Los Angeles, Golden Rose Nightclub in Beverly District.
Under the gaudy and exaggerated lighting, dozens of disheveled sex workers squatted in the corner, many of them "male models" wearing only a pair of underwear. The men who came to Lie Yan squatted on the other side, all naked, with most of their heads bald, and their beer belly bulging high.
Fukang District is the most backward economic and cultural place in the main urban area of Los Angeles. Although the name of Golden Rose Nightclub has "gold" and "rose", it has neither the extravagance of gold nor the romance of roses. The locals dubbed it the "middle-aged and elderly massage parlor", and all the old men at the bottom who didn't have much money in their pockets were received.
Hou Cheng is small and rarely fat, with his shoulders tucked inward and his hands covering his bare chest.
He was sandwiched between two fat drunks, his wet eyes swept out from the corners of his eyes from time to time, and his rough and yellow face was filled with disgust and dissatisfaction.
The nightclub was very noisy, and the plainclothes police consisted of both members of the Security Detachment and the Criminal Investigation Detachment.
The criminal police was specially arranged by Hua Chong, because Mingshu had analyzed it before that Hou Cheng came to Los Angeles a month ago, but his name did not appear on any check-in registrations, so he was either staying at an acquaintance's house or a wild hotel, or even going in and out. pornographic venues.
Soon, sex workers were taken away first, followed by suspected prostitutes.
Hou Cheng stood up with the army and stumbled towards the police car.
When the police car closed, someone let out a dry howl—
"Fuck! It's bloody mold!"
The police car stopped at the Beverly District branch, and most of the people involved were taken into the branch. Hou Cheng also wanted to get out of the car, but was blocked back.
"What are you doing?" He grabbed a policeman's hand in a panic, "I want to get out of the car too?"
"You don't get off here," the policeman said.
"Why? Where are you taking me?" He was at a loss, even trembling because of fear.
The policeman pulled his hand back and gave him a glance before closing the door, "Be honest, don't ask what you shouldn't ask!"
Hou Cheng seemed to be frightened, and sat down tremblingly, not daring to move again.
The police hit the road again, and the lights on the street were shattered by the car windows, swaying over Hou Cheng's face, reflecting a strange mottle.
Mingshu is already waiting at the city bureau.
Hou Cheng was taken to the interrogation room, and after sitting down, he kept looking around in confusion.
Compared with the photo, Hou Cheng looks older, about 1.7 meters tall, with a sparse top of his head and loose skin on his face. He is wearing the white undershirt and polyester trousers often worn by the previous generation, with a pair of ten yuan on his feet. leather sandals.
Hou Cheng was very uncomfortable with the intense light shining on his face in the interrogation room, frequently rubbing his wrinkled hands and lifting his eyelids nervously from time to time.
Fang Yuanhang pretended to read the information, "Hou Cheng, 55 years old, from Qingyue Village."
Hou Cheng nodded, "Yes, yes."
"How long have you been in Luocheng?" Fang Yuanhang asked again, "Why did you come to Luocheng?"
"June." Hou Cheng swallowed frequently, "Come, come to escape the heat."
"Summer?" Fang Yuanhang looked incredulous, "Going to a prostitution place to escape the summer?"
Hou Cheng shrank back and said nothing.
Fang Yuanhang asked sharply, "How many times is it today?"
"The first time..."
"Where do you live this month?"
Hou Cheng stared at the table, "Live in, live in a hotel."
Fang Yuanhang asked, "Which hotel?"
Hou Cheng couldn't tell.
"Today is not the first time you bought prostitution." Fang Yuanhang said in the tone of a member of the security detachment: "You still don't admit it?"
Hou Cheng shivered violently, first shaking his head, then nodding, "Not the first time, not the first time, I admit it."
Mingshu watched the situation in the interrogation room through the monitor.
Hou Cheng's every reaction made him even more sure that there was someone else in the tomb.
"I'm a bachelor, and I don't have a wife at home. Is it a crime to go out and play?" Hou Cheng said, "I, I went there after I received a note at the hotel."
"It's not a crime, but it's illegal to buy prostitution." Fang Yuanhang asked, "Apart from Golden Rose, what other prostitution places have you been to?"
Hou Cheng hesitated, "And..."
Mingshu pushed open the door of the interrogation room and looked at Hou Cheng coldly.
Fang Yuanhang turned back, "Master."
