marvelous rosaline

08

Rosalind came to New York because a detective named Frank Cage wrote her that her mother might not be dead.

Detective Kaqi also stated in the letter that the Kaqi & Poirot detective agency he was running was invested by Edith Poirot, and a part of the ownership of it should belong to Rosey after the death of Edith Poirot. Lin.The detective in the letter very kindly invited her to come to New York to see her property.

So Rosalind really came.

Leaving the Hudson River Port, Rosalind hailed a taxi and went straight to the Kutch & Poirot detective agency.

Unlike London and Brussels, which are full of antique buildings, New York in 1925 was completely modern.The skyscrapers rise straight into the sky, and a variety of colorful advertisements are hung with neon lights. Even in the daytime, you can catch a glimpse of the gorgeous scene when night falls.The streets of the United States in the 20s were already full of traffic, and most of the speeding taxis on the streets were operated by the famous General Motors and Ford Motor Company.

What surprised Rosalin the most was that the appearance of the city passing by outside the car window was similar to what she had seen in the pictures before traveling.It's just that New York was still developing a hundred years ago, and the gray sky and air pollution caused by industrialization have become the characteristics of the Jazz Age.

The taxi drove into the Brooklyn industrial area and stopped in front of a relatively clean commercial street.As soon as she got off the car, Rosalin saw a small sign hanging beside an auto repair shop, which read: Kaqi & Poirot Detective Agency, 3002.

Before ringing the doorbell of the detective agency, Rosalin sketched out the image of Frank Kutch in her mind: just like the detective in the American tough guy reasoning, tall, stern, with a basic sense of justice and warm heart .

I don't know what kind of case it is, did you find a clue that your mother is still alive?

Rosalind rang the bell.

Silence answered her.

After waiting for a while, she rang the doorbell twice, but the door of the detective agency was still closed and there was no movement.On the contrary, in Room 3002 opposite 3003, a lawyer consulting firm opened the door, and a white-collar worker in a suit and leather shoes poked his head out to look at Rosalin: "Looking for Thiago? He's not here!"

Thiago?

Rosalin quickly glanced at the signboard of "Kach & Poirot Detective Agency" hanging on the door of 3002.

"What did he go out for?" asked Rosalind.

The white-collar worker shrugged his shoulders: "What else can it be? It's nothing more than looking for cats and dogs, stalking and taking pictures. It is said that the wife of a rich businessman suspected that her husband was cheating, and paid a lot of money to ask him to find evidence. You came Unfortunately, Miss, just half an hour ago, Thiago rushed out of the detective agency yelling that he had a clue and didn't expect to be so close, this kid is always surprised."

Rosalin turned her head thoughtfully, and faced the main entrance of 3002 again.

She sniffed lightly, and found that the interior of the office building was not circulated, and the corridor was filled with a musty smell of wooden boards.In this faint musty smell, Rosalin also caught a faint scent of blended perfume.

It's a female fragrance, and... Rosalin reached out and touched the doorknob, rubbing ( ) the inside of the handle with her index finger.

She lowered her head and sniffed her fingertips, curling up the corners of her mouth.

Oh, the classic Chanel No. [-].Mirai has become a representative of mature women, and it has only been four years since it was officially launched, and it has just set off a frenzy.

The perfume left on the handle is only the tail note, which just matches what the white-collar worker said half an hour ago.

Rosalind thought that a person named "Tiago" would never be a lady who wears women's perfume.

"gentlemen."

So she politely asked the white-collar worker, "Where is the nearest luxury retail store?"

Looking for evidence of derailment, it is natural to grasp the current situation.

Rosalin dragged her luggage to the detective agency, dragged her luggage and left, took a taxi again, and came to the nearest luxury store, Henri Bendel.She looked around and stopped in front of a Mercedes-Benz on the street.

There were people coming and going in front of the luxury store, most of them were wealthy people in elegant clothes, so Rosalin noticed the young man wandering around the Mercedes-Benz at a glance.

He is not very tall, about the same size as Rosalind.He was born with a typical Latin face, with profound features, but a very immature face. With a baby face, Rosalin couldn't judge his exact age.The young man was wearing a simple white shirt and a slightly oversized suit jacket, which made his wheat-colored skin shine in the sun.

Rosalin watched helplessly as he took out a roll of armbands from his pocket and put them on temporarily. As soon as the Mercedes-Benz stopped, he greeted him with a smile. After opening the door for the girl in the back seat, he took the owner's key.

Pretending to be a doorman is a good way to get in and search the car, he won't drive the car too far.

Other than him, Rosalind hadn't seen anyone on the street who might have been called "Tiago."

As Rosalin expected, after the young man took the key, he only drove the Mercedes-Benz forward, turned into an unobtrusive alley, and then stopped.She dragged her luggage across the road slowly and came to the car. The Mercedes-Benz didn't even move.

