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

Chapter 339 Substitution
Eric drew his gun, glanced back to check the situation, and then quickly and dynamically cut the corner using the door frame as the axis.

The layout of the garage is clear at a glance.

That lieutenant probably used the garage as a warehouse as well.

A tall metal shelf stood against the wall, neatly displaying various toolboxes, car parts, and several sealed storage boxes, next to which was a safe.

Eric glanced at the third person who had collapsed on the side steps, confirmed that no one was in the garage, and continued back, preparing to gradually clean up the house.

If there are more than three people involved, then it would truly be a case of carelessness leading to disaster.

Eric breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way back to the living room.

There are no new threats.

The two bodies lay motionless in the pool of blood.

The mother and daughter remained huddled in the same spot, their eyes closed and trembling all over. This shows the difference between ordinary people and those with experience.

If it were Tifa, he probably would have already picked up the bandit's pistol, pointed it at him, and sternly questioned his identity.

"It's alright, I'm LAPD."

Eric lowered his voice and spoke to Lauren, who was trembling all over.

Upon hearing this, Lauren abruptly raised her head, her tear-blurred eyes fixed on Eric.
Her eyes were filled with a mixture of disbelief and fear, and a faint hope of survival. Her arms, which were tightly wrapped around her daughter, trembled slightly from the force of her grip.

“L…APD?” she repeated in a hoarse voice.

“Yes, LAPD,” Eric said.

"Stay where you are, cover the child's eyes, and don't let her see these things."

I need to make sure this house is safe first.

Eric's voice carried a natural, convincing calmness. Lauren nodded quickly and hugged her daughter Jenny even tighter, covering the child's senses with her hands.

Eric took a deep breath and began employing an efficient pie-cutting tactic, cleaning each room one by one.

The area includes a dining room, hallway, several bedrooms, a master bathroom, and a study.

The entire cleaning process was smooth and quick, taking less than a minute.

Eric eventually confirmed that there were no other attackers inside the house besides the three men.

He put away his gun and relaxed. Although the information was limited, he could roughly guess the purpose of the three attackers based on the conversation he had just heard.

Eric could roughly guess the purpose of the three attackers.

The first possibility is that he used Lieutenant Reese's gun to kill his wife and daughter.

As for why, it was probably to create the impression that Lieutenant Reese murdered his wife and daughter.

Otherwise, the three attackers, who were already armed, wouldn't have needed to ask Lieutenant Reese where his gun was.

Of course, there is a second possibility.

Judging from the current situation, Lieutenant Reese is clearly not home. These three attackers probably want to take control of his wife and daughters first, and then coerce him to cooperate when he returns, before finally banging away.

The scene of murdering his wife and daughter, followed by suicide, was thus perfectly staged.

“Sure, you’re going to commit suicide from behind, huh?” Eric’s eyes flashed with amusement. This tactic has been quite effective no matter how many years have passed.

Back in the living room, Eric walked over to Lauren and her daughter, deliberately slowing his pace and crouching down, trying to make his voice sound calm:

"The house is safe now, there's no one else here."

Lauren, who had been holding her daughter, suddenly trembled and dared to raise her head slightly. Tears welled up instantly, a mixture of fear and relieved sobs.

"Thank you, sir."

"My name is Eric." Eric saw the little girl in the woman's arms suddenly turn her head to look at him. Her big eyes, brimming with tears, were filled with fear, yet a glimmer of childlike curiosity had also appeared.

Children are indeed more innocent and recover faster than adults.

Eric met her gaze, nodded slightly, and gave her a faint but warm smile, glancing at the corpse out of the corner of his eye.

"This place is not suitable for you to stay. Let me take you to the bedroom to rest for a while, okay? You need to leave this environment and calm down."

The police might ask you questions later.

— At this moment, every second felt like torture for Tifa.

Even now, although I roughly know that my man is very capable, my heart still involuntarily jumps up every time this happens.

Her brain was racing, analyzing all the possibilities.

A firefight? Or did Eric take control of the situation?
In either case, the long silence following the two gunshots is hardly a good sign.

Just as her emotions overwhelmed her reason, and she was about to draw her gun and go over,

The door to the house was suddenly pulled open from the inside.

Eric appeared in the doorway. He stood to the side, and after confirming the situation outside, he looked at her and smiled.

At that moment, Tifa felt her heart start beating again. She took a deep breath, loosened her grip on the car door which she had pried open a crack, and got out of the car.

He strode across the street, his composure returning as he moved.

"Honey!"

Eric noticed the change in Tifa's eyes and her observation, and felt a warmth in his heart as he chuckled softly.

"I'm fine, I'm not injured, and I haven't lost a single hair."

Tifa finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming everything.

“Just like your situation back then, three attackers.” Eric briefly explained the situation to Tifa.

"They took the lieutenant's wife and daughter hostage and were also looking for his personal firearms."

Tifa's eyes narrowed as she entered the room through the space Eric had given her. The overwhelming smell of blood made her instinctively hold her breath.

"Two dead and one captured."

Eric closed the door behind him: "They're in the master bedroom, but they've been a little frightened."

Tifa immediately understood what she meant; it was time for her, the former psychiatrist, to step in.

-

While Tifa went into the master bedroom to comfort the frightened mother and daughter,

Eric ignored the two corpses in the living room and went to the garage, where he first tied the unconscious man to a corner.

It's necessary to have the police collect the body and handle the aftermath later; it's not appropriate to engage in any private activities at this time.

But he really didn't intend to hand this person over to the police.

Eric stood up and looked at the man tied to a stool in front of him. He was deeply impressed by the man's ruthless fighting back.

The official law enforcement agencies' methods are too standardized and gentle; they probably won't extract any valuable information from them.

To deal with this kind of person, we need to use interrogation methods like those employed by the CIA.

--------

An apartment building.

James Reese frowned as he looked at the unfamiliar man who had approached him after exchanging a few words with his captain, Howard.

Howard told us that these were naval criminal investigation agents who had come to take over the scene.

The other person was not tall and was wearing a well-tailored suit with a slightly loose collar.

“Lieutenant Reese, this is Agent Carl from the Naval Crime Investigation Service. I have a few questions for you regarding Petty Officer Weeks’ mental state.”

Reese's brow furrowed even more as he recalled the agent who had interrogated him at Camp Pendleton just days before.

Why was the person suddenly changed?

"I don't remember it being you, Agent Kingston."

Karl and Howard exchanged a glance, and Karl said in a rather regretful tone.

"It is with great regret that Agent Kingston passed away unexpectedly yesterday. The coroner's examination determined that the cause of death was sudden cardiac arrest caused by overwork."

(End of this chapter)