Chapter 45 Save me (I got the flu, 38 degrees, I’m on leave today, only one update)
The office of another female reporter Maya is not far from the deceased Downey’s office, and the two of them The status in the newspaper office is also missing.
At this time, Lin Qi knew that disappearances were very common in this era, especially among these investigative reporters.
There were no telegraphs or telephones in this era, and information could only rely on letters. Once an in-depth investigation began and the identity needed to be temporarily concealed, the person would often 'disappear' and not reappear until the investigation was completed.
So the few colleagues who were at the door of the city hall just now didn't care that the two had been missing for five days, and Donald didn't inform Walker of the Rangers about Maya's disappearance.
Because no one took it seriously.
It wasn't until Walker brought the news of Downey's death that Donald cooperated with the police and opened Downey's office and provided all relevant information about Downey.
"So what news was Downey investigating before he disappeared?"
Waiting for Donald to ask his employees to get the keys, Officer Natalie couldn't help but ask questions and try to make amends.
"Donnie is actually not missing."
"Huh?" Lynch frowned.
“He showed up once a few days ago and told me that he needed to take a few days off for some family matters. He looked a little confused. I didn’t know what kind of family a single man could have, but I still approved it. ”
"Do you remember the specific day?"
"I remember it very clearly on May 13th. He came here to review a manuscript about Best Tunnel. This is a necessary process."
Sure enough, I guessed it right.
However, both of them became nervous at the same time. They both realized that they had touched the core of a strange death incident, and there seemed to be an invisible giant hidden in the deep darkness. The so-called core they had touched was just the core of the giant thing. The tip of the iceberg.
Lin Qi let out a breath of cold air and asked: "Is that the manuscript he wrote?"
"No, actually it was Maya's manuscript, but Maya is really missing. She and I have reported that we will continue to follow up on the tunnel incident, but Downey and she occasionally work together on investigations and have a close relationship, often helping each other review manuscripts.”
So Maya is the central character? Downey was just involved?
Lynch can’t be sure now, but he is certain of one thing.
The Rangers are called salary thieves for a reason. What exactly did they search for?
"Have you told Walker and the others about this information?"
"No, I thought at the time that these were Maya's matters and had nothing to do with Donnie. Well, do I have to keep it secret from those police officers in the future? After all, Your relationship looks...well."
Officer Natalie hesitated for a moment with a sullen face, but still shook her head: "To be honest, I have no interest in creating obstacles for them, it will only make the situation worse. The most dangerous direction. ”
"I understand, but if they don't come back to make additional inquiries, I have no obligation to come to the door to make additional inquiries."
Editor-in-chief Donald smiled and opened Maya's office for the two of them. Lynch's hand was already on her chest. He had his pistol on him, and Officer Natalie stood in front of him, ready to burst into the office at any moment.
The moment they opened the door, the two of them saw clearly the scene inside, and their hearts immediately sank.
It was like a disaster scene inside.
In addition to bookcases, desks and chairs, there are also piles of large amounts of paper documents. There are several piles of documents as high as a person stacked on the wall, and large bundles of paper are piled everywhere in the corners, as if just now It was like going through a hurricane.
Being preempted again?
However, when the two of them looked at each other, Donald actually looked calm and unfazed at all. Instead, he smiled at the two of them: "Don't be surprised, Maya Sess's work habits are a bit special, and everyone is used to it."
ha?
Lin Qi was just surprised, while Natalie looked at a room full of information and already anticipated how difficult the work would be in the future. However, she could only sigh deeply and walked into the office first.
But as soon as he entered the door, his hand was already on the hilt of the sword.
A putrid smell hit my face.
The smell is not too strong, but it lingers in the house for a long time.
"Don't come in yet."
The police officer took half a step sideways and stood in front of Lynch. She looked around and twitched her nose, and then moved away after a moment.
“There are no windows and there is no ventilation in the room. If there is a corpse, even if it is a mouse, the smell will not be as light as it is now. It will feel more like...”
While organizing his words, Lynch asked: "The taste remains but the source has left?"
"Yes, that's the feeling."
The police officer asked the editor-in-chief Donald, who had long thought of quitting. Leave and ask him not to leave the newspaper office in case he needs to ask questions. Then he whispered: "Any strange object reaction?"
"No, not even obvious mystery and filth."
Lynch had already walked around the room, and the only feeling was - it was so messy.
“The amount of the project is too large, do we need to check it all, Lynch.”
"It's hard to say, let me take a look first."
Lin Qi grabbed the file on the table, glanced at it briefly, squinted and thought for a while, then opened the drawer and took out the paper inside to read it again. The police officer sat on the table, holding her chin and watching Lynch frowning in thought. It wasn't until Lynch suddenly raised his head that she quickly looked away: "What's wrong?"