Through the window, she clearly saw the young man tossing and turning in front of the driver's seat looking for clues.

Rosalin raised her hand and knocked on the car window.

The baby face in the car paused, then looked up.

The baby face has a pair of very clear eyes.He was startled when he saw Rosalin, and then quickly rolled down the car window, put his elbow to the window, and showed an almost innocent smile: "Miss, are you asking for directions?"

Rosalin blinked, and immediately smelled the detective's tea soap powder on him.

This smell comes from Rosalind's smell kingdom, but what belongs to reality is the smell of bad washing powder on the youth's shirt, and the smell of Chanel No. [-] in his palm.

Babyface: "Miss?"

The four eyes met, and then Rosalin slowly raised her finger, pointing to the back seat of the car: "Look at the gap and under the seat."

Babyface: "Huh?"

Roseline: "If there is evidence of cheating in the car, it should also be in the back seat of the car. Maybe there will be objects or bodily () fluids left by the mistress."

baby face:"……"

Every detective needs his own helper or friend. Sherlock Holmes has Dr. Watson, and Grandpa has Captain Hastings.For more commercial private detectives, running a detective agency requires not only an office, but if you have spare money, you can also hire assistants who run errands.

Obviously, this Latino young man with a baby face, Tiago, is the assistant hired by Mr. Frank Cage.

If the detective himself could not be found, so would his assistant.

Rosalin smiled kindly: "Have you brought your camera, Thiago?"

In 1918, Kodak introduced the pocket camera.In the era of black and white negatives, a camera cost between $5 and $35. At this time, the average weekly wage of a worker was only $16, which can be described as a luxury among luxury goods.But for a detective agency, something like a camera is essential.

The young man named Thiago was at a loss: the girl in front of him was tall, beautiful, and well-dressed, not like a street person.Especially since she was dragging a suitcase and spoke English with a strong French accent, she looked like a tourist who had just arrived in New York.

He didn't know her, but she called out his name accurately.

"If you don't hurry up," she said, "the police will come and tell you to drive away the car in a while."

Thiago immediately came back to his senses.

The young man squeezed from the driver's seat to the back seat with a dexterous posture, fumbled around, and when he got up again, he...felt out a piece of women's underwear from under the seat.

Rosalin was very proud: "Look!"

Thiago immediately put the underwear back to its original position, then took out the camera from the large suit, lay down on the ground and took a picture.

"That's not enough," Rosalin thought for a while, "You can't prove that the underwear wasn't artificially put in."

"I have to get a picture of the two of them together," Thiago said. "I'll drive to the parking lot later and wait for them to come out of the store."

How long do we have to wait!

Rosalin glanced at the Henri Bendel luxury store behind her, it was a big store.As far as she knows about the ladies' shopping time, isn't it going to be evening.She doesn't have that much patience.

"I have something to ask you," so Rosalin said, "as soon as possible."

"what?"

She took out a metal needle the thickness of a hairpin from her pocket.

Under Tiago's blank stare, Rosalin took half a step to the left, and with a force, directly punctured the tire.

This is also a little trick that grandma taught Rosalin. It is not easy, you have to find the right position, and you have to use ingenuity.

"Drive your car to the avenue and give me the camera," Rosalin ordered, "go to the store and call someone out, and I'll take pictures for you."

Thiago suddenly showed a clear expression.

It seems that Kaqi & Poirot Detective Agency is not that famous, at least not as famous as Rosalind thought.

In real life, there are not so many tough-guy detectives, but more private detectives who specialize in capturing evidence of infidelity and looking for runaway teenagers—after all, where do so many murders come from in this world?

Rosalin didn't understand: what does mom invest in such a detective agency?

With the little skill of puncturing a tire, Rosalin successfully took a photo of the rich businessman and his lover hugging each other intimately.After Thiago finished dealing with the tires, she walked to an inconspicuous place to meet him without haste.

"Here you go," Rosalin handed the camera to Tiago, "can we go now?"

Thiago scratched his hair.

He raised his eyes in confusion, and after a moment of hesitation, he stretched out his right hand.

The baby-faced youth took the initiative to speak: "Tiago, Thiago Mara, are you...?"

Rosalind never refuses the courtesy of others, she held Tiago's hand: "Rosalind Poirot."

Thiago's eyes widened: "Poirot?"

Rosalin nodded: "I came to find Detective Frank Kutch. I went to the detective agency before, and the lawyer next door told me that he was not there. Can you take me to see him?"

It was obviously a very simple request, but the baby-faced young man in front of him showed... a look of embarrassment that Rosalin could not understand.

"You are late, Miss Poirot."

Thiago's voice suddenly became very sad: "Frank passed away a month ago."

Rosalin couldn't help but widen her eyes.