"Well." Mingshu sat down and asked, "You are farming in Qingyue Village, and Qingyue Village produces watermelons. You are a melon farmer, right?"
Hou Cheng said, "Yes."
Mingshu asked, "Then it's the season for watermelons to go on sale. Why don't you stay in the village to take care of your melon fields, but instead run to Los Angeles to escape the summer heat?"
"Ah..." Hou Cheng rolled his eyes, "This..."
"Because you have other income, you don't care about the money for selling melons at all?" Mingshu stared at Hou Cheng's face, but Hou Cheng did not dare to lift his eyelids.
"I don't." Hou Cheng whispered, "It's too hot, I want to rest."
"Yes?"
"Yes Yes."
Mingshu didn't speak anymore, but he didn't look away. In his field of vision, Hou Cheng's anxiety leaked from every micro-expression, and he could hardly hold back.
After ten minutes of silence, Mingshu said slowly, "Heart of the tomb."
Hou Cheng didn't respond at first, and after about 30 seconds, he woke up like a dream and raised his head, "Ah? It's me, it's me."
Such a reaction can already show that Hou Cheng is not the heart of the tomb.
The writer who called "some people deserve to die" was not the dull old man who was sleeping on the bed of a prostitute in the middle of the night.
Mingshu asked, "Who is the heart of the tomb?"
Hou Cheng opened his mouth in surprise, dodging his eyes, "I am the heart of the tomb. The heart of the tomb is my pseudonym."
Mingshu said, "Didn't you just say that you have no other income, regardless of your own melon fields, did you come to Los Angeles just because it was too hot to rest? Why do you suddenly say that Grave Heart is your pseudonym?"
Hou Cheng's face was probably hot enough at this time, but on the yellow and blackened skin, the blush could not be seen at all.
"I don't want people to know." Hou Cheng buried his head very low.
"What do you want people to know?" Mingshu asked, "Do you know that you are the heart of the tomb, or did you come to Luocheng to prostitute?"
Hou Cheng opened his mouth for a long time, "My editor told me that if you want to pack me, you can't let others know that the tomb is me."
Mingshu sneered coldly, "The heart of the tomb is indeed not you."
Hou Cheng's arm was dripping with sweat on the table, and he leaned forward helplessly, "What do you mean? What are you looking for me for?"
Mingshu deliberately repeated, "You are the author of suspense, the heart of the tomb?"
Hou Cheng nodded one after another, "Yes, it's me."
"You wrote those?"
"it's me."
Ming Shu smiled: "Your editor wants to wrap you up so that others don't know that you are the heart of the grave. But why do you keep her from worrying about it? You were arrested for buying prostitution, and soon your readers will know."
Hou Cheng panicked, "Don't, don't! It's not like this!"
Mingshu said: "If you are not the heart of the tomb, then it is another matter."
Hou Cheng was silent, as if struggling.
Mingshu changed the subject again, "What does your pseudonym mean?"
"Just take it." Hou Cheng said anxiously, "Why are you asking this?"
"The heart is buried in the tomb, and the soul floats in the world." Mingshu said, "You wrote this in the book."
"Yes, yes, that's what it means." Hou Cheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "The heart is buried in the tomb, the soul, the soul stands in the society."
Mingshu shook his head, "You never wrote that in the book."
Hou Cheng's expression suddenly stiffened.
"It was just made up by me." Mingshu's eyes were like swords: "You are not the heart of the tomb! Tell me who the heart of the tomb is, how did you know it, and why did you sign a contract with the publishing house for the heart of the tomb?"
Hou Cheng was stunned by this series of highly skilled interrogations. He was stunned and sweaty. After a long time, he said: "I am really the heart of the tomb, Xiao, Xiao Guo can prove it to me!"
"How to prove it? Do you use a signed contract to prove it?" Mingshu said, "Why not. Tell me about your writing process."
Hou Cheng looked embarrassed, "This..."
"Can't tell?" Mingshu smiled, "It's okay, don't embarrass you, don't talk about your mental journey, you can tell me the outline of your latest book, just as I haven't read it yet."
Hou Cheng said: "Yes, someone was killed..."
Mingshu waited for a while, "Then what?"
"Then, then..." Hou Cheng twisted his hands together and struggled for a few minutes, unable to speak at all, and anxiously covered the upper half of his face, "I forgot."
"You are a writer, you wrote it yourself, and it is the latest one, how could you forget it so easily?" Mingshu stood up, "Hou Cheng, are you going to continue to lie?"
