Chapter 866 Confidential Investigation and Oil Paintings Hidden Secrets
Falling into the quiet ward, the elderly Dominic stretched out his hand towards the sofa against the wall and said feebly, "Sit down and chat, young man, what do you want to ask?"
"first question"
Wei Ran sat on the sofa and waited patiently for the other party to control the electric wheelchair to face him, and then continued, "Mr. Dominic, why are you so sure? Your family, or to be more precise, you
Your parents brought your younger brother and cousin to the United States?”
"anymore question?"
Dominic asked slowly, "My memory is pretty good, so let's ask them together. After all, you only have ten minutes, but my answer is not within these ten minutes."
Hearing this, Wei Ran smiled and continued the question and answer unhurriedly, "Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Dominic. Second question, you really made your fortune with a lottery ticket that was redeemed for a bounty of US$270,000.
Of?」
"If you still have questions, just keep asking," Dominic said again, "Don't let me rush you."
"The third question, can you tell us about your combat experience in the Hürtgen Forest? Of course, what were the combat missions of you and your uncle at that time."
After a pause, Wei Ran continued, "The fourth question is, after the war ended, no, to be more precise, after you and your uncle surrendered and walked out of the Hürtgen Forest, did you still meet?"
"One last question"
Wei Ran paused for a longer time this time, until the other party couldn't help but urge him, and then asked with a smile, "Mr. Dominic, why didn't you mention looking for your uncle?
"Is this all there is?" Dominic's old eyes finally showed a hint of surprise. "These are the only questions at the moment."
Wei Ran smiled and said, "Of course, it would be best if you could provide some relics of you or your uncle, as well as your parents and family members. Maybe I can find some clues and ideas.
"I believe what Carlos said now, maybe you can really help me find my family.
Dominic muttered something incoherently, and then asked with a smile, "Tell me your guess?" "You and your uncle should have been in contact after the war, right?"
Wei Ran stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, "Let's make a bold guess. Did the $270,000 also come from a gift from your uncle? Of course, the reason why you are so sure that your family members are all in the United States is probably also your uncle.
Did I tell you?"
"Why such a guess?" Dominic asked in a calm tone.
"For a minor to come out of the Hürtgen Forest alive and choose to surrender can be said to be a fluke, and to come out of the Rhine Camp alive may be equally lucky.
When Wei Ran said this, he turned around and leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window to look at the old man who was also steering the wheelchair and turned to face him. "But even if he had such luck, in the fifth year after the war, he wanted to return from West Germany."
Immigrating to the United States is definitely not an easy task. At least in this matter, there is definitely someone to help you.
"What else?" Dominic asked, an undisguised smile already appearing on his old face.
"Since someone helped this young man immigrate to the United States, and he accidentally became a billionaire while searching for his family all his life, but he did not find his uncle who once fought alongside him."
Wei Ran smiled, and finally asked the obvious conclusion with a firm tone, "Mr. Dominic, your uncle survived at that time, and it was he who helped you immigrate to the United States from West Germany. It was he who secretly worked with you to find your family.
, even the 270,000 US dollars you exchanged for lottery tickets, and even your gold mining business, there is his shadow in these things, right?"
"Carlos finally found me a smart guy."
The elderly Dominic first tactfully confirmed Wei Ran's guess with a sigh, and then explained, "You guessed almost all the answers to the questions you asked correctly, but for some reasons, I can't answer the questions you just asked.
Any questions. So, young man, are you still willing to help me find my family now?"
"Of course, it's my honor."
Wei Ran smiled and replied that although the other party was obviously hiding something, considering the high cost of the investigation, he didn't mind these trivial things at all.
"In that case, take this."
As Dominic spoke, he tremblingly took out a shiny key from his pocket, raised his arm with difficulty, and handed it to Wei Ran.
"What is this?" Wei Ran asked in confusion.
"The key to my coffee plantation in Hawaii"
Dominic said slowly, "I will ask Carlos to send you there later, and you can live there. The relics left by my uncle are all in the collection room. In addition, the content of the conversation just now, as well as the things in the collection room
, I don’t want the third person to know."
