Chapter 9 Chapter nine

I first made sure that no one was following me, then I walked into a phone booth and called Xia Heli. Xia Heli's voice came from the other end of the phone, fast and urgent.Hello, who is it?It was Xia Heli who was speaking. I'm Lai Tangnuo.I said. ah!He said.There was no longer the eagerness of waiting in the voice.Whoever he was waiting to call, he must be very disappointed to hear that it was me. Do you have a lawyer?I asked. What's the matter, yes.I have a lawyer who manages the accounts and legal matters of the trust for us. I asked: Is he okay? the best. Is he good at dealing with accidents or real swords and guns? It's not the kind of luxury office, real estate, but a tough battle, a matter of beheading?

I think he can do it.He is very smart. I said: contact him quickly. I don't understand what are you talking about? I said: I want you to contact him, talk to him, you will need him. Why? I said: Foshan police officers will look for you. Looking for me again. Looking for you again, looking for you again, looking for you again. Lai, I really don't understand why you say that? I said: Foshan has come to a conclusion, he thinks that the jade pendant is very important in this matter. A few emeralds are missing on it, aren't they? They are all found now. Where are they all?

Two are on the table, six are in the crow's cage, and five are in the sink drain. In the sink drain?Xia Heli repeated my words in disbelief: Oh my God, how did you end up in this kind of place? Rest there.Snaps in there in the U-tube.Someone tried to flush it down the pipe and into the gutter. The U-tube keeps it in place. don't know. Foshan doesn't understand either. But how could he think of finding me for this matter? I said: After a while, you will be even more unexpected.He came to you for the pendant. Why? Because I once went to Niu Banming to ask about the pendant.And you and I have appeared on the scene together again.We admit to visiting Melobe.The pendant is next to Melobo.Any stupid cop can hook you up to the pendant and question you.

Xia Heli said: I really hope you didn't ask about the pendant. I said: You were the one who asked me to ask. Yes, yes, I know.Of course, this was before I knew in whose hands it was. Don't worry yourself, you already knew who was in the hands of you.Your main purpose is to find out why the owner of the thing let go of the pendant. Yes, more or less the same. But for some reason, you don't want to go straight to everyone first and ask her. I want to find out first exactly.I said: So you hired me to look it up, and I figured it out.Now, you can't turn back time. Yes, time does not turn backwards.

I said: I was still asking people for the pendant this morning.It didn't take long for us to visit Melobe together.Melober is dead.The pendant we are so interested in is on the table with the emeralds removed.Why didn't Foshan list this pendant as the first clue in this case? So he will question you? Checked. when? just. Where? Niu's jewelry store.The one surnamed Niu was there, and so was Qiu Beide. What do they say. Not much to say. So you think Foshan's next target will be me? This is what I absolutely guarantee. What am I going to say to him? I said: It is fine to speak with conscience.

I want you to give me some advice first. That's why I suggest you ask your lawyer first. But why can't you say it? Anything you say to your lawyer can be classified as confidential.No one can force you to speak out.A lawyer can answer questions on your behalf.When the situation is bad, he can tell you to shut up and say nothing.Nobody can oppress a lawyer.I'm just a private detective, and private detectives have always had to cooperate with the police.If they catch me violating professional rules, they'll cancel our license.Do you understand now? Yes, I get it. I said: You have two paths.You can tell them that the owner of the pendant was originally Luo Xiulan, or you can tell them that you don't know anything.

I've told them once and I don't know anything anymore. I said: That's why I want you to definitely talk to a lawyer. I still don't understand what you're talking about? I said: What you've told them may not be the right way to tell them.I have covered you enough.But before you get too deep into yourself, you better change your narrative.Tell the police that after the emeralds on the pendant were removed, you didn't know him at all.Now you think about it again, you remember seeing No, Xia Heli said solemnly: I must not hold Miss Luo inside.I have decided that we will use all our strength to keep Miss Luo out of the matter.

If she herself told Sergeant Verde the story she told me, the matter would be over. The search for the pendant may have been discontinued.However, once it became known that she was the owner of the pendant, there was bound to be a lot of unpleasant publicity that would follow. The previous owner of the pendant.I correct him. Say what you want. Not what I say.I told him: It should be said in the way you want. Yes.He said: Thank you very much, Mr. Lai.I'm very happy with your statement about customer loyalty. Be loyal to previous customers.I corrected him again. How to say?he asks.

I said: You asked us to do something for you.We're done, the deal is done.We don't owe you, and you don't owe us.The two of us have nothing to do.There is an old saying that marriage between a man and a woman has nothing to do with each other.I have nothing to do with you. He said: Lai, I don't agree with your idea. Why? I think you should also stand by me in this matter. which thing? on the whole thing. I said: As far as our detective agency is concerned, you are here to find out the whereabouts of the pendant.We figured it out. However, other events occurred. For other matters, you'd better come to discuss with Baisha in person.I said: As far as I know, the detectives will interview Luo Xiulan and Holup.

