Chapter 9

Leaning back in the driver's seat, Murphy stared intently at the notebook on the steering wheel, considering how to handle the footage of the vehicle and the two killers he had captured.

Hand it over to the police? This is what a good citizen should do...

But Murphy had never considered himself a good citizen of Los Angeles, and even after more than a year in this world, he had no sense of belonging to America.

More importantly, what benefits would this bring him?

Apart from some routine mental rewards, Murphy couldn't think of anything else.

He played the footage again, propping his chin in his hand, and began to consider the possible outcomes of this situation.

Such a serious and heinous case, occurring in the center of Los Angeles and in the Santa Monica Mountains, would develop in completely different directions. The former would receive little attention, while the latter would be highly publicized.

The case occurred in a wealthy residential area with good security. Just from this point, it would attract significant public attention, and the Los Angeles police would face enormous pressure. If they couldn't find valuable clues, they might offer a substantial reward.

How much could the reward be? Murphy estimated that, given the status of the victims and the location of the incident, it would definitely be several tens of thousands of dollars.

There was no reward yet. If he handed over the video now, Murphy believed he wouldn't receive any substantial reward. He wouldn't overestimate the credibility and quality of the American police.

Moreover, once the video was handed over to the police, he wouldn't be able to sell it to the TV station, which would mean losing a significant amount of income.

For him now, even a few thousand dollars was a large sum.

Therefore, handing the video over to the police was definitely the worst choice.

As for whether he would be suspected if he arrived at the scene before the police, he had considered this before going in. The surveillance of this era was not as pervasive as in the future, especially since 9/11 had not yet occurred, and the government had no surveillance in many residential areas. However, the road he took to get there was the main route from the valley to Beverly Hills, and Murphy remembered clearly that there was public surveillance on it, which could prove he was not at the scene when the victim called the police.

After much thought, Murphy gradually formed a preliminary plan. His eyes returned to the notebook, and he opened the editing software, making a series of adjustments to the video. He deliberately cut out the part from the estate gate to the two black killers leaving by car, making it look like the footage started from inside the mansion.

If everything went according to his plan, this video could bring in a substantial amount of money, and it might even be the first pot of gold to kickstart his film career.

After doing all this, Murphy picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello," a familiar female voice came from the receiver, "This is Kara-Phies."

"Hey, Kara, it's me, Murphy."

His left arm resting on the car window, Murphy spoke directly, "I have a video of a robbery that just happened in the Santa Monica Mountains."

"Bill Road?" the other side asked.

"Yes, I just shot it," Murphy nodded.

Kara's voice was rather flat, "You're too late. Someone has already provided us with this news material, and our reporters are already on the way."

Hearing this, Murphy couldn't help but check the time. The consideration and editing had taken an hour and a half. For news reporters, a few minutes could make a huge difference.

"Is there anything else?" Kara asked.

"No," Murphy said with a light laugh, "But, Kara, I arrived at Bill Road before the police."

"What?" the voice in the receiver rose by a hundred decibels, "What did you say?"

Murphy said calmly, "I arrived at the scene before the police."

"Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier!"

The other side was shouting, "Murphy, I want to see you now. If I don't see you by midnight, I swear I'll kill you! I'll kill you with the cruelest methods you can imagine!"

Murphy didn't care about these words. Over the past month, he had come to understand Kara-Phies. For the sake of news and ratings, she could do many crazy things.

Driving towards Burbank, Murphy considered many aspects, especially how to maximize the benefits of this video. This kind of situation was rare and hard to come by.

In the white building of Channel 6, Kara paced back and forth in her office, occasionally glancing at her wristwatch. The news reporter who had just arrived at the scene had just reported that the incident occurred in a multi-million-dollar mansion, where the homeowners, their servants, and bodyguards were all killed, with very tragic deaths.

The video provided by the freelance journalist was taken after the police had sealed off the scene, and it didn't have much to attract attention. If the incident hadn't occurred in a wealthy area, she wouldn't have even bought it.

Because such a heinous case occurred in a wealthy area, she needed more impactful and attractive video or image material.

And that guy, Murphy, had arrived at the scene before the police. Kara didn't believe he would follow the rules and not capture anything useful. They had cooperated multiple times, and she knew that Murphy-Stanton was bold, meticulous, and had a ruthless streak.

Such a person would never stick to the rules.

