Chapter 1343: Speculation, Dreams

Given how Brad did things, it was hard for him to win Luke’s acknowledgement.

Dustin, who was in the middle, had tried, but Brad had been too focused on returning to New York.

No matter how capable a minor detective in Los Angeles was, there was no need to take him into account.

Luke, on the other hand, politely and decisively refused to get close to Brad. Dustin tried several times, but to no avail.

Neither of them liked the other, which wasn’t something Dustin could resolve on his own.

Dustin confirmed Luke’s suspicions. “Back then, Brad lost because of support from the higher-ups. The person whose side he was on didn’t become the mayor of New York. Otherwise, he would’ve long become commissioner or even a politician.”

He smiled self-deprecatingly. “I’ve always thought that it was a good thing for my old boss to have such ambitions, but when I was the one whose interests were sacrificed, I realized that I wasn’t that unaffected.”

Luke didn’t think much of it. “You’re not his father. If his father might not be willing to give him money all the time, how can you always let him have his way?”

Like him and Dustin, weren’t they in the same boat? Nothing in the world was simple.

If Dustin was someone who would sacrifice Luke’s interests for his own personal needs, Luke would also fall out with him.

It wasn’t that he would feel sorry about losing out on the benefits, but if he followed a boss who only cared about himself, he would be pushed out as a scapegoat sooner or later.

Dustin shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. It’s just…”

He was silent for a long while before he said in a low voice, “Maybe he wants to prove himself too much.”

Luke didn’t say anything.

He had helped Dustin because Dustin was sincere when dealing with Luke.

Brad was a high and mighty figure who didn’t even bother to look at the young detective. What ambitions he had had nothing to do with him!

Dustin knew what Luke’s position was, so he skipped over this and continued, “Brad has changed a lot. If this was a year ago, he might not have taken the risk. However, he’s still 50-50 against Nelson. He’s already lost once in the competition for the position of Chief of Department a few years ago. He can’t afford to lose the position of commissioner.”

Luke understood what Dustin was doing.

He wasn’t trying to excuse Brad, but was analyzing the possibility of Brad framing him.

Brad was also very impulsive.

Brad, who had been Nelson’s rival for more than ten years, was completely capable of setting him up.

The person who would benefit the most from Nelson’s bad luck was Brad.

Brad had motive and the means, and a lot to gain from the results.

In the eyes of Dustin and Luke, these two old detectives, it was more than 80% likely that Brad was behind this.

They didn’t need evidence or investigation to come to this most likely conclusion.

Luke asked, “What are you going to do?”

Dustin shook his head. “Nothing. When Brad takes action, he won’t leave any evidence behind. Actually, there’s no need for evidence. In any case, the Soderbergs won’t let him climb the ladder.”

“Then let’s just watch silently.” Luke clinked beer bottles with Dustin.

…

That night, Luke took a cab with Dustin and Jennifer.

Looking at the driver who greeted Luke with a fist bump, Dustin smiled. “You two really know each other.”

Bell looked at him and shrugged. “Can’t he have a black friend?”

Dustin was unmoved. He shook his head and kept smiling. “Generally speaking, most of the ‘acquaintances’ he mentions are people he detains.”

Bell: …

She couldn’t say anything to that.

Based on her illegal car modifications, speeding, and so on, she was qualified for several years of jail time.

Luke was amused. “Boss, she’s my friend. She helped John last time.”

Dustin nodded with a smile. He took out a card from his pocket and slipped it into the cash tray. “Contact me if you need anything in the future.”

This time, Bell didn’t smile cheekily. Pleased, she took the card and put it away. “Thank you very much, Mr. Bieber.”

This card only had Mr. Bieber’s name and a phone number on it.

She now had another “backer” in NYPD, and it was Luke’s boss.

For someone who loved racing when she had nothing to do, it wasn’t bad to have more supporters. What if NYPD made off with her car one day?

When Luke was dropped off first, he hinted to Bell that on no account should she charge Dustin a “daily” cab fee.

Bell gave him a “do you think I’m a pig” look.

Only an idiot would extort money from Luke’s boss.

Just because the Detective Bureau was usually in charge of major cases and homicides didn’t mean that they didn’t have the authority to issue tickets.

Luke waved goodbye with a smile, but mumbled inwardly, Who the hell knows if you’ll go crazy! You wanted to charge John 500 during the explosions last time. Do you think that Officer John is someone easy to deal with?

If it wasn’t for Bell’s excellent driving skills and her help, John would’ve slapped her with a fine.

Couldn’t find her? As if.

The only reason someone couldn’t be found was because they weren’t a target.

Who the hell knew which yellow cab was hers, out of the tens of thousands in New York?

But John had seen her face, and with a sketch and the label of “suspect,” Bell would be “caught” in less than three days.

After seeing Dustin and Jennifer off, Luke entered the house.

His 20th birthday passed peacefully.

…

In the next few days, Luke remained busy with his own plans.

First of all, he personally arranged everything for Carter Slade.

After questioning the old man, he chose a remote, abandoned church on Staten Island.

After buying the church under an alias and repairing it, it became the old man’s new home.

As for how he was going to cross the water in an emergency situation, the old man simply retorted lightly, “How do you know that my horse can’t run over water?”

Luke was stunned. “Can it?”

“As long as I need it to.”

Luke: …B*stard! He wasn’t expecting that!

Fine, let him posture. In any case, Luke wasn’t a jealous person.

However, when he thought about riding a black horse with flaming ears, nose, and hooves, galloping over water like it was flat land, he felt inexplicably moved!

This was completely different from wearing a suit and soaring through the sky; it was another type of thrill.

How about… he asked Carter Slade to let him try riding Little Black? But while the old man looked gentle, he was very stubborn. Luke had tied Little Black up twice, and the horse didn’t like him.

But one always had to have a dream. Who knew when it might come true!

In any case, it was Scapegoat King Big Dipper doing all this, not Batman; he could be as shameless as he wanted.

In this world, how could he be a scapegoat if he had any shame?