America: The Gear-Up Detective

Rhodes thought for a moment, then glanced at the unresponsive system and decided to make a phone call first.

This is why, even though Rhodes has only recently transmigrated, he is still, at heart, a kind-hearted young man who grew up under the red flag.

If a seasoned veteran like Hank or Evan saw this email, they would delete it without hesitation, since a case from fifty years ago is definitely an unsolved mystery.

These kinds of cases are thankless and might even cause trouble, so there's no need to deal with them.

As for a detective like Jackson, well, he probably wouldn't even open his email to check.

"Beep beep beep..."

As Rod dialed the number, the phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

"Hello~ This is Ada. You can leave a message after the beep."

A slightly tired voice came through the phone; it must have been Ida Emerson.

"No one's answering?"

Rod thought for a moment and then replied to Ida with another email, telling her that he had noticed her email and hoped she would contact him when she had time.

Actually, Ada's email also included her address, but Rhodes didn't plan to go and ask her.

Ultimately, Rhodes wasn't entirely sure either, and there was no need to rush over before things were cleared up.

……

It took me almost two hours to clean up my email.

After finishing his business, Rhodes got up and stretched.

At that moment, the door to the captain's office, located further inside, opened, and Connor emerged, carrying a stack of documents.

Connor walked straight to Rhodes, placed the heavy, brick-like file on Rhodes's desk, and said with a slight smile, "You handled almost the entire case yesterday by yourself. No one knows the details better than you."

Anna also had to deal with the case files of Park Young-chan's previous body dumping case, so she didn't have time.

Therefore, the revision and organization of this case file is entrusted to you!

Hank, who was sitting in front of Rod, heard this, turned his head, and said with schadenfreude:

"Hey Rod, keep it up! With great power comes great responsibility!"

Rod's lips twitched, and he was about to give Hank the middle finger.

Evan pushed the door open again, patted Rhodes on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Rhodes, Renee is here. She wants to see you."

"Rene?"

Rhodes thought for a while before realizing that this was the wife of the victim in yesterday's case, and also the one who helped him obtain his second piece of equipment.

Rod arrived at the reception room on the first floor.

In the same spot as last time, on the cozy pink sofa, Renee lowered her head, her once dazzling blonde hair now dull and lifeless.

She was only holding her handbag tightly on her lap with one hand.

With her other hand clutching a tissue, she kept wiping away her tears and sobbing softly.

Seeing Rhodes enter, Renee quickly stood up.

The woman, in her fifties, looked exhausted, perhaps due to recent sorrows. Her wrinkles were deeply etched on her face, and she seemed oblivious to her appearance, forcing a smile as she looked at Rod.

"Officer Rod, thank you!"

I had almost come to believe that Nathan had indeed died of some kind of illness.

Thank you for helping me find the killer.

Looking at Renee, who was in a state of neither laughter nor tears, Rhodes patted her shoulders with both hands. "It's what I should do, Ms. Renee. You may not know, but I should be thanking you."

The two talked for a while longer, and Rod told Renee some details about the upcoming court appearance, and also told her:

"The other two are also being interrogated by Detective Jackson and Detective Jose."

False testimony can be punished with up to five years in prison, and they will all receive the punishment they deserve.

"Will they all receive the punishment they deserve? I heard from Officer Evan that it was an accident?"

"If he had proactively approached the police the next day to confess and reveal everything, the murder charge might not have stood. However, after the incident, instead of investigating the situation, he continued to go drinking and partying."

He even deceived the police the next day, providing false statements to mislead their investigation. I think there's a high probability he'll be convicted of murder.

In California, murder can be divided into two categories.

One type is express malice, which means that the murderer has a clear intention to kill and does so intentionally.

Another type is implied malice, which refers to a murderer who, although not having a direct intent to kill, engages in extremely dangerous behavior. Knowing that the behavior is likely to cause the death of others, they still do it regardless of the consequences, showing a kind of "indifference" or "abandoned and malignant heart" towards life.

Kane's actions of continuing his party after firing the gun, instead of checking on the neighbors, can be interpreted as an indication of malicious intent in killing.

Insinuating malice constitutes second-degree murder, with a standard penalty of 15 years to life imprisonment.

Informing her of this was a form of comfort, at least letting her know that the murderer who killed her husband would receive the punishment he deserved.

Rhodes got up and left, leaving Renee alone.

More of a headache for Rod than the case files was comforting the victims' families.

After that, Rhodes sat in his seat and worked on perfecting the dossier.

Friday passed peacefully like that.

The Murder and Robbery Division of the Precinct has more than just Team Six, where Rod is located; there are five other teams as well, so the personnel allocation should be quite easy.

But this is Los Angeles, where people die almost every day for a variety of reasons: fights, gang conflicts, revenge killings, or seeking thrills.

There are several cases to handle almost every day, and it's also necessary to distinguish between premeditated murders and accidental murders.

It's rare to have a day that's completely peaceful.

Therefore, as soon as it was time to leave work, Rod packed his things and got up to leave.

Jackson watched Rod's departing figure, lost in thought. "Could it be that the reason bro has become so amazing is because he goes to work and leaves on time?"

I'll try it next week too.

……

In the underground parking garage, Rod got into his car and started the engine.

Then I thought, why not go to UCLA first, just to scout it out.

Turning the steering wheel, Rod followed the navigation and drove the vehicle westward towards Los Angeles.

Interestingly, UCLA has almost no traditional school gates, no walls, and no iconic gatehouses.

The campus blends seamlessly with the surrounding community streets, appearing to be merely a sprawling "building".

The entrance sign is simply an inconspicuous "UCLA" lettering embedded in a stone slab covered with vines somewhere by the roadside.

Rod drove his vehicle onto Westwood Boulevard, weaving through the constant flow of traffic, and soon the tall eucalyptus trees on both sides of the road rushed past.

Rod knew he was about to enter the campus.

He found a place and parked his car.

But after getting off the bus, Rod didn't know which way to go.

Then I started wandering around aimlessly.

UCLA's campus is located near a commercial street in the Westwood neighborhood.

Rhodes was momentarily stunned as he stepped from the quiet and peaceful campus into the bustling street.

Retro shops, independent bookstores, and unique cafes are scattered around the commercial street.

As he walked, Rod arrived at another shopping mall.

"We should have planned this trip; there wasn't even a map to guide us here."

Just as Rhodes was pacing around, a slightly puzzled, sweet voice came from the noisy street behind him, "Officer Rhodes?"

Rod turned his head and saw a rosy, oval face without any makeup.