America: The Gear-Up Detective

Rhodes briefly explained the situation that day to Edgar.

He then returned to his room amidst Edgar's admiring gaze.

After a quick wash, Rod lay in bed scrolling through his phone. Just as he was about to fall asleep, the system panel suddenly appeared.

Side Quest Update: Wolf Pack! In the wild, overrun by coyotes, there seems to be an unusual alpha wolf. Solve this problem to earn rewards.

Completion Reward: Equipment *1

"?"

Rhodes stared at the panel in surprise. "Side quests? It seems like the rewards for side quests are better than the main quests? Do they just give you a piece of equipment?"

The rewards for "main" quests are all displayed as "hidden".

Rhode looked at the mission prompts on the panel over and over again. It seemed that the wolf pack had gathered because of a "powerful" alpha wolf? Could taking down the alpha wolf resolve the incident?

Rod shook his head. The outskirts of Los Angeles are vast. Near his grandfather's ranch, there are many other farms and ranches, the area of ​​which is unknown.

We don't even know where the wolf is; it probably won't be solved anytime soon.

After chatting with Liu Qingxi, who couldn't sleep late at night, for a while, Luo De fell into a deep sleep, and the night passed without incident.

......

The next morning.

Birds chirped outside Rhodes' window, waking him up before the alarm clock.

Rhodes peeked through the curtains at the window with a resentful look. A flock of small birds with red heads and chests were perched on the windowsill, staring at Rhodes as if to say, "The sun's already high in the sky, why aren't you up yet?"

"Damn House Finch of America!"

The American House Finch is one of the most common "street birds" in Los Angeles and can be seen year-round.

There's an interesting anecdote about the American house finch. Originally from the western United States and Mexico, in the 1940s, a pet store in New York illegally sold them under the name "Hollywood Finch." When the operation was exposed, the store owner released a batch of birds into the wild. The house finch then took root in the East and has reproduced ever since, thus passively completing an alternative migration.

Even more interestingly, in noisy urban environments, male house finches will increase the frequency of their calls to reduce the masking effect of traffic and other environmental noise.

Many people thought the call sounded like music, but Rhodes only found it noisy. Rhodes thought viciously, "I'll check later if the American house jacana is a protected species!"

After washing up and having a quick breakfast, Rod prepared to drive to the police station.

As soon as Rod got into the car, his phone rang.

The caller ID reads "Hank".

"Hey, Rod, good morning."

"It's not good at all."

"What's wrong? Never mind, don't bother saying anything unimportant." Hank's voice came through the receiver. "I'll send you an address. Just go here. Kerry's ex-girlfriend, Daisy Ford, is here."

Upon hearing this, Rod laughed and said, "So eager?"

"To avoid any unforeseen complications, and to prevent Daisy Ford and Carrey from colluding—although the possibility is slim—we must take precautions!"

It's clear that Hank is very concerned about this case, or rather, very concerned about catching Kerry Emerson.

Rod thought to himself, "Another doting father."

......

West Los Angeles.

Within the Westchester community.

This is a large community near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the Playa Vista tech district. It has a quiet atmosphere and mainly consists of single-family homes.

Because it's near an airport, you can hear the noise of planes taking off and landing from time to time.

As Rod drove along the wide road, looking at the shady maple trees on both sides of the street and listening to the noise, he thought, "I probably won't get a good night's sleep more than a few times a year here. It's not as good as home with Suzaku."

Rod followed Hank's navigation and soon saw a bald head reflecting the glaring light in front of a neat and bright detached bungalow. Hank was standing in front of the door.

Rod parked the car on the side of the road, got out, walked towards Hank, and said with a smile, "I saw you just a block away, radiating the light of justice."

Hank understood the subtext of Rhodes' words, and immediately raised a middle finger, glancing enviously at Rhodes' thick, black hair, and said, "Stop joking, let's go. Hopefully, we'll make some new discoveries this time."

Hank went up and rang the doorbell.

A moment later, a noise came from behind the door, and a white woman with brown hair, who looked to be in her forties or fifties, opened the door.

"Who are you?"

Hank lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal his police badge, and Rod also showed off his police badge.

Hank continued, "I am Detective Hank from the Murder and Heist Division, and this is my partner, Detective Rhodes."

I contacted you yesterday, you should remember?

Daisy Ford nodded slightly, then stepped aside to let the two in, and said, "I knew, I didn't expect you to be here so early?"

Daisy Ford's house was very large, and the furniture and decorations in the living room were several times larger than those in Ida's house.

He gestured for Hank and Rod to sit on the sofa, "What would you two like to drink?"

"No need, we have some things we'd like to ask you about."

Hank had barely sat down when he couldn't wait to speak.

Daisy paused for a moment, then sat down on the sofa, smiling as she looked at Hank and said, "You said it yesterday, so let me ask you, it's been a long time since anyone has come to my place, so I'll just use this as an opportunity to chat."

Rod and Hank exchanged a glance, then Rod spoke first, "Ms. Daisy, do you remember your boyfriend from high school?"

Daisy tilted her head, trying to recall, and asked, "Which one are you talking about?"

"..."

Daisy laughed when she saw Rod's slightly speechless expression. "Just kidding, officer. Of course I remember. I only had one boyfriend in high school."

At that time, I thought we would stay together forever, but I never expected that he would join the army without saying a word not long after.

We haven't seen each other since then.

After a pause, Daisy asked tentatively, "So the case you're handling is related to him?"

Rhodes didn't respond, then asked, "When you were with him, did he behave anything unusual?"

After thinking for a moment, Daisy shook her head: "It's been too long. Even if there were any unusual things, I wouldn't remember them anymore."

Rhodes nodded, then asked, "Do you remember the case of the missing and murdered little girl in the Sicamor neighborhood, not far from where you lived fifty years ago?"

Daisy looked at Rhodes and nodded. "Of course! This was the closest I've ever come to murder in my life. And..."

Daisy hesitated, a hint of struggle flashing across her face.

Just as Rhodes was considering whether to use [Bewitchment], after a brief hesitation, Daisy continued:

"At the time, some detectives suspected Kerry, so I remember that very well."

Hank then asked, "So you were together all night?"

This statement is both a question and a probe, because according to the clues currently available to the police, Kerry only went to find Daisy halfway through his journey.

If Daisy says yes, then it means she is very likely lying!