Chapter 4 Chapter Four

There was a knock on the door.I awoke from my lethargy. The knocking stopped.I lay on the bed and gathered my will.Couldn't the knocking come from the door?It must have come from somewhere deep in my brain, the volume of the sound is the same, and the frequency of the beating is also the same.There was a subconscious feeling in the back of my head that it was time for me to get things done. There was another knock on the door.This time there was no chance of mishearing, it was a heavy, urgent knock on the door.Each shot echoed in my head, like shooting a gun in an empty room. I struggled to get into a sitting position.I reached for the bedside light switch, I flipped it on, got up, and walked to the door.

Fabalon stood at the door. "Hello, Mr. Fei." I said. "What the hell are you doing?" he said, "I knocked on the door to wake you up, but you were so sleepy...why didn't you even take off your clothes?" "I've been busy," I told him. My tongue is knotted and my throat is dry and hoarse. I looked at my watch, it was half past three. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "I can't sleep," he said. "I came here on a late flight." "How do you explain it to your wife?" I asked. "Lai," he admitted, "I lied to Nava. You understand the impact of this bastard incident on me, right? I lied to Nava."

"That's too bad," I said. I went to the phone, picked it up, and I said, "I told you to call me at seven, why didn't you call me?" "Wait a moment, please." A lady with a sweet voice replied. After a while, the other side said on the phone: "That's right, Mr. Lai, you said you were called at seven o'clock, and it's not seven o'clock yet, sir. It's three forty." I said vaguely: "Understood, please pick up the room service department." I called room service and ordered a jug of cold tomato juice, a bottle of Worcestershire sauce and some lemons.I put the pillow upright on the headboard and lean back on the bed by myself.

"What did Judd say?" he asked. "Did you find him?" "I didn't see him," I said, "I just found out where he was." "You didn't see him?" "No." "But you called me before five o'clock and told me someone else was in Van Leeholl, and . . . " "That's right." "But why haven't you seen him yet?" "Mainly because I told them to wake me up at seven o'clock," I said, "and the stupid operator thought I meant seven o'clock in the morning." "Why did I wake you up at seven?"

"The main reason is that I told them to wake me up at seven o'clock." "I drank a lot with Jade's friends, so I got Jade's address. I told them to call me at seven o'clock, so I could close my eyes for two hours. I was going to get up at 7 o'clock yesterday afternoon to go to Van Leho's." "Did you oversleep?" "I overslept." Fabalon pressed his knuckles, and the knuckles were ringing.His light-colored watery eyes looked at me reproachfully, and even the sound of his knuckles seemed dissatisfied with me. "I thought by this time everything was settled," he said.

"Dao Dao is hiding." I told him: "I have to drink hard to find out where he is in the other party's mouth." "Why is he hiding?" "Because your friend Miao Luyi told him to dig a hole himself and not come out." "Why would she do that?" "I was hoping to know, too. But she was definitely the one who told him to hide." Fei Balun said pessimistically: "Lai, now it seems that Jadd can write a letter to Nava at any time, and even pick up the phone to call Nava. He is a dangerous person. The whole incident is full of explosiveness. I don't want to lose a minute."

"Okay," I said, "what do you want me to do? Call him at four o'clock in the morning and threaten him?" "Using this kind of strategy, you just got into Jia De's design. He knows that you are afraid of him, and he knows that the trump card is in his hands. He is a conscientious and enthusiastic person, and he is here to transform the earth." "Then what should we do to him?" Fei Balun asked: "How can we prevent him from speaking to Nava? How can we prevent the situation from expanding?" "There's a way," I said, "but I can't even think about it until I get a big can of tomato juice."

Fei Balun was pacing around the room, pressing hard on the bottom joint of the middle finger, snapping, it sounded like pistol bullets to me. "Have you booked a room here?" I asked. "I just got here," he said. "Go ask for a room." "I can not sleep." "I want to sleep." "You should have had enough sleep," he said reproachfully. "Not only did I get enough sleep, but I also bought a painting." "A picture?" "Yes, I bought a painting with your money. It cost fifty-seven yuan. The artist's name is Joe Housey, and the title of the painting is 'The Sun of the Sahara'. Would you like to admire it?"

