Chapter 198 Book

"So you believe what Dasha said? That Jonathan abused the missing person Sinovi?" Chris said.

"What do you think?" Gregory sighed, "When we heard this, we immediately doubted Dasha's identity, but the photos of her and Sinovi in ​​her hand dispelled our doubts.

If we were not good friends, there would not be so many group photos. After all, none of us who value privacy would be willing to take so many photos with a stranger. "

"All suspicion points to Jonathan," said Chris.

"Now it seems that he has sufficient motivation to take action."

Gregory twitched his lips and said, "Do you think a professor would be so stupid?"

Chris said, "I don't know, but what if he is so stupid? I only look at the facts in front of me."

"OK." Gregory said, "Let's go back and ask the person involved first."

Chris nodded and began to slowly speed up.
-
Not long after, at 7 o'clock in the evening, the two met Jonathan in an office at the police station.

The desk was in the middle, with Jonathan sitting at the corner, and next to him was Gregory, and there was Chris sitting at the other corner.

She folded her hands and looked at Jonathan carefully. From her current perspective, she could feel Jonathan's carelessness and confusion.

She knew where the confusion came from. Jonathan had just had a biological sample taken.

From now on, he knew that he was one of the suspects of the police.

"You should know that we won't treat this kind of thing as a missing persons case right away, but considering your family's situation and the recent surge in crime rates, we will take it very seriously." Gregory broke the silence.

"OK." Jonathan took a breath and said:
"I understand. After all, the situation in my home is indeed suspicious, right?"

"So today the forensic doctor has entered your home to investigate the scene." Gregory stared at Jonathan, carefully observing his expression:

"Of course, in addition to today's press conference, we will track Ms. Sinoway's mobile phone and credit cards, organize searches, and post notices."

Yonatan nodded to show that he understood.

"So, I have a few questions for you." Gregory said.

"What's the problem?" Jonathan asked.

Gregory asked, “Well, what does Ms. Sinoway do most of the time?
Is she writing? Or is she continuing to learn new things? After all, she has so many degrees. "

This question will allow them to learn about the missing person's usual habits and behaviors, and will allow them to begin a field investigation through various aspects, asking about the places she often visited.

Regardless of whether she was missing or murdered, we need to know where Sinovi was before.

However, Yonatan's answer was: "I don't know, she's always been busy."

Gregory spread his hands, frowned and asked in confusion: "Are you a couple?"

If they are a couple, how could they be so unclear about each other?

"She always locks herself in her room and doesn't go out," Jonathan said.
"I heard the sound of keyboard typing, and I thought she was writing. I usually don't bother her easily, and we can only see each other at night."

As he spoke, he seemed to think of something: "Oh yes, I also encountered her during the day. She always held a book in her hand and never let it go."

Gregory and Chris looked at each other and asked, "What book?"

"I don't know." Jonathan shook his head and looked at Gregory and Chris.

"Detective, are these questions helpful? Well, the problem of homeless people in our area is quite serious. I saw several homeless people when I went out.
I think you should look this up.”

Yonatan's voice was serious.

Gregory didn't say anything, but Chris answered: "We will check, but before that, can you answer the question about this letter?"

After saying that, Chris had an expressionless face as she pulled out a drawer next to her and took out an envelope that was placed in an evidence bag.

It was the envelope containing clue one that was found at Jonathan’s home today.

At this moment, when Jonathan looked at Chris, Gregory stared at Jonathan wholeheartedly, observing all the changes in his expression.

I noticed that Jonathan looked surprised and hesitant.

Chris pushed the envelope in her hand to the corner of the table where Jonathan was leaning.

Jonathan stared at the envelope on the corner of the table and took a deep breath.

"We prepared this for our anniversary because my wife loves treasure hunts.
Well, every anniversary, she would play this treasure hunt game with me, and finally find the anniversary gift through one clue after another."

Yonatan paused, his voice deepening. “She disappeared on our anniversary, and it looks like she was ready to go on a scavenger hunt with me during the day.”

Gregory tapped his thigh with his hand hidden under the table. This answer could indeed answer the question in the letter, but they had already figured out the answer in advance and had Yorks go to Jonathan's office.

The strangest part is this. Why is the second clue not speaking in the tone of a couple, but in the tone of a lover? And there just happened to be someone else's bra and lipstick in the office?
It was as if someone wanted to let them know Jonathan's true face.

Gregory continued to wink at Chris, and Chris followed suit, then picked up a photo and handed it to Jonathan.

This is the clue card that was photographed.

"I hope you can tell me what this means." said Chris.

Jonathan took the photo silently and read the words inside. After a while, he said.

"It should refer to my office in Shekaika College. There is an outer room outside my office. It is very narrow, like the first sentence mentioned here."

Gregory stood up immediately: "Mr. Jonathan, do you have time to take us there now?"

"This" Jonathan hesitated a little.

"Mr. Jonathan, for your wife." Gregory said calmly. How could he let this guy escape at this time.

Having said that, Jonathan knew that if he refused, the suspicion on him would increase.

"Okay, I'll take you there," he said.

"I also want to know what gift she left for me!"
-
As they were getting ready to leave, Jonathan followed Gregory in front, followed by Chris. When the three of them walked out of the office, two people were already waiting in the corridor outside.

It was Edna, the logistics officer of the 4th Squadron, and Agent Sheskey.

Gregory gave Chris a look and continued walking with Jonathan.

Chris slowly stopped and let Edna and Shesky come closer.

"Edna, what's going on?" Chris said to Edna who was holding a file board.

Edna had a face full of freckles, but she looked childish and cute. She nodded and handed over the file board in her hand:
"I checked Jonathan's finances, and he has $577,000 in credit card debt."

Chris frowned and looked through the file board in her hand, Edna's voice still ringing in her ears.

