Blanco got on the road heading north, and Marco, who was sitting in the passenger seat, took out a stack of information from his briefcase and began to explain the case.
"Six months ago, around 12 o'clock in the evening on September 2, 1980, Lu Ben disappeared."
"The police retrieved the surveillance video of the 'Love Bar' where Lu Ben was last seen on the night of the accident and the nearby casino. They also interviewed witnesses along the street and found that Lu Ben drank a lot at the time and left in a semi-drunk state. Bar...all the way north, back to the apartment where you live..."
"He disappeared in about a mile of road between the bar and the apartment. There was no surveillance on this road because it was too late at night and the police did not find any witnesses."
"In addition, after searching, no clothing, hair, wallet... or blood stains belonging to Lu Ben were found along the way."
"It sounds like the world has evaporated, but there is a saying that goes well. Wherever you walk, you will leave traces." Dean stared at the straight road outside the window and asked in a deep voice, "Before the case of Lu Ben's disappearance, that stretch of road Are there any similar cases happening nearby? Are other people missing or killed?"
"No... Reno is a famous tourist town, and the folk customs are quite simple." A trace of pride appeared on the wrinkles on Marco's face. "As far as I can remember, there haven't been any criminal cases in the past four or five years."
Dean turned his eyes and nodded,
"I know the conclusion of the police investigation. What clues did the private detective you hired find?"
"It was difficult to find clues at the crime scene." The old man took out another piece of information from his briefcase, "So the two detectives analyzed the results from a different angle."
"They believe that Lu Ben might have been kidnapped by someone forcibly. It happened that Lu Ben was drunk at the time and was unable to effectively resist when he was attacked." The old man paused and stretched out his hand to straighten the wind. They parted their heads in confusion, "And who has the motive to commit the crime? The most likely person is someone who has an intersection with Lu Ben in life, and someone who has an interest relationship."
"Luben's social circle is very small. The only places he frequents are a Wal-Mart, Krispy Kreme donuts, a love bar and the apartment where he lives, and the local publishing house in Reno."
"Staff and customers at these five locations are suspects."
"Then the two guys investigated most of the suspected targets, questioned and investigated the activity trajectories, and even sneaked into some of the targets' residences to conduct detailed searches."
Marco sighed, his sparse and white eyebrows tightened,
"But the results are disappointing and everyone has been cleared as a suspect."
"Luben's friend?" Dean turned the steering wheel and the car drove towards a wider road.
"Luben only talks to his college classmate and best friend, Jero Caton." Marco paused, rubbing his smooth chin, and a trace of gratitude flashed in his eyes, "Jero is a good young man. After Lu Ben disappeared, he spent a lot of his personal time helping with the search. He really cared about Lu Ben as a brother. After the detective investigation, he was also ruled out as a suspect.
Marco sighed,
"I spent a lot of my savings and the two detectives did their best for four months. But to no avail."
…
"The actions of the police and detectives can be called a blanket search. If I remember correctly, you also asked newspapers and TV stations for help, but still no one was found." Dean said awkwardly, "Even if I take action, according to normal Using methods and logical thinking to investigate, we can’t do better.”
Dean's words fell to the ground.
A prompt suddenly flashed across the system.
Event description changes.
Reuben van Helsing
Event Difficulty: Unknown→Medium
Progress (5/100)
Deadline: one week
Reward: 130 experience points + special rewards.
Penalty: None
…
At the medium level of difficulty, Dean was shaken and became interested.
"You mentioned that Luben disappeared after being drunk. Does he usually go to that lover's bar to get drunk?"
"According to the testimony of Jero and the bar staff, it is indeed true." The old man nodded, and the sadness on his face turned to anger. He puffed his beard and said with a glare, "This brat is over thirty years old, and he is not yet in his proper form. He only visits the bar for a week. Three or four times, get yourself drunk every time!"
"Our Van Helsing family is either a lawyer, a doctor, or a big businessman. We have never produced such ridiculous descendants! We can't even find a regular girlfriend, and we can't leave any descendants for the family!"
The old man became angrier and angrier as he spoke, and the color of his old bark-like face surged.
"What a good-for-nothing good-for-nothing. When he comes back, I'm going to give him a good beating with my belt!"
The old man's teeth were clenching loudly, sweat appeared on his forehead, and spittle spurted out from between his teeth uncontrollably.
Dean was shocked. This old man wouldn't have a cerebral congestion and heart attack and die in his car, right?
