Chapter 331

Orty put down his muffin and took a sip of his tea, “The client’s name is Vernon Cruise, he claims to be a farmer, but he and his children run numerous estates and he’s a rich old man.

In three days, Mr. Cruise is to hold an engagement ceremony on the farm.

Two days ago, he received a threatening letter demanding that he cancel the engagement ceremony or else it would likely bring bloodshed.

He wants to hire the best detectives to investigate and secure the engagement ceremony.”

“What was the client’s specific purpose? To ensure the engagement ceremony is safe? Or to find the person who wrote the threatening letter?”

“Fionn Cruise didn’t go into too much detail and wants to talk to you in person.”

“How old is he?”

“The profile says he should be seventy-five.”

“And the bride?”

“Not sure yet.”

“When do you leave?”

Orty glanced at his watch, “I’ll get in touch now, maybe we can still catch an idyllic lunch.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

Orty stood up, a light smile curling up on her pretty face, “This is the first time you’ve taken on a detective agency assignment, and it makes me feel a little flattered.”

Luke said, “Happy first official cooperation.”

Luke and Orty drove to the south of Los Angeles.

Blue sky, white clouds, endless wilderness, farms with lush green vegetation, herds of cattle in the pasture, and a few tip-top houses that could only be seen from a distance.

Luke said as he drove, “It’s nice to take a drive in the wilderness on a break.”

Orty snickered, “I thought, you only liked vacationing at the beach?”

“You’re right, the beach is indeed preferred. One day when we have time, we can have a little get-together at the beach.”

“When it comes to the beach, I still prefer Hawaii.”

Luke looked at Orty, “Are you inviting me to travel together?”

Orty shook his head and lost his smile, “No.

You should watch the road and turn right up ahead according to the navigation cues.”

The two of them followed the navigation directions all the way and after a few more minutes of driving, they saw the sign for the Cruise Farm.

The farm had only one small road, tight enough to allow two cars to pass, and at this point, the navigation was useless, but luckily the crops around them weren’t high enough to see the orientation of the house.

The car drove another mile distance before seeing the full picture of the house, this is a top and bottom three-story villa, a large area, different from the ordinary wooden house, this is a masonry house, from the outside looks like stone masonry, a little similar to the European castle.

The villa was surrounded by a yard with a wooden fence, the yard was planted with flowers and lawns, it looked very beautiful, like a small garden.

With such a large house, it was no longer a matter of being expensive, the maintenance fee alone was not something that an average person could afford.

Not far away, a man wearing a cowboy hat rode up and asked, “Who are you people?”

Luke lowered the window and poked his head out, “My name is Luke Lee, I’m here to visit Mr. Vernon Cruise.”

“Mr. Lee, please follow me.” The man turned his horse around and rode off.

Luke drove up behind and asked, turning aside to Orty, “Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“No, I’m still used to riding in a car.”

Luke teased, “It’s a shame you don’t ride horses with those long legs of yours.”

“You have a unique way of complimenting people.”

“If you like it.”

Orty adjusted his sitting position and wanted to say something, “Luke …… I think I should remind you.

You are now accepting commissions as a detective, and you might want to be a little more restrained compared to the way you investigated cases before …….”

Luke laughed, “No confidence in me?”

“No, when I saw this commission, the first thing that came to my mind was you. I have absolute confidence in you, but I’m worried that you’re used to the police way of handling cases and will unconsciously substitute for this job.”

“I’ll take care of that.” Luke nodded, Orty had a point, investigating in a detective’s way would indeed be no less restrictive.

The horse in front of them stopped and the man with the cowboy hat jumped down from his horse and pointed to a vegetable garden with his riding crop, “Mr. Cruise is just up ahead.”

Luke stopped the car and asked rhetorically, “What’s your name, cowboy?”

“Tom.

Come on, I’ll take you there.”

Luke and Orty got out of the car and followed Tom toward the vegetable patch, not far from where a man in a cowboy hat was digging potatoes.

“Mr. Cruise, your guest has arrived.”

The man slowly got up, tall, with a casual shirt on top and blue jeans underneath, he should be in his seventies by the looks of him, but his body was still quite athletic.

“This must be Captain Luke, the man who has solved many strange cases, younger than I thought.”

“It’s me.

Mr. Cruise, you have a beautiful farm.”

Orty greeted back, “Hello Mr. Cruise.”

