Chapter 657 Design

Orti asked, "If Barron Ackerman was really involved in the threatening letters, what was his purpose in doing so?"

Luke was also thinking about this question.

First, there is the feasibility of this speculation.

Barron Ackerman is not only an employee of Nitro Hotel, but also the assistant to Vice President Kieron Powell. It is easy for him to deliver threatening letters without any difficulty.

As for Barron Ackerman’s purpose of doing this, nothing can be seen on the surface and requires in-depth analysis.

First of all, the content of the threatening letter was just one sentence: 'I will give the hotel a big gift on Thanksgiving Day. ’

I didn’t say what gift to give.

No request was made.

Strictly speaking, this is not really a threat, but the way the letter is delivered is a bit weird, and there is also a ghastly bloody skull underneath the letter.

The hotel was also worried that something might happen on Thanksgiving Day, so it asked him to investigate.

Luke's mind went back to the threatening letter which was not a threat, 'I will send a big gift to the hotel on Thanksgiving Day. ’

Breaking this sentence into pieces and analyzing it, there are three main points: time, place and giving big gifts.

Judging from Barron Ackerman's current economic situation, he is very short of money, but sending these two threatening letters will hardly bring him financial gain. Luke guessed that he should have been instructed by the outside world.

So, what effect can this threatening letter achieve?

From the consequences, we may be able to deduce the motives behind the scenes.

The first guess is that the threatening letter is intended to affect the hotel's business and prevent the hotel from operating normally. However, as of now, only the hotel's senior executives know about the threatening letter. It will have no impact on grassroots employees and guests, and it will have no impact on the hotel's business. Not big either.

The second guess is that the threatening letter is aimed at someone at the hotel, Vice President Kieron Powell?

No, even though the second threatening letter was placed at his door, it didn't have much impact on him.

Luke speculated that the second letter was sent to Kieron Powell solely because Baron Ackerman was his assistant and could exert covert influence on the matter.

The third speculation is that this incident is against the Pinkerton Detective Agency?

Pinkerton Detective Agency is spread all over the United States. It is difficult for such a small commission to have an impact on the detective agency.

Then there is only the fourth speculation left. This so-called threatening letter is a trap to lure himself into the trap.

Said a thousand, said ten thousand, these are just Luke's speculations.

The first thing he needs to confirm is whether Barron Ackerman is related to the threatening letter. As long as this is confirmed, he can follow the clues to find the instructions behind the scenes.

Luke drove back to the Nitro Hotel and went directly to Vice President Kieron Powell's office.

Kieron Powell invited Luke to sit down and handed him a cup of coffee, "Mr. Li, did the investigation go well today?"

"Yes, we have found some clues." Luke took the coffee and took a sip.

"I really saw the right person." Kieron Powell smiled.

Luke put down his coffee cup and said, "President Powell, I also want to ask you a few questions."

"go ahead."

"What was your first reaction after seeing the threatening letter?"

Kieron Powell held the coffee cup and recalled for a while, "Call the police."

"Then why didn't you call the police?"

"It was Barron Ackerman who reminded me that if the matter escalated if I called the police, it might affect the hotel's business. I thought about it and decided not to call the police."

"Then why did you choose to entrust me to investigate this matter?"

"Because Mr. Li is well-known and capable, we believe you can solve this matter faster and better."

"President Powell, thank you for your regard for me, but what I want to hear are some details of the process, for example, I live in Los Angeles, how did you think of me?

How did you learn about the relationship between Pinkerton Detective Agency and me? "

Seeing Luke's solemn look, Kieron Powell changed his tone and said, "To be honest, I have never dealt with detectives, and I don't know where to find detectives to investigate, so I will leave this matter to Ba Lun will do it.

It was he who found Pinkerton Detective Agency and recommended you to me.

Coincidentally, I have also heard of your name, so I chose to entrust you to investigate the threatening letter. Vice President Kieron Powell shrugged, "What's the problem?" "

Of course there are problems.

Luke can now confirm that Barron Ackerman is definitely related to the threatening letter, and he is using his status as assistant to the vice president to introduce himself step by step.

In order to prevent Kieron Powell from spilling the beans in front of Barron Ackman, Luke reminded, "During the investigation, I discovered that Barron may have some connection with the threatening letter."

Kieron Powell looked surprised, "Barron, how is this possible? He is my assistant and has been with me for two years."

"Does he like gambling very much?"

Kieron Powell thought for a while, "He did like to go to the casino to play a few games before, but then I warned him and he never went there again."

Luke said, "He just doesn't play in the casino at Nitro Hotel anymore. He goes to other casinos a lot. I checked his financial situation. All his credit cards have been maxed out, and his house and car are mortgaged.

You should know better than I do about these red-eyed gamblers. "

Kieron Powell looked solemn, "Why did he do that?"

"It must have been under someone's orders."

Kieron Powell sighed, "What do you need me to do?"