"Of course, please rest assured, I still have professional ethics." Weiran assured as he put away the key.
"Okay, the ten minutes are up, I'm going to take a rest.
As Dominic spoke, he maneuvered the electric wheelchair to the floor-to-ceiling window again, looked at the coastline at the end of his sight and said, "Before I die, if you can give me a satisfactory result, I will also give you a satisfactory reward.
"
"If I need to go somewhere during this period, can I use your private jet?" Wei Ran asked before getting up and leaving.
"Just go to Carlos for such a small matter."
Dominic took a deep breath, and then continued, "Okay, you can leave, and let Carlos in for a moment.
「
"Goodbye, Mr. Dominic." As Wei Ran spoke, he had already walked out of the high-end ward.
"How is it going?"
Before he could close the door, lawyer Carlos, who was sitting on the lounge chair outside, stood up and asked in German.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Mr. Dominic, please go in," Wei Ran said with a smile, "I will go downstairs and wait for you."
"See you soon." After Carlos said this, he immediately walked to the door of the ward, knocked gently on the door, and waited for a second or two before opening the ajar door and walking in.
Waiting until the other party closed the door from the inside, Wei Ran turned around and went downstairs, joining Suisui and others who were still waiting in the business car.
"How's the situation?" Suisui asked with a yawn.
After pinching the key in his pocket, Wei Ran responded with a smile, "We just chatted for a few words and the rest will wait until Mr. Carlos comes back."
"We have already planned where to go these days... Oh no! I mean inspection, yes, inspection!" As Suisui spoke, she had already taken the tablet from Anfisa's hand, full of expectations.
Said, "We plan to visit all the islands in Hawaii!"
"You won't take me with you?" Wei Ran asked deliberately jokingly.
"Make money well!" Suisui raised her chin matter-of-factly, "At least 2.7 million U.S. dollars! If you make this sum, you will have nothing to worry about for the rest of your life."
Hearing this, Wei Ran shook his head secretly. He didn't think the money was so easy to earn. Now he could only hope to find something in the plantation he was about to go to later.
But contrary to their expectations, it took almost half an hour before lawyer Carlos came down from upstairs.
Not only that, after the old lawyer got into the car, he handed an agreement to Weiran and explained in German, "This is an employment agreement. Mr. Dominic hopes that you will sign it before signing it."
Start investigating."
After a pause, Carlos added with an embarrassed look, "He also said that if you refuse to sign this agreement, just have fun in Hawaii for a few days. If you have enough fun, I will send you back to Kazan, and you will also be given extra
I’ll give you $50,000 for your hard work.”
"How generous"
Wei Ran mumbled as he took the agreement and glanced at it, only to find that it was a completely handwritten employment agreement in German.
In this brief agreement, it not only listed the remuneration that Weiyan may receive as well as the method and time limit for receiving the remuneration, but also listed an additional requirement: regardless of
Whatever the outcome of the investigation is, the investigation process and results will be kept completely confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone except the employer.
Cross even specially translated this message in English to Suisui, who was watching the fun. Even without the temptation of the $2.7 million, Suisui immediately took back the pen handed over by Carlos when Wei Ran took it.
got a curious look.
"Victor, please allow me to remind you."
Lawyer Carlos stretched out his hand to stop Wei Ran who was about to sign, "In addition to being Dominic's personal lawyer, I am also a notorious American lawyer. If you violate this agreement, even if Mr. Dominic passes away, I will
I will initiate a lawsuit against you as agreed. Believe me, you may lose everything due to breach of contract."
"As long as you don't set a trap on this employment agreement, I will not breach the contract." Wei Ran confidently made a promise.
Of course, Carlos didn't know that Wei Ran was more confident than just keeping secrets. He was even more confident that he would never be able to keep this notorious lawyer from speaking out - even if it was the last resort.
"I can swear by the friendship between Mr. Chen Qi and my father." Carlos solemnly raised three fingers, "This employment agreement..."
"Forget it if you swear."
Wei Ran stopped the other party's move to swear, picked up a pen and signed the name Victor in Russian in the lower right corner of the agreement, and then wrote down the date.
