197: Barbecue and Night Talk

Barbecue and Night Talk

Luke also had a bit of fun looking up the information which the Las Vegas Forensics Center had on Old Greyson while he was at it.2

Since he was going over, he would have to pay his uncle a visit, and gifts were a must.

The gifts should be thoughtful instead of expensive. After all, Old Greyson wasn't really short on money.

As one of the best specialists in his trade, he charged thousands of dollars for commercial services, on top of his annual work salary.

Old Greyson's real interest was in entomology, but Luke didn't know anything about insects. He could only give it up.

Checking files and flipping the meat over, Luke waited until half past eight before Selina got back.

"You're pretty late. Do you always get back so late?" asked Luke.

Selina was exhausted but happy. "Let's talk about that later. I bought the things you wanted."

Luke was speechless. "If you had told me that you were busy, I would've gone shopping myself. There isn't much for me to work with tonight. I guess we'll just have grilled meat today."

Selina wasn't displeased at all. She lifted the cover of the grill in delight, only to be stopped by Luke. "Wash your hands first."

Selina immediately rushed back into the house.

By the time she returned with clean hands, Luke had sliced up the meat.

The meat was greasy and fragrant, and right up a meat-lover's alley.

Next to the meat was a plate of roasted vegetables.

Luke was born in Sichuan in his previous life, and Sichuan people barbecued everything.

It wasn't just meat; they also roasted chives, cabbages, eggplants, cucumbers, potatoes, carrots and many other vegetables.

Of course, Luke didn't have that many vegetables on hand. He simply roasted an eggplant.

After he cut the eggplant in half, he covered it with onion, garlic and pepper. The food smelled great.

Selina was indeed a foodie who liked all sorts of food. Enjoying her meal, she said, "Darling, it tastes really good. Let's have this three times a week, shall we?"

Luke said, "I can make this for you if you're fine with holding your butt together when you go to work every day."

Selina was surprised. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Luke said, "Eating too many roasted vegetables is like when you have too much jalapeno."

Selina immediately chickened out.

Her parents were Mexicans and liked making Mexican food, but she was born and raised in America, and wasn't as used to spicy food as actual Mexicans.

The Mexicans had developed two of the top ten most horrifying peppers in the world.

She had no intention of testing her tolerance – she still remembered her experience the last time, when it felt like she was discharging glass pieces whenever she went to the toilet.

After enjoying the barbecue, Luke cleaned the grill and the table, and Selina collapsed in a chair once again.

But it was already past nine. Luke certainly couldn't let her lie in the backyard like that for half an hour. He could only drag her back into the living room.

Then, Luke made her a pot of hot cocoa. She wouldn't put on weight anyway.

Selina was so comfortable that she could barely keep her eyes open.

Luke asked, "How have you been? Very busy?"

Selina snorted lazily. "A little bit. Donald gave me a lot of things to do."

Luke asked, "Such as?"

Selina said, "Reading files and analyzing intelligence. I have to write reports, too. So, I have to work late a lot."

Luke wasn't surprised. That was how newcomers were usually treated.

He could be willful because he had forfeited credit for his contributions so far. Selina certainly didn't have that option.

He thought for a moment before he asked, "Did you learn anything?"

Selina said, "Rub my belly and help me digest my dinner, and I'll tell you."

Luke was lost for words. "If you're so full, why did you fight me for food just now?"

However, he did as he was told.

He had been away for more than ten days, and she had been all alone here with no friends or family, just work.

Her superior was a middle-aged black man who didn't have much in common with her. It was only reasonable that she was bummed out.

Rubbing her slightly bulging belly slowly and gently, Luke continued, "You can speak now."

Selina took a deep breath of relief. "Well, I think I've learned a lot of things. However…"

Luke asked, "However what?"

Selina thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Donald's only a so-so detective. I've picked up his methods. He barely makes mistakes, but he also wastes a lot of time."

Luke nodded his head. "That actually isn't a bad thing. If you were working with Elsa, you might make progress more quickly, but you would've overlooked many details. Donald is slower, but it's not bad for you since you'll be able to keep up with him all the time."

Selina nodded her head, then shook it. "We've been working on a case for a week, but I think we'll probably drop it in a day or two if we still don't get any results."

Luke asked curiously, "What case?"

"The death of a college girl." Selina said, "There's no evidence of a homicide, and it looks like an accidental drug overdose. But somehow I feel that it's more complicated than that."

Luke asked, "Where did it happen?"

Selina said, "She died in an apartment in our jurisdiction, but she's from USC. Also, she wasn't living in that apartment; the tenant is another woman who's gone missing."

Luke immediately knew that there wouldn't be any outcome for this case.

The two people involved were dead and missing respectively. Without more clues, the case would soon be deemed an accidental drug overdose, and thrown into the archive room.

If it were Elsa and Luke who were responsible for the case, they would've given up after three to five days without any leads.

There were too many such cases to investigate.

Luke could only shake his head. "I don't think there's anything else you can do. Just drop it if you can't find any leads."

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