Channel 6, the Los Angeles local station of the Fox Television Network, was just one of the many unremarkable channels under Fox. Its ratings in Los Angeles were always in the middle. The late-night and early-morning news lacked sufficient attention. Someone like Kara, with a keen sense of news and a strong sense of career, knew that the case that had just occurred would attract significant attention.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it would be the focus of Los Angeles social news for the next two weeks, and the ratings of the programs she managed were directly related to her position and promotion.

Glancing out through the glass door, seeing no movement outside, Kara was about to turn her gaze away when a tall, familiar figure appeared at the corner. Her furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and she couldn't help but push the door open and stride over to meet Murphy.

"Quite a surprise."

Seeing the tall woman approaching quickly, Murphy deliberately said, "You actually came out to greet me."

Kara tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear, a smile appearing on her finely made-up face. She asked eagerly in a low voice, "Did you bring it?"

She was wearing a well-fitted business suit, standing close to Murphy, her light blue eyes fixed on him as if he were her secret crush.

Of course, Murphy wouldn't think that way. He knew Kara was a shrewd and mature professional woman, and he couldn't be misled by the external expressions she used to leverage her gender advantage.

"It's here," Murphy took out a storage disk from his pocket and waved it in front of Kara, "The home invasion and murder on Bill Road in the valley. I saw at least four victims!"

Kara's eyes lit up, a strange light in them.

"Did you really capture it?" she asked uncertainly.

Murphy nodded slightly and waved the storage disk again, "I won't tell you how good the video is. I think you should see it for yourself."

Her lips twitched slightly, and Kara forced a smile, taking the storage disk from Murphy and leading him to the editing room. As they passed the office area, she ordered, "Michael, Kate, put down your work and come to the first editing room immediately."

A young man and woman immediately followed.

The editing room was unusually quiet. Murphy stood behind Kara and the others as usual, and their eyes were fixed on the screen, completely captivated by the video he had shot.

When the first victim appeared, Michael and Kate looked uneasy at the bloody scene, but Murphy could see from Kara's face that behind her professional makeup was a strange excitement, like a young woman seeing a limited-edition handbag.

When the second victim appeared, a smile already hung on Kara's lips, and her eyes shone even brighter. She turned to look at Murphy, who tilted his head slightly and returned a similar smile.

There was no doubt that this woman was highly interested in the video.

The video was still playing, and Kara was already satisfied. She picked up the phone and dialed an internal number, saying, "Get Connie from the legal department to come over."

Murphy wasn't surprised. Kara was a shrewd news professional and manager, and she knew this video was very sensitive and might involve legal issues.

A few minutes later, a black-clad woman with short hair walked in. Murphy just watched as they discussed the possibility of the video appearing on the program.

"Take a look at this video," Kara replayed it, "What can be broadcast?"

Connie stood next to Kara's chair, looking at the screen, and asked, "You mean legally broadcast?"

"Of course!" Kara's profession and authority were clearly significant, "Legally broadcast!"

"Have the identities of the victims been confirmed?"

Seeing Kara shake her head, Connie said, "If we don't notify the relatives, we can't broadcast the identities of the victims."

The editor named Michael added, "If we show the faces of the victims, it's equivalent to broadcasting their identities."

"Where did the video come from?" Connie asked.

"He shot it," Kara pointed to Murphy, "He arrived at the scene before the police."

Seeing the black-clad woman look over, Murphy stepped forward and extended his right hand, "Hello, Murphy-Stanton, freelance journalist."

"Hello," Connie shook his hand and then said to Kara, "It's best not to broadcast anything."

Kara's face immediately darkened, "I called you here to solve legal issues, not to veto my work plan."

"Alright..." Connie thought for a moment, "Blur the faces of the victims and don't reveal the detailed location of the incident in the program."

"Is that all?" Murphy asked.

Connie nodded slightly, "As long as there's no court order, we won't violate the law."

"What about news ethics?"

Kate, who had been silent, said, "This exceeds all television broadcast standards."

As soon as she finished speaking, Kara's gaze pierced her like a sword, "Have you seen the ratings of our program? I'm willing to bear any consequences for broadcasting this news!"

With that, she ordered without room for argument, "This will be the top story on the six o'clock news!"

"Wait!" Murphy suddenly interrupted, "We haven't discussed the price yet."

"Go out first," Kara waved to the other three. After they left, she turned in her chair, "Name your price, Murphy, but don't be too outrageous."

Murphy's expression was serious, "One hundred thousand dollars!"

The page with ads begins

The page with ads ends