At seven o'clock in the morning, the sky was gray.
Faint white light shines through the glass windows in the conference room, illuminating the ashtrays filled with cigarette butts on the table.
The police officer who had stayed up all night looked sluggish, Kruger was yawning under his blanket, Karl was puffing around the conference room with a cigarette in his mouth, and Holden's bloodshot eyes were staring at the tree shape on the whiteboard. picture…
Someone pushed open the conference room door.
"Thank you for your hard work, everyone, come and have some breakfast."
Dean and Rust took out the burgers, coffee, toast, donuts... and placed a lot of them in front of everyone.
"How do you know my preferences?" Kruger took a big bite of the donut that contained too many calories and sugar. Cream splashed everywhere, and the irritation on the tough guy's rough face suddenly turned into satisfaction.
Holden took the hot coffee and took a sip. There was a trace of blood on his shiny face.
"After analyzing the clues, we have made several discoveries." Karl put out the cigarette butt, took a bite of the hot dog, and stroked the sparse and shiny Mediterranean Sea with his other hand.
"Many hotel staff have seen this man entangled with Grace, but unfortunately no one knows his identity information, and Grace never revealed it."
"In addition, Grace was very popular in the hotel and had no disputes with colleagues or guests. Everyone felt sorry for her resignation. Some people organized a spontaneous search for her whereabouts after hearing that she was missing."
Karl threw several confessions to the two of them,
"At present, it seems that these former colleagues have little to do with Grace's disappearance."
Holden continued, "We searched all the surveillance cameras in the neighborhoods where Grace often hangs out, and found her in the surveillance video of a gas station..."
Several blurry photos were placed in front of the two of them.
In the photo, a woman is sitting in the driver's seat of a Ford F-150. She has red hair, heavy makeup, and is wearing a blue blouse.
"Where is Grace going?" Rust held up the photo and said,
"I-15 Freeway." Holden wiped the grease stains from the corner of his mouth, "leaving Las Vegas and heading southwest to Los Angeles."
"And the time was around 8 a.m. the day before yesterday. In other words, she prepared breakfast for you and changed into work clothes. After leaving home, she drove directly onto the highway."
Rust's face was stunned.
"Grace would definitely tell me in advance if she was traveling far away. She was forced to do so, right? The scar-faced man also threatened her in the car?"
"There were no other passengers." Holden regretfully took out a few photos, giving a clear view of the situation inside the car from multiple angles - there was only one person in the driver's seat. "Grace left Las Vegas completely of her own volition. Vegas, no signs of kidnapping or threats.”
Rust was silent.
Dean rubbed his temples vigorously, wondering why the progress of this case was different from what he imagined.
Holden asked, "Rust, think about it again, has Grace ever mentioned to you that she is going to California to visit a relative or friend?"
Rust held his face in his hands, rubbing it until it turned red, and shook his head.
"In my memory, I have no acquaintance in California, so she has no reason to go there. And in the past ten years, Grace has never left me alone to travel far away."
Dean patted his shoulder and turned to the police officer, "Is there no video of Grace's return?"
Holden shook his head and looked serious, "There is no record of return. So Grace left Las Vegas 100%, which means she left the scope of our LVPD investigation. We can no longer trace her whereabouts unimpeded." .”
"What do you mean?" Rust was startled, "You want to stop the investigation?"
"Listen to me," Carl next to him knocked on the round table and explained, "Each police station has its own jurisdiction. Our LVPD can only handle cases that occur in downtown Las Vegas. If the disappearance occurs in the jurisdiction Outside the city but still within the state of Nevada, then we need to coordinate with our brothers in the local police department.”
"But Grace got on the highway and did not belong to any local police department. We could only rely on the Nevada State Police and Highway Patrol to track her down."
"Well, the bureau has contacted the patrol team to track the whereabouts of this F-150. News will come back in the next day or two."
"So we can only wait?" Rust understood now. Incidents on the highway depended on the state police patrol.
"That seems to be the case at the moment, but there is a worse situation." Karl looked at Rust with his hands on his hips, with a look of unbearable expression on his face, "Grace drove into California, and this case became a cross-border case. State case.”
"Each state in the United States has different laws, and state police are independent of each other. Therefore, local police basically cannot enforce laws across state lines, and we cannot directly go to California to find people."
Dean and Rust's faces turned ugly.
Carr continued, "We can only apply to the FBI, which has law enforcement powers across the country, and ask them to send people to California to investigate."
"Isn't Holden the FBI?" Dean said,
"Then you have to apply with the above first, otherwise he can only investigate in a private capacity and cannot get support from the local police station."
Karl shook his head,
"In addition, our country has tens of thousands of disappearances every year, police resources are limited, and applications have to wait several days."
The whole office fell into dead silence.
"I can't go to California, and I have to apply to the FBI. Why is it so troublesome?" Rust lowered his head and muttered to himself, with a look of absurdity and despair.
Will Grace become one of the tens of thousands of people who go unaccounted for every year?
Dean looked at Karl,
"Even if Grace is originally safe, it may become unsafe if you delay like this!"
"There is no way, everything must be done according to the rules." Carl turned his head and thought for a moment, straightened his face, and showed a rare sincere expression, "But we will help you keep an eye on this case in Las Vegas and urge you over there. , we will notify you immediately of any progress.”
Dean could only sigh and stop forcing him. The guys from Carl's team worked tirelessly to help him find someone out of friendship, not out of obligation.
"Grace's destination is unknown." Dean pondered, "Let's investigate Scarface first and find out what happened between him and Grace. Maybe we can understand where Grace went."
"Guys haven't received any news from Scarface." Carl stared into Dean's eyes, "And according to the surveillance video, he did not appear in Grace's car. His suspicion of committing the crime is actually not high."