He looked at me like an alien. I went over and removed the wrapping paper from the painting. "God," he sat down on the chair, "you said you bought this kind of painting?" "Yeah," I told him. "That's how I got Jarddor's address. I bought a bottle of gin for it, too, to get them drunk!" There was a knock on the door, and I went over and opened it. The sound of the ice cubes colliding with the glass container in the solution is my favorite sound at this time. I poured the tomato juice into a large glass, put in the Worcestershire sauce and lemon slices, and gulped it down my stomach.

Fei Balun was looking at the painting with an expression of disbelief. "How about a little?" I pointed to the tomato juice and asked Fei Balun. He shook his head. "I had some coffee before I came up. I don't want anything... Lai, this is bothering me." "I understand you." "We're going to buy time." I nod. "You said," he said, "that extortion is equal to payment in installments. The first payment is a down payment?" I cross my head. "However, we can pay the down payment to buy time." I poured another glass of tomato juice, squeezed in a lemon, and poured in more Worcestershire sauce.I said, "Barron, the problem now is that he's not blackmailing."

"what is that?" "I'm not sure either. This question requires psychoanalysis." "What do you mean?" I said, "In my opinion, Jadd has done something that bothered him. He dared not admit it to himself, but he felt guilty in his heart and could not find peace. So a sickness formed in his heart, wanting to The guilt of every guilty man in the world is made known to the world, so that he can prove to himself that he is no worse than others." "Psychoanalysts may have a term for this kind of pathology. I don't know what it's called. I call it redemptive psychology. This guy now thinks he is the savior." "So what?" Fei asked. "When a man's subconscious enters this state, he's close to confession. I think it's possible to get him to tell me what he's done and why he's become so self-righteous." "So you can control him?" Fabalon said. "I don't want to control him," I said, "I let him vomit out the accumulated feelings in his heart. He will be better and can live a normal life. In this way, Miao Luyi will be happier and won't always hate him. .” "Lai, you must have found out a lot of news that I didn't know." "That's what it is," I said, "You paid me to find information for you." "You haven't told me what news you found." "You can figure it out when you think about it." I told him, "Here's a guy who thinks he's a step above everyone else, and falls in love with a girl who likes excitement, laughter, and action. He expresses humanity." , but also showed self-righteousness, showed dissatisfaction with her lifestyle, and wanted to be the savior of the world." "He thinks you're bringing Louie back into the world of immorality, so he's sending you a letter to discredit you. He'll do it, and he's doing it to convince Louie, To make you appear more guilty than he." "I came to talk to this guy. This guy hid. Now you know as much as I do. What do you think?" "I don't know," he said. "I don't know." I said, "Unless, his letter to you is just one of them. Someone like him may have written many letters to many other people and threatened many people." "What's the difference?" "That's a big difference," I said, "but it depends on what he writes to someone else." I drink more tomato juice. "I admit that your reasoning is extremely correct," said Fabalon. "But I still think we should try to pay him first." "It's okay." I said, "You and I can make an agreement like this: if it's just blackmail, the purpose of our payment is to delay time until we can figure out a way to deal with him. But at the moment I don't think it is Blackmail... where's your luggage?" "Downstairs, I was planning to get a room too, and I'm going to get one now. Let's... meet in the lobby at eight o'clock, have breakfast together, and let's go to Van Lihe." I shake my head. "Seven-thirty," I said, "let's have breakfast together. Leave here at eight." "Okay, half past seven." Fabalon left, I took off my clothes, filled the bathtub with water, and let myself soak in it.After soaking for twenty minutes, I got up, dried my body, and shaved my beard.I picked up the suit and found it wrinkled so badly that I called the attendant and asked if he could have it ironed and have it back by six forty-five.After getting an affirmative