Cinephile hustle

The door was opened, and two tall men came out dragging suitcases.

Obviously, Lancer was packed in the box.

They haven't figured out what happened, someone kicked them hard, the pain hit, everything was so fast that it was impossible to predict.

One of them fell on the wall, lay down clutching his belly, curled up, his face was flushed, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

Ian's kick was so powerful that ordinary people might not be able to bear it.

The other was about to fight back, and Ian clasped his wrist with one hand and twisted it behind him. The other was forced hard, and the sound of dislocation was very loud, and his screams echoed in the corridor.

A door opened not far away, and an old man poked his head out tremblingly, looking at them suspiciously.

Ian smiled at him, "Sir, it will be quiet in a while."

The old man nodded and closed the door.

The guy who fell on the ground suddenly sat up, took out his pistol, and pointed it at Ian.

The moment his finger pulled the trigger, Ian slid forward and stretched his arms. In just a few tenths of a second, his right hand pulled the opponent's safety catch, and his left hand unloaded the opponent's magazine.

Then he looked at each other coldly.

"You... who are you?"

"Tell me first, who are you guys? Why are you looking for Lanser?" Ian pressed his palm on the other's forehead, and pressed him against the wall forcefully. Terrible.

"I... we just took money... to take him somewhere!"

"Which place is a certain place?" Ian asked, tilting his head.

"We don't know, it's the van that sent him across from the apartment..."

Ian got up and came to the window of the apartment, and sure enough, he saw a gray van parked in front of the cafe across the street.

At this moment, the guy whose right hand was dislocated by Ian actually called the other party.

"Come on!"

Ian turned back and kicked his phone away, but it was a step too late, the van was already gone.Ian called the NYPD and told him the license plate.

The two guys tried to escape, and Ian neatly knocked them down again, dislocating their legs mercilessly.

He opened the box, and Lancer was forced to curl up inside.His legs were bent, his hands were tied around his ankles, and something was stuffed in his mouth.Ian could imagine how painful it was for Lancer to be locked in there.

He took out what was stuffed in Lanser's mouth, and the young man exhaled heavily, opening his mouth wide as if to say something.

Ian touched his head, took out a Swiss Army knife from his ankle, cut the rope that bound him, and carried him out of the suitcase.

Like a child who finally saw his parents after being lost, he hugged Ian's shoulder and burst into tears.

Ian patted him on the back lightly, "Okay, it's all right."

Not long after, the police arrived and arrested the two men.

Ian accompanied Lancer to the police station for investigation.

The police wanted to sample the wounds on Lancer's body and asked him to take off his clothes, which contained the fingerprints of the two men and other criminal evidence.

Lancer looked at Ian, and Ian nodded, before he slowly lifted his shirt.

He was really thin, and there were a few bruises on his body, which should have been left by those two men's beatings.When he found Ian looking at him, he subconsciously wrapped himself in his arms.

Ian didn't analyze Lanser's behavior with the things in the training course of the Bureau of Investigation. He got up and took the clothes handed over by the police officer, put them on Lanser's body, smiled and said, "It seems a lot bigger. There are still clothes at home. Do you have clothes?"

Lancer nodded.

When Lancer entered the police inquiry room, he grabbed Ian by the corner of his clothes.

Ian patted him on the shoulder and asked loudly, "Mr. Police Officer, does anyone here understand sign language?"

"...That's not true."

"Can I go in, then? I understand sign language. I'm a friend of Lancer's."

"Oh, yes. Thank you for your cooperation."

Because Ian was sitting next to him, Lancer seemed much calmer than before.The questions the police asked were all within Ian's expectations.

"Lance, can you think of why these two people want to kidnap you?"

Lancer shook his head.

"You have to think clearly, because their actions are very targeted. They know very well that their target is you. I heard that your mother died of cancer. She must have spent a lot of money before she died. How did you pay it off?"

Lancer was stunned, and swallowed.He gestured, and Ian translated for him: "He paid off the money by painting."

"That's more than 5 US dollars." The police officer glanced at the information.

Ian knew what the other party was suspecting. They believed that the kidnapping incident was probably caused by Lancer's debt problem.And with Lancer's situation, it was almost impossible to get a loan from the bank.So the most likely thing is usury.

