Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Luke was taken aback for a moment and asked in return, "Where did you get that news?"

Nami Inoue hesitated slightly and said, "I have a contact at the hotel where Henrik Laurie is staying, and it's said that Henrik Laurie's team is in chaos."

Luke pressed on, "How soon will this news go public?"

"It should be soon, I just got the information myself."

"Is there any way to delay it?"

"Impossible, if our station doesn't report it, other stations might beat us to it. This kind of news can't be hidden."

"Got it, I'll buy you a drink sometime." Although the news was sensational, it wasn't directly related to him.

Since the news was about to be reported, it didn't matter much whether it was submitted or not, so Luke continued to eat.

...

Robbery and Murder Department, Squad One.

When Luke arrived at the office, the team was already gathered, their eyes uniformly fixed on the TV, which was broadcasting the news of Henrik Laurie's disappearance.

Little Black opened his mouth wide, showing his big white teeth, "Oh my God, the bastard we protected yesterday is missing?"

Jenny shook her head, "These journalists are not reliable, it's probably just a sensational hook."

Jackson analyzed, "With a campaign team and security around Henrik Laurie, the chances of him going missing are very low."

The deputy team leader looked at Luke, who had just walked into the office, "Captain, do you have any inside information?"

Luke shrugged, "No, I don't know any more than you do."

The deputy team leader frowned, "Then why are you late?"

"I was simply late."

The deputy team leader "..."

"Haha..." Everyone burst into laughter.

Matthew tapped on the keyboard and said, "Actually, it's not that complicated, I checked Henrik Laurie's schedule.

According to the original plan, he was supposed to attend a Los Angeles City Government meeting at 9:40 AM today. If he attends, it proves it's false news.

If he doesn't, reporters will be there, and they'll definitely report again to confirm their news's authenticity to attract more attention."

Luke glanced at his watch, it's already 9:34, six minutes before the Los Angeles City Government meeting...

Luke didn't bother to go back to his office but took a donut handed over by the deputy team leader and chatted with everyone.

"Ring ring..."

At 9:39, Luke's phone rang, it was Reid's number.

Luke pressed the answer button, "This is Luke."

"Come to my office."

"Understood." Luke hung up the phone, said goodbye to everyone, and went to the deputy chief's office.

"Knock knock..."

"Come in." Reid's voice came from inside the office.

Luke walked into the office and saw Reid was on the phone, signaling him to wait a moment.

Luke went to the coffee table, poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat on the sofa, drinking it leisurely.

Reid finished the call, sat opposite Luke, and asked, "Did you see the news about Henrik Laurie's disappearance?"

Luke put down the coffee cup, "I saw it. Is it true?"

Reid replied, "Half an hour ago, Henrik Laurie's campaign team contacted the city government, saying that Henrik Laurie was not feeling well today and wouldn't attend the city meeting, and other activities are temporarily canceled."

Luke touched his chin, "That sounds suspicious."

"You're right. After seeing the news about Henrik Laurie's disappearance, the mayor made a special call to inquire, but Henrik Laurie didn't answer. Henrik Laurie's wife denied her husband's disappearance, only claiming he was unwell and needed rest.

The mayor contacted Chief Reagan, asking him to dispatch officers to Henrik Laurie's hotel to maintain order and prevent any disturbances."

Luke questioned, "What's that got to do with us?"

Reid said, "The chief wants you to lead the team and it'd be best if you could meet Henrik Laurie himself.

After all, journalists have very keen sources. If something really happened to Henrik Laurie in Los Angeles, LAPD will have to take certain responsibilities."

Luke confirmed, "Use the reason of dispatching additional officers to verify Henrik Laurie's condition."

Reid nodded, "If Henrik Laurie is indeed only unwell and thus postponed his activities in Los Angeles, you can just add more officers to patrol around the hotel and then return."

Luke questioned, "What if Henrik Laurie is really missing?"

Reid was silent for a long time, "Then it's a big problem."

...

Half an hour later, Luke led the team to the Four Seasons hotel where Henrik Laurie was staying.

There was quite a crowd of supporters and journalists around the hotel.

Luckily, with patrolling officers maintaining order, otherwise, the hotel might have been chaotic.

Luke greeted the patrolling officers and entered the Four Seasons hotel.

After stating his purpose, Luke was led by hotel staff to the presidential suite on the third floor.

The presidential suite was spacious, with 4 rooms, a study, entertainment room, dining room, and living room.

At that time, quite a few people were gathered in the living room, looking disorganized.

A brown-haired white man with a beer belly approached, "Hello, I'm Henrik Laurie's campaign manager, Hans Dragon."

"Hello, Mr. Hans Dragon.

I'm Luke Lee, captain of the Robbery and Murder Department.

In charge of security at the Plaza yesterday."

Hans Dragon smiled and said, "Thank you for everything you've done for our campaign team.

Have a seat, Captain Lee, what can I do for you?"