answer, I poured out all the things in the clothes and asked him to iron them. I drank the rest of the tomato juice, and only then did I feel hydrated. "Saharan Sun" repulses the depths of my optic nerves and brings me back to unpleasant memories.I put it against the wall, asked the hotel to deliver the newspaper, read the newspaper, and took a sleepy nap.The phone rang at seven o'clock to wake me up.I went to the department that ironed my clothes, and found that the clothes hadn't been ironed yet. In fact, the ironer had just started work, and the clothes wouldn't be brought in before 7:30.I complained a few words to them and said that I want them to be as fast as possible.I took out a clean shirt from my luggage.I put my laundry in one pocket.At 7:20, the ironed clothes came up, and I handed over the laundry to them.At seven thirty, I came to the coffee shop. Fabalun sat on a stool in the cabinet and drank coffee. "Hello." I said, "You got up earlier than me." He said helplessly, "I can't sleep." "How long have you been here?" I asked. "They open at six-thirty," he said. "I'll come when the door opens." "Come for breakfast?" "Drink coffee." I sat next to him on an empty high stool.I said to the waiter, "Orange juice, boiled plums, ham and eggs, this gentleman will settle the bill." He pushed the empty glass forward. "Refills," he said. "Don't drink any more coffee." I said, "I drank too much, and I'm too nervous. Like me, have some ham and eggs." He said pitifully: "I have no appetite!" I almost finished my breakfast.The waiter brought him the bill, and he tipped him a quarter.I reached into my trouser pocket, took out a one-yuan coin and placed it on the counter.I said, "Since you're coming in at six-thirty, I'll give him a decent tip for you. I'll put it on the expense account, don't worry about it." He looked at the silver dollar and said, "Maybe you're right." Reaching out, he took the quarter back and put it in his trouser pocket. "Of course I'm right." I put another fifty cents tip on the counter. The waiter watched the farce in silence.He smiles at me. Fabalon walked towards the door, cracking his knuckles. "How to get to Fa?" He asked. "I have a rental car," I said. I picked up the car, struggled through the traffic coming into town over the Bay Bridge, got onto the freeway, drove comfortably for a while, and drove through the traffic for a while.We came to Van Leah and found the Roadside Motel, very easy. "Shall we use his false surname to ask?" Fabalon asked. "Don't be stupid." I said, "We're not going to ask anyone. That guy drives a sports car, and he's registered with the surname Zheng. Let's take a look." At this time, the manager of the hotel stayed overnight and was supposed to be making up for sleep.Most of the passing passengers have already moved out and are on their way.The maids are cleaning the separate huts. I told Fabalon not to act like a thief, to keep his back as straight as possible and walk forward with his head held high. "In our line of business," I told him, "you don't poke around as if you're looking for someone or something. It'll attract attention, and someone might even come to help you. That way, they'll remember what you look like afterwards. "Pretend to be busy with something, but not very busy. Walk purposefully and with confidence in mind. If you don't find what you're looking for, turn around as soon as you remember another thing you forgot to do. .” We walked forward at a fast pace along the driveway.I found the sports car I was looking for in the parking space at the door of House No. 24. "What should we do now?" Baron said, "We found him. Is it of any use to us?" "Let's go talk to him," I said. We went to the door and I knocked. No reply. I try it twice with my fist. No reply. "Maybe he's out for breakfast," I said. "Let's go and see." We walked back quickly, passed the manager's office, and came to a restaurant in the hotel's separate building. "Do you know what he looks like?" Fabalon asked. "I think I'll know him when I see him." I told him: "He's a zealous savior, he can't bear to see other people's bad behavior, he's self-righteous and arrogant. Should have high cheekbones , stern eyes, thick hair, probably thin lips. He will be very nervous, move quickly, and be neurotic." We go into the restaurant.Fabalon ordered coffee again, and I ordered cinnamon cake and hot cocoa. Slowly, very carefully, I watched everyone who was having breakfast