Lancer is not a famous painter. It is rare for his paintings to sell for hundreds of dollars, and no one would believe it for [-] dollars.

Ian didn't defend Lancer, he had to remain neutral in this room.He was just Lancer's mouthpiece.

Lancer made another series of sign language, and then took out his mobile phone.

"He sold a total of five paintings. The other party paid in cash. And the person who handed over the money to him was an art dealer from the Griffin Gallery. His mobile phone has the other party's phone number. You can call Ask her for proof."

The police officer nodded and asked again: "Lancer, is there any reason, do you think it might lead to this kidnapping? I hope you think about it carefully and don't hide anything. You are very lucky, Connor of the FBI The detective stopped them, otherwise this might not have been just a kidnapping. Whoever paid for those two men to stuff you in the suitcase, his purpose is likely not only to kidnap, but also to get you Life."

Lancer's shoulders stiffened.

Ian knew that there was something he hadn't said.

Ian gently held Lancer's hand and squeezed his fingertips.

Lancer swallowed hard, made up his mind and gestured in sign language again.

"In the last six months of his mother's life, someone once invited him to paint. The other party invited him into a van, blindfolded him, and took him somewhere. There were paints and canvases. When he finished painting, the other party would send him back and give him a sum of cash. He relied on that cash to pay for his mother's hospitalization expenses. Later, the other party called him to ask him to paint, but his mother had already Passed away, Lancer no longer wanted to do something like that, so he refused."

The police officer pushed a photo of a van in front of Lanser, "This is the van parked opposite the apartment, as captured by the traffic camera. Take a look, is it the one you used to get in?"

Lancer looked at it seriously, then nodded.

After the officer asked some follow-up questions, he told them to go back.

Lancer followed behind Ian, a little at a loss.

Standing in the parking lot, Lancer grabbed Ian.He gestured in sign language in great panic.

Ian clasped his wrist firmly and looked into Lancer's eyes very seriously.

"Lancer, listen to me, you didn't do anything wrong. You paint, get paid, and treat your mother. These are all right. So you don't need to explain too much to me. What is wrong The most important thing is the person who asked you to draw. Maybe he likes what you draw, maybe he has some special reason for you to continue to draw, but no matter what the reason is, you will not be forgiven for doing what you do today. "

Lancer's eyes are very bright, and the city lights are reflected in another color in his eyes.

At this moment, the sound of clapping came from behind Ian.

"Uncle Ian, you are really good at coaxing children? But, is he not a child anymore?"

Lazy voice, with a bit of banter, a bit of ambiguous rhyme brewed in the cool air.

Ian turned around and looked at Hailey, frowning.

"How will you be here?"

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Haley circled Ian half a circle and stopped beside Lancer.

Lancer raised his head and looked at Haili in a daze.His golden-brown hair seems to be decorated with starlight, and the smile slowly evoked on the lip line extends the heartbeat infinitely.

Haili had his hands in his pockets. He was not wearing a suit, but a casual sweater. At that moment, his smile turned cold, and his eyes seemed to be in a dark place that the light could not reach. Lancer's nerves.

"You are very happy, Ian cares about you so much."

Ian stretched out his hand and pushed Hailey's face away, blocking the eye contact between Hailey and Lancer.

"Answer me, why are you here?"

Hailey took half a step back, "What, Uncle Ian's paranoia again? Do you think I'm stalking you or pretending to be something in your room? Or get a little bigger and kidnap your little pet Maybe it's me?"

"Haley Russell!" Ian's voice revealed anger.

"The Chief of Police called to tell me. He said my partner was with him. So I came to see if something terrible happened to you." Haley leaned back against Ian's hood.

"I'm fine, you can go."

Haili suddenly stretched out his arms, pulling Lancer in front of him.

Lancer almost crashed into Hailey's arms. Before he could struggle, Hailey's arms wrapped around him tightly, making him unable to move.

"Listen, Ian never trusts anyone easily. So, be careful and don't let him down on you."

Lancer raised his head and stared blankly at Hailey.

He has a pair of deep and charming eyes, elegant to the perfect outline, the closer you get, the more clearly you can feel it.

But such beauty is like a quagmire, dragging Lancer's nerves bit by bit.

Just as Ian turned around to say something, Haley had already let Lancer go.

