Chapter 431 Red's Spring (End)
"Should I shoot you down or will you come down on your own?" Jack stood under the tree and shouted to the man above.
This is a tall oak tree, almost touching the fence of Laila's backyard. Its strong branches and lush branches make it an excellent peeping spot.
This made Jiejie, who was holding a telescope, unable to spot the paparazzi hiding on it. It was Jack who used the night vision goggles on the Barrett to discover something was wrong.
When he first came to this villa, he strolled around the backyard and paid close attention to several suspicious places around that were suitable for peeping.
The man in the tree looked down and was startled by Jack carrying a large sniper, and screamed loudly.
“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot, I’ll come down by myself.”
“Why is it you again.”
Isn’t this what I met at the art exhibition last time? That paparazzi? This guy is quite persistent.
When the guy in black came down from the tree shivering, Jack snatched the camera from his hand, opened the screen above and flipped through a few pictures, almost laughing out loud.
Just now I was regretting that I couldn't take a picture of someone's first kiss, but as soon as I fell asleep, I fell asleep on the pillow.
Seeing that his camera was taken away, the paparazzi became a little anxious, "Hey, hey, hey, this is my personal belongings, you have no right to take it away."
"Are you sure? ?" Jack handed the camera to Jiejie, flashed his ID, then twisted his arm and cuffed it while reading the Miranda warning.
" Joe Martinis, right? You've been arrested on suspicion of murdering Willie Melman, Natalie Lane and Chloe Harris."
" What?" Paparazzi reporter Joe Martinis was so frightened that his voice changed.
"We found a large number of secret photos at your home, including those of Leila and Natalie Lane, and their itineraries were posted on your wall."
Jack searched him, Unfortunately, I found nothing except my wallet and keys.
"Jack, is that you?" Rhett's voice came from the backyard and the headset at the same time.
"And me, Jack and I caught a suspect." Jiejie was still looking at the photos in the digital camera while speaking, with an aunt's smile on her face.
“I’m just making a living, not a suspect. Every paparazzi will follow celebrities. I just saw Laila Yaki’s potential in the future, so I kept following her. These photos will wait for her to become famous in the future. It can be sold for a big price.”
Paparazzi reporter Joe Martinis yelled.
Of course Jack knew that this guy was most likely not a murderer. What Rosie and Hotchner found in his house were not just Laila's secret photos, but also many of other actresses.
And Laila will most likely not sue this guy for invasion of privacy. Paparazzi and celebrities complement each other. One needs money, and the other needs exposure to increase popularity.
There is a set of unspoken rules between the two in private. As long as paparazzi do not go too far, they will rarely be sued by celebrities. On the contrary, when they obtain some photos that are too private, they will also give priority to asking the person they were secretly photographed for. Ask for hush money instead of direct exposure.
Jack just scared him first and then sent him to the LAPD detention room to stay for 24 hours. Without these idle people waiting, his work would be easier these two days.
After escorting the guy to the front door, Jack and Jiejie saw Red, who was soaked all over and looked like a drowned rat.
"Aha!" Jack deliberately let out an exclamation of unknown meaning.
Reed wiped his pistol with a towel, looking a little embarrassed, "I said I accidentally fell into the water, would you believe it?"
"Yes, there are many here. The photos can prove it." Jiejie flashed the camera in her hand, and then he deliberately snatched it away. Rhett hurriedly opened the lid of the data slot, only to find that it was empty.
"Hmm, I can't return it to you now. This is evidence." Jack flashed the memory card in his hand.
"Jack, please!" Rhett looked embarrassed, like a high school student who secretly made out with a female classmate in his room but was accidentally discovered by his parents.
“Don’t worry, I will ask Garcia to help make a copy for you as a souvenir.”
Jack said and hit Laila who was wrapped in a bathrobe behind him. Say hello, the latter behaves much more naturally than Rhett.
"Hey guys, what's going on." John ran over panting, the LAPD police car deliberately parked far away.
Jack briefly explained the situation and handed the paparazzi to him to take back to the police station. He was about to return to his previous position and continue to guard when he was stopped by Red.
“There is something wrong with this photo collage.”
“What collage?” Jack followed Jiejie into the living room with confusion, and saw the occupying scene in the living room. Artwork on the front wall.
“Oh, this, a hazy and difficult life.” He finally remembered Laila’s previous evaluation.
This is a two-meter-long and one-meter-wide piece made of various large photos cut vertically into long strips of different widths, shuffled, rearranged and pasted together.
"I seem to see Laila's face inside. I need to disassemble it and reassemble it to confirm." Rhett motioned to Jack to help.
"How did you manage to turn your mind to this painting when you were passionately kissing such a beauty in the swimming pool?" Jack put on a disgusted expression.
As expected of Rhett, he no longer felt the embarrassment of being squeezed out, and instead subconsciously recalled his own state at that time.
“For a moment, my mind went completely blank, as if I was seeing the explosion of the universe, with all kinds of fantastic colors of light filling my eyes.
Then I thought of the Leila Cult. When I was admiring those abstract paintings, I said, don’t think about it, just rely on your feelings, and then I inexplicably thought of this painting, which seemed to have the image of Laila hidden in it.”
Without saying a word, Jack stepped forward and took down the picture frame with Red. Laila and Jiejie cleared the marble countertops in the kitchen to make space for them.
Then Rhett started his performance. It took him less than ten minutes to restore hundreds of strips that were completely out of order.
After restoration, everyone can clearly see that this painting consists of more than a dozen photos and posters of different sizes, which cover almost all of Laila's experiences after attending college.
“This is my family’s house in rural Texas, my Juilliard debut, my first movie poster, my college prom, and of course, my favorite "Pink anemone."
Laila bit her fingers and looked at the photos and posters in front of her, with memories of the past mixed with horror in her eyes.
"Who gave you this?" Jiejie asked.
"Pike Denley, my godmother's partner." Lyra answered.
Jack looked at Red in surprise, "That high school classmate of yours?" Could he be the murderer?
(End of this chapter)