"There's something wrong with these documents."
Lynch didn't notice the police officer's distraction. After a few glances, he threw down the documents, strode to the bookcase, opened the cabinet and rummaged through it again. After returning to the desk, he stared at the things on the desk in silence for a long time.
The police officer curiously opened several handwritten documents and read them carefully, but in the end she shook her head.
Lynch reminded: "There is no content about Best Tunnel."
"Huh?"
Lynch pointed around the room: "This Ms. Maya's work habits In fact, it’s very good. She keeps a pile of her daily work notes, and will add new ones in a few days. I just roughly flipped through a few notes, and I can basically confirm that this is how she works.”
Officer Natalie nodded and heard Lynch continue to speak quickly: "Just now, Donald said that Ms. Maya's last job was the Best Tunnel incident. Based on her work habits, the records of these work contents should be at the very end." That's true on the surface, but there is none now, not a single one. "
"Huh, it's true, so when she left on May 11, she took all the relevant documents with her. "
< br>"It's also possible that someone sneaked into her office later and took away or destroyed everything. Let me see..."
With that said, Lynch ran to the door and looked at the padlock.
There are no signs of being pried, but the spare keys here are not strictly managed and anyone can get them, which doesn't mean anything.
Thinking about it in his mind, Lynch turned around and found the police officer lying on the chair where he had just been sitting, twitching her nose and breathing hard.
"Huh? How about I find a piece of Ms. Maya's clothes for you to smell and then you can find it?"
How dare you call me a hound! The police officer glared at Lynch fiercely and wrote down the account. She pointed at the chair with her fingers: "When you passed by me just now, I smelled something wrong. There seemed to be a rotten smell. It was very faint. , but it’s still there, it’s probably from you sitting here just now.”
Lin Qi sniffed his arm, but couldn’t feel it himself.
"Rancid smell is a very recognizable smell, and it has strong adhesion and can easily stick to the body. But the smell here is very weak. If it sticks to the body, it will be difficult to notice if the nose is not sensitive enough. How about you smell it first? Try again with the file she touched?"
This woman can actually joke? And why are you so vindictive? The days ahead must be very difficult. Lin Qi murmured and moved closer to the chair. The two of them lay beside the chair and sniffed like two perverts.
There was indeed a faint smell on the chair, and once it was recognized, it felt very strong. The two of them simply split up and walked around the office, smelling every corner.
"That's not right."
After smelling a circle, the two of them went back to the chair. The smell was still the strongest here, but this time due to their posture, they realized that the place with the strongest rancid smell was actually It's not the chair, but it comes from the space under the chair, or under the desk.
There was nothing there, but as soon as the chairs were moved away, the smell was obviously stronger.
Has anyone stayed in there for a while?
Lynch thought for a while, leaned over and climbed in. Officer Natalie pulled him before entering, but finally let him go. He just held the hilt of the sword and was ready to fight at any time.
The space below was very small, just big enough for a person to hug his knees and huddle inside. Lynch assumed the same posture and carefully observed the small space.
Everything seemed normal, but when Officer Natalie opened the drawer under his command, the back of the table that was blocked by the drawer was exposed.
A piece of paper was nailed to the table. It was impossible to see it from any angle unless you got in.
This is it, the treasure has been found.
Suppressing his nervousness and excitement, Lynch took off the note and crawled out, looked at each other with the police officer, put their heads together, and unfolded the note while holding his breath.
Help me, Donnie.
The handwriting is extremely messy, and the strength of some strokes has even scratched the paper, revealing a sense of fear and madness.
There is a long string of equally messy numbers and letters behind it, with no pattern to follow.
"Hey, this is...left by Maya? Why did she hide the note here?"
"It seems to be her." Lynch frowned, "I'm afraid she She already knew that she was involved in some very dangerous incident, so she hid and took away all the records. Judging from the handwriting on the note, she may not be in a good mental state..."
"Huh?"
"She left the note for Donnie here, and Donnie can't see it, unless..."
Officer Natalie's eyes lit up : "Unless this is the communication method they agreed on, a secret message in times of danger."
Before they finished speaking, the two of them rushed out of the door at the same time. If it was the agreed method, there was a message under Maya's desk, where was Donnie's?
Did he also leave a message to Maya before his death? Don't be ruined by those rangers.
Donnie's office was still unlocked, so the two rushed in. Lynch got directly under the table, and Officer Natalie opened the drawer consciously.
A piece of paper was quietly pinned to the back of the table.
Heaved a sigh of relief, Lynch took it off and opened it, and another series of letters and numbers appeared in front of him.
What is this?
(End of this chapter)