Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

...

Half an hour later, on the eighth floor of the hotel, in Luke's room.

"Knock knock..." A knock sounded at the door.

Luke opened the door, and standing outside was Baron Ackman.

"Mr. Lee, this is the letter of recommendation Vice President Powell asked me to deliver to you."

Luke took the letter of recommendation, "Come in and have a seat."

Baron Ackman entered the room and casually asked, "Did you investigate those laid-off employees today?"

"I met Ron Winters today, I haven't had time to see the others yet."

"Do you think Ron Winters is the one sending the threatening letters?"

Luke shook his head, "I talked with Ron Winters carefully. Indeed, he had some inappropriate interactions with a hotel guest, but the guest also had some responsibility.

The guest conveyed the wrong signal, and Ron Winters mistakenly thought the guest liked him and wanted to get closer, so he made such a bold move."

Baron Ackman nodded, "You're right, that is indeed the case. However, the hotel has its rules. Ron Winters did violate the hotel's regulations, which is the main reason the hotel dismissed him.

By the way, have you investigated the situation of the other laid-off employees?"

"I haven't had time yet, and there are quite a few people, so I'll be busy for the next two days."

Baron Ackman smiled, "I'm not very good at investigating cases.

But, if you need anything, feel free to contact me."

Luke could tell that this guy was not only pointing him toward Ron Winters but also throwing out the other layoffs, clearly trying to guide his investigation.

To put it bluntly, this guy was afraid I'd suspect him, so he kept giving me things to do.

"Mr. Lee, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

"I'll see you out."

Baron Ackman stood up and walked toward the door.

However, after taking two steps, he felt a heavy blow from behind and passed out, powerless.

After an unknown amount of time, Baron Ackman groggily woke up, his neck still hurting and his wrists a bit numb. The sound of running water echoed in his ears.

Baron Ackman opened his eyes and found himself sitting in a bathroom, with a toilet on his left and a bathtub behind him. The tub was half-filled with water, and the faucet was still running, giving him a sudden bad premonition.

"Creak..." The bathroom door opened.

Luke walked into the bathroom, rolled up his sleeves, and said with a smile, "I hate being deceived. Those who deceive me must pay the price. Are you mentally prepared?"

"Mr. Lee, is there some misunderstanding? I'm just a hotel assistant. I haven't deceived you."

Luke pointed to the toilet, "Which do you prefer, this, or the bathtub?"

Baron Ackman's face turned white with fear, "I don't like either, please don't hurt me, this is illegal.

You're a policeman, you should know this is wrong, you're committing a crime."

"I suspect you're involved in a major terrorist attack. Given the seriousness of the case, I can use some unconventional methods to ensure the safety of Las Vegas citizens."

"I beg you, please don't hurt me." Baron Ackman seemed to recall something, "Right, you're LAPD, you don't have jurisdiction in Las Vegas.

If you harm me, you'll also end up in jail. You should know how bad it gets for cops in jail."

"Are you threatening me?" Luke took out an FBI badge from his pocket, "I'm not just LAPD, I'm also the Deputy Director of the FBI Counter-terrorism Division. I have jurisdiction in Las Vegas.

I really dislike your wishy-washy attitude.

Since you won't choose, I'll help you decide."

Luke finished speaking, walked over to Baron Ackman, grabbed his hair, and dragged him to the side of the bathtub.

"Ahh... don't hurt me, please, I'll tell you everything.

I'll talk, I'll tell you everything..." Baron Ackman braced his feet against the tub, letting out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

"Slap!" Luke released his hair and slapped his head, "Shut up, I ask a question, you answer.

If you dare to lie or conceal, I'll throw you in the tub."

"I understand, I promise not to lie." Baron Ackman's face was full of fear. He hadn't experienced anything like this before, but he'd seen plenty of similar movies.

The scene before him made two words pop into his mind: 'water torture.'

He didn't think he could withstand it, nor did he want to find out.

Luke turned off the faucet and asked, "Were you the one who wrote the two threatening letters?"

Baron Ackman nodded, "I wrote them."

"Why did you write the threatening letters?"

"Someone paid me to do it."

"Who?"

"Martin."

"What's his full name?"

"I don't know.

One day, I lost money in the casino and was feeling down, so I went to the bar to drink.

A white man with a big beard came over, asking if I wanted to make money.

I told him I wouldn't do anything criminal.

He said the task was simple and not criminal." Baron Ackman recalled for a moment and continued, "I asked what it was? He wouldn't say, just gave me some money as a deposit.

After a while, he found me again, gave me more money, and asked me to send threatening letters to the hotel.

I've worked at the hotel for three years, and I don't want to do anything to harm its interests, but...

I'm in too much debt, with no other choice, and as he said, it's simple; even if discovered, the consequences wouldn't be severe."

"Aside from the threatening letters, did you do anything else?"

Baron Ackman looked up at Luke, then, with some fear, lowered his gaze again, "Martin also instructed me to contact the Pinkerton Detective Agency to hire you to investigate the letters."

"Why hire me for the investigation?"

"I don't know, it was Martin's request.

I just followed his instructions."

"Where is Martin?"

"I don't know."

"How do you contact each other?"

"He would call me, my phone has his number recorded."

"Can you help me get in touch with him?"

"No, I've tried calling his phone before, but couldn't reach him. He always contacts me first."

From Luke's experience, Martin was likely a fake name, and the phone number probably from a prepaid phone, making it difficult to track down his identity.

"Where have you met?"

"We've only met twice at Bethel Bar."

"How much money did Martin give you in total?"

"One hundred thousand US Dollars."

"Did Martin instruct you to do anything else besides the letters?"

"He wanted me to keep an eye on you and make every effort to keep you in Las Vegas."

Luke stared at Baron Ackman without noticing any signs of lying.

In fact, Luke could infer from the threatening letters themselves that 'a big gift would be delivered to the hotel on Thanksgiving.'

Basically, implying he wanted him to stay in Las Vegas until Thanksgiving.

Luke couldn't help but wonder, why?