Police Detective Bureau.

Office of the Deputy Director.

"Dong dong..." Luke knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

Luke entered the office and saw Red holding a pot of freshly brewed coffee.

Rhett smiled and said, "Did you come in because of the smell?"

Luke sat next to the sofa, "It would be even better if it can be served with donuts."

Rhett shook his head and poured Luke a cup of coffee with the coffee pot, "Don't tell me you came here specifically for afternoon tea."

Luke took a sip of coffee and said, "It tastes good.

I’m here to report on my work.”

"Is there any progress in the investigation of the two homicide cases?"

"Yes, we found some new clues.

Do you know about the case where the painting was stolen from the Getty Museum?”

"I heard, does it matter?"

“We found out that the murdered police officer James Jauregui rented a warehouse, where we found $200,000 in cash and a floor plan of the Getty Museum, as well as a map of the distribution of security personnel and facilities.

According to his partner, Jauregui has been working part-time as a security guard at the Getty Museum for the past three months.

Now that James Jauregui is dead and a painting has been stolen from the Getty Museum, I suspect there may be some connection."

"Have you found out the source of the $200,000?" Rhett frowned slightly. If it is a bank deposit, it is probably legitimate income, and it is also checked by the tax bureau, but it is hard to tell for the $200,000 in cash.

"No, his fiancée doesn't know about the money either."

Rhett stood up and walked around the office, "Do you think the 200,000 yuan was stolen money?"

Luke said, "It's hard to say."

"There is no one else here. Say whatever you want."

"According to our investigation, James Jauregui and his fiancée decided to get married in the summer of 2023. He wanted to give his fiancée an unforgettable wedding, which required a lot of money.

James Jauregui worked part-time as a security guard at the Getty Museum precisely because he didn't have enough money.

Assuming that James Jauregui had the $200,000 in cash at that time, he would not have to worry about the wedding expenses at all.

Therefore, I guess that the $200,000 was obtained not long ago.

In addition, normal people rarely store $200,000 in cash in a warehouse, which is neither safe nor common sense.

Unless there is something wrong with the money and it cannot be deposited in the bank." Luke paused and continued,

"There are also floor plans and security distribution maps of the Getty Museum stored in his warehouse. These information are very detailed. What does a part-time security guard do with these things?

This evidence raises the suspicion that he may have been in contact with the suspect who robbed the oil painting."

Luke didn't clarify what he said, but Rhett already understood what he meant. James Jauregui was probably one of the suspects in the oil painting theft. He used the convenience of working as a security guard in the museum to obtain the museum's floor plan and drawings.

Security distribution map.

And the $200,000 in cash may have been the stolen money that the robbery gang used to buy him.

Reid said, "Your analysis makes some sense, but James Jauregui was shot dead on the night of the 25th, and the painting was robbed in the early morning of the 30th.

Even if they had internal strife, it should have started after they grabbed the oil painting. Why did the group of suspects kill James Jauregui in advance?"

Luke replied, "This is indeed a doubt, and there is no clear evidence yet, but judging from the clues we have investigated, James Jauregui is by no means an irredeemable person.

I guess that he might have been short of money at first, so he went astray and told the robbery gang about the security situation of the Getty Museum.

As a result, he received US$200,000 in cash, which was enough for his wedding.

At this time, the robbery gang may have made new demands, for example, asking him to participate in the robbery plan, but James Jauregui refused.

He has a fiancée, a stable job, and doesn't want to get into too much trouble.

But once something is done, it is difficult to go back. The robbery gang will not allow anyone to quit midway. In order to avoid leaking the news, it is likely to kill people and silence them.

These are just my analyses, and there is still lack of sufficient evidence."

The killing of a police officer can easily arouse the hatred of other police officers. After the murder of James Jauregui, many people regarded him as a hero who protected the city. However, at this time, negative evidence was found about him, and he may even be the person who robbed the oil painting.

One of the suspects.