At the same time, Anfisa, who was sitting behind him, had already raised his mobile phone and took a discreet photo of the contents of the agreement and Wei Ran who was signing.
As for whether the name "Victor" written by Weiran in Russian had any legal effect, it was obvious that everyone in the car subconsciously chose to ignore it for some reason.
They each put away the two copies of the agreement, and Carlos immediately snapped his fingers at the driver and said "Go to the plantation" in English.
After receiving the signal, the taciturn middle-aged driver immediately stepped on the accelerator slowly and steered the commercial vehicle away from the medical center.
However, this time the drive was far longer than expected. The commercial vehicle took more than an hour to drive from the easternmost side of the island to the west, and was about to reach the end of the island.
When heading west, we drove along a road to the mountains outside the city, and finally stopped in a mountainside plantation where we could clearly see the coastline.
"This is it"
Carlos was the first to get out of the carriage. He pointed to the only house in the distance and introduced it in English. Then he specially changed to German and introduced it again to Wei Ran, "It's only 10 acres here, and everything is planted."
The coffee is not sold to the outside world. It is basically enjoyed by Mr. Dominic himself and given as gifts to friends. Of course, all the coffee I often drink comes from here.”
"Did Mr. Dominic live here before?"
Wei Ran asked as he followed the other party towards the house in the center of the plantation, while the other three girls, and even the three pets who jumped out of the car, were curiously looking at everything around them.
Although this plantation only grows coffee in name, it is very beautifully maintained. In addition to coffee, there are various tropical and subtropical plants and flowers growing everywhere you look, even about a hundred meters away from the house.
Meters away, there is a helipad, and there is a Squirrel helicopter parked quietly on the helipad.
"In the past, Mr. Dominic would come here to spend the winter every winter and lived in Houston the rest of the time."
Carlos explained, "But two months ago, he was sent to the medical center we just visited due to physical reasons, and since then he has never been able to leave that ward."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At this point, Carlos has taken out a house key from his pocket and opened the door of this luxurious building in the center of the plantation, taking Wei Ran and others with him
As he walked inside, he said, "Mr. Dominic said that you can stay here until the investigation is completed or until he dies."
"It's really the life of the rich," Wei Ran couldn't help but admired as he looked up at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling on the second floor of the hall.
"Mr. Dominic is a man who knows how to enjoy life.
"
Carlos said, pointing to the rooms on both sides of the door and saying, "These four rooms are the rooms of the housekeeper and personal doctor, as well as the nanny and driver. They are either in the hospital with Mr. Dominic or they are already on vacation.
In other words, except for these four rooms on the first floor, other rooms, including the cars in the garage, can be used freely.
Of course, if you want to take that helicopter for sightseeing around the island, you can call me and I will arrange for the driver to come over. He lives in the community at the foot of the mountain."
"Can we go to the second floor too?" Wei Ran asked, pointing to the top of his head.
"Of course, come with me, the elevator is over here." Carlos said, leading Wei Ran and others to the edge of an elevator.
"What an exaggeration..."
It was Suisui who praised this time. It was exaggerated to install an elevator in such a building with only two floors, but it was a bit too much to have an elevator that was big enough to fit a whole bed. It was even more exaggerated.
What's surprising is that there is an AED defibrillator hanging on the wall in the elevator.
In comparison, Carlos had obviously been accustomed to this place for a long time. After the elevator reached the second floor and opened, he immediately led everyone out and pointed to the room facing the elevator door and said, "That's Mr. Dominic's study."
, Next to it is his bedroom and collection room. Except for these three rooms, you can stay in the rest of the guest rooms casually."
After saying that, Carlos stopped, pointed to the elevator behind him and said, "That elevator can also lead to the basement. There is a lot of good wine and roasted coffee beans stored in it. You can enjoy it as you like.
I won’t take you to visit.
Victor, I will be on this island until the end of your investigation. If you need me to do anything, you can call me at any time.
"Don't you live here?" Wei Ran asked in surprise. "I'm going to accompany Mr. Dominic."
