Chapter 664
Luke froze for a moment and asked rhetorically, “Where did you get the information?”
Naomi Inoue hesitated slightly and said, “My colleague had an informant at the hotel where Henrik Laurie was staying, and it is rumored that Henrik Laurie’s team is in disarray.”
Luke pressed, “How soon will this news hit the news?”
“It should be soon, I just got it too.”
“Can we delay it?”
“Impossible, if our station doesn’t broadcast it, other stations might grab it first, there’s no way to hide this kind of news.”
“Understood, I’ll buy you a drink some other day.” Although this news was explosive enough, it was not directly related to him.
This news would be on the news soon, and it didn’t matter much whether it was reported or not, Luke simply continued eating. Robbery and Murder Division, Squadron One.
When Luke arrived at the office, the team members were already all here and very uniformly gazed at the TV, which was broadcasting the very same program that was broadcasting the news about the disappearance of Henrik Laurie.
Blacky’s mouth opened wide, showing his big white teeth, “Oh my God, the asshole we were protecting yesterday is missing?”
Jenny shook her head, “The words of these news reporters aren’t reliable, maybe it’s just a gimmick to attract people.”
Jackson analyzed, “Henrik Lawrie has a campaign team and security around him, it’s highly unlikely that he’s missing.”
The lieutenant looked over at Luke, who had just walked into the office, “Captain, do you have some inside information?”
Luke shrugged, “No, I don’t know any more than you guys do.”
The lieutenant frowned, “Then why are you so late?”
“I was just plain late.”
Lieutenant: “……”
“Haha ……” The crowd laughed.
Matthew tapped the keyboard and said, “Actually, this matter isn’t that complicated, I’ve checked Henrik Laurie’s schedule.
According to the original plan, he is going to attend a meeting of the Los Angeles City Council this morning at 9:40 a.m. If he goes, then it will prove to be fake news.
If he doesn’t go, the reporters will be there, and they’re sure to report it again to confirm the veracity of their news in order to attract more attention.”
Luke glanced at his watch, it was now nine thirty-four, six minutes before the Los Angeles City Council meeting …… Luke didn’t go back to his office, eating a donut handed to him by his lieutenant, chatting with the crowd.
“Ding ding ding ding ……”
At nine thirty-nine, Luke’s cell phone rang, it was Reed’s number.
Luke pressed the answer button, “This is Luke.”
“Come to my office.”
“Got it.” Luke hung up his cell phone, greeted the crowd, and went to the deputy director’s office.
“Knock knock ……”
“Come in.” Reed’s voice came from the office.
Luke walked into the office and saw that Reed was answering the phone, signaling for him to wait.
Luke walked over to the coffee table and poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch and sipped it to himself.
Reed finished the call, sat down across from Luke and asked, “Did you see the news about Henrik Lawrie’s disappearance?”
Luke put down his coffee cup, “Saw it, is it true?”
Reed replied, “Half an hour ago, Henrik Laurie’s campaign team contacted the city government and said that Henrik Laurie is not feeling well today, so he won’t be attending today’s city council meeting, and that other activities have been canceled for the time being.”
Luke rubbed his chin, “That sounds a little suspicious.”
“You’re right, the mayor read the news about Henrik Lawrie’s disappearance and made a point of calling to inquire about it, but Henrik Lawrie didn’t answer the phone, and Henrik Lawrie’s wife denied her husband’s disappearance, only claiming that he wasn’t feeling well and needed to recuperate.
The mayor contacted Chief Regan and asked him to send police officers to the hotel where Henrik Lawley was staying to maintain order before anyone was alarmed.”
Luke asked rhetorically, “What does that have to do with us?”
Reed said, “The Chief wants you to lead the team there, preferably to meet Henrik Lawley himself.
After all, these reporters are very well informed, and if something does happen to Henrik Lawley in Los Angeles, the LAPD will have to take some responsibility.”
Luke confirmed, “Confirm the status of Henrik Lawley on the grounds of additional officers.”
Reed nodded, “If Henrik Laurie is really unwell before postponing his activities in Los Angeles, put additional officers on patrol around the hotel where he’s staying and you can come straight back.”
Luke asked rhetorically, “And what if Henrik Laurie really is missing?”
Reed was silent for a long time, “That would be a big problem.”
Half an hour later, Luke led his team to the Four Seasons Hotel where Henrik Lawrie was staying.
There were quite a few supporters and reporters gathered around the hotel. Luckily, there were patrols to maintain order, otherwise, the hotel would most likely have been in chaos.
Luke greeted the patrolman in charge of maintaining order and entered the Four Seasons Hotel.
After Luke explained his intention, he was taken by the hotel staff to the presidential suite on the third floor of the hotel.
The presidential suite was large, with four rooms, a study, entertainment room, dining room and living room.
At this moment, there were quite a few people gathered in the living room, which looked messy.
A brown-haired white man with a beer belly approached, “Hello, I’m Henrik Laurie’s campaign manager, Hans Dragun.”
“Hello, Mr. Hans Dragoon.
I’m the Captain of the Robbery and Murder Division, Luke Lee. I was in charge of security at Posta Square yesterday.”
Hans Dragoon smiled and said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for our campaign team. Please have a seat Captain Lee, what can I do for you?”
