Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

"Yes, not long ago, our hotel received two letters.

The first letter was discovered on November 21, someone had put it into the hotel's complaint box.

The second letter was discovered on November 22, right outside my office door."

"Did you report it to the police?"

"No, because it's just an ordinary threatening letter. Even if we reported it to the police, it wouldn't be very effective, and it might scare the guests, affecting the hotel's normal business."

"Can I see those two letters?"

"Of course."

Kyron Powell got up, walked to the desk, took out two letters from the drawer, and handed them to Luke.

Luke put on gloves, opened the envelopes, and the contents of the letters matched what he saw on his phone.

"Where is your hotel's complaint box?"

"In the side hall on the first floor."

"Is there any surveillance?"

"No, it's a hotel rule that no surveillance can be installed around the complaint box."

Luke nodded, "Is the complaint box opened every day?"

"Once a week."

"So, it's impossible to determine the exact delivery time of the first letter?"

"Yes."

"What about the second letter?"

"It was right outside my office door, I saw it just as I walked to the door."

"Was it caught on surveillance?"

"Because this floor is an office area, there's no surveillance here either."

"Who else can come to this floor?"

"Only the hotel's senior management have elevator cards for this floor."

"Is the stairway locked?"

"No."

"So theoretically, anyone could take the stairs to this floor."

"You could say that."

"Has anything like this happened before?"

"No."

"Do you have any suspects?"

Kyron Powell hesitated for a moment and said, "Across from our hotel is a Crissto Hotel.

This hotel is similar to ours in style and clientele, and there is strong competition between us.

Although I have no evidence that the threatening letters are related to their hotel, if something happened to our hotel, their hotel would definitely benefit the most."

Luke pressed, "If Crissto Hotel is really related to the threatening letters, what do you think their goal is?"

Kyron Powell shrugged, "That's why I asked you to come."

"Can I check your hotel's surveillance?"

"Of course." Kyron Powell turned his head and pointed to the assistant, saying, "You can contact Baron Ackman if you need anything."

Luke nodded, got up, and said, "Let's call it a day, I want to take a walk around the hotel."

Baron Ackman said, "Mr. Li, I can be your guide."

"No need, I want to walk around on my own."

Kyron Powell stood up and escorted Luke out of the office.

Baron Ackman escorted Luke to the elevator.

Luke didn't rush into the investigation, taking the elevator to the first floor of the hotel, he decided to have lunch first.

The first floor had five restaurants, one of which was a buffet, and the others were Italian, French, Korean, and Turkish restaurants.

Luke was not interested in these restaurants, so he went straight to the buffet.

Perhaps it was because it was lunchtime, the restaurant wasn't very crowded. Luke grabbed a plate and started choosing dishes.

There were quite a few types of dishes, Luke took a little of each and found a quiet place to eat while observing the people around him.

Regarding this case, Luke was also at a loss for now and could only investigate as much as possible to find a breakthrough.

After a simple meal, Luke left the restaurant and began patrolling the hotel.

He first went to the side hall on the first floor to check the complaint box in person.

The side hall was connected to the main hall and also had an independent side door for entry and exit. There was no surveillance inside the side hall or around the side door, making it difficult to follow up on this lead.

Afterwards, Luke checked the stairway, which was unlocked and unsupervised, providing access to the office area on the seventeenth floor.

The lead on the source of the letters was tough to pursue further.

Luke had to look for other clues.

He toured the whole hotel, gaining a general understanding of the hotel's environment and basic situation, but he didn't notice anything unusual.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Luke strolled across the street to the Crissto Hotel.

According to Kyron Powell, Crissto Hotel had a competitive and hostile relationship with Nitro Hotel, and those two threatening letters might have originated from Crissto Hotel.

With this suspicion in mind, Luke entered Crissto Hotel.

The lobby of Crissto Hotel leaned towards a natural style, and although not lavishly decorated, it gave a comfortable feeling.

This hotel also had a gambling hall that anyone could visit, even without staying at the hotel.

Luke played in the gambling hall for a while, wandered around the hotel, and even relaxed by the pool watching beautiful women.

In the evening, after six o'clock, he had dinner in the restaurant at Crissto Hotel.

Luke also had the buffet, which had a similar variety of dishes to Nitro Hotel, but the taste was noticeably better.

By the time he left Crissto Hotel, Luke had essentially ruled out this hotel as a suspect.

The reason was simple; this hotel, whether in terms of the dishes, service, or environment, was better than Nitro Restaurant, with noticeably more guests.

In the competition between the two, Crissto Hotel clearly had the upper hand. If that's the case, why bother with threatening letters?

As for why Kyron Powell suspected Crissto Hotel, Luke believed it might be due to the intense sense of crisis brought on by the long-term competition with Crissto Hotel.

He knew Crissto Hotel had better business, but he was unwilling to admit the deficiencies in his own hotel's management and service, opting to find reasons elsewhere.

Returning to the hotel, it was already eight in the evening, and as Luke was about to contact Orty, there was a sudden knock on his door, "Knock knock..."

"Come in."

As the door opened, Baron Ackman walked in with an exquisite bag, "Mr. Li, are you satisfied with this room?"

"It's not bad.

Assistant Ackman, are you off work?"

"I am, I came by to see if you needed anything else, and also, our hotel prepared a small gift for you."

"Thank you." Luke accepted the bag, which contained a bottle of wine.

He put the bag aside and invited Baron Ackman to sit on the sofa, as he suspected the other wasn't purely concerned for his wellbeing but more likely wanted to inquire about the investigation's progress.

Luke took the initiative to say, "I went to Crissto Hotel today to investigate and didn't find anything abnormal. Personally, I think Crissto Hotel might not be related to the threatening letters incident."

Assistant Baron Ackman nodded, "Mr. Li, you're the professional, I trust your judgment.

By the way, if you need to go out tomorrow, you can directly contact the front desk, and they will arrange a vehicle for you free of charge."

"Thank you." Luke politely said, then asked, "Assistant Baron Ackman, how long have you worked at this hotel?"

"Three years."

"Then you should know Nitro Hotel very well. What are your thoughts on these two threatening letters?"

Baron Ackman thought for a moment, hesitating.

Luke said, "It's just the two of us here, and no one else will know."

Baron Ackman said slowly, "I think it's very likely written by an internal employee."

"Why do you think that?"

"I've thought about this matter carefully. The first letter was put into the complaint box, which actually very few people use.

Guests with issues typically address them directly. The complaint box is inefficient, and many guests don't know where it's located or if there's surveillance around it.

Moreover, the hotel laid off some employees not long ago."

Luke pressed, "Who is responsible for the hotel's human resources department?"

"Vice President Kyron Powell."