in the dining room.I can't see anyone like Jia Daode... Is it wrong for me to imagine his appearance from his personality? We went back to the cottage that Jardd had rented. "Maybe he's in the shower." I said, "Let's knock again." I knocked hard on the door.No reply.I turn the croquet and push inside. "Wait a minute, wait a moment." Fabalon said, "What are you doing?" "Go in and have a look," I said. The gate moved noiselessly forward on well-oiled hinges. Fabalon stepped back. "I don't participate in this kind of activity." "Then you wait outside." I said. I myself wish I had been alone with Judd.Without Fabalon, without his habit of pressing his knuckles, I think it would be easier for me to have an exchange of ideas with Jared. I don't think the guy would sleep this late unless he was drunk. It took me a while to adjust my eyes to the dim light in the room, and I gently closed the door behind itself. The bed was neat and tidy, and no one had slept in it. I don't understand what's going on here. I was walking towards the bed to go to the bathroom when suddenly I stopped.Two feet with shoes came into my eyes. The position of these two feet was strange, obviously very unnaturally stiff. I take the first few steps to take a closer look. The body was fully clothed and there was no bleeding.There was a red spot on his head, and a small lump of clotted blood on the carpet beneath him. From the look on his face, I knew he was dead.The dead man's hair was thick, and his black hair was trimmed very short.The cheekbones are high, the eyes are set very close together, and the chin is short, which doesn't look like a punch. There was no sign of struggle, and everything in the room was neat and tidy.A leather key holder, half covered by the corpse's jacket, I picked up and put in my pocket. I backed away from the bed, took out a handkerchief and wiped the croquet inside.I backed out of the door, hid the handkerchief in the palm of my hand, and while closing the door, I also wiped the croquet outside the door. Fabalon was a full fifty meters away from the hut.He looked at me like he had never seen me in his life. I walked over quickly, and when I was close to him, I said, "Come on, let's go." "What did he say?" he asked. "He's out," I said, "I think the guy's gone into town to make a long distance call." "He's not in now?" "At least I didn't see it," I said. "I just opened the door and looked at the door. I didn't move." "Oh," he asked, "so he's not in bed?" "No one has slept in the bed," I said. "How is that possible?" he asked. "That's it." "But the car is here, isn't it?" "correct." "Then he can't get too far from here," he said. "Shall we ask the manager?" "No need. I've seen the license plate. There's nothing wrong with the license plate being his, and the car must be his." "What do we do now?" "Let's go back." "I don't understand." Fei Balun said: "We rushed here all the way to talk to this guy, and now you actually say you want to go back!?" "Yes, we changed our minds." "I don't see why it should change." "There are some things that you don't have to know all about." I told him, "Actually, it's already a lot of inconvenience for you to come here with me." "I can't help it!" he said, "I have to find a way to do something, I need to know the progress, I can't wait at home like waiting to die. Tell me, Lai, has this guy thought of announcing it?" , or have you already told Nava?" "I do not know either." "We've got to find him. We've got to talk to him. We've got to try to stop him." "I think I've stopped him," I said. "How to say?" "I went to Miao Luyi, and I told her who I am, and I took over this matter." "You think she told him?" "Otherwise why would he escape here and stay in a hotel under a false name?" "That's right." Fei agreed. "So," I said, "I'll drive you to Oakland Airport now, the first flight, you go back to me." "But I don't want to go back. I want to fight you. I'm here to see your homework in person." "You go back." I told him: "You go now, you will hinder my handling of the case." "I can't go back from Auckland, I have to go back to the hotel to get my luggage." "Alright." I said, "You go back to the hotel to get your luggage, and then you take the first flight south." Fei Balun looked at me suspiciously, and he said, "Why did you suddenly change so much?" "Change is change." I said, "One day you will know me better, and you will know that fickleness is my great difficulty."