Luke did not sit on the sofa, but stood and scanned the surroundings, "I'm not here to find you, I'm here to see Mr. Henrik Laurie."

"Unfortunately, Henrik Laurie is not feeling well right now, the doctor said he needs rest.

"If there's anything you can tell me, I can pass it on for you."

"I'm here on behalf of the city government and the LAPD to see Mr. Henrik Laurie. I just need to see him for a moment, it won't take much time."

"Sorry, as I mentioned, Henrik Laurie needs to rest quietly now and it's inconvenient to see anyone."

Luke walked over to the window, "Did you see the news this morning about Mr. Henrik Laurie's disappearance?"

Hans Dragon laughed, "I did, those reporters love to make up stories, don't they?"

"You might think it's made up, but they don't. Look outside," Luke pointed, "There are already a lot of reporters and supporters gathered at the hotel entrance. If the police weren't holding them back, they could barge in at any moment.

It might truly disrupt Henrik Laurie's rest then."

Luke turned to Hans Dragon, his words had reached this point, any normal person should know what to do next, right?

Hans Dragon was silent, looking troubled.

Just then, a tall, elegant Caucasian woman in a black dress came out of the dining room, "Hans, tell him."

Hans Dragon sighed, still hesitant.

The Caucasian woman approached, speaking softly, "Things have reached this point, we can't hide it anymore."

Luke looked at the woman, asking, "Ma'am, are you Mrs. Laurie?"

The woman turned her head, "Yes, I am."

"Madam, I want to see your husband, Mr. Henrik Laurie."

Mrs. Laurie pursed her thin lips, "I want to see him even more than you do."

"So, the news about Mr. Laurie's disappearance is true?"

"Yes." Mrs. Laurie sighed, "He has indeed disappeared."

"Wait." Hans Dragon interrupted the two, reluctantly saying, "This is not the place to talk, let's go to the study."

Afterward, Luke followed them into the study, asking, "Mr. Dragon, you seem not to trust your own campaign team very much."

Hans Dragon closed the door, "No, it's not that I don't trust them, I'm just worried about causing panic, the fewer people who know, the better."

"If I hadn't come, how much longer were you planning to hide the news about Mr. Henrik Laurie's disappearance?"

Hans Dragon and Mrs. Laurie exchanged a glance, explaining, "It's not that we deliberately wanted to hide it, we just hadn't figured out a strategy yet.

The situation was so sudden, we don't know where Henrik went, nor do we know what he went to do.

We've been waiting, hoping he returns soon."

"Then why not let the police assist in searching? It would ensure Mr. Laurie's safety and find him quickly."

"Listen, at this crucial campaign period for Henrik, any incident could lead to defeat, we're uncertain about the risks involved in doing so.

If the reporters find out about Henrik's disappearance, they'll definitely publicize it heavily, impacting the supporters negatively, possibly even the campaign.

So we kept it concealed, but it doesn't mean we haven't taken action, we've been searching for Henrik all along."

"Have you found any trace of Mr. Laurie?"

"Not yet."

Mrs. Laurie interjected, "Captain Lee, I'm officially reporting him missing, hoping the police will assist in finding my husband's whereabouts."

Luke nodded, "First, I need to clarify something, did your husband leave the hotel on his own, or was he kidnapped or forcibly taken?"

Mrs. Laurie shook her head, "I don't know."

"When did Mr. Laurie disappear?"

"I don't know.

He usually gets up at seven in the morning for breakfast, but he didn't get up today. We knocked on the door, got no response, then opened it with a spare key and discovered the room was empty.

That's when we realized he was missing."

Luke asked, "So, he disappeared before seven?"

"Yes."

"Which room was he staying in?"

"The east-side room."

"Was he staying alone?"

"Yes, because I'm a light sleeper and he's used to staying up late, we've always slept in separate rooms. I stayed in the adjacent bedroom."

"Did you hear any unusual sounds in the night?"

Mrs. Laurie thought for a moment, "No."

"Was anything unusual about him last night?"

"No, after dinner. we prepared for today's city council meeting."

"Did he mention what he came to Los Angeles for? Or whom he was meeting?"

"Never mentioned."

Luke thought for a while, "Who else knows about Mr. Laurie's disappearance?"

"Only the campaign team."

Luke countered, "Then how did the reporters find out?"

"We don't know either." Mrs. Laurie shrugged, "My husband is the cornerstone of the team, his sudden disappearance threw us all into panic.

It could be someone accidentally let the information slip...

I just hope he returns safely now."

"Aside from Mr. Laurie, has anyone else on the campaign team gone missing?"

"No."

"Have you received any threatening or blackmailing calls?"

Hans Dragon and Mrs. Laurie exchanged a glance, shaking their heads, "No."

Though they masked it well, Luke still noticed signs of concealment and lies.

In other words, they might have already received a ransom call and that might be the real reason they hadn't reported it to the police.