Why? Routine, see if they know something that might be useful. Tang Nuo, thank you for telling me these things.Xia Heli said, suddenly he seemed to be in a hurry to close the line. You're welcome, you're welcome.I said, hang up the phone. I took the company car back to the detective agency. The first issue of the morning paper is already available on the street.The murder was in the papers, the picture of the crow was in the papers, and there were pictures of the scene.The other thing is the pendant.Just like common cases, every newspaper and every reporter has their own reasoning.Hit the sky and hit the sky.

I saw a report by a so-called criminal reporter. He reported that: According to reliable reports, the Foshan police officers tried all possible methods to interrogate the crow, wrote down every word the crow said, and finally came to a conclusion, which is mysterious. The dead man was apparently on the phone when the murderer stabbed a knife into the back. The Foshan police officer appealed to the reporter: at that time, that lady or gentleman was on the phone with Melobo, please contact the police as soon as possible. The .22 caliber automatic pistol on the table is also the focus of investigation.The pistol had been fired at the same time as the murder.But in the attic, no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find the warhead.The police theory is that Melober fired the gun and the bullet hit the killer, so the killer in this case was injured. The police have set up lines in nearby hospitals, clinics, and doctors. When the murderer is forced to seek medical treatment, he cannot escape the law. Suddenly, the phone rang. I hesitated, wondering whether to listen or not.Then I picked up the phone, disguised my voice and said: This is the cleaner.Who are you looking for? I heard the voice of the other party, but I couldn't remember who it was.The sound is soft and nice.Sorry to trouble you.I'm trying to speak to Mr. Lai Tangnuo of the Curry's Detective Agency.Since your husband is the cleaner there, I wonder if you can tell me, how can I contact him at night? Which one are you?I asked. I don't want to leave my name and I wonder if you could tell me how I can get in touch with him You must leave your name, or I will interrupt him. sorry sir.I really can't tell you this.This is a relatively confidential event I recognized the voice, it was Qiu Beide.I said: Wait a minute, someone is coming in.It may be Mr. Lai, oh, Mr. Lai, good night.There is a call that you must listen to, and he said it is an urgent matter. I turned back to the phone and said: Okay, Mr. Lai is here, he is here to answer the phone. I put down the phone and walked around the office so that the other person could hear footsteps from the phone.I picked up the phone and said in my original voice: I am Lai Tangnuo, who is it? Oh, Mr. Lai, it's Qiu Beide. Um. I appreciate the attitude you gave when the police officer questioned you today.Very skillful. Thanks. See the newspaper? Yes. I have found the one who once had this pendant.I don't know if you are still interested in continuing the investigation. What's his name? This graceful law. Where is the address? Wishing Well Apartments on Ninth Street.I don't have her apartment number on hand, but you can see the nameplate when you get there. I know that place.I told him. I'm afraid you want to know, so I tell you. Thanks. Is it useful? Not very useful.I told him cheerfully: I've been hired to do a job.I've done it, I've paid for it, and it's over.But your kindness to me, I thank you. Oh, but let me tell you, Qiu Beide said: I think it is necessary to investigate this matter. Then you should contact the Foshan police officer. No, no, I can't do this.You should know that with so many things going on, the one I find most difficult to deal with is the police. Why? It will mess up the scene.Qiu Beide suddenly said quickly: Lai, let’s put it this way, in this matter, you have a client. I once had a client. I'm almost sure your client wants you to look into this.This is a confidential source of important clues.It's something I personally think you'll pay attention to. I said: Thank you for telling me. He hesitated for a while.He said: It doesn't matter.Hang up the phone. I took the elevator down quickly, stepped into the company car, and drove quickly to the Wishing Well apartment.The name plate at the door shows that Ben Wanlu lives in No. 328.I rang the bell at the downstairs door, and almost immediately there was a buzz, and the street door swung open. I pushed the door open and walked in. The automatic elevator took me up to the third floor. I found the door of Ben Wanlu's apartment and knocked on the door. who?she asked. I said: I am Mr. Lai, you don't know me. She opened the door a crack and I saw a safety chain hanging from the door.Evidently she was rather uneasy about the young man who visited near midnight. I cut to the chase and said: My name is Lai Tangnuo, and I'm a private eye.I'm tracking a piece of jewelry.I think you know something about this.May I come in? She passed the open door and watched me carefully.Suddenly she smiled.Turn on the safety key and open the door. Of course you can, she said: a man, straightforward, would never She stopped by herself. Obviously, what she wanted to say was not flattering, so she lowered her voice and smiled. unsafe?I asked, to bring her words to an end. She continued to laugh, no, no, I have a high sense of security, please come in. The apartment is small and nice.It is kept very clean.You can tell at a glance that someone lives there, but it's clean. She pointed to a chair and said: Please