"See you tomorrow, my partner."

Cliff opened the car door for Haley as he walked across the parking lot and gave Ian a polite nod.

Lancer followed Ian back to the apartment.His room was already a mess, and Ian accompanied him to clean up the damaged easel.Many paintings have been destroyed, the brushes have been trampled on the ground, and the paint is like mud on the ground.

Lancer was in a low mood.Especially the painting that Ian said he liked very much fell on the ground, covered with footprints.When Lancer knelt down and saw the painting, he was even more sad.

"I don't understand art. But I heard that artists have a special mood when they finish their works. I don't know if you still have that mood. If you still have it, you can still start over."

Lancer looked up at Ian: I have nothing left.

"You have a lot. You are still young, you still have eyes and hands, and you still know what beauty is. Oh, yes..." Ian walked out the door and picked up a lot of things he threw on the corridor Come in, "You still have these. It shouldn't be too late to start over with them."

Lancer's eyes widened, and he opened the kraft paper wrapped outside, and found that there were various types of brushes, dozens of paints, canvases, palettes, etc. inside.

Did you buy it?Lancer asked.

"Well, they are all yours now." Ian patted Lancer's shoulder, "Come on, go to sleep with me."

Lancer smiled slightly.

Ian's bed was very narrow. Lancer was going to sleep on the sofa, but Ian pushed him on the bed and slept on the sofa in the living room with pillows and quilts in his arms.

"I can fall asleep anywhere. And with me guarding the door, you can sleep in peace."

Lancer hesitated, and when he saw Ian lying on the sofa and seemed to have fallen asleep not long after, he returned to Ian's bedroom with peace of mind.

This sleep did not last until dawn. At four o'clock in the morning, Ian received a call from the New York police.

"Agent Connor, sorry to disturb you at this time. Your friend Lancer Payton's case involves an art dealer, Amanda Cooke. Do you remember him?"

"Yes. She bought five paintings of Lancer, all in cash. And she probably knows the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Lancer."

"Amanda Cook is dead."

"What?" Ian's eyes wrinkled, and he looked towards his room.

"...we heard you were in charge of the 'mummy murders' at Cavendish Park?"

"That's just a name given by the media."

"So we thought you should come and take a look."

"what happened?"

"Amanda Cook's body ... was also found in the park ... in Cavendish Park."

Ian was stunned for two seconds, then pressed his forehead hard, "I'll rush over there right away. Please stay at the scene and let me see clearly before transporting the corpse away."

"no problem."

Ian didn't know when he would come back, so he planned to leave a note for Lancer.

Unexpectedly, Lancer had already woken up. He opened the door and looked at Ian: What happened?

"A case happened suddenly, I'm going to take a look. After I leave, you just need to lock the door and you'll be fine. I'll leave the door key to you. There's something in the refrigerator. If you get hungry in the morning, you can make it and eat it." .If you want to draw, you can draw with me."

Lancer looked at Ian with some anxiety.

"As long as you don't open the door for anyone, you're safe. The door here was specially replaced when I moved in. It's not easy for ordinary people to open it."

Of course, Ian is not guarding against any gangsters, but Hailey.

Lancer nodded.

Ian put on his coat and rushed out.

When he came near AD, the sky was slightly bright, and the whole city was shrouded in haze.The tranquility of Cavendish Park has long been broken.Several police cars were parked nearby.The previous yellow isolation belt had just been withdrawn, and a new isolation belt was pulled up again, on the lawn in the middle of the park.

And Hailey was sitting on a park bench with his chin propped up, as if admiring something.The breeze blew through his hair, and his slightly lowered eyebrows and eyes appeared deeper in thought.

He must have been called again by the chief of police.

Ian stopped beside Haley.Surrounded by a barrier, it seems to be a statue?

Since when is there a statue here?The last time I came, the lawn was still empty.

Ian faintly felt that there was something wrong with the statue, and when he was about to walk forward, Haili spoke.

"You left the little pet like this? What if he has a psychological shadow without your company?"

"He's not my pet. It's our job and you should have heard about it before I did and didn't call me."

Haley laughed out loud.

"This is you, give others hope, and then do what you should do rationally, leaving other people's hopes behind."

Hailey looked a little lonely.

