Chapter 141 Award and Promotion
Selina said, âI forgot. Darling, I know that youâre the best.â
Luke said, âSave that for your mom.â
On their way to the police department, Luke asked Selina how work had been for her recently.
Selina replied that everything was under control, and that she was learning much more here than in Houston.
Donald, her partner, wasnât very remarkable, but he was reliable and barely made any mistakes. He was also familiar with the standard procedures of the Major Crimes Division.
From that point of view, Donald was a great teacher.
Luke was quite satisfied, too. He didnât want Selina to just sit around.
Police officers who just sat around might become public enemy number one.
They soon reached the police department. Selina parked the car, and Luke headed in first.
Luke was the one who bought the car, but Selina had been driving it. Luke had only driven it once, on the day he bought it.
He could say that he had a chauffeur to drive him every day.
Luke entered the bullpen of the Major Crimes Division. Elsa was already there, busy with the paperwork on her table.
Luke grinned inwardly. That was the benefit of not wanting any credit.
In other teams, it was the junior partner who would have to write the report, and the senior partner who would review it.
But since Luke had let go of the credit, there was naturally no need for him to write the report, in case he suddenly changed his mind and decided to claim credit in it.
Luke said hi to Elsa and asked, âWhatâs the arrangement for today? Do we have a new case?â
Elsa nodded her head. âWeâll get going after I deliver this report to Dustin.â
Luke nodded his head.
Ten minutes later, Elsa returned with a pleased look on her face.
Luke teased, âWhat? Did the boss set you up on a date?â
Elsa glared at him and said, âLetâs go.â
They got in their police car in the parking lot. Elsa finally said, âThe boss said that weâll get reward money for Sergeiâs case, even if we did give away the bank robbery case.â
Luke perked up when he heard that. âHow much?â
Elsa replied, âNot very much, two thousand dollars each.â
Luke was excited. âHaha, not bad. Thatâs two weeksâ worth of my wages.â
More importantly, the money was clean and could be used for anything.
In comparison, he didnât dare deposit the money he got from Sergei into his bank account, since he couldnât explain where it came from. He could only use it to pay for his living expenses.
Luke observed Elsa for a moment, then smiled again. âIs there more good news? Just tell me.â
Elsa was somewhat embarrassed, but she couldnât keep it a secret anyway. âActually, the boss said that a few detectives will be promoted as sergeants soon, and itâs likely that Iâll be one of them.â
Luke said with a smile, âLet me congratulate you in advance.â He knew that Elsa had passed the civil service test and had enough experience; all she had needed was an opportunity.
Elsa couldnât hold in her smile anymore. âIt isnât settled yet.â
Luke said, âYou better work harder now. Iâll definitely support you.â
Elsa looked at him and said, âIâll hold you to that.â
Luke chuckled. âIf youâre promoted, youâll be my boss. You can look after me then.â
Elsa said with a bitter smile, âEnough. I think Iâll be the one who needs your help.â
Luke shrugged. âWe should always help each other, because weâre partners, arenât we?â
Elsa looked at him again and nodded solemnly. âYes, we are.â
There was a brief silence in the car. Luke finally changed the topic. âWhatâs the case this time?â
âA man named Kiyoshi died in an apartment on Seaside Avenue. He was an Asian male, 47 years old, and worked as an engineer for a construction company,â said Elsa.
Luke found that odd. âIs he from Japan?â
Elsa said, âYes, but he lives in America. His son is over twenty years old, and lives with Kiyoshiâs ex-wife elsewhere in California.â
Luke asked, âWhat about the details?â
Elsa said, â...Mr. Kiyoshi died a rather miserable death. You can read the file later. It was wilful murder; the victim was cruelly tortured before he was killed.â
Luke frowned. â...Nobodyâs investigating it?â
It sounded like a difficult case, and the murder had probably been carried out by professionals.
That also meant that solving a case like this would be a remarkable achievement. So why was nobody on it?
Elsa glanced at him and said, âDonald was responsible for this case, but he hasnât made much progress in the last few days. Thatâs why the boss gave it to us.â
Luke was lost for words. He had stolen Selinaâs case on the day of his return. He would have to make it up to her by cooking delicious food tonight.
As for Donald? Well, that was Elsaâs problem.
Donald wouldnât bother begrudging Luke at all, since they werenât on the same level.
So, it would be Elsa versus Donald, and Luke versus Selina.
Luke felt that he could handle Selina easily enough, and Elsa obviously didnât consider Donald a big deal, either. She was too formidable a woman to be scared of a gentleman like Donald.
However, after investigating the case for three days themselves, they didnât find any leads. In the end, they had to transfer the case file to the archive room.
Then, it was a peaceful but busy life.
There werenât any major cases, but there were numerous small ones.
With Elsa as his teacher, Luke made swift progress.
After their last conversation, Elsa decided to groom him as her future subordinate, so she often shared tricks with Luke as they worked on cases.
Luke might slip up horribly someday if she didnât share her knowledge with him.
Her know-how was based on her years of experience as an officer; Elsa was only imparting her tricks to Luke as an advance investment.
More importantly, Luke wasnât greedy. He couldnât be, in any case.
He lacked both experience and a college degree, which meant that he didnât pose a threat to Elsa.
Soon, it was Christmas.
Catherine called Luke and asked if he was going home for the holiday.
Luke, however, regretfully said that he couldnât.
As newbies, he and Selina had to stay in Los Angeles during Christmas in the event of an emergency.
If nothing happened, they would be able to celebrate Christmas in peace.
But if something did happen, they would have to deal with the emergency without extra pay.
Every newbie had to go through this.
Catherine was a little disappointed, but Luke suggested that they visit Los Angeles during Christmas so that the family could get together and Claire and Joseph could have some fun.