Luke felt that the other party was avoiding important matters and asked, "What clues did you find?"

"Uh..." Franco Hood looked hesitant, "On the morning when the office was robbed, someone saw Melanie Hickman sneaking into the company."

Luke asked, "When did she come to the company?"

"It's past six in the morning and we asked her to go to work at nine. She was two hours early. There must be something wrong."

"Did you tell the police?"

"No."

"Why don't you tell me?"

"I only found out about it after the fact. At that time, the police had concluded the investigation. Moreover, the person who saw Melanie Hickman was also a company employee, and he did not want to be implicated."

"Did the witnesses leave any evidence? Like photos or something?"

"No, no one thought of such a thing. It was impossible to take pictures in advance. That person only saw it during morning exercise.

Moreover, Melanie Hickman is the assistant to the vice president, and this matter involves Yoshimi Hashimoto himself, who is not willing to cause trouble."

"What about you? You are also a company executive, so you shouldn't be afraid of Yoshimi Hashimoto. Have you never thought of doing something?"

Franco Hood sighed, "I was really angry at first. I felt that Hashimoto Yoshimi was deliberately causing trouble for me, and I also wanted to ask for an explanation.

But the witness is also a company employee, and he is unwilling to completely offend Yoshimi Hashimoto. Moreover, even if the witness tells what he saw, what will happen?

If this matter continues to cause trouble, both of us will lose face.

Moreover, after thinking about it carefully, I also feel that this matter may not be simple.

Since it's not me, then there must be someone else who is targeting Hashimoto Yoshimi and is simply sitting back and watching the fight.

I didn’t expect that something would happen to her so soon.”

Luke probed, "What do you think of Yoshimi Hashimoto?"

"Not very good. I don't like her very much. She is the kind of person who wants to climb up. Many people in the company don't like her."

"How is her relationship with her assistant?"

"It looks pretty good.

I don't know what the actual situation is like. Even if they have conflicts, they won't show them in front of us."

"Where were you between ten o'clock last night and two o'clock in the morning?"

"sleeping at home."

"Can anyone prove it?"

"My wife and daughter."

"As far as you know, besides this job, does Yoshimi Hashimoto have any other part-time jobs?"

Franco Hood looked puzzled, "What does this mean? Why are you still looking for a part-time job?"

Luke further asked, "How is she relationship-wise?"

"Sir, you asked the wrong person.

My relationship with her is not very good, and apart from occasional contact at work, I don’t understand her personal affairs at all.”

"Can you tell us the identity of that witness?"

"Sorry, I promised the other party not to tell the police.

Why don’t you ask Melanie Hickman yourselves?”

Luke had a conversation with the other party and found no obvious signs of lying.

Assuming that what he said is true, then there should be another hidden reason for the so-called theft.

…

After leaving the director's office, Jackson asked, "Where should we go to investigate now?"

Luke thought for a while, "Let's talk to assistant Melanie Hickman."

"We have no evidence. Even if she really has a problem, she may not admit it."

Luke thought for a moment, and he felt that it was unlikely that Melanie Hickman was the murderer. Judging from the situation at the scene, there was a high probability that the person who killed Yoshimi Hashimoto was a man.

Previously, the conversation between Luke and Melanie Hickman was just a routine inquiry. There was no targeted interrogation of the other party, and it was impossible to test the other party's attitude.

Luke is going to make targeted inquiries to see if Melanie Hickman is related to the death of Yoshimi Hashimoto.

Later, Luke found Melanie Hickman and said, "Ms. Hickman, I have a few more questions to ask you."

Melanie Hickman was stunned for a moment, "Okay, let's go to the office to talk."

The three of them came to the lounge again. Melanie Hickman closed the door of the lounge and asked, "Captain Li, how was your conversation with Franco Hood?"

"We talked about the theft of Yoshimi Hashimoto's office, but he denied any involvement in the theft."

Melanie Hickman shrugged, "If it were me, I wouldn't admit it."

Luke said, "I also want to know some of the circumstances of the day when the theft occurred."

"It's been a month since the theft occurred. Is it related to the death of President Hashimoto?"

"You have to investigate to find out whether there is any connection. There may not be any casual clues that can help solve the case.

Therefore, I would like to ask again about the situation on the day when the theft occurred."

"OK."

Luke said, "What time did you arrive at the company that day?"

"Our company requires arrival before nine in the morning. I usually arrive around eight forty or fifty."

"Who first discovered that the office had been burglarized?"

"Director Hashimoto."

"When did she arrive?"

"She usually arrives at half past eight."

"She came earlier than your assistant?"

Melanie Hickman lamented, "In her words, that's why she's the vice president and I'm the assistant."

Luke stared at the other person and said, "We just learned about a situation. Someone saw you coming to the company at around six o'clock that day. What were you doing in the company at that time?"

Melanie Hickman's face changed slightly, "Did you see it wrong?"

"The eyewitness also took a photo. If you look at it, you can be sure it's you.

Didn't you say you didn't arrive at the company until 8:45? Why did you sneak into the company after 6 o'clock?" Luke reminded, "Miss Melanie, what we are investigating is a murder case.

You'd better tell the truth, the consequences of lying will be serious."

Melanie Hickman looked a little nervous, "Captain Li, don't you suspect that I killed President Hashimoto?"

"is it you?"

"Of course it's not me. You must have misunderstood."

"Then please explain clearly and clear up our misunderstanding."

"What would you do if I told the truth about the theft?"

"I just want to know if there is any connection between the promotion, the theft, and the murder of Yoshimi Hashimoto. As for catching the thief, I am not interested."

Melanie Hickman seemed relieved and said, "I did come to the company early that day."

"What are you doing in the company?"

"I have an unfinished planning project. I originally wanted to come to the company to work overtime, but I didn't sleep well the night before and my mind was so messed up that I couldn't work at all.

I did not complete the tasks assigned by President Hashimoto...

In order to evade responsibility, I made up the illusion that my office was stolen and falsely claimed that the planning document I completed was also stolen."

Luke had some doubts about this statement and felt it was unreasonable, "Are you kidding me?"

"No, everything I said is true.

That planning document is very important. I promised President Hashimoto that I would complete it. I worked overtime until ten o'clock the night before. I was too tired and couldn't do it anymore...

I just wanted to go home early so that I could finish the planning paper the next morning when I felt energetic.

But I kept thinking about it that night and couldn't sleep.

Because I didn't sleep well, I felt very dizzy in the morning.

Then, I came up with this way to avoid responsibility."

Luke still didn't understand, "Why didn't you just tell Yoshimi Hashimoto that you didn't complete the work?"

"I can't say."

"Why?"
To be continued...