“Wow wow, this must be Ms. Dean, I remember your voice. I didn’t realize your person was sweeter than your voice.” Fionn Cruise finished, patting the dust from his hands.

“I apologize, I was supposed to greet you at the manor.

But I’m a man who can’t be bothered, so I’ve come to prepare the ingredients for today’s noon, these are the potatoes I grew with my own hands, no pesticides were used, they are purely natural, I believe you guys will like them.”

Luke was a little crying and laughing, rich people also love potatoes? I thought I could still eat some mountainous food at noon? Just this?

Afterwards, Fionn Cruise drove a black pickup truck and led Luke and Orty into the manor.

After briefly washing up, the three of them sat in the manor’s courtyard drinking tea with three plates of nuts on the table.

Luke scanned around and looked at the beauty of the courtyard, “Mr. Cruise, your life is really enviable.”

Fionn Cruise put down his teacup, “There’s nothing to envy, everyone has troubles, otherwise I wouldn’t have invited the two of you here.”

Luke said, “I heard Ms. Dean talk about the commission, but she doesn’t know the specifics either, so I need to find out from you personally.”

Fionn Cruise nodded and said, “In three days, my girlfriend and I are going to get engaged in this manor.

Two days ago, I received a threatening letter asking me to cancel the engagement ceremony, otherwise, something bad might happen.”

“Is the threatening letter still there?”

“Of course.” Vernon Cruise pulled a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Luke.

Luke took the white envelope, “Who all had access to this letter?”

“Tom was the one who found it, and my son and daughter have read it as well.”

“Where was the letter found?”

“It was on a windowsill in the cottage.”

“And the exact time of discovery?”

“Early in the morning of November 6, about seven o’clock.”

“Was there any suspicious person found around the farm that day or the day before?”

“No.”

“Who were all the visitors?”

“On November 5, I had my family and friends over to officially announce the date of my engagement to my girlfriend, so quite a few people came by that day.”

“That means all your family was there?”

“Pretty much.”

“Did they support your engagement to your girlfriend?”

“My son and daughter …… don’t really want me to remarry.

But it’s not their call, I know what to do with my life, I’m more experienced than they are.”

Luke opened the envelope, which contained nothing more than a blank piece of paper that read ‘Mr. Cruise.

I don’t think it was a wise decision to get engaged, you just got carried away with that woman for a while.

She’s not as nice as you think she is, she’s been deceiving you all along and is here with an agenda.

If you are bent on organizing an engagement ceremony, something bad is likely to happen and there may even be bloodshed.

You are advised to cancel the engagement ceremony.’

The letter was not handwritten, but printed out on a printing press, making it impossible to identify the handwriting.

Luke handed the threatening letter to Orty aside and asked, “Mr. Cruise, do you have a suspect?”

Fionn Cruise looked complicated and opened his mouth, “Uh …… everyone around me is more opposed to me getting engaged to my girlfriend, but with my understanding of them, they shouldn’t be able to do such a shitty thing.

But this whole thing does make me a little uneasy, I don’t want an accident at the engagement ceremony, much less bloodshed ……

This should have been a happy event.

That’s why I asked the two of you to investigate and make sure the engagement ceremony went off without a hitch.”

Luke summarized, “So, your commission request was to find the person who wrote the threatening letter and make sure the engagement ceremony went off without a hitch?”

“Yes.”

“Are there any other requirements?”

Fionn Cruise hesitated slightly, “No.”

Luke continued, “Can you introduce your girlfriend?

The engagement is between the two of you, so this threatening letter isn’t just about you, it could be about her as well.”

“Of course, my girlfriend’s name is Chanel Carr, and we’ve known each other for many years, years apart to be exact.” Fionn Cruise sighed and continued.

“I met Chanel Carr over thirty years ago, after I divorced my first wife.

She was only about twenty years old, very young, beautiful, and energetic, and I was instantly enamored of her.

I pursued her and I could tell that she had a crush on me as well.

We soon got together and had a great time ……

However, we had a considerable age difference, which caused us a lot of problems with our families, values, and lifestyles ……

Then for some reasons, we broke up.

Last year, the two of us met unexpectedly, and even though it’s been thirty years, she’s still as beautiful, more elegant and graceful.

Both of us were single and it just came together naturally.

I know that I don’t have much time left, and that’s exactly why I want to spend it with my beloved, every single day ……”

Orty said softly, “It’s romantic to meet someone you used to love and fall in love again after thirty years.”

