Chapter 221: Detective Chuck - Go Find Out Who I Am!
"Oh." Jane's wary and sullen expression instantly turned into slight embarrassment. "Please come in, please come in."
"Thank you," the prosecutor thanked her and walked in.
Chuck closed the door and asked the seated prosecutor, "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to hire you as a consultant for this case," the prosecutor didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
"You know I'm a consultant hired by Lockhart & Gardner Law Firm, right?" Chuck looked at her.
"I know," the prosecutor's beautiful dimples appeared on her face. "I also know that they've achieved their goal of hiring you. Detective Chuck truly lives up to his reputation! Now they don't need you anymore, but we need you!"
"Who are you planning to prosecute?" Jane couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Of course, we're prosecuting Bianca!" the prosecutor said seriously when talking about her work. "All the evidence points to her. Although Detective Chuck came and pointed out that Josh Mundy also had the time and motive to commit the crime, I believe more strongly that Bianca did it!"
"Why?" Jane asked.
"Intuition!" the prosecutor laughed. "You might laugh at me, a prosecutor, for relying on intuition, but as a government lawyer who prosecutes on behalf of the people and upholds the law, I've seen all kinds of criminals and come to a conclusion: compared to ordinary people, wealthy people are more inclined to commit crimes, especially bizarre crimes.
Because even if they get caught, they can afford to settle, and they can hire top lawyers to help them with the case. The cost of committing crimes is extremely low, and bizarre crimes greatly satisfy their inner desire for extreme thrills. This case itself is quite unusual—a wealthy only child agreed to her best friend's threesome proposal, and the target was her boyfriend, who was actually trying to steal her belongings. Regardless of what others think, my intuition tells me it's her!"
"You shouldn't say that," Chuck warned. "Although you're a prosecutor now, you'll eventually become a lawyer or judge. If people find out you have this kind of bias against wealthy people, your future won't be good."
"Heh." The prosecutor shook her head and chuckled. "Of course I know, but I don't need a Mercedes, nor do I need my face to appear in the evening news. I just want to stay a prosecutor, not chase money."
"Really?" Jane looked at the prosecutor in surprise.
"Sitting across from me is Detective Chuck. You can ask him if I'm telling the truth," the prosecutor said frankly.
Jane immediately looked at Chuck and realized the prosecutor wasn't lying. This instantly made Jane feel more favorably toward her.
Such an upright prosecutor, unmoved by fame or fortune, was truly rare!
"Chuck, should we agree to her request?"
"No," Chuck shook his head. "I've already said that we accepted the consultant invitation from Lockhart & Gardner first for this case. We need to follow basic professional ethics. Otherwise, if we encounter interesting cases in the future, others will have reservations and won't hire us again. So I won't get involved in this case."
He then looked at the prosecutor. "If you need my help with any interesting cases in the future, you can contact me in advance."
"Okay," the prosecutor looked at Chuck for a moment, and seeing his resolute attitude, she could only stand up and shake his hand. "I will definitely reach out immediately if I need anything in the future."
Then she shook hands with Jane, and as she walked to the door, she stopped and turned back. "By the way, Kinder's computer was stolen. Although I got the police to help find the laptop, she's still worried that the deleted video will be leaked. If possible, could you help her?"
"Okay," Chuck nodded in agreement.
"Such an upright prosecutor is truly rare," Jane watched the prosecutor leave, sighing deeply. After the door opposite opened, revealing Alex's figure, she immediately looked away, closed the door, and looked at Chuck. "What should we do now?"
Chuck didn't answer, but directly made a phone call, explained the situation, and then hung up. "Continue the research! Make up for lost time!"
"..." Jane's lips twitched. She knew this was Chuck's OCD showing. She wanted to complain, but couldn't resist her own restless urges. She obediently followed him, but couldn't help changing the subject. "Can you hand this over to Kalinda?"
"She's the local expert here, and an excellent investigator. If she can't even handle this, it would be pathetic," Chuck said, continuing his research with meticulous precision.
The next morning, Jane didn't want to be shown up by Alex, so she set her alarm, dragged her tired body out of bed, and got up early. She left her room and went to Chuck's room, only to find Alex already there, talking to Chuck who was busy in the kitchen.
"Awake? You could sleep a little longer," Alex looked at Jane with a smile.
"..." Jane felt uneasy. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Alex's gaze was like that of a mother-in-law looking at an overworked daughter-in-law. The concern stemmed from the fact that this 'daughter-in-law' had greatly satisfied her son.
To make matters worse, she could swear this 'mother-in-law' was definitely not a proper mother-in-law.
Just as she was wondering how to respond to this strange concern, there was a knock on the door. She quickly stopped Alex, who was about to get up, and turned around to open the door.
"Jane," Kalinda greeted her as she walked in, wearing a leather outfit and high heels. Seeing Alex sitting there, her eyes lit up, but she wasn't surprised. She just smiled at Alex and then teased Chuck in the kitchen, "Making curry again?"
"Didn't finish?" Chuck didn't answer but directly revealed the meaning behind the teasing.
"...I found the thief and recovered the laptop," Kalinda's smile faltered as she glanced at Jane and Alex, who were looking over. She could only explain, "But it's too late. He's already recovered the video and sold it to X Art website. I contacted the website, but they haven't responded. It seems they want to upload the video."
"X Art website?" Jane was startled. "Is this some kind of adult website?"
"Yeah," Kalinda smiled wryly. "Kinder is an adult. I even checked to see if any minors might appear in the videos from that party that night, hoping to use that to pressure the website to give up uploading the videos, but unfortunately, it was no use."
Adult websites are legal in the US, but the laws are very strict regarding videos involving minors. Not just the main subjects, but even accidentally filming a minor's appearance will lead to severe legal consequences.