sit down and talk. I waited for her to sit down, then sat down myself. I said: Have you read the Tomorrow Morning Post that comes out tonight? not yet. I said: I'm tracking a pendant.I have news you may know a little bit. She asked curiously: Who gave you the news? That's the last thing a detective can divulge about a source. She thought for a moment and said: It should be. I took out the newspaper from my side.I had already prepared and folded the newspaper to show her the picture of the pendant and nothing else.I handed it to her and said, "It's this pendant."Can you tell me what do you know? She looked at the photo, looked at it for a while, and adjusted the position of the photo casually so that she could see what was written under the photo.The description stated that it was a pendant found on the table near the deceased at the murder scene, and the thirteen emeralds on the pendant had been deliberately removed. So she opened the newspaper again to see who had died. During this process, the expression on her face did not change at all.Her hand, too, was calmly holding the newspaper.There was no surprise, no change in breathing, no cry out. Watch her carefully, she is about twenty-four years old.She had curly blonde hair the color of old-fashioned taffy.Her forehead is neatly angled, and her eyebrows are straight and straight, giving people the appearance of concentrated thought.Her lips are thin enough to look harsh, but her mouth is sensitive and ready to smile at any time.On the whole face, she is a woman who can get along with, but she is a woman who changes her face when she says she changes her face. She lifted her eyes up on the report.She said: What do you want to know? That pendant, I said: Does that look familiar to you? She studied the question a bit.She said: It is possible.Can you tell me the connection? I know only a little less than what the papers say. I haven't read the newspaper reports carefully.Just read the title.I want to report the pendant in the photo, found on a table in the room of the murderer. Yes. She said: "Honestly, Mr Lai, I'm not sure what the pendant looks like.I can tell you that I have some antique jewelry that has been in our family for quite a while.Most of it is rubbish which means the gemstones are worthless and the setting is outdated.There is a pendant, which is very similar to the one in the photo.But that doesn't mean much either.There must have been a large number of pendants like that in ancient times. What happened to this particular pendant? There is no aftermath, just a pendant, very similar to the one in the newspaper, but not exactly the same. What do you mean? She said: I have never had a pendant made of thirteen emeralds.As far as I can see my pendant is just a reproduction of the fine art that was sketched in the newspaper.But for my pendant, the one on it is a synthetic ruby, and the others are all dark red garnets. Where did the pendant go? I sold it. To whom? why do you ask I laughed and said: I don't know either.Maybe it's because I'm a detective and I'm used to asking questions.I came here to investigate things, so I can't avoid asking questions from every angle. She returned the newspaper to me.Her silver-gray eyes looked at me thoughtfully.She said: I actually sold it to a man surnamed Qiu who was a broker and occasionally did some of this kind of business.At least that's what I've been told. Interesting, I said: How did you happen to run into someone surnamed Qiu? It didn't happen by chance.She said: I found him out. I raise my eyebrows. She smiled slightly and said: I will take the jewelry to a shop. Niu's jewelry?I asked. God, no, Niu's is a high-end store.I went to the smallest store.The kind on the street.I said I had a lot, and one of the rings was the most valuable.There was a rather large diamond in the ring, but even I felt that the old-fashioned cut was wrong.There are also a few watches that you know ladies kept on their breasts in ancient times. I smiled and said to her: Go on. And this pendant and a bracelet, I think only gold is valuable. How did you meet the surname Qiu? The owner of the small jeweler weighed the jewels on a scale and gave me a price in terms of their weight in gold.I think it's a bit too low.He explained to me that his price was the weight of the gold plus the price of the diamonds.The other stones are practically worth nothing.He said he had a friend who might pay a little more for such antiques.He said the guy had clients who liked antique jewelry. He mentioned Qiu's name? Not then. So what's the matter? So the boss contacted this man and gave me another price.Of course it was higher than what he originally estimated for me, almost double the price. Of course you accept it? She said: "Of course I can't accept it.That sudden increase in the estimate reminds me that there might be some value in this lot of jewelry. Anyway, you know, I'm thinking they're bound to take advantage of me.So I told my boss, I changed my mind, decided not to sell, and took the jewelry back. so what? I took it to another jewelry store to see. What about other jewelry stores? His valuation is the same as the first bid that the first company gave me.He also said that nothing but gold was worth anything. what about you I asked them if there are people who specialize in antique jewelry and can offer better prices because they have special buyers.He said he had never heard of such a business.So I took the jewelry back to the first store, and I honestly had a showdown with them, and I said I decided to sell the jewelry, and I wasn't happy with them charging so much twice, I didn't care that