The necklace theft case seemed like a farce, but fortunately the farce is over.

After John and Lucy leave, Luke and Lilith return to the club.

…

Milka Tea Restaurant.

Because of the stolen necklace, Luke and Lilith didn't have a good meal at noon. Now that the matter is over, both of them are a little hungry.

Lilith brings Luke for afternoon tea.

Two cups of black tea, a plate of fruit, as well as waffles, sandwiches, rolls and butter puff pastry, white asparagus cake, etc.

Every tea dessert is exquisite and gorgeous, small and exquisite. Among them, Luke's favorite is the chocolate mousse with gold foil. He has seen a lot of gold, but this is the first time he has eaten it in his mouth.

Lilith put down the tea cup and asked with a smile, "How does it taste?"

"It's not bad. The chocolate tastes very authentic. I like it."

Lilith suggested, "How about we have Spanish food tonight? A Spanish chef just came to the club, let's try his cooking skills."

"OK, I haven't eaten Spanish paella or Iberian ham for a long time.

These two dishes are my favorite.”

Lilith said, "But there is one more thing that needs to be done before dinner?"

Luke put down his fork and wiped his mouth, "A case of stolen auction items?"

"Yes.

I just called to inquire and the police investigation is not going well. The longer it is delayed, the more troublesome it will be."

Luke joked, "It's not easy to feed you."

Lilith held Luke's hand, "I know it's really hard for you to investigate two cases in a row, but you are the only one who can help me now.

When the investigation is over, you can stay in the club for a while and relax."

"Sounds good. Is the membership fee expensive here?"

"that's not important.

You are my VIP, it will always be free."

"One size fits all. I still prefer to pay for it myself. This way I will live more comfortably."

"OK, the hiring fee for your investigation this time is more than enough to cover the membership fee, so there is no need to worry at all."

Luke took a sip of black tea to moisten his throat and said, "Tell us about the case of stolen auction items."

Lilith took out the tablet from her bag, then stood up and sat next to Luke, opened the tablet and found a video, "This is the surveillance video of last night's auction."

The two of them sat very close to each other, and Lilith smelled faintly of perfume.

Luke doesn't like the smell of perfume that is too strong and finds it pungent. The perfume on Lilith's body is very light, like a mixed floral fragrance, which is very fresh and smells good.

The video started to play, and Luke regained his mind and began to check the surveillance of the auction.

The camera is placed in the corner of the auction house. It has a good angle and can capture most of the auction venue.

The auction venue is about 200 square meters, with a higher auction platform in front and some tables and chairs at the back for guests to sit. There are not many people in the entire auction venue, only about forty people in total, excluding service staff.

, there were only about thirty guests attending the auction.

Luke also saw Lilith in the video, "Were you there when the auction items were lost?"

"Yes.

This is what makes me very depressed. I was clearly at the scene, but I didn’t know who stole the auction items. Do you think I’m a fool?”

Luke joked, "That's the most charming fool I've ever seen."

Lilith curled her lips and said, "Don't tell others about this. If you tell me, I won't admit it."

In the video, everyone is seated and the auction officially begins.

The first auction item was an oil painting. The paintings were messy on a one-meter square paper. Luke didn't know what he painted. Maybe it was the so-called Impressionism.

After the auctioneer announced the starting price, guests came to the auction stand one after another to view and observe the oil painting.

Luke frowned slightly, "This auction seems a bit random."

Lilith said, "The people participating in the auction are all guests of the club. It is a small-scale auction, so it is not as strict as a large auction house.

This is also a feature of club auctions.

Some people like to bid in large-scale auctions, while others like this kind of small-scale exchange meetings, and there is no conflict."

Luke understood. Simply put, this kind of small auction is more 'humane' and makes it easier to exchange benefits.

For example, if the wife of the mayor of Los Angeles wants to auction one of her paintings or collections, it would definitely be more appropriate for this occasion.

At the same time, if there is a security problem in this kind of auction, it will also be a blow to the club's credibility, and it will lose many potential customers and some old customers.

Lilith pointed at the screen with her slender fingers, "Luke, this is the auction item that was stolen."

Luke looked at the screen. It was a green gourd-shaped porcelain with very exquisite workmanship. There was also a pair of red-crowned cranes painted on the underbelly of the gourd. The painting was so agile that the two red-crowned cranes seemed to be able to fly out of the bottle at any time.

"Chinese porcelain?"

Lilith nodded, "It is enamel. The fine bisque fired by JDZ is sent to the palace and baked with colored glaze by the royal painter. It is specially used for the royal family to enjoy. The painting skills are extremely high and the processing level is very high.

Strictly controlled, if there are any defects, they will be broken into pieces immediately. There are only a few of them in existence, and each piece is a rare masterpiece and is worth a lot of money."

Luke was a little surprised, "Do you know anything about porcelain?"

Lilith said helplessly, "As the person in charge of the club, this is my first time in charge of an auction, and I have a thorough understanding of every auction item.

Moreover, after the green gourd enamel was stolen, I did some more homework."

At this moment, the surveillance video suddenly ended.

"what happened?"

"The auction is out of power."

"Man-made, or accidental?"

"It rained heavily last night, and there was thunder and lightning. I thought it was an accident at first.

But the maintenance personnel said that the power distribution room had been tampered with, and the power outage was also man-made."

"How long will the power outage last?"

"About five minutes or so."

"Did anyone use a mobile phone to light up the situation?"

"According to regulations, mobile phones are not allowed to enter the auction venue during the auction.

And it was raining heavily that night and the sky was very dark." About three or four minutes later, someone shouted, "Where is my enamel gourd bottle? Who saw my auction item? Tommy, it was your club employee who took it away.

Already..."

Lilith sighed, "I knew something had happened at that time. After I got the call, I asked the staff. Because it was too dark at that time, the auction house was a bit chaotic. No one tampered with the auction items. Everyone claimed that they had not moved them.

But the auction items just disappeared.”

“How big is that auction item?”

"The enamel painting is 19 inches high, 2 inches in diameter, 7 inches in upper belly diameter, 5 inches in lower belly diameter, and 7 inches in base diameter."

“Did anyone leave the auction house during the blackout?”

"Yes, according to police statistics, two club employees and six guests left the venue."

Luke asked, "Is it possible that these people took away the enamel?"

Lilith nodded, "The police thought so too, but due to the power outage, the surveillance did not capture the picture.

This is also the most difficult part. The six guests cannot all be thieves, and we cannot treat them as suspects. This will affect the reputation of the club. The progress of the investigation is very slow, and I am a little helpless, so I invited you to come.

.”

Luke finished the black tea and wiped his mouth and hands with a wet wipe, "Let's go to the auction venue and have a look."

The two walked along the green path for a few minutes and came to a three-story building. The first floor was a coffee shop, the second floor was a small cinema, and the third floor was the auction venue.

Pushing open the two heavy wooden doors, Luke saw the auction house in the video. He entered the auction house and inspected it carefully, recalling the locations of the guests and auction items in the video.

"Did you hear anything suspicious that night?"

"After the power outage that night, because there were many people at the venue, it was a bit chaotic..." Lilith thought for a while, "Does thunder count?"

Luke asked, "When did the police arrive? Did they find anything at the investigation site? Which department was responsible for the case?"

"It was nine o'clock when the power went out. When I noticed that the enamel was missing, I immediately called the police.

Half an hour later, patrol officers from the Van Nuys District of the Canyon Division arrived at the club.

The person in charge of the investigation is Night Inspector Nicolin Yarrow."

Luke was a little unfamiliar with the name and glanced around, "Have they conducted a thorough search of the auction venue?"
To be continued...