"I understand." Dean said perfunctorily and looked at the progress of the investigation. After this discussion, the progress jumped from 25% to 30%.
Progress is quite slow.
…
The tired police officers rested against the table, and Holden led the two of them out of the conference room.
"Rules are dead, people are alive. I have some personal connections in police stations across California. Let me check for you."
"I knew you were different from that stubborn old man Carl." Dean patted his chest, and Rust's face was full of gratitude.
"I have to take a nap before I get back to work. You two, please don't act rashly. Do you understand?"
…
"Dean, let's drive to the I-15 highway to look for it?" After leaving the police station gate, Rust couldn't help but suggest,
"No need. There are already highway patrols taking this line. Our efficiency is definitely not as good as theirs." Dean shook his head.
"Now go find a local private loan company?"
The two discussed leaving the police station, but they didn't go far when they spotted a familiar figure striding towards them.
The big Indian man was wearing the newly purchased blue suit, with a bright smile on his ferocious face, and said bluntly,
"You two, I have great news for you! A friend of Andre's provided important clues. This scar-faced man is called Tegan Fran, who often comes in and out of a 'Casino Royale' on Stewart Street in the old city. He Worked for the casino to solicit guests and collect debts."
"What kind of friend are you, you can actually investigate faster than the LVPD!"
Dean relaxed and looked at the system.
The investigation progress jumped from 30% to 35%
And a logical line connected in his mind.
Teigen works for a casino.
Teigen repeatedly pestered Grace and hired someone to beat her son as a threat.
Grace was extremely short of money and even sold her family's collection of jewelry.
Combining these facts, Dean came to a conclusion,
"Grace owes money to the casino because of gambling, and Teigen is pestering her to collect the debt!"
The investigation progress suddenly jumped from 30% to 40%!
"Grace has been leaving early and staying late for the past month, probably to pay off her debt from working for Teigen."
"Is this why I drove alone to California?" Dean looked at Rust, who was frowning, and concluded,
"Impossible!" Rust shook his head firmly, "Grace is not addicted to gambling, and she will not be in debt because of it."
Rust clenched his hands and said to himself, "Her colleagues and I can prove that she never enters the casino!"
…
"Last, this is the gambling city of Las Vegas, where people live in a life of luxury and wealth, and the desire and passion for adventure are beating like the heart all the time." Paquet sighed with an expression of someone who has come before,
"Thousands of casinos are located in every corner, like the second mouth of a peerless beauty. As long as you don't control your curiosity and go in once, there will be a second time, a third time, until you are completely ruined."
"No, Grace never believed in these games of probability."
"But what if it was for your college tuition? She wouldn't go into the casino and take a risk? Do you understand? Sometimes a sudden thought can make people fall into the abyss."
Rust's face turned pale, his lips moved and he couldn't say anything to refute.
"I've seen countless unlucky people. At first they just planned to gamble a few times and try their luck to make a few small profits, but in the end they lost their hearts and lost everything." Paquet's tone was a little heavier, "And the casinos don't even have money. It's clean, but there are many dirty tricks used to slaughter fat sheep. If you accidentally fall into their trap, your whole life will be ruined."
"I have received news that this Teigen is very dirty and clean. Several unsolved disappearances are inextricably related to him."
"Find the police, we will notify them immediately," Rust turned around anxiously, "Go to Casino Royale to arrest him and ask about Grace's whereabouts!"
"Naive!" Paquet looked distrustful when he heard about the police. "Anyone who can open a casino, even if it's just a small casino, has extraordinary energy behind it."
"This guy's tricks are so dark, but he has been safe all this time." Paquet looked at the two of them with burning eyes, and said those words to them loudly, "You think no one is protecting him from behind? No one is taking care of his relationship. ?”
"In Las Vegas, casinos are about money, and money can do anything."
“Even the police station building was built on money.”
Dean nodded with deep understanding. His uncle asked his friends to find out the whereabouts of the scar-faced man in a long time.
The dignified LVPD police found nothing. Is the investigation really slow, or is there someone inside who is causing trouble?
…
Dean looked at the stunned Rust, "The existing surveillance evidence shows that Grace drove away from Las Vegas alone and had nothing to do with Tegan."
"Even if the police come to confront him, he can still pay a well-known lawyer to clear himself up and even confuse right and wrong."
Dean thought about what happened to him in the mall. Gru Stone kidnapped a child in broad daylight, but was acquitted. He, a brave man who acted for justice, was almost sent to prison by him.
His relatives, the Leighton Stone family, were even more unscrupulous. Relying on their power and money, they hid in the big city of Las Vegas for so many years, raised a nocturnal species, and took countless lives.
No shit!
The bottom line of this world is lower than you think!
…
As soon as this idea sprouted, it became more and more prosperous and strong in Dean's mind.
…
Rust raised his head and looked at the dark sky, feeling entangled and confused. "Grace went to California, and the disappearance case became an interstate case. It became very troublesome to find her."
"Tegan Furlan, who is related to her disappearance, has a deep background,"
"What can we do if we don't call the police?"
…
Dean's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he looked up at Paqui.
The other party was actually looking at him, his eyes as sharp as arrows, as if he had penetrated his thoughts in an instant, and he grinned with a fierce and understanding smile.
…
"Last, what are you willing to pay for Grace?"
"She is my only relative in the world. Nothing can happen to her. I am willing to give everything for her."
"Even if you are asked to break the bottom line and violate the rules you have always followed in your past life?"
"I do!" Rust clenched his fists and shouted,
"Then tonight, let's get this Tegan Furlan back."
(End of chapter)
