Chapter 570
Lilith smiled and pointed at Luke, “Cheryl, to formally introduce you.
This is Captain Lee of the Robbery and Murder Division, who solved the previous cases of the City Hall Terrorist Attack and the Kalman Pharmaceutical Company.”
If we were talking about other cases, Cheryl Ganassi might not know about them or pay attention to them, but these two cases were spreading widely in rich people’s circles, especially the Calman Pharmaceuticals Company’s matter was hot, that is, it was the talk of the rich people’s circles.
“Captain Lee, nice to meet you, you are younger and more handsome than I thought.” Cheryl Ganassi took the initiative to extend her right hand to shake Luke’s hand, and whispered to Lilith, “You asked Captain Lee to investigate the case of the stolen auction items?”
“Yes, I’ll be asking him to help recover the Aquamarine Star necklace first.”
“Wow, the captain of the Robbery and Murder Division helping me find the necklace is quite flattering, I feel like I see hope.”
Lilith corrected, “He’s not helping you, I am.” Lilith glanced at Luke again, “It’s not going to be easy to ask him.”
“OK, so what are we waiting for, let’s start looking for the necklace.
I’m also curious as to how this big name L.A. sleuth is going to look into the case.” Cheryl Ganassi got up and led Luke and Lilith to the villa she was staying at.
The highest of the entire private club was only a four-story building, and Cheryl Ganassi lived in a two-story villa that was only a few hundred meters away from the club hall.
The villa had an independent pool, and the environment was comfortable, restful, and private, making it a good place for a vacation.
Luke had been observing the environment of the villa, there was no surveillance found at the entrance or around the area, thinking back to what he had seen along the way, it seemed that he had only seen cameras in the parking lot and the lobby: “Are there no cameras in this villa?”
“No, our members are more privacy conscious, so there are only cameras in public places.” This was the main reason why Lilith had asked Luke to come, although the police had been called and the police had started investigating, the investigation had not progressed because there was less surveillance and the police did not have enough clues.
Cheryl Ganassi opened the door of the villa and led the two of them in, “This villa I live in is not very large, on the first floor, there is a living room, recreation room, kitchen, toilet and bathroom, and on the second floor, there are two rooms, and I live in the room on the east side.
The necklace was also lost in the room on the east side.”
Luke checked the locks on the doors, there were no signs of prying or damage, he also checked the windows on the first floor, all of which were closed, as well as the alarms, and there were no signs of an outsider breaking in.
Luke then went up to the second floor and checked the rooms and windows on the west side of the second floor first.
Cheryl Ganassi said, “This room is unoccupied and is always locked.
The windows have also been locked because of the fresh air system.”
Luke nodded and went to the east room where Cheryl Ganassi lived, “May I search it?”
“Sure, but the cleaning crew hasn’t been here yet today, so it’s going to be a bit messy.”
Luke checked the closet by the door and saw that there were still men’s clothes, “How many people live in the cottage?”
“Just me and my boyfriend, he had something to take care of at the office today and won’t be back until the evening.”
“Does he know about the stolen necklace?”
“Yes, I told him and he said he’d be here as soon as he could.”
Luke checked the doors and windows in the house, again intact, and asked, “Has the alarm in this villa ever been triggered?”
“No.”
“Describe to me the last time you wore and placed the necklace.”
“It was the night before last, I wore the Aquamarine Star to the ball, many people saw it, and by the way, Lilith was there that night.”
“Yes, that necklace is beautiful.”
“A lot of people said so, that’s why I was worried it would be stolen.” Cheryl Ganassi sighed and continued, “After my boyfriend and I got back from the dance, I was feeling a little tired and wanted to take a hot bath.
I took the necklace off and handed it to my boyfriend so he could put it in the safe.
I haven’t seen the necklace since.”
Luke confirmed, “So, you didn’t put that necklace in the safe yourself, but gave it to your boyfriend.”
“Yes, I asked my boyfriend and he did put the necklace in the safe.”
“Can I see the safe?”
“Sure.”
“Was anything else missing from the safe?”
“No.”
“May I see your safe?”
“Follow me.” Cheryl Ganassi walked to the checkroom, punched in the combination and opened the safe.
Luke didn’t look in the safe right away and asked, “Did you change the combination to the safe?”
“I changed it, and besides, only my boyfriend and I know the combination.”
Luke nodded and crouched down to check the safe, first of all, he didn’t find any obvious signs that the safe had been broken into, there were other items in the safe, cash, a Patek Philippe watch, and some other jewelry.
Cheryl Ganassi pointed to a square box, “This gift box is for the Aquamarine Star necklace, when I opened it, it was empty.”
Luke put on his gloves and opened the box to check it out and found nothing suspicious.
“You haven’t checked the necklace since the night before?”
