If it was another detective carrying out the investigation, Sheerah probably wouldn’t say anything in case rumors started to spread.
Luke said, “So, what do you want me to do?”
Elsa said, “Find out why they’re messing around in our district. The best would be if you can capture some of the hoodlums so we can put them in jail for a couple of months to teach them a lesson.”
Luke nodded. “Got it. Have you talked to Sheerah?”
“Yes, I have. If you need any backup, just call me,” said Elsa, who saw that Selina was already eager to get going on the investigation.
Luke nodded. “Of course. You’ve always been the strongest shield that backs us up, boss.”
Elsa said, “Quit playing around and get to work.”
Lost for words, Luke put a paper bag on the desk and said, “I don’t feel happy about giving you my cupcakes now that you’ve said that. We’re leaving. We’ll be in touch.”
After they left, Elsa quickly hid the paper bag in the bottommost drawer of her table.
When Luke brought her cupcakes previously, she didn’t have her own office yet, and her shameless friends stole the cupcakes one after another until there was only one left for her.
She knew better now, and hid the cupcakes well so that she would have something to eat when she was too busy to get proper food.
Giving his boss the cupcakes as a gift wasn’t a big deal for Luke.
After all, it made little difference whether he was baking thirty or fifty cupcakes at a time. It only required ten to fifteen minutes of prep work before he put the cupcakes into the oven.
The ingredients cost even less than fast food, but the cupcakes were certainly priceless for those who didn’t have time to cook.
They certainly couldn’t taste bad, judging by how much Selina praised them.
Of course, Luke had found a myriad of recipes online, and he switched out the flavors every other day in case Selina grew tired of the cupcakes – if she ever would…
Leaving the police department in his car, Luke drove off to Beverly Hills.
He was driving because Selina had to sort through the intelligence and read it to him, sort of like a secretary, so she couldn’t drive.
She also had to contact Sheerah, who was generally too busy to meet anyone without an appointment.
However, they were certain that they would be able to see Sheerah today since Elsa had called her last night.
When they reached Sheerah’s villa, Luke was prepared to show security his officer’s certificate.
Unlike most of the time when he simply flashed his badge, he thought that the certificate would be needed since he was meeting a big star.
As it turned out, he didn’t have to show either one before he was let in.
He was quite surprised. Clearly, the head of security, who had followed Sheerah and Luke around when they examined the villa last time, remembered Luke’s face.
Sheerah welcomed Luke at the door, which made him even more surprised. He wondered why Sheerah was being so friendly.
After they sat down inside, Sheerah couldn’t help but ask, “Is that Bobby guy… alright?”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “Has he been harassing you again?”.
Sheerah shook her head quickly. “Not really. But I haven’t heard anything about him in a long while, so…”
Luke chuckled.
She was clearly uneasy now that the person who had been harassing her regularly had suddenly gone missing.
Of course, it wasn’t like Sheerah was suffering from Stockholm syndrome – she only wanted to know for sure that Bobby was still under Luke’s control.
“I found something for him to do. He’ll be busy for the next couple of days, so don’t worry about him,” said Luke.
Sheerah was immensely relieved, but then realized that she shouldn’t be too obvious about it. She said quickly, “Do you want anything to drink? Coffee? Meryl, please let the detectives know what we have.”
Luke asked, “Do you have green tea? If not, soda water will be fine for me.”
Selina said, “I would like a cup of milk tea or a cappuccino.”
Meryl nodded respectfully and went to the kitchen to prepare the drinks.
Without wasting any time, Luke said, “Miss Sheerah…”
Sheerah raised her hand. “No need to be so polite. You work with Elsa, and you did me a huge favor, so you’re a friend. You can just call me Sheerah.”
Luke nodded and said, “Okay, Sheerah. Let’s focus on business. What’s with those drug dealers? Are you sure that you don’t know them, personally or otherwise?”
Sheerah shook her head quickly. “No, I…”
Hesitating for a long moment, she finally said in a low voice, “Earlier, well, you know that Bobby was really bothering me, right? So…”
Luke interrupted her. “I know. So?”
Sheerah said, “But I really have never been in contact with those WD-36 gangsters before. Elsa told me a thing or two about them, and I’m positive that I’ve never met them before.”
Luke and Selina looked at each other, unconvinced.
Human beings were strange creatures, who often lied unconsciously even though it was unnecessary.
Maybe because they didn’t want to talk about it, or maybe just for the heck of it, they would twist the facts until their memories changed accordingly.
It was also why time was of the essence in an investigation.The longer the delay, the less reliable the memories of important eyewitnesses became.
Thinking for a moment, Luke asked, “Do you have any suspects? I mean, whoever you think might’ve gotten you into this mess, including but not limited to acquaintances, neighbors and friends.”
Sheerah hesitated again. At that moment, Meryl served green tea and a cappuccino. After Meryl left, Sheerah said in an even lower voice, “I suspect that it’s the house over there that attracted them.”
Luke was actually surprised that she did have a suspect.
Keep her voice low, Sheerah said, “I think it’s the place where the daughter of the president of the Tiger Foundation lives.”
Luke and Selina were both astonished.
Luke had told Selina about Katie’s case before, including the minor fuss caused by Jenny, the daughter of the president of the Tiger Foundation.
This was a real life lesson for Selina.