Cinephile hustle

"Maybe it's because Amanda Cook has a special identity, an art manager? Don't you think the murderer regards herself as an artist?"

"Art? Art is about showing beauty, and the murderer creates only distortion."

"Ian, don't be constrained by the courses instilled in you by the Bureau of Investigation. Why do you have to analyze the two methods of killing in terms of form? Assuming that the two murders are the same murderer, then the form of killing is not important. The important thing is what is the murderer trying to express?"

Haili stood under the street lamp, without the cynical smile on his face.

This is one of the rare times when he discussed the case with Ian in a serious manner.

But at that moment, Ian was a little dazed.

Haili's side face exuded a certain hazy temperament under the dim street lamp, like a dream spreading silently.

"Ian." He called Ian softly.

"what happened?"

"You said just now that 'art is about showing beauty'. Do you now think I'm 'beautiful', or 'distorted'?"

Ian suddenly came back to his senses.

"You're Haley Russell."

He dropped Haley, walked towards the "little idiot", and told him to investigate the surrounding surveillance, paying special attention to minivans and SUVs.

Amanda's autopsy can't be done until after the forensics are over, let alone this layer of cement on her body.

But the work of Ian and Haley will continue. The two murders, and such a special method of killing, do not need the commission of the mayor. This is definitely their case.

They drove to the Griffin Gallery where Amanda Cook was.

This modern gallery has a large scale and claims to collect fine works of contemporary art.At the same time, Griffin Gallery is committed to discovering the new generation of painters, and many young art college students are eager to be favored by Griffin Gallery.

When Ian and Haley entered the gallery, almost every staff member was giving one-on-one explanations to those who entered the gallery.

Ian is wearing a cheap suit. Compared with these rich people who appreciate paintings, it seems that they will never buy paintings.He thought that no one would come forward to ask them, but he ignored Haili beside him.

Intellectual, elegant, and hard to ignore appearance, although Haili is young, the staff here seem to smell the smell of money and walk up.

"Hi sir, is this your first visit to Griffin Gallery? I can introduce the works here to you."

Ian didn't want to waste time. Just as he was about to reveal his identity, Haili said with a smile: "I want to take a look at the works of some cutting-edge painters. The younger the better."

"Come with me. We have many paintings by young painters here, carefully selected by art dealers and judged by many demanding art connoisseurs. Believe me, in the next ten years, their works will definitely appreciation."

Hailey turned his head and put his index finger on his lips, signaling Ian to be patient.

When they came to a studio, the staff patiently explained the characteristics of each piece of work to them. Ian only felt that these explanations were far-fetched. Beauty is beauty, and not beautiful is not beautiful.But Haili nodded frequently, and occasionally said a few words to point out the shortcomings of each work, which surprised the staff.

"Any other works?" Haley asked.

"This... is not available for now. You can leave your contact number, some art dealers may have exclusive collections."

"I wonder if there are any works by a young artist named Lancer Peyton?"

As soon as Haili finished speaking, Ian looked over and his eyes darkened.

"Lancer Payton? I haven't heard of it." The staff shook their heads apologetically.

Hailey turned around, and his fingers brushed Ian's cheek, "What's your expression? Your little pet has something to do with Amanda Cook. You're not curious that Amanda bought his work, but from It was not exhibited in the Griffin Gallery. Obviously, someone commissioned her as an intermediary. So who is this buyer, is it related to his kidnapping case? In addition, this buyer has something to do with Amanda Cook's death no connection?"

"You're asking the right questions, but I repeat, his name is Lancer Payton, not 'Little Pet'."

"Okay, okay..." Haley sighed, turned to the staff and said, "I want to see Mr. Griffin, the owner of your gallery."

"Excuse me, Mr. Griffin is talking to a very important client right now...so..."

"You mean Mr. Griffin won't see us without an appointment, right? You tell him Hayley Russell is here waiting for him. I'll give him 3 minutes to show up, or he never will Have a chance to see me again."

The staff wanted to say something, Haili's gaze was filled with oppression for an instant, and she had to take out her mobile phone to make a call.

