Luben's apartment was small, with simple decoration, four white walls, and not even a poster. The most eye-catching thing in the room was a bed covered with a thin blue blanket, and a table and chairs beside the bed.
Dean found a photo of a man and a woman on the bedside table.
The man in a black coat has a tall figure and a stern face, which vaguely resembles Marco's appearance when he was young. The woman has long flaxen hair, a beautiful appearance, a beauty mark at the corner of her mouth, and a graceful figure under the red dress.
"Who is the woman in the photo?"
"This is a photo of Mary and I, before she gave birth to Luben." Marco's eyes showed memories.
Dean memorized the woman's face and turned to look at the table again.
The books on the table are piled up in a messy pile. There are books like "The Old Man and the Sea" that celebrate the indomitable spirit, and there are also fantasy books like "Alice in Wonderland". The most popular ones are "The Great Gatsby" and "Jane Eyre". Waiting for love.
Dean casually opened a book called "The Creation of Villains". Every page was crumpled and full of notes, but the handwriting was beautiful.
"Okay, even if Luben doesn't have writing talent, he has the ability to work hard and improve his writing." Dean put down the book, and his God's perspective scanned under the bed and in the closet, but unfortunately, they were all ordinary clothes and the like. things,
"Don't you have a typewriter in the house?"
"I bought one for Luben, but he sold it. He thought it was easier to create inspiration by writing purely by hand." Marco explained,
"Then where are the drafts he wrote by himself? He stays in his apartment all day long to create. Logically speaking, the drafts of the books he wrote should have piled up in a mountain, right?" Dean asked again,
"Unfortunately, according to Luben's friend Jero, Luben threw all his manuscripts into the Truckee River about a week before his disappearance." Marco looked around at the things around him, with a flash in his eyes. sad.
"Why do you do this?"
Dean could not imagine how desperate an author would be to destroy all his years of hard work. This era is not like later generations with the Internet and USB flash drives that can back up and leave records.
It’s gone, it’s gone.
"The work he had devoted himself to creating for six years was once again rejected by many publishing houses," Marco said expressionlessly. "He couldn't accept the reality and made an act of collapse."
Dean's face became a little solemn. People who suffer psychological trauma may be impulsive and can't think about it.
The possibility of Ruben falling into the river has become greater again.
But to prevent Marco from having a heart attack, he held off on mentioning the possibility for now.
"What is the new work about?" Dean rubbed his sore eyes and opened another book to check.
"I just remember it being a boring and bloody love story that happened in Reno," Marco commented concisely.
This understatement made Dean's investigation progress increase by 1% to 21%.
"Can you tell me more about it?"
"Sorry, I just glanced at it casually, and I am old and have a bad memory, so I really can't remember it. The only impression I have is that it is very boring, filled with the innocent fantasies of a middle-aged loser." The old man changed the topic, " Forget about that boring book, have you made any new discoveries?"
"Do you really want to find your son?" Dean crossed his arms and warned the old man, "If you keep being so secretive, don't blame me if you can't find him?"
"I don't understand what the unpublished work has to do with the disappearance case? It's just a broken book! That's all!" The old man had an old face like orange peel, feeling inexplicably angry.
"On the contrary, no matter whether a work sells well or can be published, it carries the author's ideals and passion, and it may be possible to get a glimpse of Lu Ben's inner thoughts."
Dean stared at the stubborn old man for a full half minute.
The opponent's face turned green and white for a while, and finally gave in.
"Before Luben disappeared, he often communicated with his only friend Jero Cayton. Maybe he had seen it." The old man took out a pager from his briefcase and opened the door, "Wait a minute, I'll make a call. "
Five minutes later Marco brought back some good news.
"Jero is currently on a business trip out of town and won't be able to return to Reno until tomorrow morning. I made an appointment for you to meet him at Bibo Coffee on Virginia Street."
"Then I'll go visit him. You're getting old, so go back and rest first, and I'll continue working."
Marco left tiredly.