Luke didn’t sit on the couch but stood and scanned the area with his gaze, “I’m not here to see you, I’m here to see Mr. Henrik Laurie.”
“I’m sorry to say that Henrik Laurie is not feeling well at the moment and the doctor says he needs to recuperate. You can let me know if there’s anything you need and I’ll pass it on for you.”
“I’m here to see Mr. Henrik Laurie on behalf of the city and the LAPD, just to see him, it won’t take too long.”
“I’m sorry, as I said, Henrik Lawley needs to recuperate now and is not available to see anyone.”
Luke walked over to the window, “Did you see the news this morning about Mr. Henrik Laurie’s disappearance?”
Hans Dragoon laughed, “Saw it, those news reporters love bullshit, don’t they?”
“You think it’s bullshit, but they don’t.” Luke pointed out the window, “There’s already a crowd of reporters and supporters surrounding the entrance to the hotel, and if the police weren’t stopping them, they could break in at any moment. It might actually interfere with Henrik Laurie’s rest when that happens.”
Luke twisted his head to look at Hans Dragun, his words had reached this point, should any normal person know what to do?
Hans Dragun fell silent, a look of difficulty on his face.
Just then, a white woman in a long black dress came out of the restaurant, she was tall and had a good temperament, “Hans, tell him.”
Hans Dragun sighed softly, still somewhat hesitant.
The white woman walked over and said softly, “Things have gotten to this point, it’s simply impossible to hide it.”
Luke looked at the white woman and asked, “Ma’am, are you Mrs. Lawrie?”
The white woman twisted her head, “Yes, it’s me.”
“Ma’am, I’d like to meet your husband, Mr. Henrik Lawley.”
Mrs. Lawley pursed her thin lips, “I want to see him more than you do.”
“So the news about Mr. Lawley’s disappearance is true?”
“That’s right.” Mrs. Lawley sighed, “He is indeed missing.”
“Wait.” Hans Dragun interrupted the two and said helplessly, “This is not the place to talk, let’s go to the study to talk.”
Luke then followed the two into the study and asked, “Mr. Dragone, you don’t seem to trust your campaign team very much.”
Hans Dragoon closed the door to his room, “No, it’s not that I don’t trust them, it’s that I’m worried about causing a panic, and there are some things that the fewer people know about, the better.”
“If I hadn’t come, how long would you have planned to keep the news about Mr. Henrik Laurie’s disappearance hidden?”
Hans Dragoon and Mrs. Lawley looked at each other and explained, “We’re not trying to hide it on purpose, but we haven’t thought of a countermeasure yet.”
This whole thing was so sudden, we didn’t know where Henrik had gone or what he had gone to do. We have been waiting and hoping that he will return soon.”
“Then why not let the police assist in the search? It would ensure Mr. Lawrie’s safety and also find the other man as soon as possible.”
“Look, this is a critical time in Henrik’s campaign, and any mishap could cause him to lose, so we’re not sure of the risks associated with doing this.
If the reporters knew about Henrik’s disappearance, they would definitely make a big deal out of it and it would cause some bad effects on the supporters and might even affect the campaign.
That’s why we hid the matter, but it doesn’t mean we didn’t act, we’ve been looking for Henrik.”
“Have you found any trace of Mr. Lawrie yet?”
“Not yet.” Mrs. Lawrie interjected, “Captain Lee, I’m now officially calling the police for assistance in finding my husband’s whereabouts.”
Luke nodded, “First of all, I need to clarify one thing, did your husband leave the hotel by himself, or was he kidnapped or abducted?”
Mrs. Lawley shook her head, “I don’t know.”
“When did Mr. Lawley go missing?”
“Not sure.”
He usually gets up at seven in the morning for breakfast, but he didn’t get up today, so we went to knock on the door and there was no answer, then we opened the door with a spare key and found the room empty. That’s when we realized he was missing.”
Luke asked, “That means he disappeared before seven o’clock?”
“Yes.”
“Which room was he resting in?”
“The room on the east side.”
“He lived alone?”
“Yes. As I am a very light sleeper and he is accustomed to sleeping late, we have always slept in separate rooms, and I took the next bedroom.”
“Did you hear any unusual movements at night?”
Mrs. Lawley thought for a moment, “No.”
“Was he unusual last night?”
“No. We finished dinner and prepared a script for today’s city council meeting.”
“Did he say anything about coming over to Los Angeles for anything? Or meet anyone?”
“Didn’t say.”
Luke thought for a moment, “Who all knows about Mr. Lawrie’s disappearance?”
“Only people from the campaign.”
Luke asked back, “And why would a reporter know about it?”
“We’re not sure.” Mrs. Lawrie spread her hands, “My husband was the backbone of the team, and when he suddenly disappeared, all of us panicked.
It’s also possible that someone accidentally leaked the news …… I just hope he’ll come back safely now.”
“Apart from Mr. Lawrie, is there anyone else from the campaign team missing?”
“No.”
“Have you received any threatening or extortionate phone calls?”
Hans Dragoon and Mrs. Lawley looked at each other and shook their heads, “No.”
Although the two covered up well, Luke still saw signs of concealment and lying.
In other words, the two might have received the blackmail call, and perhaps, that was the real reason why they did not call the police.