After lunch, Greyson stayed and talked to Luke instead of leaving right away.
Luke found that odd. “Is it okay for you to stay here when you’re on a business trip?”
Greyson looked at the sky and said, “It’s fine. If anyone has a problem, I can just go back to Las Vegas. I don’t like business trips anyway.”
Luke was rather impressed. Were top specialists all this self-assured?
But it was true that they had every reason to be.
The top specialists of any trade were busy, and they couldn’t be bothered with anyone who wasn’t happy with them – they didn’t have time for everyone, anyway.
Old Greyson, for example, had a dozen cases sent to him from all over the country every day.
It was entirely up to him if he wanted to pick up a case or not.
If he felt like it, he could go on a business trip; if he didn’t, he could just turn down the case.
Luke knew that he could probably get to Old Greyson’s level after working as a police detective for a couple of years.
By then, rather than being given cases, he would get to pick.
They chatted for so long that they were still there when Selina got home from work.
After Luke told her that Greyson was Robert’s cousin, Selina respectfully called him uncle.
Greyson nodded with an inscrutable expression on his face. He glanced at Luke but didn’t say anything.
Then, it was dinner for three.
Selina proposed that they have Chinese food, so Luke decided on Yangzhou fried rice, braised beef brisket with tomatoes, and moo shu pork, which were the more popular dishes in America.
Of course, they were the modified versions which suited American tastebuds more.
Thus, there was no black fungus in the moo shu pork and no shrimps in the Yangzhou fried rice.
Greyson was truly surprised this time.
Making steak and roast chicken wasn’t anything surprising.
Any American who knew how to cook could make that sort of food, though the quality would certainly vary from person to person.
However, most Americans were too impatient to make the sort of Chinese dishes that Luke was making, and found them tricky and unnecessary.
After tasting all of them, Greyson’s expression turned even stranger.
Even though Greyson had barely eaten any Chinese food before, he could tell how good the dishes were from the look, smell and taste.
Luke wasn’t exactly on the level of a chef, but for a regular person, he was a great cook, and could totally work as one.
After dinner, Greyson even talked to Selina for a while, before he finally left in his car.
When Greyson left, Selina asked, “Huh? Why did your uncle suddenly show up?”
It was unusual for Americans to visit relatives whom they weren’t familiar with.
Luke shrugged and said, “I asked Elsa to investigate my beloved uncle in the afternoon. Other than being a forensic specialist, a zoologist and a pathologist, he’s also a psychology expert.”
There was a mysterious smile on his face as he spoke.
Perhaps, Old Greyson was the skilled and trustworthy shrink that Robert kept bringing up.
Greyson, for that matter, was deep in thought, too.
After observing Luke for a whole afternoon, his feelings were quite complicated.
Luke was a man of contradictions.
He was young, but he was quite mature.
He was physically very robust, but had a composed manner.
He was very courteous, but sometimes told bad jokes.
He had killed a lot of people, but wasn’t like any of the sociopaths that Greyson had encountered.
After Greyson returned to his lodgings, he called Robert. “It’s me.”
“How did it go?” Robert asked nervously.
After a brief silence, Greyson said, “Well, I’d need more time to do a proper check, but for now, I don’t see anything wrong with him. He’s perfectly normal.”
Robert smiled bitterly. “Gil, he’s only eighteen, but he’s killed almost a hundred people in half a year. Do you know how long it took me to recover after I killed a terrorist for the first time?”
Greyson certainly did. He had been partly involved in Robert’s therapy after the latter retired from the army.
Nobody knew how traumatized Robert had been back then better than Greyson.
After another brief silence, Greyson said, “At the risk of bruising your ego, I’d like to point out that he’s a lot more mature than you, even though he’s only eighteen. You just can’t compare him with you. Also, did you know that he’s a good cook? He isn’t one of those people who follows a recipe or puts the ingredients in the oven or microwave, and the food’s ready to go. What he makes is decent Chinese food. I saw how he used the pot so skillfully. Wow. But he told me that was just the basics for a Chinese cook. What could you make when you were eighteen? Heat milk or pizza in the microwave?”
Robert got angry. “Could you make Chinese food when you were eighteen? What else can you make besides your bloody fried bugs?”
Greyson argued, “Fried bugs are very delicious; you just lack the courage to enjoy them. Fine. Putting that aside, I just wanted to tell you that your foster son is different from us. Perhaps he’s a natural-born detective!”
Robert sighed and said, “Alright, then.”
Greyson added, “I’ll keep an eye on him. If possible, I’ll check in on him every couple of months. You can trust me. I’m a professional.”
Robert said, “Alright, you’re the best. But… don’t let anything happen to him.”
After a brief silence, Greyson said, “I won’t.”
At that moment, Luke had already fallen asleep.
The next day, Selina drove Luke to the police department.
Elsa asked casually, “How did it go with your uncle?”
Luke thought for a moment and said, “He’s a smart senior. You can tell him all your worries.”
Elsa glanced at him. “Seriously?” The seniors in her family were all annoying.
Luke nodded with a smile, but secretly added, That is, if he has enough patience for you; otherwise, he’ll just tell you to go to hell.
“How’s it going with Sheerah’s case?” He changed the subject, reluctant to talk about his family anymore.
Elsa wasn’t a nosy person either. She said, “We have some leads, but he’s hiding south of USC. We can’t locate him right now.”
Luke asked, “You’ve found a suspect?”
Elsa gave him a file.