At the crash site, the LAPD Detective Bureau was already present.
The victim, after all, was District Attorney Katherine Martin—and the cause of death was clearly strangulation, not the collision. That placed the case directly under the jurisdiction of the Robbery-Homicide Division, specifically Team One, led by none other than Detective David Thomas, the city's famed "God-Eye."
By the time David arrived, the forensics and trace teams had completed their preliminary assessments.
A single glance at the body made David's expression tighten.
Although the car had crashed at high speed, Katherine's head was largely intact. The deployed airbag and seat positioning had spared it any serious impact.
Which made the bruises on her face—deep, swollen, discolored—stand out all the more.
"Report," he said curtly, turning to his deputy, Elizabeth Jackson, who had arrived ahead of him.
"Preliminary autopsy confirms the cause of death was strangulation via this cord." Elizabeth gestured at the evidence bag.
"Forensics also recovered substantial biological traces—hair, sweat, skin cells. The killer didn't wear gloves."
She was visibly excited. "It's a matter of time before we get a match. They left a lot behind."
But David didn't look satisfied. He pointed to the bruises on Katherine's face.
"Those contusions. She was roughed up before the crash?"
Elizabeth's expression turned strange. "Well… about that—do you remember Officer Ryan Lee?"
David blinked. "Yeah. The new patrol guy. What about him?"
"The victim today is the same DA who was investigating Ryan over yesterday's shooting. One of the suspects he killed was LGBT, and Katherine herself is also… part of the community."
"In the precinct today, Ryan apparently… lost it. He vomited in front of her, then beat her up right in the review meeting."
Elizabeth said it with something close to admiration.
In modern-day Los Angeles, no one dared lay a finger on someone holding the triple-buffed cards of:
District Attorney
African American
LGBTQ+
But Ryan had done just that. In front of witnesses.
David paused. His sharp mind replayed his brief encounter with Ryan yesterday.
"Maybe he's just… old-school. From what I hear, where he's from? People don't really accept this kind of stuff."
He didn't care about Ryan's stance on LGBT issues. What he did care about was this:
Ryan had motive.
And now, with Katherine dead, all of the heat from that violent incident? Gone in smoke.
He was the biggest beneficiary.
David had reviewed Ryan's shooting incidents. Three confirmed kill events. Clean and efficient. No injuries. No hesitation. Smooth Mozambique drill execution.
That meant this guy had serious training.
"Let's go see Officer Ryan."
When David and Elizabeth arrived at the Hollywood Division, Captain Alexander had already prepared the necessary footage.
"Katherine never even made it out of the precinct," he said. "Ryan was placed in confinement before she left."
He handed over the surveillance feed from the holding cells.
Rudy, the officer on duty, stood nearby and chimed in. "Ryan was in there the whole time, sir. Never left. I've been monitoring the screen the entire time."
David watched the footage. Ryan entered the holding cell… and immediately began doing push-ups.
All the way to 300. Nonstop.
"Impressive stamina," Elizabeth muttered.
David nodded absently, already moving to the next step. "Walk me through Ryan's movements, minute by minute."
Alexander complied, recounting the incident in full—from the outburst during the meeting, to requesting a restroom break, to entering confinement.
David's eyes narrowed.
"He went to the bathroom? How long?"
"About a minute," Alexander said. "Tops."
"I want to see his phone."
David wasn't playing games. Motive and opportunity were on the table.
"His phone's still logged and stored. He hasn't touched it since being confined," Alexander said.
David handed it to his forensics specialist. Within minutes, they had a full digital sweep.
"No outgoing calls. No messages. No evidence of tampering or remote commands."
Not only had Ryan never left the cell, there was no indication he'd contacted anyone during that window of time. Not via phone, not via message. Nothing.
The timeline was airtight.
Even if he had somehow communicated from the restroom—and that was a stretch—the logistics just didn't work. Katherine had been killed within minutes of leaving the building.
Forensics wouldn't be so forgiving.
David's phone buzzed. He stepped away to answer.
"Yeah? Go ahead."
"Fingerprints are in," the tech said. "No match in the database."
David frowned.
Every police officer in the city had their biometrics logged. If the killer wasn't in the system…
Then it wasn't Ryan. Not even a clone or double. Someone completely off-grid had been behind this.
Ryan was, officially, cleared of suspicion.
Back in the holding cell, Ryan sat against the wall, sipping water.
Alexander approached.
"You're off the hook."
Ryan blinked. "Wait, seriously? That creep isn't going to file charges?"
"She's dead."
"Dead? Seriously?" Ryan faked a gasp, wide-eyed. "That's… tragic. I mean—what a coincidence."
Alexander stared at him.
He wanted to suspect something.
But there was no angle. No timing. No evidence.
And if Ryan was somehow behind it… it was one hell of a clean job.
David walked in, looking Ryan over with razor-sharp eyes.
"You're lucky, officer," he said.
"I guess I just… attract chaos," Ryan replied with a half-smile.
David didn't smile back. "That, or you're the eye of the storm."
He left without another word.
System Notification:
✅ Suspect Eliminated✅ Host Cleared of All Investigation🪙 Justice Points +300🎖 Public Sentiment: +20📦 Skill Card Reward: Interrogation - L2 (Proficient)
Ryan smirked to himself.
One problem down. A city full to go.