Ten seconds later, the staff enthusiastically invited Haili and Ian to sit down, and within a minute, a man in a suit was seen galloping towards them.

He stood in front of Haili, took out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat from his face, wiped his hands clean, and then stretched out his hand to Haili.

"Hello! Mr. Russell, I'm Griffin! I didn't expect you to come to our gallery! It's so..."

Hailey put down his teacup and smiled politely at Griffin, "My colleagues and I have something to talk to you about."

"Of course! Of course!"

Haili nodded to the previous staff, and the other staff agreed to leave.

"Mr. Griffin, do you have a very good art dealer here named Amanda Cook?"

"Amanda? She is indeed excellent. She is the agent of many well-known modern painters and the best art dealer here."

"Oh." Haili nodded, "Why haven't I seen her today?"

"She often travels between major painters, and as long as art dealers do a good job of digging and maintaining relationships with well-known painters and collectors, they don't need to come here to work like ordinary employees."

Only then did Ian understand why this Griffin looked as if he didn't know what happened to Amanda.

"I want to know who her clients and painters are."

"I'm afraid... the information of the client and the artist is confidential." Griffin showed a embarrassed expression.

Haley leaned forward slightly. "Mr. Griffin, you must have heard that I work for the FBI?"

Griffin showed a surprised expression, "Ah? Then... isn't that a boring rumor?"

"That rumor is not boring at all, because it is true. You should know that the art sale is often used in some illegal activities." Haley looked at Griffin suggestively.

Griff swallowed, of course he knew.Artwork has no clear value, so it can be easily used for money laundering.

"Is Amanda getting involved in something?"

"You can put it this way. Do you want us to settle the matter before it blows up? Or after the city is full of trouble and everyone knows about your gallery..."

"I only know some of Amanda's big clients. As for the painters and clients she's scouting now, I don't really know."

"As long as it is within your ability to cooperate, it is enough."

Hailey and Ian took the list and left the Griffin Gallery.

At this time, the insurance company's car stopped in front of the Griffin Gallery, and a painting was brought in.

When the canvas was peeled off, Ian subconsciously stopped.

It was a very gorgeous oil painting, like a colorful halo flying in the middle of the night, but it didn't make people feel messy.

"You like this painting? I can give it to you." Haley whispered in Ian's ear.

"I don't need it, thank you." Ian turned around coldly.

Haili looked at Griffin who sent them away. Griffin explained: "This is the work "Flying" by the great modern painter Van Chart."

"Oh, remember to contact me." Haley winked at Griffin.

Griffin instantly beamed with joy.Van Chart's works can be described as sky-high prices among modern painters.

After the two got into the car, they received a text message from "Little Dork" Finn Keating.

The cement on Amanda Cook's body was indeed almost one centimeter thick, and it had been carved and polished to give the body the texture of a cement statue.

"That is to say, our murderer is not only a 'mummy maker', but also a 'carver'? Do you think we should look for the murderer among artists or collectors?" Haley asked amusedly.

Ian ignored him, but called "little nerd".

"Fin, I was wondering if there were any results from your investigation of Amanda's cell phone records?"

"Her last recorded call was two weeks ago on a Tuesday afternoon at [-]:[-] p.m. with Maslow Rudy, an art student. I'll send his address to your cell phone."

"Thank you. When will you complete the evidence collection on Amanda? I hope to send her body to Dr. Byrne as soon as possible."

"Before I get off work this afternoon."

"thank you very much."

Ian hung up the phone, and within three seconds he received Maslow Rudy's address.

Hayley grinned and glanced at Ian's phone, noticing that Maslow Rudy's address was followed by a smiley face.

"It seems that 'little fool' likes you."

"When you respect others, others will respect you."

"Uncle Ian, it's not respect, it's just that you don't know yourself too well. Although you seem serious and cold, everyone trusts you. Besides, calling Finn a 'nerd' is exactly how I express my disapproval. The way he respects."

"Where is the respect?" Ian asked coldly.

