blogombal Chapter 68 Business Card
Chapter 68 Business Card
In the afternoon, sunlight streamed through the blinds into Lake's office, creating a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.
Luo Qiu sat down opposite Lake again.
The two men were drinking coffee, with a thin investigation report between them:
[Case Name: Death of Derrick, Patrolman at the Leap Jewelry Fair]
【案发时间：1861年4月26日凌晨5时40分】
[Location of the incident: Caleb Art Gallery, 108 Lockston Street]
[Reporting by: Luo Qiu, Smith]
[Case Details:]
At approximately 5:40 AM on April 26th, Derek (full name unknown, approximately 35 years old), a patrolman at the Liveop jewelry exhibition, was found dead in the exhibition hall's lounge. White foam was found at the corners of his mouth, suggesting possible poisoning. Preliminary on-site examination by forensic pathologist Andrew Perry revealed traces of painkillers and suspected sleeping pills in his body; the combined effects of these substances led to respiratory depression and death.
During the investigation, it was confirmed that at 4:00 AM, supervisor Mr. Carter and Mr. Derek met at the coffee machine in the showroom, had a conversation, and Mr. Carter was suspected of having malicious intent. Afterwards, just as they were about to isolate and interrogate Mr. Carter, he jumped out of a second-floor window of the showroom and escaped in his car…
[Mr. Carter has been preliminarily identified as the perpetrator. The motive is unclear and will require further investigation and interrogation after Mr. Carter's capture...]
The investigative team has been withdrawn, and relevant physical evidence has been categorized and properly stored.
……
"Although the perpetrator escaped, the case is fairly clear-cut. I can apply to have it classified as a closed case and sealed off."
Lake took a sip of his coffee, speaking seemingly casually, but then leaned forward and asked in a low voice:
"What did Mr. Hammond say?"
He said he wanted to "sponsor" some rank to help us fight crime.
Luo Qiu stirred his coffee with a spoon, and by this point, he was already somewhat weak and breathless.
Although he had anticipated this day, the situation had indeed been incredibly complex that morning. Constantly devising countermeasures and analyzing the situation was exhausting. Moreover, he only grasped a small part of the whole picture. The deeper aspects remained unknown and unpredictable.
It's time to end all of this.
Seeing the happy look on Lake's face after hearing about the 'sponsorship', Luo Qiu decisively said:
"Team leader, there's nothing much to do today, I'll head back now."
……
As Luo Qiu left the office and walked towards her workstation with her coffee cup in hand, she saw Smith standing not far away, looking rather sullen.
With only the old car, Smith certainly couldn't catch Mr. Carter.
But that wasn't the most frustrating thing for him.
He felt that all of this could have been prevented; after the coroner's findings, they could have directly interrogated Mr. Carter. However, all of this ultimately failed due to the intervention of his seniors.
It was simply to find more 'clues' unrelated to the murder.
Of course, helping with the jewelry investigation is their duty, it's just... just...
"What's wrong? You seem unhappy. Is it because you didn't catch Mr. Carter?"
As Luo Qiu walked past Smith, he immediately understood what Smith was thinking. He also knew how to comfort him.
"Alright, my mistake. But we know the truth now, so it's not like we gained nothing. Also, I have some good news, do you want to hear it?"
"What news?"
"You can go home now. This case has just closed, and the rest of the day isn't suitable for work. Perfect timing, your Miss Moran is probably waiting for you, isn't she?"
"Huh? Let's call it a day..."
In just a few words, Smith's attention was indeed diverted, and he became confused and bewildered when Miss Moran was mentioned.
At this moment, how could Luo Qiu give him time to think? He casually put down the coffee cup, turned the other person around by the shoulder, and pushed him towards the entrance of the Investigation Bureau.
……
It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when I got back to my rented apartment.
The rare sunshine bathed the dilapidated apartment in warmth, and the dust on the windowsill floated in the light like a thin layer of gold dust. The novel "Explorer Voss" lay open on the coffee table, exuding a fragrant aroma in the sunlight.
At this moment, nestled in the sofa, Luo Qiu also breathed a sigh of relief.
The gemstone case is finally coming to an end.
The Bureau of Investigation improved its case-solving rate a bit more, Hammond maintained his record, and Mr. Moran should have gotten his "beauty" as well.
Does everyone have a bright future?
What about him?
Luo Qiu was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and reached into his pocket. After a short while, he pulled out two dazzling objects.
A red gemstone that wasn't very translucent, and a gleaming gold pocket watch.
This was his haul: two fakes to replace the original jewelry. They had ended up in Roche's pocket after Mr. Hammond had taken them out.
According to the appraiser hired by Mr. Hammond, these two fakes were completely unreliable and probably not worth a thousand rankes.
But at this moment, when they reappeared before Luo Qiu's eyes, looking at the red light they emitted, besides wanting to absorb them, Luo Qiu also felt a lot of confusion.
If this is a counterfeit item meant to replace jewelry, why would it be considered a supernatural item?
Did Mr. Moran adhere to the principle of equivalent exchange?
It's somewhat absurd to think about. Mr. Moran claimed to be a traveling merchant. Did he really go to great lengths to make such a fake and then trick an ordinary person into replacing the real gem with it?
If that's the case, Luo Qiu will have to change his initial impression of the other person.
Thinking of this, Luo Qiu recalled the business card that the other party had handed him back then.
He looked at the business card from left to right but couldn't find anything special about it. Later, he just tossed it under the coffee table.
At that moment, Luo Qiu glanced slightly to the side and saw the almost forgotten business card through the glass.
Face up.
But unlike before, the characters on the business card were now completely blurred. Like a drop of ink falling into a bowl of clear water, the particles were constantly atomizing and spreading.
At that moment, Luo Qiu noticed a flash of red light on the business card in his field of vision.
Then, the ink particles began to move and recombine rapidly, and in just a few seconds, they actually pieced together a string of characters on the business card:
Tonight at 9 PM, 17 Sham Shui Lane, Ferro Bar.
But that wasn't all. Just as Luo Qiu was wondering about the changes in the business card, his finger touched the other party's card, as if he had touched a switch, and the business card began to change again.
The ink began to fade rapidly, and in just a few seconds, the business card completely turned into a white card. Then, the white card hardened, gradually turning gold, and slowly patterns appeared...
The changes to the business card stopped after a minute.
At this moment, the card had taken on a completely different appearance in front of Luo Qiu.
It's dark gold in color, with a fine matte coating and an intricate geometric pattern on the front. More like an invitation card than a business card.
……