Chapter 45 Save Me (I Have the Flu, 38 Degrees, I Am Taking a Day Off Today, only One Update)

The office of another female reporter, Maya, is not far from the office of the deceased Downey, and the two of them are also missing in the newspaper office.

Only then did Lin Qi realize that disappearances were very common in this era, especially among investigative reporters.

There were no telegraphs or telephones in this era, and information could only rely on letters. Once an in-depth investigation began and the identity needed to be temporarily concealed, the person would often 'disappear' and not reappear until the investigation was completed.

So several colleagues who were at the door of the city hall just now didn't care that the two had been missing for five days, and Donald didn't inform Walker of the Rangers about Maya's disappearance.

Because no one took it seriously.

It wasn't until Walker brought the news of Downey's death that Donald cooperated with the police and opened Downey's office and provided all relevant information about Downey.

"So what news was Donnie investigating before he disappeared?"

Waiting for Donald to ask the employee to get the keys, Officer Natalie couldn't help but ask questions and try to make amends.

"Donnie is actually not missing."

"Huh?" Lin Qi frowned.

"He showed up once a few days ago and told me that he needed to take a few days off for some family matters. He looked a little confused. I didn't know what kind of family a single man could have, but he still approved it."

"Do you remember the specific day?"

"On May 13, I remember clearly. He came here to review a manuscript about Best Tunnel. This was a necessary process."

Sure enough, I guessed it right.

However, both of them became nervous at the same time. They both realized that they had touched the core of a strange death incident, and there seemed to be an invisible giant hidden in the deep darkness. The so-called core they had touched was just the core of the giant thing. tip of the iceberg.

Lynch let out a breath of cold air and asked, "Is that the manuscript he wrote?"

"No, actually it was Maya's manuscript, but Maya was really missing, and she reported to me that she would continue to follow the tunnel incident. But Donnie and her would occasionally work together on investigations, and they were close, and they often helped each other review manuscripts. "

So Maya is the central character? Downey was just involved?

Lynch can't be sure now, but he is certain of one thing.

The Rangers are not called salary thieves for nothing. What exactly did they search for?

"Have you shared this information with Walker and the others?"

"No, I felt at the time that these were Maya's matters and had nothing to do with Donnie. Well, do I have to keep it a secret from those police officers in the future? After all, your relationship seems... um."

Officer Natalie hesitated for a moment with a sullen face, then shook her head: "To be honest, I have no interest in creating obstacles for them. That will only make the situation develop in the most dangerous direction."

"I understand, but if they don't come back to make additional inquiries, I have no obligation to come and make additional inquiries."

Editor Donald smiled and opened Maya's office for the two of them. Lynch's hand was already on the pistol in his arms, while Officer Natalie stood in front of him, ready to rush into the office at any time.

The moment they opened the door, the two of them saw clearly the scene inside, and their hearts immediately sank.

It was like a disaster scene inside.

In addition to bookcases, desks and chairs, there are also a large number of paper documents piled up. There are several stacks of documents as high as a person on the wall, and large bundles of paper are piled everywhere in the corners, as if they have just experienced a hurricane.

Was he beaten first again?

However, when the two of them looked at each other, Donald actually looked calm and unfazed at all. Instead, he smiled at the two of them: "Don't be surprised, Maya Sess's work habits are a bit special. Everyone is used to it."

ha?

Lynch was just surprised, while Natalie looked at a room full of information and already anticipated how difficult the work would be in the future, but she could only sigh deeply and walked into the office first.

But as soon as he entered the door, his hand was already on the hilt of the sword.

A putrid smell hit his face.

The smell wasn't too strong, but it lingered in the house for a long time.

"Don't come in yet."

The police officer moved half a step sideways and stood in front of Lynch. She looked around and twitched her nose, and then moved away after a moment.

"There are no windows, and there is no ventilation in the room. If there is a corpse, even if it is a mouse, the smell will not be as light as it is now. It will feel more like..."

As he was organizing his words, Lynch asked: "The taste remains but the source leaves?"

"Yes, that's what it feels like."

The police officer asked Donald, the editor-in-chief who had long thought about quitting, to leave, and asked him not to leave the newspaper office in case he needed to be questioned. Then he whispered: "Any strange object reaction?"

"No, not even the obvious mysterious filth."

Lynch had already walked around the room, and the only thing he felt was - it was so messy.

"The amount of work is too large. Do we need to check it all, Lynch?"

"It's hard to say, let me take a look first."

Lynch grabbed the documents on the table, glanced at them briefly, squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then opened the drawer and took out the paper inside and read it again.

