Chapter 157: Cinderella and the House of Cards Game
"Good job!"
Detective Amy Santiago glanced at the rookie patrolman who was vomiting not far away, and sneered at Jake Peralta: "You've perfectly captured everyone's thoughts. Put that expression away, you're embarrassing yourself."
"It's about making money, there's no shame in that!"
Jake Peralta said, finally straightening up, but still looking at Chuck with a playful grin: "Boss, you still haven't answered me - what do you think of me?"
"Enough!"
Detective Amy Santiago interrupted: "This is a crime scene, not a job fair. We're here to solve a case, not conduct interviews!"
After that, she stopped paying attention to Jake Peralta and walked to the body, looked at Chuck, and briefed him: "Christine Jasmine, assistant to Senator Williams. Rumored to have been having an affair with the senator's husband. She disappeared three days ago and has now been found dead after apparently jumping from a bridge. The bureau wants us to assemble our best team to solve this case quickly."
Then she shrugged and said: "Now you know why we called you in."
"Unwise choice,"
Chuck shook his head.
"Why?"
Chandler temporarily set aside Chuck's offer of a high-paying part-time job and instinctively quipped, "You think it really was the senator who did it, and you're the one who'll definitely uncover the truth, so it's unwise?"
"Yes,"
Chuck nodded.
"Do you really think so?"
Detective Amy Santiago lowered her voice nervously, "This involves a senator. Don't make any accusations without solid evidence."
While corporations may be the true power centers in America, the government still holds considerable nominal authority. Not to mention the president, whose mere word can shake Wall Street, senators who control key committees and wield real power are truly influential figures.
In the vast United States, there are 435 House representatives, elected every two years, while there are only two senators per state, totaling 100, elected every six years. Relatively speaking, they're less influenced by popular opinion. Unlike the president, who can only serve a maximum of two terms, senators can serve for life.
New York State, which includes New York City, has only two senators, and their power and influence are even more significant.
Therefore, a criminal case involving a New York State Senator instantly escalated from a routine criminal case to a major one. A mishandled investigation could have devastating consequences for the NYPD.
"60% yes, 90% directly related to the Senator, 100% connected to the Senator,"
Chuck said. "House of Cards represents a darker reality than law enforcement officers knowingly breaking the law."
"Hey, hey, hey, we haven't ruled out suicide yet,"
Detective Amy Santiago interrupted.
"It wasn't suicide,"
Chuck said.
"How can you be so sure?"
Detective Amy Santiago asked.
"Look at her feet,"
Chuck gestured for everyone to examine the victim's feet.
"Only one shoe,"
Chandler couldn't help but quip. "Looks like she's still Cinderella, she just didn't wait for the prince to come find her with the other slipper."
"...What kind of analogy is that?"
Detective Amy Santiago was about to protest, but after thinking it over, she couldn't help but smile. "Well, in a way, it's quite apt. This Christine Jasmine, from a poor background with a troubled relationship with her stepmother, working her way into government as an assistant to a female senator is a bit like entering a palace."
"I'm telling you!"
Chandler laughed. "Her shoe has quite good taste..."
He then couldn't help but share his views on women's shoe fashion. Only when he noticed everyone's strange looks did he shrug and say, "My dad always told me about this stuff when I was little."
"Seems our poor Cinderella either met the Evil Queen from Snow White directly, or she was harmed by her wicked stepmother,"
Jake Peralta shrugged.
"It's too early to jump to conclusions,"
Detective Amy Santiago insisted. "The medical examiner hasn't performed the autopsy yet. Everything is still speculation. Maybe the shoe just fell off?"
"Did you find the other shoe anywhere nearby?"
Chuck asked.
"...No."
Detective Amy Santiago shook her head.
"Oh, no!"
Jake Peralta suddenly covered his face and turned away.
"What's wrong?"
Chandler was surprised.
"Haha."
Detective Amy Santiago immediately understood and gestured for Chandler to look toward a white-coated figure approaching from the distance. "That's Medical Examiner Rose I was telling you about."
"Oh!"
Chandler said, his voice drawn out, his expression exaggerated as he realized what was happening.
"Hi, Amy."
Medical Examiner Rose approached and greeted Amy.
"Hi, Rose."
Detective Amy Santiago smiled and greeted the medical examiner.
"Hi, Jake."
The medical examiner smiled and greeted the evasive Jake Peralta.
"Hi, Rose."
Jake Peralta stiffened and replied awkwardly.
"Wow, it's hot out here!"
The medical examiner took one look at the crime scene and immediately said to Jake Peralta jokingly.
Jake Peralta suddenly laughed nervously.
