Lu Ming took the U.S. Consulate General's car to the Chinachem Hotel and found the general manager holding Sheng Youde's letter.
The general manager is a Frenchman, Henri Fels, but he speaks Chinese very fluently. He must have lived in China for many years.
"You are Mr. Lu. Mr. Sheng said that he would ask you to investigate this case. We have been waiting for your visit."
Phils stood up from the high back chair, shook hands with Lu Ming first, and then looked him up and down for a while, the look in his eyes seemed to admire his hand-sewn high-end suit.
"The room where Miss Shanda's accident happened has never been occupied, right?" Lu Ming asked.
"Of course not. The police station has a seal and no one dares to go in. Besides, after all the trouble in that room, who dares to stay in it?" Phils complained a little bitterly.
In fact, nothing happened to the presidential suite, no one lived in it, and the price was too high. Not all foreign devils were taken advantage of, they were smart.
Lu Ming went up and checked the seal, and sure enough, no one had touched it.
Fiers tore off the seal, opened the door, and said with a smile: "Please, Mr. Lu, I won't go in to avoid damaging the scene."
Lu Ming smiled, nodded politely, and said nothing more.
The police station put up a seal to protect the scene, but it was just a formality. On the day of Sheng Muyi's accident, Sheng Youde and others swarmed in and searched the entire room. The scene had been destroyed long ago. How could they wait until today?
The purpose of his coming here was just to see the scene of the accident with his own eyes, so that he would have a better idea of what happened, but he did not expect to find any traces at the scene. If there was anything special about the scene, it would be impossible to hide it from Zhang Ziyang's sharp eyes.
After Lu Ming established the detective agency, he never took on any decent cases, but he helped Zhang Ziyang solve several major cases. Lu Ming had a keen sense of smell and was a natural explorer without any utilitarian purpose. Zhang Ziyang quickly became popular and became a famous detective in Shanghai.
Detective, half of the credit belongs to Lu Ming.
However, only he and Zhang Ziyang knew about joining forces to solve the case. The two usually discussed and analyzed the case behind closed doors, and no one knew what they were doing. After the case was solved, the two would go out for a drink alone to resume the process of solving the case.
Find out what detours were taken in solving the case.
Lu Ming insisted that Zhang Ziyang keep their cooperation secret. Although he also needs fame to open a detective agency, Zhang Ziyang, who is an official, needs it more. If Zhang Ziyang becomes a detective in Shanghai, cases will automatically come to him. Lu Ming
Ming doesn't have to worry about having nothing to do.
After several major cases were solved, Lu Ming's vision became a reality. Once Zhang Ziyang became famous, his hands were weak in taking on cases. Now he has become the head detective of the Shanghai Police Department and the trump card in the hands of the police chief.
Lu Ming went to his hometown to get married. During this period, Zhang Ziyang often disappeared and gave himself a period of vacation. A month passed quickly.
Lu Ming carefully checked the chain on the door of the suite and the latch on the window. Everything was intact and there was no sign of damage.
Then he searched along the wall inch by inch, similar to Zhang Ziyang's original search method. In fact, the work of detectives and police officers is the same. Even if Holmes comes, the investigation process is similar.
"Hey, I guessed it was you, you are back!" A loud voice came, and Lu Ming, who was concentrating on surveying the scene, sat down on the carpet.
"You bastard, you scared the ghost away." Lu Ming immediately jumped up again.
"Isn't this just to say hello to you? You are too cowardly. If bad guys really come in, why don't you pee your pants?"
The two people talked to each other, then looked at each other for a few times like a tiger and a wolf confronting each other, and then they both jumped up and hugged each other.
"Haha, long time no see."
"Long time no see. Haha."
The two of them were talking and their hands were not idle. Lu Ming secretly made a black tiger strike to the heart, but Zhang Ziyang quickly avoided it.
Zhang Ziyang hooked his foot, trying to trip Lu Ming up, but failed.
"Haha, each other."
"Concession, concession."
The ceremony for the two people to meet is now complete.
Of course, the two people don't meet like this every time, but there must be a ceremony, and it is different every time. There are many tricks. People who don't know think that the two of them are enemies. They don't believe that they can trust each other with life and death.
friend.
"I'm telling you, Zi Yang, what you did is not honest. You were submerged in the water. Why did you have to drag me in too?" Lu Ming said with a snort.
"I don't recommend you. You think you can stay out of it, right? Is that possible?" Zhang Ziyang also snorted.
"Of course it's different. If I handle this case alone in the name of a detective agency, it would be better to pay for it myself rather than being hired. The pressure will be much less." Lu Ming shook his head and sighed.
He thought about what Sheng Youde said to him last night. Zhang Ziyang was really not to blame for this matter. Regardless of whether he recommended it or not, as soon as this matter came out, it was destined to be this result.
Zhang Ziyang's recommendation is equivalent to the endorsement of the police station, so Sheng Youde can hand over the case to him openly and avoid unnecessary gossip.
"Did Master Sheng put pressure on you? Did he make any demands?" Zhang Ziyang asked.
"No one needs to give it to me, the pressure is already there." Lu Ming said with a bitter smile.
"Yes, it's like carrying a mountain. Even if you don't tell me, I understand. The bureau wanted to close this case, but I insisted on investigating it, and the Sheng family's silver coins supported it, so the case was not closed.
"
"The police station is not going to investigate anymore? Are you just going to let it go?" Lu Ming said in surprise.
"How else to check? The thing happened in this suite, and the clues should be here. Except for a set of clothes, there is nothing. You also need props to perform tricks, but a living person disappeared here, and there is nothing. I
Let’s see if you have the ability to transform into a living person and turn Miss Sheng back again.” Zhang Ziyang said with squinting eyes.