Fionn Cruise said, “That’s what I think too, I cherish this relationship, but there is someone who thinks otherwise.

Whoever he is, I’m not going to let him ruin this beauty.”

Luke asked, “Mr. Cruise, do you and Ms. Carr have plans to get married?”

“Of course, if all goes well with the engagement ceremony, we are going to have a wedding next Valentine’s Day.”

The reason why Luke asked this question was because Fionn Cruise had a huge fortune, and once he got married, it would involve interests, and would probably touch and affect the interests of certain people who had ‘motives for committing crimes’.

Luke was talking to Fionn Cruise and had a vague feeling that something was being hidden from.

A threatening letter is not a big deal, but for the sake of money, Luke still has to investigate with all his heart, just in a more euphemistic way.

He also did not immediately get to the bottom of the matter, ready to observe again.

Noon.

Fionn Cruise invited Luke and Orty to dine at the manor, in the garden.

There were four dishes in total: beef stewed potatoes, pan-seared tuna, freshly cut ham, and vegetable salad.

The main course was lobster spaghetti.

The dishes were small, but they were all of high quality.

The ham was Spanish, the lobster was Australian, and the beef was homegrown.

If it was at a restaurant, the meal would have cost at least two thousand dollars.

Luke asked, “Mr. Cruise, do you usually eat alone?”

“Lunch is all by myself, a vegetable salad and bread with ham, and in the evenings it’s a little more substantial, and my family comes to spend time with me when they can.”

“How many children do you have in all.”

“A son and a daughter.

My son’s family may be coming this afternoon, so I’ll introduce you then.”

“OK,” Luke nodded, once Fionn Cruise and Chanel Carr were married, the interests of all these immediate family members would be affected.

Luke continued, “Mr. Cruise, do you trust me?”

Fionn Cruise put down his cutlery and wiped his mouth, “Of course, or I wouldn’t have invited you here.”

“However, during my exchanges with you, I always felt that there was something wrong with your mood, as if you were hiding something.

Of course, this could also be my illusion, so I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not bad for the most famous detective in Los Angeles.” Vernon Cruise smiled, “You’re right, I do seem a little distracted and I’m not sure if I should tell you guys.”

Ortie said, “Mr. Cruise, you should know who Captain Lee is.

He is very busy at work, and once a major case occurs in Los Angeles, he will definitely have to go back to deal with it.

He usually seldom accepts commissions, and it took me a lot of effort to ask him to take on a commission ……”

Orty nodded and didn’t put words in his mouth.

“I’m sorry, it’s not that I don’t trust either of you, it’s just that ……” Fionn Crews mused for a moment, “I’ve also thought a lot about it after receiving that threatening letter.

I think back to the bits and pieces of my reunion with Chanel, and I believe that she loves me, and that feeling can’t be faked.

But sometimes …… I also feel that I can’t see through her.

It always felt like she had something on her mind, like she was hiding something and worried that I would find out.

Especially as we get closer to the engagement ceremony, this feeling becomes more and more obvious.”

Fionn Cruise sighed, “The reason I didn’t say anything is not that I don’t trust you guys.

It’s just that I’m worried that I’ve been influenced by that threatening letter and shouldn’t have gone out of my way to doubt the woman I love for no good reason.”

Luke said, “But you have that concern in your heart as well.”

Fionn Cruise said, “I don’t know if you can understand at your age that getting married takes a lot of courage for a man …….”

“So, there is a third purpose for you to ask us to investigate this time, let me investigate your girlfriend Chanel Carr.”

Fionn Cruise laughed bitterly, “Isn’t that being an asshole?”

“Like you said, it takes a lot of courage for a man to get married, let alone a man with money.” Luke felt that he would definitely not have the courage to get married again if he were to reach Fionn Cruise’s age.

“Captain Lee, you’re right, I do want you to investigate Chanel.

However, I am worried that being discovered …… will break her heart.”

“I will do my best not to arouse her suspicion during the investigation.” It wasn’t hard for Luke, just use the excuse of investigating threatening letters.

“Thank you, I’m much relieved to hear you say that.” Fionn Crews took the decision, his tone sure.

“Then, please, help me check on her, in fact, I’m not just worried about what she’s hiding, but also about her own well-being.”

Orty interjected at the right time, “Mr. Cruise, our previous talk about what we entrusted to you only involved threatening letters and the security of the engagement ceremony.

If Ms. Carr is to be investigated, that would be an additional task, and there may be changes in the commission.”