Of course, all of this depends on someone investigating and having the ability to strongly push for it; otherwise, it's all just empty talk.
Chuck continued working in the kitchen, not saying anything.
"I talked to Diane, but she said it's not a matter for the law firm," Kalinda added. "Besides, there are just too many of these small video websites. It's impossible to strictly regulate them. The pressure from Lockhart & Gardner is useless."
Saying this, she looked at Jane and teased, "Maybe you went to the wrong person from the start. You should have flashed your FBI badge to warn them~"
"Don't make jokes like that at a time like this," Jane retorted.
As an FBI agent, she naturally understood this joke.
Many adult films include an FBI warning at the beginning, but this is mainly for copyright protection. The FBI warning is partly due to the FBI's copyright protection role, and partly because legitimate producers want to emphasize they're following the law regarding age verification and consent.
In the US, these films wouldn't need much embellishment beyond legal compliance.
"Is it X Art website?" Alex, who had been listening quietly, suddenly smiled. "I might be able to help."
"You?" Jane looked at Alex in surprise.
"Yes," Alex smiled, stood up, shook hands with Kalinda, and introduced herself. "I forgot to introduce myself properly—my name is Alex, I'm Chuck's friend. Because of work, I happen to know some website owners, and I'm thinking of using those connections to get X Art website to delete this video and not upload it."
All three women looked at Chuck.
"Let's contact them," Chuck nodded without turning his head.
"Okay!" Alex immediately took out her phone and dialed a number. "Erica, I'd like to ask you for a favor..."
After explaining the situation and asking a few more questions, she hung up the phone and smiled at everyone. "This is my good friend Erica—her husband is the owner of Encounter.com."
"That Encounter.com?" Kalinda's eyes lit up.
"Yes," Alex explained with a smile. "I came here a while ago to help them streamline their operations and recruit talent. That's how I met Erica. She's a very capable and formidable woman. Although her husband funds Encounter.com, she's actually the one who runs it."
"What is Encounter.com?" Jane asked, confused.
"It's a website where people show their best side to each other, and then the website matches you with the most suitable partner for dating. Encounter.com is the largest such website in the US," Alex looked at Jane with amusement in her eyes. "It's normal that you don't know this website, because you're not one of their users. Erica often says that she's a professional matchmaker, specializing in helping people find true love."
"What are you laughing at?" Jane finally understood what the website was about. She noticed Kalinda smirking and immediately looked over.
"Nothing," Kalinda waved her phone. "This matter is probably settled. I just checked, and the owner of Encounter.com also holds shares in many small video websites, including X Art website."
"That's great," Jane was happy for Kinder.
"I'm leaving now," Kalinda smiled at the two women, then said to Chuck and hurried away.
"I have to go too," Alex glanced at her watch, stood up, and said, "I've been quite busy these past few days. How about we get together tonight?"
"No!!!" Jane immediately screamed in protest. When Alex looked over in surprise, she realized she might have misunderstood. The "get together tonight" probably just meant a proper dinner.
"When are you leaving?" Alex noticed this too and, not wanting Jane to feel awkward, quickly changed the subject.
"To be determined," Chuck brought over the breakfast he had prepared. "Eat before you leave, there's time!"
"Okay," Alex sat down again.
Jane glanced at it, secretly pursed her lips, and sat down as well.
The three of them quietly enjoyed their breakfast.
While they were eating, Alex's phone rang. She swallowed her food, wiped her mouth, and answered, "Erica, what is it?"
Chuck and Jane both looked over.
Alex covered the receiver and said to the two of them, "Erica said she's sorry, but her husband is arguing with her and won't agree to such a small thing. He insists that she compromise on some matters of principle, and they're having a huge fight."
"What should we do!" Jane looked over worriedly.
"No need to trouble yourself, I'll call her husband myself," Chuck put down his utensils and said calmly.
"You have his number?" Alex was taken aback.
"Yes, I do," Chuck took out his phone, and a number automatically popped up. He dialed it directly. "Mr. John Foley, this is Dr. Chuck Wolfe. I need your help."
"Who are you?" A middle-aged man's voice on the other end of the line suddenly became angry after hearing Chuck's request. "What's your relationship with Erica?"
"We have mutual friends," Chuck glanced at Alex.
"Son of a bitch!" The middle-aged man on the other end of the phone instantly exploded. "I'll have someone investigate you, and if I find out... I guarantee you'll regret it!"
Jane had been listening the whole time, and at this moment, she suddenly understood the unspoken meaning of the middle-aged man on the other end of the phone.
He clearly suspected that Chuck's 'mutual friend' was the kind referring to the threesome situation.
There was no way around it! The Bianca and Heather case had recently become a sensation across the United States, and in Chicago where it originated, everyone knew about it. The guy was having a fight with his wife, and his wife was pleading for another man. It was hard not to make those connections!
"You'd better have someone investigate me right away," Chuck said calmly. "Then, when your investigator tells you who I am, delete that video, and we're done."
With that, he hung up the phone and began to slowly continue eating his meal.
"Erica, quickly talk to your husband. Why make such a fuss over something so trivial?" Alex, who hadn't hung up the phone, immediately tried to mediate, seeing the situation. "We're all friends..."
"That's it?" Jane was speechless. "You told the owner of a major website company to investigate who you are and then delete the video? Isn't that a bit... risky?"
Risky was putting it mildly—her honest feeling was that those threatening words would most likely backfire spectacularly.
"Yes," Alex also told Erica to quickly communicate with him and avoid causing more conflict. After hanging up, she echoed, "Rich people like him can sometimes do a lot of unreasonable things for the sake of pride."
"He'll calm down," Chuck said calmly. "If he really can't calm down, I'll help him calm down."
(End of Chapter)
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