Carlos said apologetically, "He said he felt like he was going to see God at any time. Before meeting God, he might have to change his will, so I had to stay with him.
Knowing that this was deliberately arranged by Dominic, Wei Ran didn't say anything more, but after some ceremonial sighs, he politely watched the other party drive away from the garage on the driver who sent them here.
An SUV came out and drove straight down the mountain.
Without waiting for the car to completely disappear, Suisui cheered, turned around and ran with two big-eared foxes towards the large tropical flowers and green plants not far away, waving the straw hat she originally wore on her head to say hello.
Wei Ran asked her to take photos for her.
After winking at the Katenka sisters, Wei Ran took the camera slip hung around Anfiya's neck and pointed the camera at the girl who was smiling brightly not far away.
At the same time, the Katenka sisters also took the suitcases out of the car and got into the house, taking the opportunity to conduct a detailed inspection of the house.
When Suisui followed Wei Ran into the room after taking enough photos, Anfiya immediately asked Suisui to go to the rooftop garden she had just discovered, while Anfisa made a gesture towards Wei Ran with one hand covering his eyes and the other
Ear safety gesture.
"You guys should take a walk around first," Wei Ran said to Suisui, who was about to walk to the top of the building, "I'll be busy for a while."
"You are busy with your business." Suisui, who had already run up the stairs to the top of the building, bent down and asked, "Would you like to go to Pearl Harbor later? Didn't you say on the plane that you wanted to visit the Battleship Missouri?
?」
"Battleship Missouri," Wei Ran said with a smile, "Tomorrow! We have plenty of time. Let's get off the jet lag and take a rest today."
"It's okay to wait until you're done."
Before Suisui finished speaking, she had already followed Anfisa to the roof. Following closely, Wei Ran heard the girl's exclamations and shouts for Anfisa to hurry up.
Ignoring the overly excited girl, Wei Ran took out the key Dominic gave him and successfully opened the door to the collection room.
However, contrary to his expectation, compared to this large and luxurious house, this collection room was pitifully small. Not only was it small in size, there were really not many things in this collection room.
Wherever he looked, except for an old-looking oil painting hanging on the wall opposite the door next to the only window, the only thing left in the room was the painting next to the window sill.
Several things on the table.
Looking at them all, the most conspicuous ones are a G43 rifle with a scope and an STG44 assault rifle placed side by side on the gun rack.
However, compared to the exquisite workmanship of the former, the latter is much rougher and simpler, and many details can be omitted. Obviously, this epoch-making assault rifle was the product of Germany at the end of the war in World War II. In addition to these two weapons,
There are three American products on this slightly worn wooden table.
One of them is the 520 field gasoline stove produced by Coleman Company for the young soldiers of Silhouette. The other one is a rare 225q fighting knife.
Of course, Wei Ran would rather call it a logistics knife than a "fighting knife" because, to put it bluntly, this object is a combination of a crowbar, a knife, and a hammer.
As for whether it is easy to use or not, if he had to choose one, Wei Ran would rather choose the Mark 2 fighting knife stuck on the table, at least it is easy to hold.
Perhaps out of the same consideration, this Mark 2 fighting knife, which has been stuck on the table for an unknown period of time, still has a lot of traces of use. Even the original leather handle has been replaced by a piece of antler with patina.
But what puzzled him was that in the center of this shabby-looking table, there was a 50 pfennig tank coin nailed to it with a rusty nail, and a cup with the coin pressed underneath.
European vintage copper key with nails passing through the hollow pattern of the key handle.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Squatting down and looking at the back of the table, the nail that fastened the coins and keys to the table was bent to the side after passing through the table.
, stuck firmly on the table.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Ran took out his cell phone, first took a photo of the rather retro-style key, and then pointed the lens at the oil painting hanging on the wall.
This oil painting depicts a man with a curly beard. This man seems to have a medal-like thing on his chest. However, I don’t know whether it is improperly preserved or for other reasons, but it is in the position of the medal.
The oil paint became blurry and it was impossible to tell what was being painted.
How the hell do you check...
