Chapter 392: A Has-Been Boxing Champion (1/2)

Chapter 392: A Has-Been Boxing Champion

Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li did his best to control his fear and panic, and tried to calm down as he stared at the scary looking police officers from the back of the police cruiser.

They must have caught the wrong person. I need to make things clear to them; if that doesn't work, I can still seek help from the Chinese embassy, Dai Li thought.

The police cruiser brought Dai Li to the police station, and he was placed inside an interrogation room.

”Name?”

”Dai Li.”

”Job?”

”Coach.”

”Why were you in the restaurant?”

”To eat lunch!”

”What's your relationship with Chris Payton?”

”I'm his boss. I've opened a physical fitness training center. I'm the owner, and Chris is a coach.”

After a few bouts of questioning and answering, things seemed to have cleared up. A boss was eating lunch with his staff, and then he was unfortunately dragged into the police station.

The officer took the recorded statement and went to Tucker.

”Boss, we might have caught the wrong person. According to the Chinese guy, he has no connection with the triad of Chinatown, he is just a fitness coach. He opened a physical fitness training center in Los Angeles. He's not even an American citizen, he's just holding an investment visa,” the officer stated.

Caught the wrong person? Tucker scratched his head, but his heart felt a little depressed. Catching the wrong person was considered a mistake for any police officer, so it wasn't a good feeling.

”Go and check out the Chinese guy's story. We can't rule out the possibility that he's related to the underworld,” Sergeant Tucker commanded.

”What about the man himself? He is currently in the interrogation room, do we lock him up?” the officer asked.

”Put him in the holding cell first.” Sergeant Tucker thought for a second and commanded, ”That's right, don't put him in the same cell as that bastard, give him the other room. He's not an American after all; if we can't find any proof of him committing a crime, we should let him go. I want him to leave the police station in one piece, I have no intention of dealing with the people from the embassy.”

...

Dai Li was put in a single room. A Chinese officer even gave Dai Li an old magazine to help him pass the time.

From this, it could be said that Dai Li was treated decently. At least in a single room holding cell, he was not locked up with other criminals.

The one thing large cities in the US didn't lack was criminals. Safety was an issue in most large cities in the US, as there were a lot of slums and vagrants in large cities, which were all sources of unease. In contrast, rural areas tended to be much safer.

It was especially apparent in a large city like Los Angeles, where it was rare that there was an empty holding cell at the police station. The crime rate was high, and many suspects were brought in for theft, fights, or vandalism; however, in truth, their real identities might be that of desperados such as murderers, arms dealers, or drug dealers. If one were locked together with these people, even if it were only for a few hours, it would be extremely rough, and one might also get violated sexually if he had terrible luck.

So, Dai Li staying in a single holding cell was more like protection, saving him from the harassment of the other criminals.

On the other side, Sergeant Tucker was questioning Chris Payton.

”You better tell me where your father and your two brothers are right now.” Tucker glared dangerously at Payton.

Payton nodded his head and said his address.

”Are you messing with me? If we could find your father and two brothers at your home, do you think we would come to catch you?” Tucker lashed at Payton in a deep voice.

Payton however, looked very calm. He grew up in a family of gangsters, so he was used to situations like this. It wasn't his first time at a police station.

Payton shrugged his shoulders and said, ”If you can't find them at our home, then I don't know where they are. The last time I saw them was during Christmas last year. Even if we met, they wouldn't tell me what they were doing.”

”You don't know what the infamous Payton family of Los Angeles is doing?” Sergeant Tucker obviously did not believe this answer.

”I don't know.” Payton shook his head seriously. ”I rent my own place, and I don't go home. You can investigate this.”

Just as Tucker was about to speak, a subordinate police officer of his knocked on the door before barging in.

”Boss, we've just caught a person, you should go check it out!” the officer said.

”We catch people every day. You should follow procedure and process it yourself. I'm here questioning a suspect,” Tucker said impatiently.

”Boss, this person is special, you better come and personally have a look,” the officer said.

”Fine.” Tucker sighed weakly and left the interrogation room.

A well-built black man lay on a bench outside. His face couldn't be seen as he lay there, but he smelled of alcohol, and he seemed only semiconscious as fresh blood dripped from his dangling arms.

”Is this man injured? Help him stop his bleeding first. Don't dirty our floor,” Sergeant Tucker said.

”That isn't his blood, it's the blood of the injured person. He broke his opponent's nose bridge in one punch. That injured person fainted on the spot, and has already been sent to the hospital,” the officer explained.

”Then what's his problem? He was knocked unconscious? Or is he drunk?” Tucker continued asking.

”He's drunk,” the officer answered.

”It's not even dark yet, and he's already this drunk. He's even punched someone,” Tucker said with a face full of disgust.

”Apart from that, he's also smoked marijuana. When we caught him, he was in a state of confusion,” an officer on his other side added.

”It's just marijuana, a lot of high school students use it. Our own state senators actually legalized the stuff for six billion dollars a year! Those idiots. Don't they know that this will increase the rate of crime!”

Tucker was filled with anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before saying, ”If we can't charge him with a crime of possession, then deal with it as an assault case.”

”Boss, you should first see who this is,” the officer reminded him.