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

Chapter 76 Acting Skills Level 4 (Mastery)
"So who is it that's being so kind?"

Soon, Sheriff Diane gave him an answer. She suddenly smiled warmly and pulled out a piece of white paper from somewhere.

"This is a very cute little girl who asked me to give it to you. She said very seriously that she wanted me to hand it to you."

Hearing Sheriff Diane's words, Eric subconsciously took the paper, and after a moment of surprise, he revealed a gentle smile.

This is a painting.

The outline of Spider-Man is drawn in thick red crayon lines, with a crooked shape. The head is drawn particularly large, taking up 1/3 of the body. The eyes are two asymmetrical white ovals, with black dots scribbled in the middle to represent the pupils.

The spider symbol on the body looks like a tangled mess of threads forming a "sun," with very short legs that seem to be stuck directly into the round belly.

A blue wavy thread appeared on this Spider-Man's hand, the other end of which was tied to a pink stick figure-like girl with several upright yellow strands in her hair and purple clothes.
The following is a quote from Spider-Man and Vanessa Austin.

“She draws very well! Isn’t she?” Sheriff Diane laughed.

Eric folded it up and put it away carefully, saying seriously, "No, her drawing is terrible. If I have the chance to meet her, I will tell her the truth and ask her to draw another one properly."

"Are you the devil, Eric?" Under Sheriff Diane's devilish gaze, Eric shrugged and walked toward his destination.

He's going up for questioning now. After this is over, he can think about how to deal with the Graystone Alley gang. He has to take things one step at a time, and time has to pass second by second. He can't rush it.

When he went up, Daves was already waiting for him.

Looking at Eric, a young man dressed in casual clothes who looked like a college student, Daves had no idea that he had easily taken on ten opponents last night.

"Come with me, they've been waiting for you."

Eric obediently followed behind Daves, nodding to some familiar passing police officers and whispering.

"Sir, who are they?"

"Kent, the head of the Internal Affairs Department; District Attorney Viva; Robert, the internal affairs investigator for the West Canyon Police Department; Sergeant Grey; and several other relevant individuals, including the independent police auditor."

Listening to Daves's words, Eric began to understand: "Wow, a huge lineup."

“Perform as well as you can, and tell the truth,” Daves said, turning to Eric.

Eric laughed. "I've always been honest, sir."

"That's for the best. You know what happened today?" Daves looked away and continued.

Eric recalled the painting and said gently, "If you mean the one million? Then I guess I know."

“The review panel will take that into account,” Daves said.

Eric knew perfectly well what was going on, but he just smiled.

One million is still very powerful, so powerful that even if he violates any rules, he can still get away with it, let alone now that he hasn't violated any rules or regulations.

"Even so, I hope you can take this matter seriously."

Upon hearing this, Eric replied earnestly, "Of course."

It's just acting; he's a Hollywood-level actor in this area, and he's even developed it into a skill: acting level 4 (proficient).

If this were told to others, probably no one would believe it.

Daves stopped at the door of a closed office: "So now prepare yourself mentally for the final challenge."

After Eric stopped, Daves opened the door.

When the door opened, even though Eric was prepared, he still subconsciously raised an eyebrow.

There was no other reason than the sheer scale of the operation; the number of people involved was about half again as many as when he was first interrogated. The leader was a middle-aged man with a shaved head and a serious, expressionless face.

Eric knew this person: Kent, the head of the Interior Department.

This right is quite significant.

After all, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is more independent than many other departments.

In terms of rank, he is one level higher than Inspector Grey, the division chief of the West Canyon Police Department.

Although neither is likely to be inferior to the other, the difference in reputation is indeed significant.

He glanced at them and saw that some of them were unfamiliar, but that didn't matter. They were definitely big shots, and even if they weren't, they were still better than him, a low-level patrolman.

Guided by instructions, Eric Clare sat down in the only chair facing these bigwigs, the scene resembling that of someone being on trial.

"I am Kent from the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Kent looked at the calm Eric and then pointed to the people next to him or behind him, introducing them one by one.

“We’re all here because of your case yesterday, to have an interview with you,” Kent said.

“Officer Eric, this questioning is very important, and I hope you will take it seriously.”

Eric nodded and said, "I understand, sir. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

Kent remained calm, simply looking at Eric. The nature of Eric's case wasn't actually that serious, nor did it warrant such a large-scale operation.

But the impact of this case has ironically expanded, making it a very typical positive example.

Yes, it's a positive example, so those in power also value it.

"Can you explain how you knew the victim was at the Sunshine Motel?"

Eric was somewhat surprised by the question, but he didn't show much emotion and addressed the jury in a calm tone.

"I analyzed the available information, based on the suspect's financial situation and the speed of his actions, and deduced that since he didn't have housing, he would likely choose places like hotels or motels that could temporarily house the victims."

So my colleague and I started working together, and eventually I found the suspect's car at the Sunshine Motel.

Kent picked up the file from his lap and glanced at it: "And what's the deal with the standoff and conflict between the two gangs outside?"

Eric calmly stated, "I guess I just happened to stumble upon their standoff, so based on my law enforcement experience, I judged that I needed reinforcements and needed to request the deployment of SWAT teams so that they wouldn't interfere with my best opportunity to rescue people."

Kent looked at Eric, who had answered very well, and a hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes. This young police officer was truly a talent; no wonder the higher-ups took this matter so seriously.

"Do you remember the specific details of the rescue?"

Eric nodded and said, "I remember, sir. I tried to get the boss to open the door, but the suspect was prepared; he had placed the bedside table against the door as a warning device."
I heard the commotion inside and immediately kicked the boss away from the edge of danger.

The suspect fired three shots from inside, and I could only attempt to return fire for the brief moment when the gunfire ceased.

At this point, Eric revealed a pained expression, looked at the judging panel whose expressions seemed frozen, and hissed:
"result."

Eric's actions even made Kent cough involuntarily, and even Inspector Grey behind him couldn't help but smile.

Daves, standing next to Inspector Grey, had a stiff expression, as did Robert and other internal affairs officers from the West Canyon Police Department.

"It feels familiar."

District Attorney Viva looked at the heartbroken Eric and shook her head inwardly, wondering why she suddenly thought of Officer Will.

(End of this chapter)