Chapter 55 - New House, and First Homicide Case

Chapter 55: New House, and First Homicide Case
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The two thanked Millie before leaving the department together.
The department had given them three days to get settled before they had to officially start work.
That was because the Major Crimes Division was very busy, and the moment they started, they wouldn’t have the time to properly settle down. That was why they were given a grace period first to get everything done.
The two didn’t tarry; they spent half a day visiting eight houses they shortlisted, and ultimately settled on a two-bedroom apartment near the police department.
The biggest benefit of the place was the relative quiet of the area: there was no major traffic or large crowds anywhere near them, the only road close to the apartment being a tiny one at the back of the building.
The apartment building was rather old but still clean. The two bedrooms were rather tiny at about 10 square meters each. The living room was also rather small at around 20 square meters. The entire apartment was about 50 square meters in size.
Fortunately, the apartment was rather cheap, and with them splitting the rent, it was even cheaper.
After signing the rent agreement, they started moving their things from the car into the apartment.
The trunk and the backseat were crammed full of luggage, most of them belonging to Selina.
Luke truly couldn’t understand why Selina had brought so many clothes and shoes even though they would be wearing police uniforms anyway.
Selina rolled her eyes when she heard what she thought was an idiotic question. “Please, we’re joining the Major Crimes Division. Most of the time, we won’t be in uniform. Why can’t I wear something pretty then? It’s not like I’m going to go to work in hot pants or something.”
That left Luke speechless.
He had only brought a few casual clothes with him, and had left home with only one suitcase.
As for Selina, she had five suitcases, and had supposedly already tried her best to cut down on her luggage before reaching this number; there had initially been eight suitcases, most of which contained her so-called pretty clothes.
After they were done moving, Luke was too lazy to go out, so he ordered food instead.
After they ate, they took a short break before heading off to the supermarket.
They only had some basic electrical appliances in their apartment, and still had to buy more themselves.
Luke didn’t have much to buy, but Selina bought a lot of stuff.
As she shopped, Selina didn’t forget to stare at the price tag sadly and comment, “This thing is as much as an entire week’s worth of my salary.”
Luke could only remain silent.
He couldn’t exactly offer to pay, right?
If he dared to offer to do so, Selina would really think that he was trying to court her.
Otherwise, why would he offer to pay for her cosmetic stuff?
Just look at her shopping cart. There were even tampons in there. Apart from boyfriends or husbands, men would rarely buy this stuff for women.
When they returned home, they didn’t continue cleaning the place. Rather, they only carried their own things into their respective rooms before washing up and going to bed.
The next day, they headed to work.
When they arrived at the department, a few detectives could be seen in the Major Crimes Division’s lounge. Some were here early while some had been here working through the night.
Only two people bothered to nod at the two in greeting.
Half an hour before work officially started, Brock arrived.
When he saw that the two had arrived early and were full of vigor, he was pleased.
From this, he could judge that these two at least weren’t the type of troublemakers who liked to do things unconventionally. Generally, the more capable a person was, the more unconventional they tended to be.
In fact, they had a few of these capable yet unconventional detectives in the team. Those old foxes would only follow police procedure at the barest minimum required in order to get the job done; as far as they were concerned, the other procedures were as good as nonexistent.
Of course, that was also partly due to the relative freedom which members of the Major Crimes Division had. Most of the time, when things got busy, they would have to work several days in a row without rest. Thus, they didn’t even work regular hours like the other police officers.
Brock waved at Luke and Selina and called them over to his office.
He cut straight to the chase when they entered. After all, he was also a very busy person. He searched his desk for a bit before taking out a file and tossing it over to Luke. “This case is now yours. Report back to me when there’s progress. If you encounter something you can’t solve, come find me as well. Any questions?”
Selina wanted to take a look at the file, but Luke merely smiled and said, “Yes, sir.”
Brock waved his hand. “Since you’re working for me, do the same as everyone else; just call me ‘head.’ Alright, get started.”
Luke agreed before walking out. Selina did the same as well.
Inwardly, Brock mused to himself, “Indeed, the younger one is the leader.”
In truth, that wasn’t too weird.
When a man and a woman were partnered together, the man tended to be more suited to lead, while the woman was more suited for support. After all, women were generally better at networking and diplomacy, while men were better in combat situations and were more intimidating.
But then again, the boy looked too young. Could he intimidate the people they had to deal with? But Brock immediately tossed the thought aside.
He was a commanding officer, not a nanny; they would have to solve that sort of problem themselves. If they couldn’t do something like that, they might as well quit the Major Crimes Division.
When Luke and Selina returned to their desks, they opened the folder. Luke sat in his own chair while Selina came over and sat on the armrest. Just like that, the two studied the file.
A homicide had happened in an apartment at 39, 107A Street, Westside. A woman had been killed there.
The division had received this case yesterday at the same time that Luke and Selina had arrived.
The Major Crimes Division had always been stretched thin in terms of manpower. With two new detectives in the team, Brock decided not to bother the others with the new case, and handed it to the pair instead.
After going through the file, Luke picked up his jacket, put it on, and covered his gun before saying, “Let’s visit the scene.”
He couldn’t be bothered waiting for the autopsy report. In a major city like this, the forensic department would usually be extremely busy. It was very common for a report to take maybe a month or two if the case wasn’t a priority. In fact, it might take as long as half a year.
Yes, this was never portrayed in TV shows.
In reality, the number of cases actually solved in the United States with the help of forensics was less than 5 percent.
Most of the time, cases were solved through actual police work; forensics only helped to give supporting evidence.
Generally, if the police couldn’t find any leads in a case, they would have no choice but to classify it as a cold case.
Perhaps a day would come when the criminal would strike again, and leave behind some new clues. Only then would there be a chance to solve the cold case.
The two went to the parking lot and hopped into a police car.
This was the treatment accorded to members of the Major Crimes Division, but since Brock had yet to fully accept Luke and Selina, they couldn’t openly take the car for their personal use. It was fine to occasionally drive the car back home, but if they did it every day, there would be complaints.
They got in the car and took 40 minutes to reach 39, 107A Street.
When they arrived at the scene, both of them observed their surroundings. Although it might not help with the case, police investigations were oftimes concluded with the discovery of something minor and overlooked.
This was an old apartment building that was at least 30 years old. The mottled walls and the outdated doors and windows were proof that this wasn’t a place of the wealthy.