The World of American Drama: From the Los Angeles Patrol

Chapter 1101 The smile won’t disappear
A coffin was overturned on the red carpet in the middle of the hall, and two corpses were lying next to the coffin.

The male corpse was obviously the Mr. Mank mentioned by Esposito. He was a white man in his seventies or eighties. He was well dressed and had light makeup applied by an undertaker on his face. He looked in good spirits.

The small black hat on the back of his head indicated the religion he believed in.

The female corpse he was pressing on was obviously still in a state of rigor mortis. Her face was blue and purple, and she was wearing a long floral dress, the kind of pretty outfit she would wear to a date tonight.

Cassel looked around the scene with a puzzled look on his face.

"Am I the only one who noticed this? It seems like Mr. Mank is smiling happily."

Beckett stepped on his foot without making a sound, and Jack simply distanced himself from him. He swore that he would never stop this bastard from being beaten up by his family members.

He walked over to Lannie Parrish who was examining the body and said hello to her. The black beauty forensic doctor's outfit was the most comfortable among all the black girls Jack knew.

Although she occasionally has small dreadlocks, she appears with smooth long hair most of the time, and wears light makeup for social purposes, and never puts on makeup to make herself look weird.

"Hi, Jack, long time no see. You look even more handsome now." Lanny took off her gloves, took the bear claw bread handed to her by Jack, and smiled happily.

Jack knew that the female medical examiner didn't like coffee, so he brought her some extra bread from the morning.

"You too, have you got a new boyfriend? You look good."

Jack said this casually, but he found that Lanny's eyes involuntarily met with Esposito next to her, so he coughed to cover it up and forced to change the subject.

"The deceased is Dr. Valerie Monroe, attending physician in internal medicine at the county hospital."

Jack looked at Esposito suspiciously, who was scratching his head and forcing himself not to look over here again.

Beckett didn't notice the little interaction between the two people, and had already entered the investigation mode. "Is she a doctor? Is she related to the deceased?"

"Kevin is recording the statements of the family members. We will know soon." Esposito pointed to the old woman sitting on a chair nearby and his partner who was squatting in front of her with a small notebook in his hand.

"Cause of death?" Beckett continued.

"Liver failure. The old man drinks like a fish." The old lady with the bouffant hair style that was popular in the mid-20th century has a very sharp ear.

"I don't know the girl, but I'm sure no one would commit suicide for my husband. He only likes to hook up with people older than him."

"Thank you for the clue." Beckett held back his smile as he thanked the old woman who had the potential to live past a hundred.

"Oh, that's right. Maybe we already know the cause of Mr. Mank's death." Lanny was also trying hard to hold back her smile, "but the cause of death of this doctor is a mystery. There were no signs of gunshot wounds, stabbing wounds, or any signs of binding."

She temporarily handed the bear claw bread that she had bitten twice back to Jack, put on gloves and lifted up the hair of the woman's body, "There is a bruise on the back of her head, but it is not serious enough to be fatal.

Judging from the livor mortis and liver temperature, she died between 7 and 9 last night, but the exact cause of death can only be determined after I perform an autopsy."

"So it's obvious that someone wanted to get rid of the body in this way, along with her cell phone and wallet." Beckett's eyes swept over the woman's handbag next to the body.

Cassel couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "The guy who did this is so smart. He actually thought of hiding the body in a coffin that already contained a deceased person. He specifically chose a Satay because according to their tradition, the coffin will not be opened after the body is buried. If it wasn't for the accident when carrying the coffin, this doctor would have disappeared forever."

Beckett checked the time on his watch and ordered, "Talk to the funeral director and find out who has had access to the coffin in the past 12 hours."

So everyone started to busy themselves. Esposito went to question the funeral director, Kevin stayed at the scene to continue taking statements, and Beckett went back to the police station to call the hospital where the deceased worked.

Forensic pathologist Lannie continued to stay at the scene to collect evidence while waiting for the forensic team to come and take pictures and carry the body back to her office.

As for Jack and Cassel, of course they went to the Chinese restaurant they had booked in advance to have brunch and bring some takeout for Beckett.

"The girls around you are all very young. Can you tell me why my daughter wants this in particular?"

After finishing a serving of steamed river eel with fermented black beans with rice with satisfaction, Cassel wiped his mouth with a napkin and took out his cell phone to show Jack the photo.

In the photo, Alexis is wearing a dress, holding a helmet, and posing on a scooter. She looks cute.

Jack glanced at the photo and continued to slowly eat the grilled crucian carp with green onions that was full of thorns.

"Are you talking about the motorcycle helmet in the style of the Manloda helmet or the Vespa scooter she was riding on?"

The Vespa motorcycle is the small scooter that Gregory Peck took Audrey Hepburn on through the streets of Rome in the movie "Roman Holiday".

If we talk about hype, it has to be Europeans. The Italians have turned a scooter into a synonym for art and elegance.

The Vespa scooter originally looked like this:
After the Roman Holiday became a big hit, it became like this:

Okay, this is just a joke, but the average price of such a small thing at $5000 is indeed full of brand premium. You should know that the electric tricycles sold all over North America from the town of Maggrave are only $3000 each.

"Shouldn't you ask Detective Beckett this question? I remember she said she had a 1994 Harley Softail. Didn't you see her riding on that big thing in tight black leather pants?"

Jack's words gave Cassel a burst of reverie, and then the beautiful scenery in his mind was quickly replaced by the image of his own lovely daughter, which made him shudder.

"Damn, you're not trying to say Alexis is entering a rebellious phase, are you?"

"What do you think? Judging from her age, she should have entered the rebellious stage a long time ago." Jack shrugged and deliberately frightened him, "Be careful, I heard that the more obedient a girl is, the more serious the situation will be."

So until the two of them walked into the detective's office of the 12th Precinct of the NYPD, Cassel still looked worried and anxious, and even Beckett noticed that something was wrong with him.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

Jack repeated the previous conversation between the two with a smirk. The same principle still existed: the smile would not disappear, it would only transfer from one person's face to another.

He had completely recovered from the bad mood caused by the threats he had suffered last night.

(End of this chapter)