Wei Ran muttered secretly, even though the weapons on the table had a high possibility of sending him back to World War II, what he was looking for was not Mr. Dominic's comrades, but his family.
And his uncle...
Wei Ran looked at the coffee plantation outside the window and fell into deep thought. Even if he guessed that Dominic's uncle had survived, why was Dominic so vague? And he also specifically added a detail that required him to keep the investigation process secret.
employment agreement?
Could it be that his uncle had done something shameful? Thinking of this, Wei Ran's eyes lit up. It seemed that this was the only reason that made sense.
If his uncle had done something shady, it would make perfect sense for Dominic to ask that the investigation process and results be kept secret. Not only does this make sense, but even the $270,000 seems to have a reasonable explanation.
So how did his uncle get the $270,000? Was it a bank robbery? This is probably the most reasonable guess...
Wei Ran couldn't help but fell into deep thought. If what Carlos said at that time was true, Dominic received this huge sum of money in 1965, his 15th year in the United States. Regardless of whether he picked up the lottery ticket,
It was the "lottery ticket" that his uncle cashed in for him.
At least one thing is very clear. In an era when Ford cars only cost $2,000 each, $270,000 was definitely a huge sum of money.
"Why does it feel like it's not as simple as simply finding an heir?" Wei Ran muttered to himself as he walked out of the collection room. He always felt that there was something vaguely wrong here.
After locking the door to the collection room, Wei Ran walked to the adjoining study room, first tried turning the door handle, and then tried the key in his hand.
What he didn't expect was that this key could not only open the door to the collection room, but
It can also open locked study rooms.
After thinking for a while, Wei Ran gently opened the study door. With a soft creaking sound, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
In any case, he never expected that this spacious study room didn't even have a bookshelf or a table, not to mention books! Or to put it another way, it was more like a studio than a study room!
Wherever he looked, except for the easel placed in front of the arc-shaped floor-to-ceiling window with light gauze curtains, the surrounding walls, corners, and ground were almost filled with picture frames.
In addition, the only piece of furniture in this room is a solid wood shelf. However, what is placed on this shelf are tubes of paints of various colors and oil painting brushes of various styles.
, even rolls of unused canvas!
Even the floor was dyed into various weird colors by the paint accumulated over time. The air was inevitably filled with an indescribable "artistic atmosphere".
Looking around, Wei Ran reached into his pocket and took out a pair of rubber gloves and put them on, then took out a pair of shoe covers and put them on, then walked into the room and locked the door.
Gently lifting the white cloth covering the easel, Wei Ran couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. This unfinished oil painting seemed to depict the ruins of a castle in the forest.
What is quite strange is that there seems to be a faint light coming from a certain window in the ruins of the castle.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Ran turned around and walked to the wall, randomly picked up a picture frame, turned it over and looked at the content painted on it.
Compared to the unfinished oil painting just now, this oil painting depicts a naked woman.
The sagging belly, the bloated belly, the thick thighs, the hands on the lower abdomen, and the face that is definitely not beautiful, but the expression is particularly expressive, showing the embarrassment, impatience and faint expectation,
All are vividly and vividly expressed in this painting.
"I'm afraid this old guy is also a failed student..." Wei Ran muttered secretly, put the oil painting back to its original place, and picked up the second painting.
There is still a woman in this painting, but compared to the unfinished painting, the model chosen for this painting is undoubtedly much younger and more beautiful, and the pose is more confident, and it seems that she does not hesitate to show off her figure.
.
Continue to pick up the third painting, this time it is still a woman, even this woman with messy clothes is holding a banana in a very picky posture.
Thanks to the realistic and vivid painting style, Wei Ran could even easily tell that the model of this painting was the only flight attendant on the private plane he took when he came here!
Isn't this an old pervert... Carlos said he doesn't have balls...
Wei Ran muttered and picked up the fourth painting, but what he didn't expect was that the content in the painting once again turned into a ruined castle hidden in the forest.
And this time, he finally discerned from the completed oil painting that what was shining in the window of the ruins of the castle was not a light, but the muzzle flash that was frozen forever!