The police officer sat on the table, holding her chin and watching Lynch frowning in thought. It wasn't until Lynch suddenly raised his head that she quickly looked away: "What's wrong?"

"There's something wrong with these documents."

Lynch didn't notice the police officer's distraction. After a few glances, he threw down the documents. He strode to the bookcase, opened the cabinet and rummaged through it again. Then he returned to the desk and stared at the things on the table in silence. for a long time.

The police officer curiously opened several handwritten documents and read them carefully, but in the end she shook her head.

"There is no Best Tunnel content," Lynch reminded.

"Um?"

Lynch pointed his finger around the room: "Ms. Maya's work habits are actually very good. She always makes a pile of work notes every day, and then adds new ones every few days. I just flipped through a few of them and basically confirmed that she works this way."

Officer Natalie nodded, and heard Lynch continue to speak quickly: "Just now Donald said that Ms. Maya's last job was the Best Tunnel incident. With her work habits, the records of these work contents should be on the surface, but now there are none, not a single one."

"Huh, it's true, so when she left on May 11, she took all the relevant documents away?"

"It is also possible that someone sneaked into her office later and took everything away or destroyed it. Let me see..."

As he said, Lynch ran to the door and looked at the padlock.

There was no sign of being pried, but the spare keys here were not strictly managed and anyone could get them, which did not mean anything.

Thinking about it, Lynch turned around and found that the policewoman was lying on the chair he had just sat on, breathing hard with her nose twitching.

"Hmm? How about I find a piece of Ms. Maya's clothes for you to smell first, and then you can find it?"

How dare you call me a hound! The policewoman glared at Lynch fiercely and took note of this account. She hooked her finger and pointed at the chair: "When you passed by me just now, I smelled something wrong. It seemed to have a rancid smell. It was very faint, but it was still there. It might be because you sat here just now."

Lynch smelled his arm and couldn't feel it himself.

"Ransom is a highly recognizable smell, and it has a strong adhesion, so it is easy to stick to the body. But the smell here is originally very faint. If it sticks to the body, it is difficult to notice if the nose is not sensitive enough. How about you smell the documents she touched first and try again?"

This woman actually joked? And why is she so vindictive? The days to come must be very difficult. Lynch muttered, and also moved to the side of the chair. The two of them lay on the side of the chair like two perverts and sniffed wildly.

There was indeed a faint smell on the chair, and once it was identified, it felt very strong. The two simply crawled around the office separately and smelled every corner.

"No."

After sniffing around, the two returned to the chair. The smell was still the strongest here, but this time, due to their posture, they realized that the strongest stench was not from the chair, but from the space under the chair, or under the desk.

There was nothing there, but once the chair was moved away, the smell was obviously stronger.

Has anyone stayed there for a while?

Lin Qi thought about it, leaned over and crawled in. Officer Natalie pulled him before entering, but finally let him go, just holding the hilt of the sword ready for battle at any time.

The space below was very small, just enough for a person to curl up with his knees hugged, so Lin Qi took the same posture and carefully observed the small space.

Everything seemed normal, but when Officer Natalie opened the drawer under his command, the back of the table blocked by the drawer was exposed.

A note was nailed to the table, and it was impossible to see it from any angle unless you got in.

That's it, the treasure was found.

Suppressing his nervousness and excitement, Lynch took off the note and crawled out. He looked at the police officer, put his heads together, held his breath and unfolded the note.

Save me, Donnie.

The handwriting was extremely messy, and some strokes even scratched the paper, revealing a sense of fear and madness.

There was also a long string of equally messy numbers and letters behind it, and there was no pattern to follow.

"Hiss, this is... left by Maya? Why did she hide the note here?"

"It seems to be her." Lynch frowned, "I'm afraid she already knew that she was involved in some very dangerous incident, so she hid and took away all the records. Judging from the handwriting on the note, her mental state is probably not very good. Wait..."

"Huh?"

"She left the note for Donnie here, and Donnie couldn't have seen it, unless..."

Officer Natalie's eyes lit up: "Unless this is the way they agreed to send a message, a secret message in danger."

Before she finished speaking, the two of them had already rushed out the door at the same time. If it was the agreed method, there would be a message under Maya's desk, and what about Donnie's?

Did he also leave a message for Maya before he died? Don't let that group of rangers destroy it.

Donnie's office was not locked yet, and the two rushed in. Lynch went straight under the table, and Officer Natalie consciously opened the drawer.

A piece of paper was quietly nailed behind the table.

With a slight sigh, Lynch took it off and opened it, and another string of letters and numbers appeared in front of him.

What's this?