Dean sat on a chair, took out a copy of "Divorce City: Reno" from the stack of books and started to flip through it. He wanted to read all the books to see if he could get any clues from the notes.
…
Early next morning.
Dean woke up from the red dragon meditation and opened his eyes. Yesterday's fatigue was gone and he was extremely energetic.
He jumped out of bed, twisted his limbs and joints, stretched his muscles, and went to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water.
Flashback to last night's experience in my mind.
Those notes add up to millions of words. Judging from the notes, Lu Ben is a person who is cold on the outside and hot on the inside, with an extremely rich imagination. He will mark every expression of the characters in the novel, blink his eyes, touch his hair. A long piece of meticulous psychological analysis, coupled with my own wild imagination.
For example, he just made a restaurant waiter smile politely at the protagonist, and wrote a wonderful background of unrequited love for the protagonist for several years.
…
And Luben is as stubborn as his father Marco.
In his notes, he boldly wrote about his strong yearning for a long-term love.
Once he met the muse whom he fell in love with at first sight, he was willing to give his life.
So in his notes, he made up hundreds of fancy plots of heroes saving beauties, fierce battles with gangsters, bone marrow transplants to save terminally ill lovers...
Dean's head felt slightly uncomfortable.
But the investigation progress has also increased from 21% to 30%.
Dean thus marked the latest clue——
4. Lu Ben is addicted to the longing for love and cannot extricate himself.
…
Nine o'clock in the morning.
The morning light was lazy, and Nuo was still sleeping in the lingering dreams of last night in the small town, which was pure and leisurely.
As agreed last night, Dean met with Jero Cayton at a coffee shop in the center of Virginia Street.
Jero was wearing a black wool coat and carrying a black handbag. He was of medium build, with fair complexion, clear short hair, and a well-groomed beard. His eyes were soft behind his spectacles, making him look elegant and handsome.
"You must be the new detective hired by Marco. You are really young and promising."
"Dean Lu, from Las Vegas." Dean stretched out his hand and shook his hand gently, then also ordered a cup of black coffee and a caviar sandwich, "I heard Marco say you are Lu Ben My best friend, so I want to ask you some relevant information."
"Luben is also my college classmate, a good brother for life. If you can help me, just ask." Jero nodded solemnly, looking very enthusiastic.
Dean thought about the other person's temperament.
"So you're an editor at a publishing house?"
"Yes, for the local Reno press."
"Has Luben ever submitted a manuscript to your publishing house?"
"I have recommended his works to the higher-ups many times, but it's a pity," Jero threw a piece of candy into his coffee and said regretfully, "My status is not high, my words have no weight, and the publisher always thinks that Lu Ben's works are not worthy of It has commercial value and refuses to accept it.”
"So what do you think, what is Luben's work like?"
"To be honest, the writing is excellent and the imagination is rich, but the plot is a bit cliche." Jero shook his head regretfully, "If he could follow my suggestions, refine the writing, and delete some content about love, he still has some potential. .”
"What about Ruben?" Dean grabbed the caviar bread, took a big bite of half of it, chewed it several times and swallowed it.
"Stubborn, not good at communicating with strangers. He likes to think quietly alone. He is sensitive and emotionally unstable." Jero's dark eyes flashed with memories behind his thick glasses. "But he has more advantages. He is willing to help friends. He once He borrowed money several times to help me get through difficult times. He is sincere and rarely lies or cheats."
"In addition, he is dedicated and enthusiastic about his work. When he chose the path of writing, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to it without being disturbed by external things. I have only seen this precious quality in the biographies of famous people in history." Jie Luo said seriously, "I always believe that as long as Lu Ben keeps focusing on it, in ten or twenty years, he will sooner or later create the miracle of becoming famous with one book."
Dean couldn't help but be surprised. This evaluation was not a low one.
"That's not what Marco said."
