"Yes, he was an employee of my company, very responsible. I always had high hopes for him, but unfortunately, he disappeared a while ago."

"What do you think about his disappearance?"

"It's regrettable."

"But according to Soster, you instructed him to kill Jacob Johnston."

"He's lying."

Luke stared at Muriel Baldini's expression and asked again, "Did you instruct Soster to kill Jacob Johnston?"

"No." Muriel Baldini spoke with certainty.

Luke still saw no sign of lying on her face.

Strange.

How does this woman manage her facial expressions?

Or perhaps, she is truly innocent.

No, that can't be right. After bringing it to the FBI, Luke also saw Soster's interrogation from the observation room; Soster didn't show signs of lying either.

The statements of the two were completely different, one of them had to be lying, and from the evidence available, Soster's words seem more credible.

Muriel Baldini sighed, "Captain Li, I don't know what happened... but I feel very disappointed and sad...

I can't believe you would doubt me. Why?

I am the victim in this case; it was the robbers who kidnapped me and strapped a bomb on me...

Officer Jenny, you were there; you know how scared and helpless I was...

Why are you targeting me now, and even falsely accusing me of instructing the robber to kill someone?

This is terrifying.

It's even more terrifying than having a bomb strapped to me."

I've always trusted the Los Angeles Police Department, and I can't believe you would do something so absurd.

I want to see your chief."

Luke laughed, "Mrs. Baldini, you have quite a way with words."

"Everything I said is true, you have wronged me; would you rather believe the words of a robber over me?"

"We only believe in evidence." Luke took out a recorder, pressed the play button, and Soster's voice sounded,

"Madam, what can I do for you?"

A moment later, a woman's voice responded, unmistakably Muriel Baldini's, "I need you to do something."

"What is it?"

"The person in the photo is Jacob Johnston, an employee of my company. He has gathered some damaging information on the company. He intends to use this information to threaten me and do something unfavorable to the company.

I hope you can retrieve those documents, and then make him keep quiet."

"Kill him?"

"Don't make it a big deal, don't affect the company, don't implicate me, and upon completion, I will give you two million US dollars in cash."

Luke turned off the recorder, "Mrs. Baldini, this is only part of the recording, Soster was careful, every time you instructed him to do something, he kept some evidence.

As a repeat offender, he knows exactly which charges could implicate you."

Muriel Baldini's cheeks twitched irregularly, "I want to see a lawyer."

"It seems you are unwilling to cooperate with the police, so we can only lean more towards adopting Soster's testimony. According to him, you not only instructed him to kill Jacob Johnston but also to rob the North Hollywood Bank and even to plant a bomb that killed an FBI agent."

"I did not instruct him to do those things; he is lying.

I want to see a lawyer."

"Mrs. Baldini, a lawyer can guarantee your legal rights but cannot clean up illegal acts.

Take this case, for instance; we initially thought Soster was the mastermind and didn't know you were involved in the case.

Your acting was good enough to deceive the officers handling the case.

Aren't you curious why we started investigating you?"

"Although I have nothing to do with this case, I indeed want to know why you suspect me?"

"Bern Wolf."

"Soster's lawyer?" Muriel Baldini blurted out.

"Exactly, he voluntarily surrendered to the police, explained your relationship with Soster, and that's how we learned that there was someone else behind the scenes.

Lawyers aren't as reliable as you think. While you might think he was helping you, he could also be harming you."

"Why would Bern Wolf betray us?"

"You played too big, daring to kill an FBI agent. As a promising lawyer, he didn't need to muddle through this with you.

We offered him an immunity deal, he confessed everything, including the shady dealings at your company.

As of now, you have no more secrets from the police.

You wouldn't just need a lawyer; even a team of lawyers wouldn't suffice.

We will put all the evidence in court, and the jury will immediately convict you."

"That damn scoundrel, after taking so much money from me..." Muriel Baldini wiped the sweat from her forehead, unaware that her back was totally soaked.

Luke's words sent shivers down her spine and made her break out in a cold sweat.

Contrarily, Jackson in the observation room had a different reaction. It was he who discovered the behind-the-scenes clue, but hearing it from Luke, it seemed like the lawyer deserved all the credit.

However, he could understand Luke's thinking; probably, he wanted to shake Muriel Baldini's trust in her lawyer.

If she really hired a lawyer, the case could be delayed further.

Now, it seemed the approach was effective, as Muriel Baldini had stopped mentioning seeing a lawyer.

Luke continued to press, "Soster and Bern Wolf are willing to implicate you. According to their testimonies, all the crimes were instructed by you.

Mrs. Baldini, you are in a passive position now. If you are unwilling to speak, we will proceed based on their testimonies, and the consequences will be very unfavorable for you."

Muriel Baldini slowly said, "I did not instruct Soster to rob the bank. He messed up the situation himself and had to rob the bank to retrieve the documents; I learned about it afterward. The bank robbery had nothing to do with me.

I also did not instruct him to kill the FBI agent; he didn't even tell me about it. If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known until now.

He's absolutely crazy."

Luke said, "Do you admit to instructing Soster to kill Jacob Johnston?"

"No, I didn't tell him to kill anyone, just to retrieve the documents and perhaps intimidate the man a little to keep him quiet, that's all.

I wanted to solve the problem, but Soster blew it out of proportion.

He lost control."

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