"I also checked some of his shopping lists. The things he bought were quite diverse, but quite high-end and expensive." Edna said:
"High-end golf clubs, expensive action figures, and many more things that have nothing to do with the family."

After reading Jonathan's overdue debt, Chris turned to the next page and finally saw the shopping list that Edna mentioned.

"This guy is a real waste of money," Sheskey said.

Edna shrugged and said nothing. Chris pursed her lips, closed the file board she had finished reading, handed it to Edna, and said to Shesky.

"Shesky, can you check the nearby cameras, centered around Yonatan's house?"

Shesky said, "Chris, do you really doubt this guy? Isn't this a little too obvious?"

"We have to do something, right?" Chris said calmly. The two of them already knew the situation at the scene.

It can be said that the information of this case is shared within the Fourth Squadron.

"Suppose Xinowei was murdered at home? Then where do you think her body went?" Chris said calmly.

"A body won't disappear for no reason. If you want to transport a body, whether it's torn into pieces or something else, you definitely need a vehicle to conceal it from others."

"OK." Shesky immediately understood what he meant.

"I will focus on whether there are any suspicious vehicles entering or leaving the crime scene, and investigate and compare vehicles at nearby crime scenes."

Chris nodded, patted Sheskey on the shoulder, and walked forward.

"I leave this matter to you."

Edna said, "Me, Detective Chris."

Chris strode off, leaving her own words: "If you want to volunteer for overtime, then investigate the camera issue with Sheskey."

Hearing this, Edna withdrew her gaze from Chris who was walking away, looked at Shesky who looked interested, and turned around and left with the file board in her arms.

Shesky said, leaving his hands spread out.

"Edna, have you ever heard of the saying that men and women working together are less tired?"

When he didn't hear a response, Shesky followed him without giving up: "I need your help, Edna."
-
"Sir, here we are. Ten dollars, thank you." A taxi stopped on the side of a street, and an intersection appeared in front of it, which was the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Broadway.

York nodded and took out ten dollars and handed it over.

"Good luck to you," the driver said politely.

"You too." York smiled, picked up the backpack beside him and got off the car.

It was around seven or eight in the evening, the busiest time period in Los Angeles. This was also a relatively prosperous area, with many people walking around on the streets.

Yorks did not take these things seriously, as these scenes were normal in big cities.

After looking at the patrolman standing guard on the street, Yorks walked past him in a low-key manner and continued walking in a certain direction.

When he reached this intersection, it meant he was not far from his home.

But York did not go home immediately. Instead, he found a nearby physical bookstore and went in.

Surprisingly, unlike what he had imagined, there were quite a few people buying books in the evening, and there were even people in the store reading a book on the bookshelf.

"Welcome, sir." A voice came from the checkout desk next to you.

Yorks withdrew his gaze from the scene inside and looked over. He saw a skinny young man in a hooded sweatshirt, who was almost the same height as him.

"Are there any books by Sinovi Eaton?"

"Sinovi Eaton?" The young man looked surprised.

York nodded: "Yeah."

"Yes." The young man said, "To be honest, you are the fifteenth customer who wants to buy Sinovi Eaton's book today."

York raised his eyebrows and looked at the young man, waiting for him to give the answer himself.

"She's missing, isn't she?" The young man shrugged when he saw York's puzzled look.

"So many people came to support and contribute their own efforts. Of course, there were also many curious people."

At this point, the young man said, "So are you a curious person, or a supportive book fan?"

"I'm a fan of her books." Yorks certainly wouldn't be so depressing. No matter where you are, personality is always the most important.

"I'm afraid I'll never be able to buy her books again."

"You are lucky. There is the last batch here. If you were a step later, they might be gone." The young man said seriously.

"A complete set of six books, with a book cover, costs $630. You're a book lover, so you should know that these are the original prices."

York nodded: "Then give me this last set."

Through this, he finally understood roughly why Chris said that Sinovi was a famous writer.

This can be seen from the price of the books alone.

In fact, in the Free Country, an ordinary book usually costs only a few dozen dollars, and does not exceed the baseline of sixty dollars.

Only best-selling books and famous authors can possibly sell for more than one hundred dollars per copy.

The young man nodded, left his spot, walked inside, and seemed to start looking for Sinovi's books.

Yorks stood there waiting, spending more than six hundred dollars to buy some books he didn't read. In fact, it was just a small matter. The most important thing was that he wanted to try to understand and get a glimpse of Sinovi Eaton through these books of Sinovi.

It is often said that books are the carriers of the author's thoughts and personality. Books are like mirrors and windows of the author's soul, reflecting the author's way of thinking.

Not long after, a thin young man came out holding six books tied with ropes.

Seeing how thick it was, York doubted whether he could finish reading one before solving the case.

"Sir, they are all here. Although Sinovi Eaton wrote many books, these six are her essence." The young man placed the six books on the long table with great effort and packed them in a bag.

"You will definitely not lose out if you buy it."

"Thank you." York took out his wallet, took out enough cash and handed it to the table, glancing at the young man.

"Are you also a fan of her books?"

The young man nodded and took the cash on the table.

“I have read all her books and I am deeply fascinated by the world described in them.”

"No wonder." Yorks was not surprised by the young man's answer and easily picked up the handle of the bag.

"Can I ask what you think about Sinovi's disappearance? We are both fans of the book, and I want to know if you think the same as I do."

The young man was stunned for a moment, but did not avoid the question. Instead, he glanced inside and outside the store, and when he found that no one was coming, he whispered.

"I set up a group chat with several of Xinuowei's fans, and we all felt that Xinuowei's disappearance was definitely related to her husband."

York asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because her husband seemed too calm at today's press conference." The young man whispered:
"He acted like a puppy was missing."

(End of this chapter)