Hou Cheng opened his mouth in vain and looked at Mingshu fearfully, "I don't know."
Mingshu said: "What 'don't know'? Do you not know who the grave heart is? Or do you not know what is written in it? You sign the contract for the grave heart, and if the grave heart is suspected of committing a crime, you will also bear the consequences for him!"
Hou Cheng's face was dull and flustered, "What? He committed a crime? What did he do?"
Mingshu sat down again, "You are finally willing to admit that you are not the heart of the tomb."
The interrogation room was quiet, and the sound of breathing and heartbeat could be heard.
Hou Cheng shook his head in despair, "I'm not him. Let me go, I didn't commit a crime."
Mingshu asked, "Who is that TA?"
"I don't know." Hou Cheng said guiltily.
Even the recorder thought that Mingshu would be angry, but Mingshu just said calmly: "Then let's talk about the process of your acquaintance. You don't know who the grave heart is, but you have always met TA, communicated with TA, know TA Is it male or female, old or young?"
This time, Hou Cheng nodded disarmedly and told the truth: "It's a young man, very young, he, he has ridden in my tricycle..."
In Hou Cheng's narration, the real identity of the tomb heart is a mystery, and he is a handsome man. Three years ago, Hou Cheng drove a tricycle to the town to pick up free disinfectant. On the way back, he was stopped by a tomb standing on the side of the road.
Nowadays, there are many "backpackers", and Hou Cheng has brought them along before. Seeing that there is still a vacancy in the back seat, he let the tomb heart get on the car.
Hou Cheng speaks little, but the tomb heart is very good at words. Hou Cheng replied occasionally, feeling that the other party was very knowledgeable and completely different from the young people in the village.
When he returned to Qingyue Village, Hou Cheng had already learned that Tomb Xin was a writer.
Hou Cheng has lived alone for decades, guarding a yard and a field. In his spare time, he reads second-hand books bought in the town to pass the time, and gradually formed a hobby that is not a hobby. Although Hou Cheng can't say he admires the heart of the tomb who can write a book, he admires him from the bottom of his heart.
There are no tourism resources in Qingyue Village. Tomb Xin claimed that he came here just by chance. He wandered around looking for inspiration without a destination.
"I think it's good here. It's far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The pace of life is very slow. I'll just stay for a few days." Tomb Xin said.
At first, Hou Cheng did not intend to leave the tomb heart to live in his own home, but the tomb heart walked all over the village without finding a suitable place to live, and finally went around to Hou Cheng's door.
Hou Cheng was very embarrassed. First, there was nothing to entertain guests at home. Second, he was used to it alone and was afraid that someone would enter his territory.
But it was late at that time, and the doors of every household were closed, making it unsafe in the wild. After hesitating again and again, Hou Cheng still invited the tomb heart into the house and vacated the best room in the family for the tomb heart to live in.
The tomb is here for a week.
I don’t go out, I don’t see anyone else, I’m locked in my room all day to write.
Hou Cheng was still a little dissatisfied, but the tomb took out a stack of money from the mountaineering bag, "Uncle Cheng, these will be used as my room and board expenses, thank you for taking care of me."
That stack of money was actually 30,000.
Hou Cheng does farm work for a year, and his net income is only tens of thousands of yuan. The young man in front of him is actually 30,000!
Hou Cheng was stunned.
"Uncle Cheng." Tomb Xin said, "I got a lot of inspiration from you. For writers, inspiration is the most important and priceless. I should thank you, so just keep it."
Few people would not be tempted by money, and Hou Cheng let the tomb live in confusion.
Before leaving Qingyue Village, Tomb Heart proposed to replace the contract.
Hou Cheng basically did not understand, but he knew that as long as he signed a contract with Luocheng Xinyun Publishing House on behalf of Tomb Heart, handed in the manuscript, paid taxes on his behalf, received the remuneration on his behalf, and handed over the remuneration to Tomb Heart, he would get 100,000 yuan a year. reward.
For Hou Cheng, 100,000 yuan is a huge sum of money.
"Uncle Cheng, I know you are worried, but think about it, you helped me, how could I harm you?" Tomb Xin said sincerely: "I have some personal reasons here, and it is not convenient for me to sign a contract with the publishing house in person. That's why I ask you to help me with this. Am I a bad person? We've been together for so many days, don't you know? Well, it doesn't matter if you don't agree to me for the time being, and mine hasn't been revised. You can think about it again. Well, I'll come back to you in a while."