"Relax, Marco, don't make yourself angry." He quickly slowed down and stopped on the side of the road, stretched out his right hand to pat his back comfortingly, and opened the car window to let in the cool breeze.
Ten minutes later, the old man's face returned to normal and his rapid breathing calmed down.
"Sorry, man, I have high blood pressure, my liver is not in good condition, and I can't control my temper."
"I understand, but you should be more open-minded. Some people are born with such a personality and cannot change it."
Dean put himself in the shoes of a man in his thirties, who did not work or get married, and relied on his sixty-year-old father for financial support. He also liked to drink alcohol and harm his body. Any family that encounters such a son would be in trouble. Headache.
"You can't change Lu Ben, it's better to change yourself." Dean handed the old man a bottle of water and suggested sincerely, "For example, if you had cut off his monthly relief earlier, he would have had to go out to find a job. Support yourself. Only after being beaten badly by life will he know your good intentions."
"You've never seen it before. This kid is a combination of crab and turkey." The old man said angrily, and then sighed. Every wrinkle on his face was filled with helplessness, as if he was destined to be eaten. "If I really do this, within half a month, I will find his smelly body in the apartment."
"But he is my only son, and I can't be cruel. Do you understand?"
Dean wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.
This missing Ruben Van Helsing is a real gem.
…
After a short rest, the car drove back onto the road, and soon left the crowded Las Vegas filled with high-rise buildings and entered the vast wilderness.
The sun is shining.
The field of vision was in vain, and the minds of the two passengers could not help but be clear.
"Marco, I also want to know everything about Ruben's past," Dean turned the steering wheel and said cautiously, "He became so 'depraved' and drank all day long to drown his sorrows. What major blow did he suffer?"
"Does this have something to do with the case?" When talking about his son's past, Marco's face suddenly tightened, and he rubbed his neck and seemed reluctant.
"It has a lot to do with it," Dean looked directly into the old man's twinkling eyes, "Everyone's future is determined by the past and the present."
"Luben's disappearance, or rather his own departure, is the result of the combined influence of countless past events."
"If we analyze the past carefully, maybe we can find his whereabouts."
Marco scratched his bare chin, was silent for a while, and then spoke,
"Tribeca's right, you're different from the other detectives. Where do you want to start, Ruben's college?"
"There are still more than five hours until we arrive in Reno. There is plenty of time. It doesn't matter if you start from when he was born. I am patient."
…
The old man spoke very slowly.
On the first day after Luben was born, his mother died of excessive blood loss.
His eyes turned slightly red when he mentioned his long-lost wife.
After that, he ran a pet clinic, took care of his son, and was both a father and a mother. He would take the child to the clinic every day and leave it alone, while he was busy treating small animals.
More than thirty years have passed and he has not found a woman to remarry.
"To be honest, I spend more time taking care of those cats and dogs than Luben."
Marco recalled,
"He was born with a relatively introverted personality. He didn't like to mess around and cause trouble like other little bastards. He preferred to record his daily experiences and imagination in his mind alone. When he got older, he became obsessed with writing."
Dean shook his head. Luben was also a poor child. At an age when he needed someone to accompany him the most, his mother passed away and his father was too busy working to take care of him. With no one to talk to and communicate with him, his ability to speak would be slowly blocked.
The personality is naturally forced to become quiet and introverted.
He is by no means naturally quiet.
"Luben was obedient and likeable when he was a child. He didn't have any bad habits, including alcoholism, and he never affected my work. He did whatever I said. He was very sensible and obedient." Marco's eyes showed nostalgia. A warm smile appeared at the corner of his mouth,
"The only regret is that he didn't make many friends and had no luck with women. He spent his graduation prom alone."
"Judging from the photos, Lu Ben doesn't look too bad." Dean was puzzled.
"But he has a bad temper and is not good at communication." Marco frowned, with a look of disgust on his face, "He doesn't have the masculinity of our Van Helsing family at all!"
Dean frowned in displeasure.
How much this guy likes to belittle his own son.
Can't you be gentle and tactful?
"After graduating from high school, Luben studied literature and writing at the local university in Reno." Marco looked sideways out the window and gradually left Las Vegas. The green vegetation on the side of the road began to increase, exuding a pleasant plant fragrance. He Tuxing said, "I would also be very happy if he could succeed in his studies and give birth to a famous writer in the Van Helsing family, or even a great literary giant in the future. What's more, he himself is obsessed with writing."
"It's a pity...it turns out that he is not good at writing. After studying for four years, he has not made any name for himself. He has not won any honorary awards." The old man grinned with a hint of mean mockery, and there was a trace of anger in his cloudy eyes.
