Chapter 669: Chapter 495: Museum Mystery_2 Chapter 669: Chapter 495: Museum Mystery_2 What else can I think?
Look at the streets. Mercedes, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Cadillac, every single one. Can they boast such a cool paint job like mine?
No? Doesn't that prove my point? I deem it beneath me to be counted among those mundane ones.
Also, even if it's a drawing, how much area can you have on your puny sports car? How many 2D characters can you draw? Unlike on this heavy-duty truck, one on the top, one on the left, one on the right, another on the back. You can directly paste posters. That's far superior to the petty scribbles on a small sports car, right?
At this point, Duanmu Huai had already opened the back door of the truck, gesturing toward Anthony.
“Chief Anthony, care to hop in for a chat?”
“………”
In all honesty, Anthony really did not want to get in.
But he had no other choice. He needed to brief him on the case. He couldn't wait till they arrived at the destination. So, albeit unwillingly, he ordered his subordinates to lead the way in their own car, and he got into Duanmu Huai's…
Luckily, the interior of Duanmu Huai's truck was not as bizarre as the exterior. As a matter of fact, Duanmu Huai didn't intend to convert it into a camper, because most campers require a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bed, which would take up all the space. Initially, the modification shop suggested this, but Duanmu Huai rejected it.
Joking aside, with his physique, just rotating within the container would almost occupy the entire space. If you would cram so many additional things, do you think I have too much space?
So, the interior of Duanmu Huai's truck resembled a large living room more, primarily filled with a sofa, cupboards, a TV, and a mini-fridge. The decoration was dignified and steady. At least it felt pretty comfortable sitting inside, with no extraordinarily outlandish corners.
Only if you don't think about the exterior paintwork.
Therefore, Anthony sat on the sofa, starting to tell his story to Duanmu Huai.
The case occurred in Newburyport's museum. The museum primarily housed art pieces. Of course, they weren't worth a fortune, just mediocre. Recently, the Newburyport museum organized an exhibition, and then… a guest went missing.
Yes, that's correct. On the surface, it seemed like nothing more than a missing case of a museum visitor, nothing apparently extraordinary.
So initially, the police departments treated it as a typical missing person case, with, of course, no clues.
But they happened to come across some information suggesting that every now and then, somebody disappeared in the museum, including visitors and museum staff. The police thought something was off. They had almost decided to report to the higher-ups when… it happened again.
Yesterday, a security guard who was supposed to watch the museum overnight “disappeared” once again, leaving them no choice but to report it to Anthony. After all, Anthony was already in Newburyport. It would be better if he could investigate on the way. So, Anthony brought along the case files from the Newburyport Police Station, hurriedly left with Duanmu Huai.
As of now, the number of missing persons in Newburyport's police records had reached fifteen, spanning over five years. This was probably understandable. After all, a museum, unlike a mysterious place, wouldn't have people disappearing day in and day out.
Based on the case files, the first person to go missing in the museum was a night shift security guard. When the following day's shift arrived, they reported the missing guard after they could not find him anywhere. The following investigation by the police turned up no results, and the case was closed.
The second disappearance happened two months later. This time, a painter went missing. The museum was still undergoing renovation, and the workers were working overtime. One of them was responsible for maintaining the walls of a gallery. But within a few minutes, he was gone when his coworkers came looking for him.
Everyone initially thought he was slacking off and had gone home to rest. After he didn't show up for work for several days, the company reported his case. The police looked everywhere but the last known location of him was the gallery of the museum. After that, he was seen no more.
Of course, the police obtained a search warrant and searched the entire museum with no result.
Following these incidents, the museum experienced a few more missing person cases, including museum visitors, even a child. According to the case file, the boy's mother took him to the museum. The boy being playful and curious, he went to a gallery and never came back. When the mother went to look for him, she couldn't find the boy.
Of course, the mother created a ruckus in the museum, and the museum, knowing they were at fault, compensated the mother a substantial sum to settle the matter. As for the boy, he was as good as dead.
In short, after skimming through the case files, Duanmu Huai was able to determine a pattern.
The location was within the premises of the museum but not confined to a specific time or place. For instance, after that painter went missing, the gallery he was working in got sealed off. But the next disappearance, the boy went missing in another gallery, proving that it's not a gallery specific problem. As for the time, the night shift security guard and maintenance worker were one thing, but it would be unthinkable for a mother to bring her child to the museum after hours.
Indeed, there's something eerie about the whole thing, a problem, apparently.
“So, the police are currently seeking your assistance. Are you willing to accept it?”
After understanding the entire case background, Anthony stared at Duanmu Huai and asked; Duanmu Huai naturally nodded in agreement.
“Certainly, I'm willing to assist in the investigation.”
Although this seemed like a redundant statement, it was necessary to say it.
As mentioned earlier, investigators do resort to some illegal means during the investigation. That's normal. According to Anthony's experience, if a museum was indeed experiencing multiple unsolved cases, chances are, the top brass of the museum might have some cultists, and the missing persons were possibly being used for their rituals.
Of course, Anthony couldn't possibly apply for a search warrant because of this, no Judge would approve a warrant in his right mind.
But it's different if an investigator conducts the investigation.
As stated before, if a thief steals drugs and then, ridden by guilt, turns himself in, you can't claim the thief's evidence as illegal…
Once their conversation was over, they arrived at the museum entrance. Anthony and his partner went to the museum for routine questioning, while Duanmu Huai had his maid park the truck to the side. It would be better if people didn't see him collaborating with the police until the investigation was over.
However, just as Duanmu Huai prepared to take a stroll nearby while waiting for Anthony's investigation results, he heard a voice- unfamiliar yet not so strange.
“What are you doing here?”
“Hmm?”
Upon hearing this voice, Duanmu Huai, perplexed, looked in the direction of the sound, and after seeing the person standing not far away, he paused.
“It's you??”
Chapter end
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