"Can you tell if it's suicide or homicide?"
Detective Amy Santiago, seeing her partner Jake Peralta's usual swagger vanish at the sight of the female medical examiner, immediately asked seriously, trying to suppress a smile.
"You field officers are always so impatient, wanting answers immediately,"
the female medical examiner said, looking at Detective Amy Santiago, her eyes still glancing at Jake Peralta, making sarcastic remarks. "But I'm a scientist. Science reveals the truth, but I need time to conduct proper examinations. When I have results, I'll give you answers. Until then, speculation is pointless."
"Just to be clear, we're discussing the case and also mocking Jake's performance issues, right?"
Chandler asked earnestly, raising his hand.
"Yes,"
Chuck nodded definitively.
"No! Of course not!"
Jake Peralta immediately protested, spreading his arms and addressing the crowd. "Come on, look at me. Do I look like someone who would have performance issues?"
"Yes,"
everyone nodded.
"Without proper examination, you have no right to make claims."
Medical Examiner Rose smiled. "In my professional opinion, you do, so I don't regret that you don't want to continue. But that's just one expert's opinion, and you might disagree." She looked at Chandler. "Hey, you're new here, what's your assessment?"
"You want my opinion?"
Chandler grinned. "Hell yeah, he does!"
He smiled and nodded, but then his expression faltered as he sensed the underlying meaning. He immediately explained to Medical Examiner Rose, "I'm not gay!"
"No need to explain to me."
Medical Examiner Rose smiled and looked away, turning her attention to the corpse.
"No, no, no, I need to explain!"
Chandler hadn't expected to be caught in the crossfire. This was the second time he'd been misunderstood like this while working a case, and it was only his second time overall. He couldn't help but explain to Medical Examiner Rose, "I'm not gay!"
"Oh!"
Medical Examiner Rose gave him a serious look. "Can you prove it?"
"..."
Chandler's mouth twitched, and he was speechless.
How could he prove it?
"Let's go."
Chuck said to Detective Amy Santiago.
"Where to?"
Detective Amy Santiago asked.
"Let's go to the palace and question the prince and queen."
Chuck said and walked away.
"Got it."
Detective Amy Santiago immediately understood they were going to the State Capitol to question the female senator.
"I'm coming too."
Chandler hurried to follow: "I've always thought Senator Williams is gorgeous. She's exactly my type."
Medical Examiner Rose immediately shook her head and chuckled, with an expression that said, "Don't use that as an excuse. Explanations are just cover-ups, and cover-ups reveal the truth." Chandler felt frustrated and uncomfortable.
He swore he really was attracted to the female senator! Senator Williams was beautiful! Why wouldn't anyone believe him?
"You stay with Detective Peralta and wait for the forensic results."
Chuck said.
"Why?"
Chandler was puzzled. "Do we both need to stay just to get results?"
"If you don't stay with him, the results might never come out."
Detective Amy Santiago scoffed. "Last time we had a case, Detective Peralta got so 'busy' working on it, he kept pressuring Rose to rush. As a result, Rose didn't have time to do the autopsy for days. If I hadn't noticed something was wrong and gone to check, the body would have decomposed and they still wouldn't have had a report."
Last time she went, Jake Peralta was either trying to avoid work or playing some other game. She found him in the freezer where the body was stored. The scene...
"If we can't make up for it with quality, we'll compensate with quantity."
Female Medical Examiner Rose smiled.
Yeah.
They had started role-playing right in the autopsy room. The atmosphere was intense, but it was too bad Jake Peralta wouldn't commit fully.
"Really?"
Chandler realized, teasing. "You're already that nervous around her, and you still dare try again?"
"Oh, man!"
Detective Amy Santiago snorted contemptuously.
"You haven't signed an employment contract or confidentiality agreement yet, so you can't accompany us to question the senator as a detective consultant,"
Chuck reminded him.
"Do you really want me to sign it?"
Chandler smiled bitterly.
It was fine to joke around and make some extra money, but now he was reluctant to sign a formal contract to become his friend's assistant. After all, friendship and employer-employee relationships are completely different things.
Haven't you seen that the biggest topic at office gatherings is complaining about the boss?
"You can think of this as my investment in you,"
Chuck said calmly. "I believe in your comedic talent and am providing this position for you to broaden your horizons, accumulate material, and improve your skills. One day in the future, when you're ready, if you choose to change careers and make comedy your main profession, becoming a stand-up comedian on the level of Jerry Seinfeld, I'll get a return on my investment. This is just business. We're not in a boss-employee relationship, but a partnership. Business is business, so don't feel any psychological burden."
(End of Chapter)
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