Cheryl Ganassi nodded, “I have a lot of jewelry and I don’t wear it twice in a short period of time, even if I like it.”
Luke stood up, “When will your boyfriend be back? I’d like to talk to him.”
“He should be back as soon as he’s finished with his work, which won’t be long.” Cheryl Ganassi finished and asked rhetorically, “You …… wouldn’t be suspecting my boyfriend, would you?”
Luke did not answer, but with the situation at the scene, Cheryl Ganassi’s boyfriend was indeed more suspicious and capable of committing crimes.
Cheryl Ganassi shook her head, “It shouldn’t have anything to do with my boyfriend, because that necklace was given to me by him.
If he wants that necklace back, just say so.
I would have given it back to him, there was no need to steal it.”
Luke said, “The doors and windows of the villa are intact, it doesn’t look like an outsider broke in, has anyone else been in the room?”
Cheryl Ganassi shook her head, “No.
It’s just my boyfriend and I. The reason we live here is because it’s quieter.”
Luke looked aside to Lilith, “Does anyone else have access to the cottage?”
Lilith thought for a moment, “The cleaning staff has room cards and can access the rooms as well.”
Cheryl Ganassi seemed to remember something, “That’s right, someone came to clean the rooms yesterday, and she would have been the only one who came inside the house.”
“Were you at the cottage then too?”
“I was when she came, but I couldn’t keep an eye on her, after that, I went to the beach with my boyfriend and by the time we got back, she was gone.”
Luke looked at Lilith, “Can you track down the cleaner in charge of the house?”
Lilith pulled out a tablet and tapped her long fingers a couple times, “Got it.” She turned the tablet toward Cheryl Ganassi, “Is that her?”
Cheryl Ganassi took a closer look, “Yes, that’s her.”
Luke took the tablet, “I need to talk to her.”
“OK,” Lilith stepped aside and dialed the phone.
Ten minutes later, a black woman in her mid-thirties stood at the door of the back book and rang the doorbell.
Luke invited her into the living room to talk.
The black woman, who was average looking but had a nice figure, with a nice front and back, looked a little formal, looked at Lilith and asked, “Good morning, Ms. Finn.
Do you have any orders?”
Lilith asked, “Were you in charge of cleaning this villa yesterday?”
“Yes, is it the guest who is dissatisfied with the service?”
Lilith didn’t answer positively and pointed at Luke, “This gentleman is a friend of mine and would like to talk to you.”
The black woman looked at Luke again, “What can I do for you, sir?”
“Hello, my name is Luke.”
“Mary.”
Luke pointed aside to Cheryl Ganassi, “Mary, do you recognize this young lady?”
“Yes, this young lady is the guest staying at the cottage, I met her yesterday.”
Luke said, “This young lady had a sapphire necklace that she couldn’t remember where she put it? I wonder if you have any recollection of that?”
Mary froze for a moment, “What kind of necklace?”
Cheryl Ganassi took out her cell phone, “This is the necklace.”
Mary glanced at the cell phone and hurriedly moved her eyes away, looking down, “No, I haven’t seen it.”
Luke did not see Mary’s expression, but her reaction was somewhat suspicious, he took the phone from Cheryl Ganassi’s hand and held it up, “Mary, take a closer look, have you seen this necklace before.”
Mary hesitated for a moment, but raised her head and looked at the phone, this time her answer was much more certain, “Haven’t seen it before.”
This time, Mary was a little less flustered than before, but Luke still saw signs of lying on her face.
It was obvious that she had seen the necklace, Luke just couldn’t prove it.
Luke shrugged, “OK, or maybe it’s lost somewhere, let’s look again.”
Mary looked aside to Lilith, “Miss Finn, is there anything else?”
Lilith looked at Luke and saw that he didn’t respond, “No, you go ahead.”
“Okay.” Mary nodded her head and left the villa.
After seeing Mary leave, Cheryl Ganassi couldn’t wait to ask, “Captain Lee, did the theft of the necklace have anything to do with her?”
Luke shook his head slightly, “Ms. Cheryl Ganassi, your boyfriend was the last person to touch the necklace, I want to talk to him first.”
Cheryl Ganassi sighed, “OK, I’ll give him a call and tell him to get back as soon as he can.”
Luke stood up and turned to Lilith, who was off to the side, “I’d like to check the club’s surveillance.”
“Okay, I’ll show you.” Lilith comforted Cheryl Ganassi a few more times, then led Luke out of the villa and asked, “Do you think the missing necklace is related to Cheryl Ganassi’s boyfriend?”
Luke swept his gaze around, “At first, I did have this speculation …… but now it seems that the cleaning lady is more suspicious.
She lied.”
“Then why did you …… just now,” Lilith said halfway, looked back to the villa, and instantly understood, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed Luke on the cheek.
“Thank you, my knight.”