HPDBC Chapter 676 Christmas Chapter
Chapter 676 Christmas Chapter
Chapter 676 Christmas
On the afternoon of June 12th.
Today is Christmas Eve, and the streets and alleys of Los Angeles are filled with the joyful atmosphere of Christmas.
While driving, Linda asked her youngest son in the passenger seat, "Jack, haven't you always wanted to spend Christmas at Luke's house?
Now your dream has come true, be happy.”
"Mom, I'm very happy now." The little fat boy replied.
Linda shook her head. “You don’t look happy.”
The little fat man didn't answer and turned his head to look out the window.
"Oh..." Linda sighed softly.
She knew very well why her son was unhappy, probably because he missed someone, so she didn't ask any further questions.
Sometimes I think that their simple love is quite beautiful.
The two drove to the Palisades community.
Linda has always liked this community because of its beautiful environment and beautifully built houses.
Now with Christmas decorations, it is even more beautiful. Every household hangs colorful lights, and there is a strong festive atmosphere.
The car drove into Luke's house and saw Luke and Robert decorating the yard.
Linda parked the car, opened the trunk, and called out, "Jack, get out of the car and move your stuff."
The little fat boy walked over very obediently, carried the things in the trunk of the car out of the garage, and saw Luke and Robert decorating a Christmas tree. "You planted a real Christmas tree in the yard?"
Luke smiled and asked, "Yeah, you like it?"
The little fat boy walked over and touched the branch, "It feels great.
Where's Uncle Val?"
Robert, who was hanging colorful lights, said, "He is working overtime at the supermarket. Today's salary is triple, so he won't be back until later."
The fat boy spread his hands and said, "This is not the Uncle Val I know."
Robert smiled and said, “People always grow up.
Val has made mistakes in the past, but he has been doing well recently.”
Linda walked around the yard and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, you have decorated the yard beautifully, how about I have a dinner party in the yard tonight?
I'll go pack the ingredients."
Luke said, "Mom, I didn't prepare a whole turkey. I just bought some turkey meat, which makes it easier to roast."
Linda said, "Well done, we can't even finish the whole turkey, and I don't want to have to eat turkey again tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
Although this is not very traditional, Robert has no objection, as he prefers his grilled steak to turkey.
The three of them chatted while working, and soon decorated the yard in a joyful atmosphere.
Afterwards, they also went to the kitchen to help Linda prepare Christmas Eve dinner.
Since many ingredients are prepared ahead of time, dinner preparation is not complicated.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, everyone set up a table in the yard. Robert opened a bottle of red wine and started drinking it.
The food for dinner was also coming out of the pot one after another.
Roast turkey, pie, smoked ham, vegetable salad, pan-fried salmon, oyster soup, strawberries, pudding, Christmas cake.
Luke ate a piece of smoked ham and gave a thumbs up. "It tastes great."
Linda clapped her hands, "OK, dinner is ready, why hasn't Val come back yet?"
"No need to wait for that guy." Robert shrugged. "I just called him and he said he was going to spend Christmas with his friends and wouldn't be back today."
"Friends?" Linda frowned. "Is he hanging out with those bad friends again?"
Robert shook his head. "I don't know either. But he has been doing pretty well recently..."
Luke took a sip of red wine and smiled, “Maybe things are not as bad as you think.
Uncle Val is a grown man, he needs some space and freedom."
Robert pressed on, "It sounds like you know something?"
Luke said, "No, we haven't been in touch for a while."
The fat boy took a big bite of the pie and said vaguely, "It's obvious that Val is in love."
"What did you say?" Robert thought he had misheard.
The fat boy swallowed the pie, "Val found a girlfriend."
Linda asked curiously, "How did you know?"
"I saw it." The little fat man recalled, "Last month, Luke took me to a restaurant for dinner. He was dining with a lady at the time."
Robert said, "It's just eating together, that doesn't mean anything, I sometimes eat with female friends."
The fat boy continued, “We went to a couple-themed restaurant.
Apart from Luke and I, almost all the people eating there were couples, and the restaurant was very expensive. No one would go to that kind of restaurant unless they were a couple in love. "
Robert frowned, "How expensive is that restaurant?"
The fat boy said, "Luke and I spent two thousand dollars."
Luke smiled and said, "We two are big eaters, so we can't represent the average consumption level of that restaurant."
Linda glared at the brothers and said unkindly, "Why didn't you ask me to go with you? What kind of romance can you two have?"
Luke explained, "At the time, Jack was in the midst of a breakup and he had always wanted to go to that restaurant with Maggie, so I took him to experience it."
Linda snorted, "Who wouldn't want to go to a restaurant where the average cost per person is a thousand dollars?"
Luke quickly said, “Mom, I’ll ask you out on your birthday.
Just you, please."