"It's impossible to transform into a living person. I think there must be other reasons for this." Lu Ming said lightly.
He didn't believe that in reality there was a magic trick that could make a living person disappear and then come back again without the help of props.
"Other reasons? What do you mean? Tell me what you think." Zhang Ziyang felt that they had found that special button again when discussing cases together.
"I don't have any special ideas at the moment. All I can do now is collect useful clues, then find the breakthrough point and find the core of the incident. Only in this way can we get closer to the truth." Lu Ming thought about it.
"You are right, but there are no clues in this case as you mentioned, not even useless clues, let alone useful ones!" Zhang Ziyang shouted.
"What's wrong? You knelt on the washboard at Cai Lian's place last night? Are you so angry?" Lu Ming said with a smile.
"Fuck you, when did I become such a coward like you? The calluses on my knees are two feet thick." Zhang Ziyang was anxious.
"I think you want to give up all your efforts. Why do even the great detectives give in?" Lu Ming said with a smile.
"That's another thing. If a person is unlucky enough to drink cold water, his teeth will be choked. You said I saw Shenghe Cotton Mill prospering and bought their stocks. Who would have thought that as soon as I invested the money, I would end up like this?
It was a matter of time and effort, and all the money was lost."
Lu Ming laughed heartily: "Look at your achievements, what are you doing with stocks as a salary earner? That's where pigs are killed. Small households and retail investors are all piglets being slaughtered."
Zhang Ziyang dreams about getting rich all day long, which Lu Ming finds irritating and funny.
"Isn't that right?" He immediately recalled it and grabbed the other party's collar, "Shenghe Cotton Mill and Bank are not listed on the stock market. How can you buy their stocks?"
"This..." Zhang Ziyang scratched his head in embarrassment, unable to speak.
"You bought black stocks?!" Lu Ming was really angry.
"It seems, it's..." Zhang Ziyang was speechless.
"What do you mean, it seems to be, or is it?" Lu Ming asked, but in fact, he already understood it in his heart.
"Even if it is true, I don't understand why everyone is following suit." Zhang Ziyang muttered.
Lu Ming was so angry that he couldn't speak. He raised his feet and made a gesture of flying to hit the opponent.
The so-called black stocks are actually a gambling game. The gamblers imitate the stock market and sell the stocks of unlisted companies, and then a bunch of people buy and throw them in it. It is really lively. It looks just like the official stock market.
However, it is not the company that sells the stocks, but the bookmakers who set up the bet.
At that time, Shanghai not only had black stocks, but also black lottery tickets, Mark Six Lottery, and more. As for casinos, they were everywhere.
"How much did you lose?" Lu Ming said and took out his wallet.
"No, I don't want your money." Zhang Ziyang hurriedly pressed his hand that opened the wallet.
"I made a fortune thanks to your recommendation. I'll give you half of it, twenty thousand dollars a year. Just this time, it won't happen again." Lu Ming said with a smile.
"Come here, it has nothing to do with my recommendation. I won't receive any reward for my merits. Let's do this. I'll pay a thousand oceans in compensation. Just give me this amount." Zhang Ziyang said.
"Okay." Lu Ming took out a banknote worth one thousand oceans and handed it to him.
Zhang Ziyang was not polite. He took the money, put it to his nose, smelled it, and stuffed it into his pocket. He was so poor now that his whole body was jingling. His long-term sweetheart, Cai Lian from Sanshu Apartment, even though he didn’t cheat his money, he also
I don't have the shame to go to someone else's place to eat soft food.
He and Lu Ming had a life-long friendship, and they were used to taking care of themselves when it came to money, spending whatever they had.
"Do you know anything about those two bodyguards?" Lu Ming asked.
Sheng Muyi had four bodyguards, and there were two waiting outside the door at that time. Naturally, it was these two people that Lu Ming asked about.
"I asked. They have no criminal records and are clean. I don't think it's possible. Why do you doubt them?"
"The first suspects should be the two of them, or Sheng Muyi colluded with them, sneaked out after entering, and the two of them gave false evidence for her."
"It doesn't make sense. Why do you think Miss Shanda did this? She can leave anytime she wants." Zhang Ziyang shook his head repeatedly.
"Let's put aside whether it is reasonable or not. We are just discussing the possibility of what happened. One possibility cannot be ruled out, that is, Sheng Muyi ran away on her own initiative. Another possibility is that outsiders bribed the two bodyguards and kidnapped or murdered Sheng Muyi."
"It's not that I haven't thought about this possibility, but what do you think of this hanging chain?"
Zhang Ziyang walked over and dialed the hanging chain.
"This hanging chain can only be hung from the inside. It cannot be hung from the outside. I have tried it dozens of times and tried every method."
"This is indeed a problem." Lu Ming looked at the chain and felt he had hit a wall.
"Even if you go by the two possibilities you mentioned, there must be someone inside who hangs up the chain and then tries to get out. Since he didn't go out through the door or the window of the room, where did this person go?
?" Zhang Ziyang said.
Lu Ming looked at the surrounding walls again, walked over and knocked on them.
"Don't try too hard. All the walls are solid and there are no mezzanines. I've knocked every place and I've also looked at the architectural drawings. The walls are a foot thick for thermal insulation and sound insulation, but it's absolutely impossible to do that.
Find a mezzanine where people can hide. Besides, even if there is a mezzanine, there must be a door to go in, right?" Zhang Ziyang poured out the results of his hard work for several days.