they made a fixed profit, but in Making huge profits from customers is not the way of business. What do they say? The boss laughed and said he knew how I would feel.He went to the cash register and took out a business card of Mr. Qiu and told me: Then please go directly to meet this gentleman. If you can think of me, please give me 15% of the total price as an introduction fee , I originally only wanted to earn 15% from you. So you went to Mr. Qiu by yourself? So I went to find Mr. Qiu myself.She said: In the end, Mr. Qiu and I made the deal. After I paid 15% to the owner of the jewelry store, it was 40 yuan more than if I sold it at the beginning. Miss Ben, the pendant is in a batch of old jewelry. I think this batch, even the pendant, was bought by Qiu, right? A batch of all, yes, all of them. As for the pendant, did he seem particularly interested? None of them particularly interested him.She said: "His business looked like an investment.Occasionally, he has some customers who want some antique jewelry.It is said that it is like some people want to collect antique furniture.He said sometimes he can sell such antiques for a higher price.Among these things, he seems to be more interested in watches than other jewelry.He said that these watches can be repaired and repaired very accurately. I said: It's very strange for someone with his talent to do this kind of business, isn't it? What talent does he have?she asked. How would I know, I said: but he dresses immaculately, drives a very nice car, obviously makes a lot of money, and maintains an office. She said: "I think this kind of antique jewelry is just a sideline for him.I'm sure he has other ways to make big bucks, but he hasn't forgotten the side hustle that can make a lot of money. I see you are quite right. I think in your line of work, you must always have the ability to read people. It's just trying my best. She said: I just like watching people.Anyway, I think that when people look at me, they first have an impression, and then they look at my personality. The first impression and personality are more important than anything else.And every time I see a person, I always want to study his personality. How long ago did you meet Qiu Beide? Three or four months ago. Don't you know Melobe? Never heard the name? In your batch of jewellery, is there any emerald? God, no. have you been to south america Don't be silly, I work for a living. If you don't care, I want to ask what do you do? An underwriter's secretary. Did you have any particular reason to spend money when you sold the jewelry? She laughed and said: You can really push your feet, huh? Not only do I get ahead, sometimes I put my head into the hands of others.Is there any way, without asking questions, I can't get news in my line of work. She said: Looks like I've told you enough, haven't I? I also think so.I'm just asking casually.Cover all aspects that can be understood, and see if you can summarize something. What's the point of the pendant? I didn't know either, it had a place in the murder case. Doesn't the pendant in the newspaper belong to Melobo? I think so. She said: That's all right, Mr. Lai, I want to be honest with you.That's not my pendant.All you're interested in is obviously an emerald pendant, my pendant is similar in design, but you and I both know that the design was only a trend for a while.At least thousands of pendants of this design were sold in the market at that time.Most of it has probably been melted away, gone.However, it is not too difficult to say that if there is no sale, there will still be a lot left in people's hands. What do you want to do?I asked her when she stopped. It's not difficult to make one if you want to. Do you think Qiu has this plan? She said: I didn't say that. I'm asking if you think so? She said: How to say, you are a detective.It's up to you to think with your head. I said: Well, let me think about it, let me think about it. She immediately stood up calmly, confidently, and her posture clearly indicated that the meeting was over and I could leave. Goodbye then.I said: Have you told me everything you know? All said and done. I resigned, went down to find a payphone, and called Qiu Beide.He is in his office.He is waiting. Find something?He asked immediately when he heard my voice. I said: Yes, I found a lot of facts. Can she recognize the pendant? I said: Her pendant has an artificial ruby, and the rest are red garnets. He said: Oh. I asked: What reminds you of Miss Ben? He said: "Honestly, Lai, that was just a thing that popped into my head. I suddenly remembered that I had an antique jewelry deal with a young lady. There was a similar pendant in it. I found it." Find her name and address in my notebook, and I'll try to tell you. What did you do with the jewelry? In batches, I got a lot of profit on two watches.Everything else is pretty much rubbish. You didn't give the pendant to Melobor, did you? God, no.I don't give jewelry to anyone. He didn't buy it from you, did he? No. I said: well, thanks for the secret message. You will make a difference, right? I said: No, good brother.I won't do anything about it.I don't know what connection you have with this lady.I don't know how much effort the police will take to find the original owner of this pendant.But I knew that if I went to see the Foshan police officer and gave him a big inside secret, and it turned out that I was trying to distract them and make them go around in circles, the Foshan police officer would not be happy.Of course I won't be happy either.We're going to say goodbye, bye. I hung up the phone before Qiu Beide could think of any answer.