"Marco is a strict father. He has high hopes for Luben, so he naturally has higher requirements." Jero took a sip of coffee and said,
"And Marco is not good at expressing himself. He obviously cares about Luben, but apart from putting on the airs of a father, he doesn't know how to comfort him softly."
"A very appropriate comment," Dean wiped the crumbs from his hands, recalling Marco's sharp-tongued behavior and thinking of his father in his previous life and countless fathers in the world.
They are the same, busy working in silence and shouldering the burden of family and life.
I don’t know how to communicate with my children at all, and I don’t want to communicate.
The gap between father and son is getting deeper and deeper, and they rarely talk much when they meet.
…
"I heard from Marco that after Ruben was rejected by the publisher again, he threw all his previous manuscripts into the Truckee River." Dean asked, "Have you read these works?"
"As his best friend, I have the privilege of reading most of them." Jero then drank the last sip of coffee and moistened his throat, "Most of his works describe love stories that happened in the history of Reno, and added Some special fantasy.”
"What fantasy?"
"For example, legendary vampires, werewolves, and various legendary monsters attacked a single lady on the street under the charming night of the small town, and the protagonist turned out to be a hero to save the beauty, and the two performed a romantic love story."
"Rich imagination." Dean swallowed hard and reluctantly complimented, "What did Luben write in his latest work?"
"The latest work is the work of his painstaking efforts," Jero's face darkened, and he shook his head in disgrace. "It is the culmination of his thoughts and writing style. It is also his last stubbornness as a writer, and he has fully reached the goal of publishing. level, but unfortunately, my group of colleagues rejected this masterpiece.”
"The book is called "Ruben Van Helsing" and it is an autobiographical work. Well, no matter famous or unknown, the final stubbornness of every writer is to write an autobiography."
Dean wiped the crumbs from his hands, "But Ruben is only in his thirties, he doesn't have a wife or children, and he hasn't lived the rest of his life, so why should he write an autobiography?"
"So a lot of fantasy has been added to enrich it." Jero introduced while stirring the coffee. "In the book, Luben described his first half life experience of being born and raised in Reno from a first-person perspective, and his thoughts on writing and the history of his hometown of Reno. Preference, the longing for a perfect love.”
"It's a pity that the protagonist's works were never published, and he became a poor and lonely freelance writer in his thirties."
"But God doesn't always bring bad luck to people."
"One day, Lu Ben's fortune finally turned around and he got the love he had been waiting for for a long time."
Jero said word by word, turned to look behind him and asked,
"See that bridge over the Truckee River?"
"Of course, Virginia Street Bridge." Dean raised his eyebrows, a little uncomfortable with the sudden change of topic.
"Then do you know the significance of the Virginia Bridge in the history of this small town?" Jero asked,
"A woman who has successfully divorced will stand on the bridge, take off her wedding ring, and throw it into the rushing Truckee River. This represents the end of a marriage." Dean recalled Marco's introduction and replied,
"Then, meet a handsome cowboy near the divorce tent and Yinzhou cabin? Start a wonderful new love?" Jero took over his words, changed his tone, and shook his head sarcastically,
"Say goodbye to the past and embrace the future, how wonderful and glorious it is. Unfortunately, this wonderful fantasy is just a gimmick used by the Reno government to attract tourists."
"Not all women can start a new relationship happily and freely after throwing away their wedding rings. Some women are still addicted to the past, feeling that they have really changed their hearts and wasted a lot of youth. Their complicated emotions have given rise to the idea of suicide. , they jumped over the guardrail of the Virginia Street Bridge and—jumped.”
"Plop!"
Jero looked at the bridge, and the five fingers of his right hand closed and separated like splashes of water.
Dean's heart also beat a beat.
"The story in this book begins here."
"One late night, the depressed writer drunkenly left the lover's bar. When he returned to his apartment and passed the bridge, he unexpectedly saw a woman sitting on the guardrail preparing to commit suicide. It was just the back of a red dress. You can see her graceful figure and snow-white skin."
The bright sunshine in the sky suddenly dimmed, and a cold wind roared along Virginia Avenue.
