Chapter 770: Stubborn Old Man and Good Child
“Luke, I’m very worried about Grandpa. Mom and Dad aren’t here, so you’re the only one I can call,” said Joseph.
Luke hummed and said, “I’ll call him right away. Don’t worry.” He then hung up.
Although Joseph was young, he was quite smart.
While chatting with Luke, Catherine had mentioned before that Joseph’s IQ might very likely meet MENSA’s requirements.
Robert and Catherine were still in Europe, and Luke and Claire were in Los Angeles.
Joseph easily determined that the best person to ask for help was Luke.
Luke didn’t dare treat his little brother’s words lightly. He immediately called Drax, but the line was busy.
He frowned and said, “Redial the number.” He then put the phone on the dashboard.
A minute later, Drax’s phone was still busy.
Selina took out her phone. “I have Ferreira’s number. I’ll call him.”
Luke hummed in acknowledgment.
Ferreira, the vet at the ranch, had worked with Selina’s father for many years.
Joseph had said that Ferreira was in Dallas as well, so he could confirm the situation by contacting Ferreira.
Ferreira quickly picked up.
After saying a few words, Selina put her phone on speaker.
Sure enough, Ferreira was on his way to pick up Joseph, but he didn’t know why Drax was so angry.
Luke simply told him to get to Drax as soon as possible and make sure that he could get through to his bad-tempered grandfather.
Even Robert remained at a distance when Drax’s temper was bad; one could imagine how hard it was to persuade him.
Drax was born with a bad temper, and it was hard for him to keep it under control. If he stayed with his daughter Catherine, he would definitely argue with Robert every day, which would make things difficult for his daughter and grandkids.
Catherine understood his thinking. When they were free, she would take the three kids to spend the weekend on the ranch, so Drax was content to stay on the ranch.
In the old man’s words, he was used to working on the ranch and didn’t need to retire in Shackelford.
Drax was in good health, and there were also roughly ten workers on the ranch; there was no need to worry that they wouldn’t get the news if something happened.
However, the stubborn old man had a weakness.
He had always been biased toward Luke since he was young and rarely scolded him.
And he completely doted on Claire and Joseph.
If it wasn’t because Claire and Joseph only spent the weekend at the ranch, this stubborn old man would’ve spoiled them to death.
For example, it was definitely Joseph’s idea to watch the motorcycle stunt show in Dallas. Otherwise, Drax wouldn’t be interested in watching such a show when he was already in his seventies.
A few minutes later, Luke finally got through to Drax’s phone.
He barely said a few words before he could only helplessly listen to the beeping on his phone.
The stubborn old man had gotten fl.u.s.tered at Luke’s words and directly hung up.
Selina asked, “Should I help you apply for leave?”
Luke sighed. “I’ll let Elsa know myself. I ran out of leave long ago.”
If this had happened two days earlier, he could’ve taken the weekend off without any qualms.
Now, he could only go through the back door and let Elsa know to avoid any urgent cases being a.s.signed to him.
If he ran into an unusual situation and was investigated, Elsa would immediately give him a leave slip.
Of course, an ordinary detective wouldn’t dare do something like this if they didn’t have the solid backing of their boss.
Luke drove to the airport and booked the next flight out. He boarded an hour later.
At four in the afternoon, he left Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and took a cab to a hotel.
Half an hour later, he entered a three-star hotel and knocked on the door of Room 507.
Drax’s face appeared in the door gap.
When he saw Luke, he waved his hand at him in annoyance. “Why did you come back? I’m not going senile yet. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Luke followed him into the room and closed the door behind him. He put his arm around the old man’s shoulders and said, “Grandpa, it would be a problem if I don’t worry about you.”
The old man snorted and didn’t reply.
Although he had a stubborn temper, he could tell the difference between good and bad.
Entering the room, Luke and Drax sat down. Picking up a bottle of whiskey from the table, Luke glanced at the old man and said, “I remember when the doctor gave you a checkup last time, he said that you should drink less alcohol, and at most just a little bit of wine and beer, right?”
Drax tilted his head. “None of your business!”
But he immediately added, “I was too busy making calls. I haven’t had any yet.”
Luke smiled and took out two bottles of beer from the fridge. He gave one to the old man and said, “The weather’s hot, cool down a bit.”
The old man had no choice.
Luke had always been obedient and sensible since he was a kid.
Every time Drax thought of Luke’s parents who had pa.s.sed away early, the old man’s heart ached even more. He felt that it was because Luke didn’t have parents that he became mature and sensible at an early age.
In the old man’s point of view, Texan boys should be a little bolder from a young age.
Fighting, smoking, drinking and lifting skirts – as far as the old man was concerned, this was how Texan boys grew up.
Luke, on the other hand, had never touched anything like that since he was young.
If Luke and Jimena hadn’t gotten together in the last two years of high school, the old man would’ve suspected that there was a problem with his grandson’s s.e.xual orientation.
Thus, the old man couldn’t say anything harsh to Luke.
After drinking two mouthfuls of cold beer, Luke finally said, “Grandpa, I’m already back. You can tell me what happened so that the plane ticket isn’t wasted, right? Also, I’m a rank three detective in LAPD Major Crimes Division, and I’m one of the top detectives in Los Angeles. If you really want to do something, I’m familiar with the law, and I know how the police work…”
Drax raised his hands in surrender. “Stop! I don’t really want to shoot anyone. You don’t have to be that considerate.”
Luke was basically saying, “Even if you kill someone, I can help you clean it up.”
How could the old man resist his family’s unconditional support?
The last thing he wanted was for his family to get in trouble, let alone for Luke to break the law for him.
Luke secretly chuckled.
He knew very well that his grandfather was amenable to persuasion but not coercion.
Rather than trying to persuade him, it would be better to start with family to calm him down.
Sighing, the old man finally explained what happened.
Luke listened in silence. He didn’t interrupt the old man’s recount, even when the latter was cursing the murderer who killed his good friend.
After the old man stopped talking and took a moment to catch his breath, Luke asked, “Grandpa, do you know anyone in the police department? Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to check out the situation at the scene.”
It was a huge case, and it had only been a day since the murder.
In order to solve the case, the police department would definitely keep the details confidential for now.
The old man nodded. “I know someone, a junior at the police department.”
Luke asked, “Can you ask him to take me to the crime scene for a look?”
The old man hesitated.
He was p.i.s.sed and could shoot dead whoever he wanted.
But he wasn’t willing for Luke to take any risks.