Chapter 1277 - 563: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes (Part 2)
Luke shook his head, "I know, you're not as simple as you say you are, and I'm also clear that you know who's behind this.
Why take it all on yourself? What benefits did they promise you?"
Ricardo Solu sneered, "No benefits. I just want to stay alive."
The officer said, "Hey, buddy, even though I don't like you, as long as you cooperate with our investigation, I will protect your safety."
"Maybe, but you can only protect me for a while. What about when I'm in prison? Who will protect me then?
You guys go, I'm not feeling well." Ricardo Solu turned his head aside and stopped talking.
Luke picked up the handcuffs and cuffed Ricardo Solu again, "I still think this suits you better."
The officer teased as well, "Enjoy your last moments, we'll come to pick you up in a couple of days."
After leaving the hospital room, the officer asked, "Captain, are we just leaving like this?"
Luke countered, "Do you have a way to get him to talk?"
The officer thought for a moment, "Not for now."
"Then let's talk about it when we get back to the station."
...
In the detective bureau.
After returning to the station, Luke first went to the deputy chief's office to report the progress of the case to Reid. Additionally, he felt that Ricardo Solu's condition had stabilized and proposed to transfer him back to the station for trial as soon as possible.
Too many people and too much noise in the hospital; here's where we're in charge.
After leaving the deputy chief's office, Luke went to have lunch.
In America, lunch is usually simple, most people go for a burger or a sandwich, but Luke doesn't like to compromise, so, whenever he has time, he eats something better.
After his meal, Luke returned to his office for a nap.
"Knock knock..."
At two o'clock in the afternoon, Luke was woken by a knock on the door.
He yawned, perked up for a moment, and said, "Come in."
Matthew opened the office door, "Captain, I've found a lead."
Luke walked out of the captain's office and asked, "What lead?"
Matthew replied, "I found a company that's been dumping Kerman Pharmaceutical Company's stocks on a large scale."
The deputy commented, "With the trouble Kerman Pharmaceutical Company is in, the stocks are bound to fall. Selling stocks now seems reasonable."
"You're right; selling stocks now is indeed reasonable. But this company started selling stocks on July 7th, and back then, nothing had happened yet, and Kerman Pharmaceutical Company's stocks hadn't been affected yet." Matthew paused and continued,
"More importantly, this company never actually purchased Kerman Pharmaceutical Company's shares. Instead, they borrowed a large number of stocks from Merrill Lynch.
Then, on July 7th, they sold them at a price of US $100 per share, with a total value of around 500 million US dollars."
The deputy opened the computer and stared at the screen, "Currently, Kerman Pharmaceutical Company's stock price is 80 US dollars per share. If they buy back the stocks now and return them to Merrill Lynch, they can net almost 100 million US dollars.
By my estimation, Kerman Pharmaceutical Company's share price hasn't hit the lowest point yet; they can still make more."
The officer was a bit confused, "Wait, hasn't this company already sold the stocks? How come buying them back can still make money?"
Matthew explained, "Simply put, this company just borrowed 5 million shares of Kerman Pharmaceutical Company from Merrill Lynch and sold them for 500 million US dollars.
When Kerman Pharmaceutical Company's stock price drops, they'll just buy back the 5 million shares and return them to Merrill Lynch.
The difference in price is this company's profit.
So, the more Kerman Pharmaceutical Company's stock price plummets, the more this company profits from the difference."
Luke asked, "What's the name of this company?"
From Matthew's findings, this company has a clear motive for the crime.
"Puhuike Investment Company."
Luke followed up, "Does this company have any connection to Worster Company?"
Matthew thumbs up, "You guessed it right.
The chairman of Puhuike Investment Company is named Lennon Ochoa, and his wife's brother is a director at Worster Company."
The deputy walked over to the whiteboard and drew a case diagram, "The clue Matthew discovered is very critical.
If this Lennon Ochoa is indeed the mastermind behind all these cases, his goal must be to short Kerman Pharmaceutical Company and profit big when the company collapses.
First, he found Thomas Colley, exploited Thomas Colley's grudge against Kerman Pharmaceutical Company, and persuaded him to short the company together.
Meanwhile, to ease Thomas Colley's worries, he arranged for Thomas Colley's ex-wife to work as an executive assistant in his wife's brother's company and improved her salary and benefits.
On the surface, the two parties don't have any financial dealings. Even if Thomas Colley gets caught, it wouldn't affect his ex-wife and daughter's lives.
On the contrary, with Lennon Ochoa's help, Thomas Colley's ex-wife and daughter would live even better.
Afterwards, Thomas Colley started working for Lennon Ochoa, orchestrating a series of cases targeting Kerman Pharmaceutical Company to cause their stock price to fall.
Based on the current situation, their plan has been rather successful."
Luke nodded, "This hypothesis checks out, but it's still just a hypothesis. We need evidence to prove it." Luke also walked over to the whiteboard, pointing at Thomas Colley's name, "Thomas Colley now is terminally ill. His only concern should be his wife and daughter and now that his wife and daughter are well settled, he has no worries left.