After the tomb heart left, the more Hou Cheng thought about it, the more he regretted it.
Just sign a contract for someone, what can happen? The tomb heart looks like a cultural person, what can he write about? If you sign a contract, you can get 100,000 yuan, and you can't earn that much in a year from farming. Where can I find such a good thing
A few months later, just when Hou Cheng thought he had lost the opportunity to make a fortune, the heart of the tomb appeared again.
This time, the tomb heart did not go to Hou Cheng's house, but went directly to Tianshang, holding a USB flash drive in his gloved hand, asking Hou Cheng to send the contents of the USB flash drive to Xinyun Publishing House and destroy the USB flash drive.
To this end, Hou Cheng also went to town to buy a second-hand laptop.
Under the guidance of the tomb heart, Hou Cheng published the manuscript, waited, and successfully signed a contract with Xinyun Publishing House, becoming a fake tomb heart.
But the whereabouts of the real tomb is uncertain and ghosts appear. Every time it appears, he takes away the remuneration that Hou Cheng took out, and gives Hou Cheng the corresponding remuneration.
They have been working together for two years.
"When was the last time Tomb Heart came to you?" Mingshu asked.
"May this year." Maybe it was because he had finally confessed, and Hou Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, "He came to collect the remuneration, and then gave me 50,000 yuan to let me rest well. The summer in the village is too hot and hard to bear. I have After I got the money, I came out. I didn't expect, I didn't expect to be caught by you... "
"This case is very strange." Hua Chong entertained Mingshu in the alley opposite the city bureau to eat. Sitting in the dry pot restaurant, he not only ordered a super large portion of pork ribs, rabbit and eel mixed pot, but also ordered the hoof flower soup and tin foil grilled fish next door. , the table was full, "There must be something wrong with the heart of the tomb. Now, regardless of whether he is inciting something, it is very suspicious that he is looking for Hou Cheng to replace his identity. Would a normal writer do this?"
"If you want to do something about paying taxes, it's possible." Mingshu has been busy for a few days and desperately needs something appetizer, so he's not polite to Hua Chong, "But the tax that should be paid is all one cent. No less. This is obviously to hide his identity, and he is very smart, and he is looking for a person like Hou Cheng. Hou Cheng has no family, lives alone, and is very isolated, and there is no surveillance in places like Qingyue Village, only Hou Cheng is alone Knowing the truth, there is no physical evidence, and no other human evidence."
"The tomb can even deal with Hou Cheng when necessary." Hua Chong thought for a while, and then added: "The premise is that the tomb is a person with criminal potential."
"Let's go with me." Mingshu said, "The suspects in the two murders were affected by the heart of the tomb. I must find the heart of the tomb as soon as possible."
"How do you plan to arrange Hou Cheng?" Hua Chong asked.
"He is the key. Team Hua, I want to apply to you." Mingshu and Hua Chong touched a cup, "Hou Cheng..."
Before Mingshu could finish speaking, Hua Chong had already understood, "Don't worry, I will communicate here. Hou Cheng is the only clue now. If he is detained in the security detachment, he may be shocked."
Ming Shu smiled, "Thank you. When the cases are resolved smoothly this time, I'll invite you to drink with Mr. Liu again."
Hua Chong asked, "Call me Shang Leran?"
"Definitely call him!" Mingshu felt more relaxed when it came to Le Ran, "that little idiot."
Le Ran is a teammate Mingshu knew in the special action team. He is young but has deep experience. At that time, a large group of them had just completed a task, and after a rest, they invited each other out for a drink, and they fought happily. Drinking was not bad, but they could only drink one type of drink.
I don't know who poured Leran red wine first, and then poured white wine. Leran was hit immediately and leaned on the seat motionless.
Most of the drunk people go crazy, or simply go to sleep. This guy answers every question and makes a circle of brothers amused. Mingshu initially felt that bullying his teammates was unrighteous, but later he became addicted. If it wasn't for Shen Xun, the head of the special action team, who took Le Ran away later, the group would have made trouble until dawn.
"Le Ran has gone to Xiaben Village and is busy with the case of your transfer to the special operations team." Hua Chong said, "The truth has been hidden for twelve years, and it's time to get to the bottom of it."
Mingshu remembered Li Hongmei, sighed, and instantly regained his spirits, "The case I'm in charge of will soon come to light."