"My abilities have not been developed, but my temper has grown a lot. For his sake, I asked him to join my pet clinic after graduation, learn some skills, earn money to support himself, and inherit my business in the future. He actually refused. .”
"He rented an apartment, moved in, and began to devote himself to writing, dreaming of becoming famous with one book and becoming a best-selling author."
"Is Luben a writer?" Dean interrupted righteously. Everyone who dreams of being a writer deserves respect. "Didn't you say that he was a vagrant at the beginning?"
"What kind of writer? He is not worthy!" The old man shook his head with disappointment. "He started writing from the time he graduated at the age of 24 to the age of 36. For twelve years, he did not earn a dollar from writing."
"Actually, this is normal." Dean pressed the steering wheel tightly and couldn't help but retort, "Many famous writers have been poor for half their lives. It's not that they have no talent, but they lack an opportunity, a talent."
"But at least they know how to find a job to earn money to support themselves. Where is Lu Ben?" The old man turned around and glared at Dean. He drew a circle with his withered right hand in the air and then took it back, as if he was about to hit him on the head. "It's so lazy." , unwilling to work, saying that I was afraid of being distracted, I just meditated hard in front of a pen and paper all day long, indulged in the big dream of spring and autumn that I had woven. "
"But let me tell you, what he writes are all old clichés that have been out of date for hundreds of years. They are all boring garbage and full of nonsense. Editors don't look at it at all, and no one is willing to publish it."
Marco spoke too hastily. He stroked his chest and took a deep breath. After a while, he continued,
"When he was thirty years old, I really couldn't bear to see him continue to waste his beautiful life, so I spent tens of thousands of my own money to help him realize his dream of publishing and let him recognize the reality." The old man sighed and said angrily. Undoubtedly, "As expected, only ten copies of his masterpiece were sold, and all the customers were hired by his only friend Jero."
"He took the remaining few hundred copies and distributed them for free to tourists passing by on the street, but no one wanted them!"
"He couldn't accept the reality and collapsed. A fire burned the printed manuscripts to ashes."
Dean rubbed his nose,
"What are the stories of the published book and the books he wrote before?"
"They are all historical stories about Reno. Because Reno is the 'Divorce Capital of the World,' there is a lot of love between men and women in the book, plus some nonsensical and ridiculous fantasies." The old man shook his head with disdain. "It's boring and lacks depth."
"The most important point is that as far as I know, this guy Lu Ben has never held a woman's hand a few times since he was a child, and has never experienced love in person, but he has compiled several epic love stories in the book," Mal said Corridor laughed loudly, "He actually has the courage to write about this. Do you think it's funny or not?"
Dean couldn't stand the old man's attitude of belittling his son, so he retorted,
"Does the customer have to learn how to cook like a chef?"
"Your metaphor is not very appropriate! He is clearly a chef, and I am the customer who made the review." Marco looked at Dean with a critical look and continued, "Six years after the book burning, Lu Ben has resigned himself to depravity. , often went to bars to get drunk, fooled me, and talked nonsense with me in order to find inspiration."
"Why didn't he take weed for inspiration?" Marco complained, blowing his beard and staring. "He was like a demon, drinking heavily while immersed in creation, until he disappeared six months ago."
"Then what kind of works has he written in the past six years?" Dean asked curiously, "Or is it Reno's love story?"
Marco hesitated for a moment, anger flashed in his eyes, and he shook his head.
"I don't know. In the past few years, apart from paying him living expenses on time every month, I haven't had any communication with this...stubborn donkey."
"Later, the police and the private detective I hired searched the apartment where he lived and found no valuable evidence."
"Half a year has passed. Is the apartment still there?" Dean asked,
The old man seemed to have been stabbed in the chest, his face turned pale, and he lowered his head. His thin back under the big coat was stooped, and the whole person seemed to have suddenly aged several years.
"I've been renting it..." There was a touch of softness and warmth in his stiff tone, "Otherwise, Lu Ben wouldn't have a place to live when he comes back."
The sun quietly rose above the head.
The car approached the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which is steep and covered with shrubs and grasses.
The golden sunlight shines through the car window onto the old man's short flaxen hair, and some silver hair shines, making Dean narrow his eyes.
What a mean-spirited old man.
Dean glanced at the system.
After listening to Marco's long story, the investigation progress jumped from 5% to 10%.
"Can you tell me more about Lu Ben's mother? You didn't talk about her much just now."
"She is the best woman in the world and my forever favorite."
(End of chapter)