"That's more like it." Linda nodded and looked at Robert who was a little dazed. "Didn't Val tell me about this new lady he met?"
"No." Robert shook his head. He didn't object to Val having a girlfriend, but he was a little worried about her spending level...
However, Val was not there, so there was no point in saying anything, so Robert smiled and said, "Don't worry about him, let's eat."
After dinner, the four of them watched TV and played cards.
At around ten o'clock in the evening, Christmas carols were heard outside...
Luke and the other three began to exchange gifts.
Luke bought Robert a watch, Linda a necklace, and the fat boy a Lego brick.
At night, the three of them stayed at Luke's house. His house was big and had enough rooms.
Luke spent two consecutive days on the 25th and 26th, staying with his family, enjoying a leisurely and relaxing time.
May 12, morning.
Luke receives an invitation from Nami Inoue to go on vacation to Malibu Beach.
Malibu Beach is located in the southwest of Los Angeles and is one of the most famous beaches in Los Angeles.
The weather is very good today, with blue sea and sky and a gentle breeze, which is perfect for sunbathing at the beach.
There are many rocky landscapes on the beach, and Luke also saw a Chinese couple taking wedding photos, which added a romantic atmosphere.
Luke was lying on a chair and saw Nami Inoue, who had just changed into a swimsuit and was walking over. She was wearing a sky blue swimsuit, with fair skin, a full chest, a thin waist, and long legs, and had the charm of an oriental beauty.
Inoue Nami sat on the chair next to her, "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas." Luke handed her the orange juice on the table, "I bought this for you."
"Thank you." Inoue Nami took the orange juice, took a sip, and asked, "How was your Christmas?"
“It’s a rare opportunity to spend time with my family, so it’s not bad.
And you? "
"It was good at first, but after a while, it got a little boring."
Luke smiled and said, "So, you asked me to come to the beach today to find some excitement."
"To be precise, I want to dig out some news from you."
"You mean the kidnapping of Henry Lawley?"
"Yes, wasn't this case originally being investigated by the Robbery and Homicide Division? Why was it handed over to the Secret Service?"
"The matter is a bit complicated, and there is a gag order, so the case needs to be kept confidential."
Inoue Nami blinked her big black eyes, "Does that include me?"
Luke smiled, "I really can't say much."
"Then tell me something you can say. Even if it's just some scraps, it will be valuable to us."
Luke groaned for a moment and said, "In fact, before the case was transferred, we had successfully rescued the hostages and the case was basically investigated.
It was only because certain agencies got involved that we had to turn the case over to the Secret Service.”
"So, the Secret Service took the credit for your work?"
Luke said, "I didn't say that."
Inoue Nami's mouth curled up slightly, "Yes, this is what I investigated myself.
Can you tell me how you found the whereabouts of the hostages?"
“The robbers demanded ransom from the hostages’ families. We placed a hidden tracker in the ransom box and tracked down the robbers’ hiding place.
While the robbers were counting their money, we launched an operation, shot them dead, and rescued the hostages.”
Inoue Nami smiled and said, "It's a very exciting operation. Can you tell me more about the details of the investigation?"
Luke thought for a moment and said, "In fact, during the investigation, we received many extortion calls. They all claimed that they knew the whereabouts of the hostages and demanded that the ransom be paid first before informing us of the whereabouts of the hostages."
Inoue Nami asked, "How do we tell whether what they say is true or false?"
"Let them describe some details. If they match, it means they are indeed related to the kidnapping case.
But this is not absolute. For example, we received a ransom call where someone claimed that he saw Henry Lawley being kidnapped. In fact, he only met Henry Lawley and knew the approximate location and time of his kidnapping, but he did not actually see him being kidnapped.
But because the circumstances he provided were similar to those of Henry Lawley’s kidnapping, it could easily mislead the investigation of the case.”
Inoue Nami said gratefully, "Luke, thank you for telling me this.
There is very little reporting on this case in such detail.”
Luke raised his glass of Coke and clinked glasses with hers. "Friends are supposed to help each other, right?"
"You're right." Inoue Nami took a sip of orange juice, her pretty cheeks a little absent-minded, as if she was thinking about how to report tomorrow's news.
Luke changed his posture, lying comfortably in the chair, looking at the swimsuit beauties passing by.
The half-truths he just said were enough for Inoue Nami to write a news article. Sometimes this kind of half-truthful news is more likely to attract the attention of citizens.
Moreover, Luke's words just now also indirectly put the credit on lapd.
As for whether he would be exposed, Luke was not worried at all.
In the past, after a case was solved, the police would hold a press conference for some cases with a greater impact, so reporters did not dare to write anything irresponsibly. If they did, they might be refuted by the police, so in the end, the police’s statement was the main focus.
But this case is different. The case is completely confidential and there will be no public press conference at all. Therefore, what Luke said is the fact.
(End of this chapter)