You must be careful at this time, otherwise it may cause unnecessary trouble.

Reid said, "Investigate according to your ideas, but don't draw conclusions yet. Don't easily doubt your colleagues before you have enough evidence."

"I see."

Rhett drank the remaining half cup of coffee in one gulp, "I'm going to ask which department is responsible for investigating the oil painting robbery."

…

Southern Precinct, Night Shift Detective Division.

The robbery of the oil painting took place in the Southern Division, and this case was also handled by the Southern Division's night shift detective department.

Luke took Porter to the Southern Branch to learn about the situation.

The person in charge of the reception is still Inspector Davo Galli. Luke took over before, and he was also the one who received the murder of James Jauregui.

After meeting, Porter said hello, "Davao, long time no see."

"Hey, Potter, you're finally back. How does it feel to be in the Robbery and Murder Department?"

Potter smiled, "Believe me, it's super exciting."

Davo shook hands with Porter and said, "Welcome home."

Porter glanced around and sighed, "To be honest, it feels pretty good."

Dave Galli invited the two people into the conference room, "Captain Luke, I heard that you want to know about the Getty Museum oil painting robbery."

"Yes, I suspect that the death of James Jauregui may be related to the painting robbery."

Davo Galli spread his hands, "But when the oil painting robbery occurred, James Jauregui had already been killed. Could it be a mistake?"

Luke said, "According to our understanding, James Jauregui had been working as a part-time security guard at the Getty Museum before he was killed, and we also found some clues related to the robbery in the warehouse he rented.

Judging from the available evidence, his death is likely related to the oil painting robbery.

The purpose of our visit today is to understand the circumstances of the oil painting robbery case and see if there are any common clues between the two cases, which may be helpful in solving the case."

Porter said, "Davao, tell us about the oil painting robbery case. We can exchange clues and intelligence, which will also be helpful to your investigation."

Dave Galli hesitated for a moment and said, "At about 1 a.m. on December 30, the oil painting was transported from the Getty Museum to Henryton Bank. At about 1:30, the transport truck drove to the vicinity of the Poli Building on Fore Street.

A construction sign was placed on the road, and the transport truck stopped.

Subsequently, the car suddenly stalled and the communication equipment of the three security personnel responsible for the transportation also failed.

The transport team members saw two heavily armed nuns approaching from the corner of the street. They also heard the sound of a car and guessed that there might be accomplices.

One of the nuns was carrying a rocket launcher. The glass of the transport vehicle was bulletproof, but it couldn't protect against this big guy.

Then, three transport team members came out of the cab under the threat of four nuns. They opened the back door of the transport vehicle and snatched away ten oil paintings."

Luke asked, "Why do we need to transport it in the early morning? Shouldn't it be transported during the day?"

"It was requested by the Getty Museum. Their museum received a threatening letter some time ago, and someone claimed to steal Van Gogh's oil painting, so they deliberately changed the transportation route and time.

Unexpectedly, I was still targeted by robbers."

"Just now, what did you say was the reason for the car stalling and communication failure?"

"This group of robbers is very professional. They used electromagnetic pulse to cause the car to stall and the transport team members were unable to drive away.

As for the communication failure, they most likely used shielding equipment. The transport team was unable to spread the news that the car had been hijacked, and the police and security company were unable to provide immediate support.

This is why the robbers were able to escape successfully."

"A total of four robbers?"

"Only four of the three transport team members were seen."

"Are any of the four robbers women?"

"I don't know. All four of them were wearing black nun robes and nun masks. It was very dark. In that case, the transport team had no way of distinguishing them."

"Have you found any clues about the robbers?"

Davo Galli shook his head, "Not yet.

They are very cunning. This is definitely not their first time committing a crime. They probably have a criminal background and may have come from other places."

Luke stared at Davo Galli and asked, "Why would the robbers know the route and time of the oil painting transport team?"

"We also want to know and are still investigating."

Luke said, "Can I make a copy of the file?"
To be continued...