After Riken had finished his statement, Xiao He escorted him out of the office.

Luke recalled the contents of the statement and instructed Matthew, who was beside him, "Check his flight information and verify his alibi."

"Understood," Matthew replied.

"Do you think there's a problem with him?" the deputy chief asked.

"No, he seemed normal, just confirming," said Luke, who had not detected any signs of lying in the man.

But recently, the success rate of micro-expression analysis had not been high. To be on the safe side, it was best to rely on evidence.

To put it simply, micro-expression analysis is a useful investigative approach that can quickly and effectively detect lies. However, its accuracy could never be 100 percent.

Skill was ultimately just a tool, and its actual effectiveness depended on the user's ability.

After Xiao He returned to the office, Luke began assigning tasks.

As Helson's legal heir, Riken had a motive for the crime. Before taking the statement, the police also considered him a key suspect.

Whether his statement was credible was not yet entirely certain.

There were two possibilities. First, if the statement was not credible, and he had lied, then he was the murderer.

In this scenario, Luke had Matthew check his flight information to confirm whether there was an alibi. If there was an alibi, then he was not the killer.

Of course, it was also possible that he had hired someone to commit the murder—this aspect needed to be investigated as well.

The second possibility was that Riken's statement was credible, he had not lied, and he was not the murderer.

Then, the clues he provided were particularly important. The police investigation would focus on these clues.

After organizing his thoughts, Luke instructed,

"Matthew, check whether there are any issues with Riken's financial situation, any large transactions?"

"Received."

"Deputy chief, Marcus, you two are responsible for investigating Helson's contacts in his phone."

"Raymond, Jenny, you go to Helson's workplace and look for someone named Henry."

"Jackson and I will go to Helson's home community for investigation."

"Captain, weren't I supposed to gather evidence to close the case?" Jackson asked.

"No rush, you can do it overtime," Luke responded.

Jackson "..."

...

Subsequently, Luke and Jackson headed to the Soka Community.

As they drove past Helson's house, Luke lowered the car window, instinctively observing the surroundings of Helson's house, as some criminals have the habit of returning to the crime scene.

Luke did not spot any suspicious individuals, but he did see a television station's vehicle.

He wasn't too surprised, given the commotion last night had disturbed the entire community, and it was normal for reporters to be conducting interviews.

The car pulled into the community service station, where Luke requested a list of the community residents.

He checked the names of the community members and did not find anyone named Henry.

"Captain, where do we investigate now?"

While investigating, Luke also kept an eye on the chatter in the chat group. Raymond and Jenny had gone to Helson's company for investigation, the deputy chief and Xiao He were checking Helson's mobile number, and he had just checked the community residents, yet none had found a person likely named Henry.

"Let's head to a nearby bar," Luke decided.

Jackson seemed surprised, "It's only just past five, isn't it early to go to a bar?"

"We're not going there to drink, we're going to investigate. Helson's work circles, community circles, and contacts are all under investigation. The only thing we haven't investigated is his circle of friends who share his interests.

As his brother Riken said, the only interest Helson really had was in drinking.

So it's highly likely his friends with similar interests would be at the bar," Luke explained.

Jackson nodded, "That's a good deduction."

...

Two miles from Soka Community.

Melson Bar.

The bar had a modern design, beautifully decorated, with a Caucasian bartender in his thirties standing behind the bar wiping glasses.

There weren't many customers in the bar, just a few tables scattered around.

Luke and Jackson walked into the bar one after the other.

The bartender put down his glass, "What would you like to drink?"

"A cocktail," Luke ordered.

"Same for me," said Jackson.

As the bartender mixed the drinks, he said with a smile, "You have good taste, my cocktails are ranked second in the entire city of Los Angeles."

Luke joked, "That list must be arranged by your boss."

"No, it was set by my dad," the bartender replied.

Jackson curiously asked, "Then who's ranked first?"

"My mom, haha."

Jackson "..."

"I suddenly feel like drinking a beer. Can you swap mine for a beer, thanks?" Luke had no further expectations.

After receiving his beer, Luke took a sip—mediocre.

Jackson also took a sip of his newly mixed cocktail, his expression somewhat odd.

Luke set down his glass and asked, "How does it taste?"

"Uh... it's very... unique," Jackson replied.

"Be smarter next time," seeing his expression, Luke couldn't help but laugh.

Jackson picked up the cocktail glass, "Captain, I'll go chat with some of the customers over there."

Luke raised his glass in a toast, "Good luck."

"You too," Jackson said, taking his cocktail glass with him.

Luke guessed he wouldn't drink that cocktail again.

Luke took another sip of beer, finding it much tastier than before, then he addressed the bartender, "Buddy, can I ask about someone?"

"Who?" the bartender responded.

"He lives in Soka Community, named Helson Swiney."

"Who are you, and why are you looking for him?" the bartender asked.

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