"At least he stays obediently in his own domain, with no distractions. He doesn't know how to deceive or opportunistically express himself in the most authentic way. Although this seems a bit low in emotional intelligence. But he is a good person."

"So compared to him, you're an asshole."

"Haha, bingo!"

Ian's car came to an apartment.Not far from the apartment is the New York University of the Arts, so many students will naturally rent here.

Maslow Rudy's apartment is on the sixth floor.

Ian rang the doorbell, and when Maslow opened the door, Ian froze slightly.

Because in Ian's eyes, those who engage in art are somewhat slovenly.For example, like Lancer, the house is a mess.And there is a bit of a communication barrier, because I am immersed in the world of art and out of touch with reality.

But Maslow Rudy was different.

Wearing a light brown woolen vest and plaid trousers, he looked like a well-bred top student.

"Hi sir, what can I do?"

When Maslow looked over Ian and saw Hayley, he visibly paused.

Haley smiled at Maslow and opened his suit so that the other party could see the badge on his waist.

"Hi, is this Maslow Rudy? We're federal agents. I'm Hayley Russell and this is my partner, Agent Connor. We want to ask about Amanda Cook You have some questions."

"Oh...please come in." Maslow finally came back to his senses, he opened the door, let Ian and Haley in, and then walked into the kitchen, "Sorry, I don't have many visitors here. Black tea or coffee?"

Ian saw the coffee machine in the kitchen at a glance. He didn't want Maslow's romantic cells to explode and spend an hour or two making coffee for them.

"Black tea is fine." Ian replied before Hailey could speak.

If it was Hailey, he would definitely take pleasure in torturing Ian's patience, and swaggered for coffee.

When Ian sat down on the sofa, he began to observe Maslow's room.

Neat and orderly, without any trace of paint, completely opposite to Lancer's messy floor.

In less than 10 minutes, Lancer came out with a teapot and cups, and poured a cup of tea for Ian and Haley.

"Excuse me, what happened to Amanda? Nothing happened to her, right?"

After all, the FBI was dispatched, and Maslow thought it must be no small matter.

"She's dead," Hayley replied with a smile, as if a person's life or death was no big deal.

"Ah?" Maslow was stunned, and the hand that was pouring the black tea for himself trembled.

Just when the tea almost poured out of the cup, Ian held him steady.

"Thank you..." Maslow looked shocked, "Amanda is dead? What's going on..."

Ian observed his expression calmly. Some physiological reactions driven by emotions cannot be faked. Maslow was really surprised.

"Well, the scent should be the finest Ceylon black tea. Although your visitors are not many, they are all tasteful art dealers or collectors, right?" Haili's posture was very leisurely, and he didn't get straight to the point , On the contrary, speaking in a tone of friends, Maslow, who was a little nervous, relaxed.

Ian heard that artists are sensitive, and he doesn't know how to communicate with these people, so he simply asked Haley to communicate with Maslow.

"Yes, you're really good at observation." Maslow's gaze stayed on Hayley's face.

"Amanda Cook is the only art agent you have?" Hailey took a sip of black tea.

And Maslow's thinking was almost drowned in Haili's nodding and frowning gesture, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

Ian had to repeat Haley's question, "Is your art dealer only Amanda Cooke?"

"Ah...it's always been her. But two weeks ago, I decided to work with another art dealer."

"why?"

"...Amanda was originally my teacher's art dealer, but they had a bad relationship for some reason and terminated the cooperation. So...as a student, I'd better keep pace with my teacher."

"Two weeks ago, on Tuesday afternoon, Amanda called you and wanted to visit you. Have you met her?" Hailey continued to ask.

"Yes, I met her. We talked for about an hour, and she hoped to save our partnership. But it was impossible. I told her that it was not me she needed to save, but my teacher. " Maslow shook his head helplessly, "She left at about 05:30 in the afternoon, my studio is on the balcony, and I watched her car drive across the street corner from the balcony. Everything is normal .” Maslow thought for a while, but couldn’t help asking, “How did she die?”

