet Impala.

Eric slowly drove his car to a stop next to Darren's patrol car.

“I didn’t do anything, I just waited for you to come,” Darren said to Eric as he got out of the car.

Eric nodded, glanced at Lucy who had also gotten out of the car, and then got out and walked slowly toward the Chevrolet Impala.

"You stay here."

Darren said to Lucy, then stepped after Eric, cautiously approaching the black Chevrolet Impala.

Lucy remained in place, warily observing her surroundings, glancing over there every now and then.

Eric shone his flashlight toward the Chevrolet Impala as he walked, checking the license plate number: 5AOJ230. It was indeed the target vehicle.

Eric and Darren did not approach rashly, but instead circled the vehicle and used a powerful flashlight to check its exterior and the surrounding ground.

The car body appeared to be intact, with no signs of collision, and there were no signs of sudden braking on the ground.

Eric casually touched the hood.

"It's cold. That guy has been gone for at least a few hours."

This discovery has ruled out the possibility that the car was just abandoned; a cold hood means the wanted criminal had ample time to carry out his next move.

"So that damn guy isn't here anymore?" Darren said regretfully.

"This is just where he lost his car."

“Probably, eighty percent of the time they’re not here,” Eric said, shining his flashlight on the ground outside the driver’s side door.

There were a few relatively blurry footprints there.

The information Eric could deduce was that the wanted criminal had stood there for a while, possibly making a final check to see if he had left anything behind.

To be honest, all I can say is that he truly lives up to his reputation as a veteran.

Eric leaned closer to the car window and peered inside with Darren.

As he expected, the car was exceptionally clean, with no personal belongings to be found.

"Damn it, the glove box and storage compartments are all empty," Darren complained.

"Judging from this location, he probably even removed the car's GPS. This guy is very cautious!"

Eric looked into the depths of the warehouse: "He locked the car and left normally with the key; this guy treats it as a standard vehicle parking procedure."

Darren asked doubtfully, "So?" "He's not running away," Eric said, shaking his head.

"It is a planned phase transition, meaning that the impala is his initial vehicle and the mission has been completed."

He chose this location because it was secluded enough to allow him to proceed with his next step safely and undisturbed.

The purpose of cleaning the vehicle was to erase personal traces and delay our discovery.

And once it's daytime, people on the street will help deal with the car.

This analysis left Darren bewildered. He could understand a single sentence, but as Eric continued to speak, he began to feel confused, unable to grasp the connection between the sentences.

What Darren didn't know was that there was a type of analysis called behavioral evidence analysis, which is a systematic, evidence-based method of criminal psychology analysis, mainly used in the investigation of major criminal cases.

Because every action of the suspect at the crime scene and before and after it is not accidental.

"So he left with his spear, with a clear destination. He didn't need to hide here because he had another place to go or another identity to switch to."

Eric continued, extending his train of thought.

"An outside veteran needs to fully integrate into the environment and remain mobile."

He abandoned the conspicuous impala, leaving only two possibilities: either he had local accomplices waiting for him, or he had prepared a second mode of transportation.

Hearing this, Darren finally understood, and he glanced helplessly at Eric:

"Why don't you just state the conclusion directly?"

Eric's lips twitched, but he said nothing more, crouching down to shine a powerful flashlight on the front tires.

Analyze it according to his line of thinking.

It's unlikely that you'd prepare transportation in advance.

This is combined with the previous analysis that the other party specifically came to Los Angeles to seek refuge with someone else.

The most likely explanation is that they had local accomplices providing assistance.

In other words, after abandoning his car here, the wanted criminal got into one of his accomplices' vehicles and left.

If that's the case, then he must have met up with his accomplices beforehand, then come here together to abandon the car, and then leave together in his accomplices' car.

The biggest question is, why would someone come here to have their car stolen?

Lacking too much information, Eric couldn't figure it out, but he grasped one point and organized the words in sequence.

The wanted criminal arrived in Los Angeles, met up with his accomplices, and then abandoned the car here.

Therefore, tires are definitely the most important component.

Because tire treads are like page numbers in a book, they record the last stretch of road a vehicle has traveled, and are an extremely important source of evidence for determining the road sections a vehicle has passed through.

Darren watched as Eric suddenly crouched down to examine the tires closely, and he shrugged and remarked.

"Dude, you're really starting to look like a detective. Can you tell me what I can tell from this tire?"

Eric ignored Darren, got up and went to another tire, especially the rear tire which bore the most weight, to continue examining it carefully.

"All right!"

Darren gave up, and upon hearing the engine sound, looked towards Lucy's direction.

Two more patrol cars emerged from the shadows.

"Will and the others are here."

Eric heard it, but his attention was already drawn to something on the tire.

He took out a pen and carefully used the tip to pick out a small, deeply embedded piece of debris from the mold, then rubbed it between his fingers.

The change in the beam of light, along with Eric's movements, told Darren that Eric had discovered something, and he curiously leaned over to take a look.

"This is."

“Reddish-brown clay, and these fine, crushed pine needles and oak leaves—it’s a rather peculiar combination,” Eric said, squinting.

“Darren, there aren’t many places in our jurisdiction that have this kind of clay and a large number of native California oak and pine trees at the same time.”

Darren's eyes widened, and he instantly realized: "That firebreak road in Walnut Creek Park! And those unpaved roads north of Bronson Canyon Drive?"
Last year when we were chasing that car theft gang over there, the tires of my patrol car were covered in this kind of red mud, and the people at the car wash complained about it for ages.

Eric nodded and said, "That's right, as well as the fork in Oldback Road near Red Rock Canyon, and the entrance to Bell Creek Firebreak, these places all have this kind of soil."

As he spoke, Eric spun the remaining traces from his fingertips, stood up, and pointed his flashlight at the tire.

"Judging from the freshness of these marks, they haven't been worn down by multiple drives or long periods of driving, indicating that he only drove on these unpaved roads on the last stretch of road before arriving here."

He most likely didn't come directly off Highway 101 or Highway 5, but rather specifically detoured through the Santa Monica Mountains Nature Reserve in the northern part of our jurisdiction.

So his last leg of the journey most likely involved turning onto a firebreak road in the mountains at the northern end of Topanga Canyon Drive or Valley Circle Drive, passing through the Walnut Creek Park area, and then entering the industrial area from the west end of Van Orwin Street.

He perfectly avoided all the cameras on the main roads.

After listening to this long speech, Darren looked at Eric, who was quite young and handsome and was illuminated by his peripheral vision, and his eyes were quite different.

How could there be such an amazing person? This thought suddenly popped into his mind.

(End of this chapter)