Captain Blake nodded before addressing Hunter. ‘You said you talked to the neighbors, right?
‘Last night,’ Hunter confirmed.
‘Anybody had anything else to say other than Mr. Daniels didn’t seem to be dating anyone?’
‘Well…’ The reply came from Garcia. ‘Despite him residing in the same address for almost six years, no one really seemed to know Mr. Daniels well enough to be able to express an opinion on his character. Most of the neighbors said that every now and then they would see him leaving his apartment early in the morning then coming back in the evening… sometimes late evenings, but nothing really out of the ordinary. They all said that he was always polite enough every time they crossed paths – good morning, good evening, good night, that kind of polite – but that was about it. He didn’t talk much and no one seemed to have ever really engaged him in a long conversation. According to everyone we spoke to, and this includes his landlord, Mr. Daniels was a good and quiet resident – no loud music, no parties, no noise… nothing. And no one remembers ever seeing any visitors coming or going from his apartment.’
‘Your perfect inconspicuous resident,’ Captain Blake commented.
‘Pretty much,’ Garcia agreed. ‘Which in itself makes him conspicuous.’
‘The lady who lives in the apartment directly under his,’ Hunter added, ‘Mrs. Cross, said that Mr. Daniels was a kind man.’
‘Kind as in?’
‘He fixed a couple of leaks in her bathroom and sorted out her kitchen plumbing free of charge.’
‘That’s nice of him,’ Captain Blake commented. ‘Were they sleeping together, maybe? Could that have been a factor?’
‘No.’ Hunter and Garcia shook their heads at the same time.
‘Mrs. Cross is eighty-one years old,’ Hunter clarified. ‘She said that he told her that she reminded him of his mother.’
Captain Blake raised both of her hands to halt her detectives.‘So, according to his file – no drugs, no theft, no gambling… nothing except a few fights here and there and driving under the influence?’
Garcia nodded.
‘How about any gang affiliations? Maybe something from earlier in his life?’
‘Nothing in the file,’ Hunter replied.
Captain Blake faced the picture board once again. ‘Any chance of him being a low-maintenance gambler, or an occasional drug user – you know, something that ran just under the radar?’ Her eyebrows lifted at Hunter. ‘Because we all know that in America, especially in LA, people will still get whacked for owing a hundred bucks just the same as they would for owing millions.’
‘Maybe so,’ Hunter agreed. ‘But he wasn’t just murdered, Captain. He was tortured… for a month. People just don’t go through that much effort for small debts.’
‘That’s true.’
‘Or maybe it could be something else entirely.’ Garcia jumped in.
‘Like what else?’ the captain pushed.
‘Money laundering. People can definitely get whacked for money laundering.’
Hunter nodded. ‘There is that possibility.’
‘We’re having Special Crimes take a look at his company’s books and bank accounts,’ Garcia continued. ‘A lot of these “one-man companies” are used for money laundering for smaller criminals. The “one-man” company takes on a big job, which really isn’t big at all, overcharges, takes a nice cut, and returns the rest to the client via some other bogus transaction.’
Captain Blake turned to look at the photos on the board one last time. ‘Well, if it turns out that he was involved with some sort of organized crime, doing some of their money laundering for them, we’re turning this over to the FBI in a heartbeat. That’snot our fight. If you find out that he was linked to drugs and that what happened to him was some sort of payback due to a drug debt, no matter how small…’ Captain Blake shrugged. ‘Also not our fight. His file goes straight to the DEA. We’re not taking on other agencies’ investigations.’
Neither detective objected to Captain Blake’s decision.
‘But until then,’ she continued. ‘What do we have to go on?’
‘Not much,’ Hunter informed her. ‘But his last credit card transaction dates back to the evening of May 18th – same date as his last cellphone communication.’
‘And where did it flag up?’
‘A drinking den in Lomita called O’Hearn’s Bar and Grill,’ Hunter replied. ‘Not that far from his apartment. His last transaction came at 10:41 p.m.’ Hunter returned to his desk and picked up a copy of Shaun Daniels’s credit card statement. ‘The good thing here is that Mr. Daniels had recurring transactions at that same bar several times during that week and practically every week prior to it.’