Brushing the back of Dean's neck, he couldn't help but feel excited all over.
In the dark night, Lu Ben, who was drunk, was sitting on the edge of a bridge, a woman in a red dress preparing to jump into the river.
There's something wrong with this style of painting.
He interrupted Jero and looked solemn.
"Mr. Jero, is what you just told a story, or is it Luben's real-life experience?"
"If it were reality, Ruben would have shared it with me a long time ago. So this is 100% a fictional story," Jero noticed the solemn expressions on the audience's faces and continued,
"Spurred by alcohol and beauty, Lu Ben burst out with unprecedented courage. When the woman wasn't paying attention, he rushed to the bridge in one breath, put his arms around her waist and pulled down the guardrail, pulling him out of the abyss of death."
"But when Lu Ben saw her face, his whole soul came out of his body and he forgot everything else."
Jero's eyes were blank, as if he saw the scene at that time,
"Isn't that face the muse that haunts him?"
Dean raised his eyebrows, he was impressed by the beauty mark on the corner of his mouth.
"Luben fell in love with the woman at first sight. He comforted her gently and asked her why she committed suicide. The woman was blown away by the night wind and woke up from her previous impulse. She was extremely grateful to her savior."
"The two of them had complicated emotions, sat under a small tree by the bridge, and talked to each other... When they learned about each other's past life experiences, the more they chatted, the more they became more and more speculative."
"Beside the Virginia Street Bridge, under the warm night."
"Two bruised souls slowly approached each other and licked each other's wounds."
"This is where a beautiful love begins."
The narration ends abruptly.
"Go on," Dean urged, "Are they together? Where did they go then?"
"Sorry, this is all the contents of the first half of "Ruben Van Helsing", and I have only read the first half." Jero shook his head regretfully, "For the second half, Luben plans to wait for it to be reviewed by the publisher. Pass, show me again.”
"Unfortunately, he didn't wait until that day. Because he refused the manuscript, he threw all the manuscript into the Truckee River under the bridge, and then he disappeared."
"No copy?" Dean asked,
"I don't."
"Then do you think the editors Luben approached still remember the content of the book?"
Jero shook his head with determination, "You don't need to read the whole book to review, and half a year has passed. The editor has to review a large number of other manuscripts every day. How can he remember the eliminated ones?"
breathe…
Dean suppressed his unwillingness and looked at the system.
After Jero's half story, the investigation progress jumped from 30% to 40%.
Luben's disappearance is 100% related to the plot of his autobiography!
…
"I've told you everything I know." Jero glanced at the clock on the wall of the coffee shop, and the time reached eleven o'clock in the morning without realizing it.
"I have to go back to work." He handed Dean a business card and put down the coffee money. "If you still have any questions, please call me or call me at any time."
Jero stared into Dean's eyes and nodded solemnly,
"As long as I can find a way out, I will do my best."
"Um."
…
Looking at Jero's retreating back.
Dean rubbed his temples and began to review the clues he had found in the past two days.
1. Ruben Van Helsing is a poor writer who lives on the charity of his father Marco.
2. Reno, the "Divorce Capital of the World," has a long history of heartbreaking romance, and the Virginia Street Bridge is of great significance in this history.
3. Reuben had always determined to find a girlfriend as perfect as his mother, the dead Mary Van Helsing.
4. Lu Ben is obsessed with the longing for love and cannot extricate himself.
5. Luben wrote an autobiography for himself, in which he saved a beautiful woman who committed suicide on the Virginia Street Bridge and fell in love with her at first sight.
…
Dean checked these clues several times.
An idea comes to mind, but it is like clouds in the sky, invisible and intangible.
"There is still a lack of key clues. I have to find a copy of Lu Ben's autobiography, at least a copy of the first half."
The face of the stubborn old man appeared in his mind again, as well as his extremely resistant attitude towards Luben's autobiography.
"Marco must know something inside, and he must be told!"
(End of chapter)