Haley got up, went to the studio on Maslow's balcony, and looked around the corner.There should be surveillance video there that can prove whether Amanda was alive when she left.

"Maslow, who is your teacher?" Ian, who had been silent all this time, asked.

Maslow paused, "Are you suspicious of my teacher? Or...will you trouble him? He couldn't have killed Amanda, if you could please calm him down..."

Before he finished speaking, Haley leaned on the window sill and looked at Maslow's unfinished painting and said, "Your teacher is the great modern painter Van Chart."

Ian froze.He was an art idiot and didn't know Van Chart's name.But today in the Griffin Gallery, Van Chart's works are placed in the most prominent position, which shows the status of this man in modern art.And Maslow turned out to be a student of Van Charter.

"Have you investigated me?" Maslow frowned.

"No need to investigate. I can tell by looking at your works. Your lines and strokes are very similar to Van Chater's previous style. The same is true for the composition and perspective of the picture. In addition, you pay great attention to protecting the privacy of your teacher , your teacher must be very famous, otherwise, if it’s just a certain theoretical professor in the Art Academy, you don’t need to be so careful.”

Maslow exhaled slightly.

"It seems that you know art very well, so you should know the current situation of my teacher."

"He was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. He has been receiving chemotherapy. There is a characteristic of works of art, which always appreciate in value because of the death of the artist. So in the past two years, the selling price of Van Chart's works has been comparable to that of modern masters." The work is pretty much the same.”

"He needs to rest, please don't bother him with Amanda if you can. As far as I know, he hasn't seen Amanda in at least a month."

"We will try to take into account Van Chart's physical condition. Thank you for your cooperation and goodbye, Maslow."

Hailey and Ian were about to leave, but Maslow stopped Hailey.

"Agent Russell...I have a very presumptuous request."

"what?"

"Can you be my model... is that okay? I will pay for your modeling fees and on your time..." There was a longing in Maslow's eyes.

Ian has seen this kind of desire many times around Hailey.

"You can't pay for my time. But your black tea can."

Haley smiled and left.

Maslow quickly chased him out, "Agent Russell! I don't have your mobile number!"

"You said 'on my time,' so what do you need my mobile number for?"

Ian turned around and saw Maslow showing a disappointed expression.

Entering the elevator, Ian said to Hailey: "Why do you make such a joke on him, you may not come again. And I bet, he will always be at home waiting for you."

"Who told you I wouldn't come back?" Haley said with a smile, "Or are you worried that I'm getting too close to someone?"

Haley leaned towards Ian, with his arm on Ian's shoulder.

Ian took half a step aside, out of Hailey's range.

"Where is Van Charter? You really won't investigate him?"

"Of course. Van Chart is a very interesting painter."

"Where is it interesting?"

"His painting style began to change a year ago. Especially in terms of coloring style. In the past, his use of color was very restrained, pursuing the so-called balance and softness in art. But now his painting style is colorful, as if he has a lot of thought. Like it exploded out of my mind."

"Isn't he living and dying because of cancer? Maybe that's why he changed his style."

"Who knows?"

The elevator doors opened and they left Maslow's apartment.It will be late.

Ian receives a text that Amanda Cook's body has been handed over to Dr Byrne.

"Should we have dinner, or go to Dr. Bourne's?" Hailey asked leisurely.

"Go to Dr. Bourne. He will definitely be very interested in Amanda's corpse, and he will start the autopsy as soon as he signs for the corpse."

They came to Dr. Byrne's dissecting room, which was nearly finished.

"Amanda was [-]% alive before she was cemented. But according to the blood vessels and muscles in her feet, that was the first part of her body to be cemented. Her trachea and lungs had inhaled cement. In short In short, she died of suffocation."

Dr. Bourne succinctly explained the cause of Amanda's death. He walked towards Haili slowly, took off his gloves, and put his hands on Haili's shoulders. "My dear, it seems that you have a new favorite recently."

"What new favorite?" Haili smiled and put his hands on Dr. Bourne's wrists. The two walked around slowly, looking very intimate. "Uncle Ian has always been the only one in my heart."