Ian should have turned a blind eye to everything about him, but at that moment, Ian knew that he was a little soft-hearted.

He wanted to run his fingers through Hailey's golden-brown hair, wondering if it was as soft as it was eight years ago.

"Let's go and see the victim."

Ian walked over to the sculpture, took out his gloves and put them on.

The person who came to do on-site forensics was "little idiot" Finn Keating.

Fern Keating is nearly 30 years old, but he has a baby face with tiny freckles on his cheeks, and his naturally curly hair is slightly reddish.He sprawled on the grass looking intently at his victim like a big dog.

Ian came behind him and looked at the "sculpture".

This is a form of a woman kneeling on the ground covering her head with her hands as if avoiding something.The outside is a layer of cement.The woman's feet were completely sunk into the concrete pier, her legs were bent, and her face was completely covered by her knees.Her body was covered in a layer of cement.

"I heard that you are Agent Russell's new partner?"

"Little Fool" Finn Keating asked unhurriedly.

"Hmm." Ian turned his head to look at the sculpture, "I'm curious how the murderer sent it here."

"At least it's not 'falling from the sky'. It's not as heavy as you might think, because it's not completely cement after all. Based on the depth of the lawn sinking and the weight of the victim Amanda Cook, it is estimated that the outer layer of cement will not exceed one. centimeter thick. In other words, a cart is enough to transport this 'sculpture' to the grass."

"Then what about the identity of the victim? How was it determined? I can't even see the face of this 'sculpture'." Ian squatted down beside the "little idiot".

"The murderer threw Amanda's ID on the grass. It's like a name tag in front of an exhibit in a museum."

Ian frowned, and Haley sat cross-legged on the other side of Fern Keating, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Hey, dear 'nerd,' have you found any useful clues? Like, was our art dealer cemented while he was alive, or after his death?"

Finn glanced at Haili and replied coldly: "If you call me that again, you will be the one who will be sealed in cement next time."

Hailey played with Finn's soft, slightly curly brown-red hair as if he didn't hear anything.

"I haven't seen you for a few days, you are getting cuter and cuter!"

Finn waved Haili's hand away impatiently, stood up, faced Ian and said, "I sympathize with you."

Ian lowered his head and chuckled, then got up and walked around behind the "statue", and he saw the traces of the wheels of the cart.

"You said, this is the same murderer, or just happened to abandon the corpse in the same place?" Haili came to Ian's side with his pocket in his pocket.

"There are both similarities and differences." Ian stood up and looked around, looking for the location of the surveillance video.

It's a pity that this is a park and the lawn is open, so there is nowhere to install surveillance cameras.The closest monitoring is also on the street outside the park.Ian lowered his head and pondered, the murderer couldn't justly be pushing the stroller in the park.He needs at least one van or SUV that can fit a stroller in it.

"What's the same?" Hailey asked with a smile.

"Maybe you can see more similarities than me, so why bother asking me?" Ian walked towards the entrance of the park, and he wanted to determine the angle of surveillance.

"See if we have commonalities in our thinking."

"First, the corpses were abandoned in this park in the two murder cases, where people come and go. The murderer let many citizens 'appreciate' his 'works'. So the murderer did not abandon the corpses, but 'displayed '."

"I agree. If there is the first, there will be the second."

"Secondly, Adam was bound to freeze or starve to death in an oil drum, while Amanda was sealed alive in cement. The criminal motives for these two murders were definitely not impulsive, but carefully designed."

"How do you know that Amanda was still alive when she was sealed in cement?"

"Her mouth is slightly open, and she still wants to breathe."

"Hmm." Haley nodded, "Is there a third thing in common?"

"The victims of both cases deeply experienced the fear of 'losing their freedom and feeling the imminent death' before they died."

"Three things in common are enough to convince us that this is the 'work' of the same murderer. What makes you suspicious?"

"Adam's body left nothing to identify him. The murderer didn't care who the raw material for his 'work' was. Amanda's ID was stuck in the lawn in front of her body, like a work of art label. And Adam and Amanda died in different ways. Adam's body was presented like some kind of performance art, while Amanda was like a statue. The styles were different. Usually the same murderer would murder in the same way, which would It makes them more confident and easier to evolve this way to perfection."