Li Du was in prison and he had no contact at all with the outside world. He was not
aware that hell was raging out there.
All of a sudden, a large number of media channels in Miami reported a piece of news:
The Miami City Police Commissioner abused his authority and sent an American
Chinese citizen and three of his friends to jail!
Some sources have even reported this with a more severe approach: Racial
discrimination! The Miami City Police Department unlawfully imprisoned a Chinese man!
These reports appeared not only in Miami City but in the entire region.
Miami City was known for its beautiful views at the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula.
With an area of 34.3 square kilometers, it was the 11th largest city in the United States.
However, the above-mentioned Miami was a city in the narrow sense. It was located at
the southernmost tip of the Florida Peninsula and called Dowton-Miami.
Caddy Lent’s uncle was the chief of Dowton-Miami Police Department, and now the
news had spread to the Miami metropolitan circle.
The metropolitan area of Miami comprised about half of Florida.
All the media reported the news simultaneously. In such a massive district, the news
could not be suppressed and soon, the entire Southeastern United States heard of it.
The sensational news appeared in the Eastern States as well.
The Miami City Police Commissioner, Bartley Jones, was in a meeting. Standing at the
front of the conference room, he gave an impassionate speech. Suddenly, a female
police officer hurriedly pushed open the door, calling out, “Chief!”
Bartley’s eyebrows plunged into a frown. “What’s going on? What are you trying to do?
Can’t you see we are in a meeting?”
The police officer said in a panic, “Something urgent came up. Chief, you have to look
at this.”
She held up the iPad in her hand, which was showing the article by Miami’s biggest
media channel, The Miami Daily.
Bartley barely had time to look at it, when another policeman came running and said
anxiously, “Chief, there’s a phone call from the governor!”
Bartley’s expression changed from bewilderment to horror as he heard that. “The
governor is calling me?”
“Chief, a phone call from the mayor!” More officers kept coming for him.
Bartley’s face grew grave. This must be something major. He had to be in trouble as the
media, the mayor and the governor were all in an uproar.
The U.S. police system was complex. Federal police officers alone had more than 80
classifications. Each state had its own state police, and each local government had its
own police system.
These police systems were not affiliated and worked independently. They had different
uniforms and different duties.
For example, the state police were only responsible for the state government and were
not subject to the federal police. The city police were only responsible for the city
administration and were not led by the federal police or state police. Of course, they all
still had to cooperate with each other.
The city police chief was usually appointed by and directly answerable to the mayor.
Therefore, when Bartley heard there was a call from the governor, he was not too
anxious, but when a subordinate said that the mayor also called, he began to worry.
Bartley first picked up the mayor’s call, and it was a massive slap in the face. “Jones,
you son of a bitch! You put me through the wringer! Fucking bald fool! You are doomed
and so am I!”
Bartley groaned and asked ignorantly, “Mayor, what is this about?”
After scolding him some more, the mayor said, “Have you arrested a Chinese guy and
his three fellows? Did you send them to prison without trial?! Who gave you the
authority to do so? What the hell is going on?”
The mayor had gone mad and was roaring at the top of his voice.
Bartley was dazed. “A Chinese and three Americans?”
Hearing the mayor say send to prison without trial evoked his memory.
Indeed, he had done such a thing two days ago. Bartley had no children, so he was
very fond of his sister’s son, Caddy Lent.
Two or three days ago, he received a call from his sister, Katie Lent, that Caddy had
been shot, which made him angry.
The police arrested the shooter and Bartley promised his nephew that he would contact
the court and pressure them to give a heavy sentence.
However, Caddy Lent told him that he was not in a hurry to sue them as the other party
cheated him for a hundred thousand dollars and a Ferrari sports car. He wanted the
other party to cough up the money, which he would never be able to get back if they
went to jail.
Bartley was not out of his mind, and he consulted the police officer who handled the
case first.
The officer told him about Li Du and the three others. According to him, they first used a
fake watch to cheat Caddy Lent out of his money and car, and when Caddy came
asking for his money back, the other party intimidated him with a gun.
Upon hearing this, Bartley flew into a raging temper. He also asked the officer for the
identities of these four people and the officer said that they were treasure hunters.
The other party had bullied his nephew and didn’t seem to have any backer, so Bartley
decided to use his opponent’s methods to obtain retribution. He threatened the four of
them and sent them into prison on his own authority.
His initial idea was to send the four of them to prison for just a few days, maybe a week,
and have them sent to the court after.
According to the United States law, police prosecution and court session could take up
to one week. During this period, the suspect could accept bail.
Bartley ordered his subordinate to give the prisoners a very bad time, make sure that no
one was released on bail, and send them to the salt mines.
He knew well that it was illegal to do so, but there were many shady things in the U.S.
police system and similar means were not uncommon. As long as the other party had
no powerful connections, it would most likely not be a problem.
Without Bartley owning up to his fault, they could do nothing even if the four people later
went to the media.
The media would not offend the local police based on no evidence.
Bartley naturally had his skills in doing things, hence he was the head of the police
department. He was very careful in his work and deliberately investigated the situation
of Li Du and the others.
Li Du was a Chinese who studied at the American Pheasant University, and he was still
on his student visa. He was in the warehouse auction businesses.
His companion Hans was a vagrant. Both his parents were dead, and his sister was
working in a convenience store. The other two were ordinary new immigrants.
Such people tended to be at the very bottom of the United States society, even worse
than the people who lived in black ghettos. Bartley thought he could easily take them
down, as he was the chief of the police department.
Now, he found himself in big trouble.
He was utterly despondent as the mayor made it clear that he was doomed. He then
answered the call from the governor. The other party was polite, but the tone was
indifferent: The investigation team of the Ministry of Justice will go to Miami, so please
prepare for receiving them.
