The world of American TV series: Starting with the L.A. Patrol

"Well, I noticed that there seems to be one person missing." Kevin frowned, looked at the list in his hand with some uncertainty, and pointed at the only person on the list in Esposito's hand that had not been crossed out. The name said, "Mike Waits, have you ever talked to him?"

"It seems like one of the best men? No." Esposito came up to take a look and shook his head with certainty.

"Has anyone seen best man Mike Waits?" Kevin turned around and asked loudly to all the guests who were whispering.

"No." Keith Murphy, the groom's brother, looked around with confusion, as if he had just discovered that a best man was missing.

"God, I remember it." Laura Shiry, one of the bridesmaids, exclaimed in surprise, "During the wedding rehearsal dinner last night, I saw him and Sophie being very close together. ."

"Yes, later when we were chatting at the bar, we saw the two of them getting tired of being together." Teddy Murphy, the chubby groom's uncle, shrugged.

"Is something wrong with him?" The words of Keith Murphy, the groom's brother, caused all the guests to start talking.

Kevin and Esposito looked at each other, hurriedly stepped forward to question the guests one by one, and then hurriedly left to confirm the situation with hotel security.

It didn't take long for the two of them to return again. This time their expressions were much more solemn, and they seemed to have discovered something.

"Confirmed, no one has seen Mike since last night." Kevin said.

"We checked his room. The bed was clean and tidy, with no signs of sleeping. The dress was still hanging in the closet. According to the room card record checked by the hotel security, the last time he entered the room was two o'clock in the morning." Sposito continued.

At two o'clock in the morning, about an hour before the earliest time of bridesmaid Sophie's death, Jack and Cassel looked at each other without saying a word. Now it was time for Detective Beckett to give the order, "Is there anything unusual in his room?"

"No, his personal toiletries and backpack are in the room." Kevin shook his head.

Beckett thought for a moment and then ordered, "Let the hotel security thoroughly check the vacant guest rooms and utility rooms."

"Do you think we might find a second body?" Cassell interjected.

"I am more inclined to think that Mike may be the murderer. He escaped after strangling Sophie." Beckett continued to order, "Issue an arrest notice and send Mike's photo to all airports, stations and all ferry terminals on outlying islands. ."

Esposito lowered his head and started to make a call, following the orders of his female boss one by one. Under normal working conditions, the duo was surprisingly reliable.

"I'm going to ask if anyone among the guests took any photos or videos of Mike and Sophie together last night." Kevin started to leave, but was pulled back by Cassel.

"Or we can find them ourselves." He pointed to the pile of digital cameras on the table. There were seven or eight of them, all of which should have been used during the wedding rehearsal last night.

Generally speaking, there are not many American wedding procedures, especially in the preparation stage. As someone who has attended several weddings, Jack has some experience.

The wedding rehearsal dinner is probably the last step in the preparation stage. The attendees are usually close family members, including the best man and bridesmaid.

The process is roughly divided into two parts. As you can see from the words, the rehearsal and the dinner. Traditionally, the dinner on the day before the wedding is paid by the groom’s family, while the wedding expenses on the day are generally paid by the bride’s family.

Relatively speaking, because the rehearsal dinner is held one day in advance, the scale is smaller and the participants are closer, so the atmosphere will be warmer. On the wedding day, the ceremony will be relatively strong, with more relatives and friends participating.

So the police detectives asked for a room in the hotel, squatted in the living room and looked through the video footage of last night's rehearsal dinner. They did not find any footage of the guests gathering at the bar after the banquet. It seemed that most of the people had drunk too much at that time. .

However, during the dinner, everyone found some clues in a video of the missing best man Mike's speech. In the video, the murdered bridesmaid Sophie left the party very suddenly after receiving a phone call.

As Beckett puts it, "Does anyone else find it a little odd that Sophie left in the middle?"

"Looks like she's going to meet the person who called her," Esposito mused.

Cassell wondered, "But who is the question? She came all the way from Los Angeles, and everyone she may know must have been in the restaurant at that time."

"Didn't you get her cell phone call records? Check the number at this time." Jack reminded.

Kevin quickly rummaged through the information in his hand, "Well, the call records show that the call was made from the hotel lobby."

Jack remembered that when he arrived, he noticed that there was surveillance in the hotel lobby, so Kevin and Esposito went downstairs to check the surveillance. The result was unexpectedly smooth.

The person who called the bridesmaid Sophie was a street drug dealer named Boyd Gamble, and Kevin recognized him from the surveillance video at a glance.

This guy mainly sells cocaine and marijuana. He once served several years in prison for turf grabbing and injuring people. Kevin was the police detective in charge of his case back then.

In less than an hour, Kevin and Esposito completed a series of procedures from arrest to interrogation. However, the interrogation results were somewhat unexpected.

Sophie went to this street drug dealer not to buy some recreational "gadgets", but a special drug, "FM2".

This thing is commonly known as "date drug" or "cross", and its scientific name is "flunitrazepam". It can make people fall into deep sleep quickly, but the question is, what use does Sophie, a woman, need for this thing?

While the Living Treasure duo was making progress, Jack, Beckett and Cassel, who stayed in the hotel, were ready to chat with the bride and groom. At present, they are probably the people who know the deceased best here. .

The three of them walked through the corridor side by side, chatting about the clues at hand as they walked. Beckett was still confused, "Why would a bridesmaid need 'FM2'?"

"If a woman wants to take advantage of a man, it's not a good idea to make him unconscious. Normally, just say no?" The old Cassel driver smiled evilly and poked Jack with his arm.

"You can also put on a full set of duel bras and stockings." Jack agreed, while Beckett chuckled.

Cassel suddenly stopped and said hello to an aunt who was chatting happily with someone, "Ah ha, Sheila?"

When he was watching and taking notes, Jack had some impression of this aunt who had a particularly expressive expression when speaking. She should be the mother of the bride Kayla.

When Sheila Bryan turned around and saw Rick Cassel, the smile on her face instantly faded and turned into a classic mean mother-in-law face.

"Richard (Rick is Richard's nickname)? I seem to see you in every catastrophic scene." The mother of the bride opened her mouth with a gun and a stick.

Cassell raised his chin slightly, glanced at the two people around him, and raised his voice slightly, "Detective Beckett, Detective Tavole, let me formally introduce you. This is Sheila Bryan, the mother of the bride."

Then he turned his eyes to Sheila Bryan, "It seems like you're a little regretful. It seems that I'm not wandering around homeless or teaching at a third-rate university in New Hampshire."

New Hampshire was the least existential and poorest state among the thirteen North American states in the early days of the founding of the United States. It can be directly understood as a place where birds do not poop.

Obviously, in the story of Cassel and Keira, the role played by Sheila Bryan was not very positive.

Jack and Beckett looked at each other, and took a half step back with a tacit understanding, and began to observe the climax of Thirty Years in the East of the River and Thirty Years in the West of the River. Don't bully the young poor man's climax and slap him in the face.

However, Sheila Bryan's rank seemed to be far higher than Cassel's. She easily crushed his provocation in one sentence, "Everything remains to be verified by time."