…

Half an hour later, on the eighth floor of the hotel, Luke's guest room.

"Knock, knock..." There was a knock on the door.

Luke opened the door, and Baron Ackerman was standing outside.

"Mr. Li, this is the recommendation letter that Vice President Powell asked me to send you."

Luke took the recommendation letter, "Come in and talk."

Baron Ackerman entered the room and asked casually, "Did you investigate the former employees who were laid off today?"

"I met with Ron Winters today, and I haven't had time to meet others."

"Do you think Ron Winters is the one who delivered the threatening letter?"

Luke shook his head, "I talked to Ron Winters carefully. He did have some inappropriate things when he was getting along with the hotel guests, but the guest was not without any responsibility.

The guest conveyed the wrong message, and Ron Winters mistakenly thought that the guest liked him and wanted to develop further with him, so That's why he made such a bold move. "

Baron Ackerman nodded, "You're right, that's exactly what happened. But the hotel has its own rules, and Ron Winters did violate the hotel rules, which is also the main reason why the hotel laid him off.

By the way, have you investigated the other layoffs?"

"Not yet, and there are a lot of people, so I guess I'll be busy these two days."

Baron Ackerman smiled, "I don't know much about investigating cases.

However, if you need anything, you can contact me at any time."

Luke saw that this guy not only found a Ron Winters for himself, but also threw out the remaining layoffs, obviously guiding the direction of his investigation.

To put it bluntly, this guy was afraid that he would suspect him, so he kept finding things for himself.

"Mr. Li, if there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

"I'll see you off."

Baron Ackerman stood up and walked towards the door.

However, he had just taken two steps when he felt a heavy blow from behind and fainted with weakness all over his body.

After an unknown amount of time, Baron Ackerman woke up in a daze. He still felt some pain in the back of his neck, his wrists were a little numb, and there was a sound of running water in his ears.

Baron Ackerman opened his eyes and found himself sitting in the bathroom, with a toilet on his left and a bathtub behind him. The bathtub was half filled with water, and the faucet was still running. Suddenly, he had a bad premonition.

"Squeak..." The bathroom door opened.

Luke walked into the bathroom, rolled up his sleeves, and said with a smile, "I hate being deceived the most. Those who deceive me will pay the price. Are you mentally prepared?"

"Mr. Li, is there any misunderstanding? I am just a hotel assistant. I have never deceived you."

Luke pointed to the toilet, "Do you like this or the bathtub?"

Baron Ackerman was so scared that his face turned pale. "I don't like either. Please don't hurt me. This is illegal.

You are a policeman. You should know that this is wrong. You are committing a crime."

"I suspect you are related to a major terrorist attack. In view of the seriousness of the case, in order to ensure the safety of the citizens of Las Vegas, I can use some illegal means. Common means. "

"Please, please don't hurt me." Barron Ackerman seemed to remember something, "By the way, you are LAP, you have no law enforcement power in Las Vegas.

If you hurt me, you will also go to jail. You should know how miserable it is for a policeman to go to jail. "

"Are you threatening me?" Luke took out the FBI ID from his pocket, "I am not only LAP, but also the Deputy Director of the FBI Counterterrorism Department. I have law enforcement power in Las Vegas.

I hate your hesitating.

Since you don't choose, I will help you choose. "

After Luke finished speaking, he walked to Barron Ackerman, grabbed his hair, and dragged him to the bathtub.

"Ah... Don't hurt me, please, I'll tell you everything.

I said, I'll tell you everything..." Barron Ackerman put his feet against the bathtub and screamed like a pig.

"Pah!" Luke let go of his hair and slapped him on the head, "Shut up, I ask a question, you answer it.

If you dare to lie or conceal, I will throw you into the bathtub."

"I understand, I promise not to lie." Baron Ackerman's face was full of horror. Although he had never encountered such a thing before, he had seen many similar movies.

The scene in front of him made him think of two words "water torture".

He didn't think he could bear it, and he didn't want to experience it.

Luke turned off the tap and asked, "Did you write those two threatening letters?"

Baron Ackerman nodded, "I did."

"Why did you write threatening letters?"

"Someone gave me money to do this."

"Who?"

"Martin."

"What's his full name?"

"I don't know.

One day I lost money in the casino and was very depressed, so I went to the bar to drink.

A white man with a big beard came over and asked me if I wanted to make money.

I told him that I don't do criminal things.

He said that what he wanted me to do was simple and would not commit a crime." Baron Ackerman recalled for a moment and continued, "I asked him what it was? He refused to say, but gave me a sum of money, saying it was a deposit.

After a while, he found me again, gave me the same sum of money, and asked me to write threatening letters to the hotel.

I have worked in this hotel for three years, and I don’t want to do anything that harms the hotel’s interests, but...

I owe too much money and have no choice. And as he said, this matter is very simple. Even if I am discovered, the consequences will not be too serious. "

"Besides threatening letters, what else have you done?"

Barron Ackerman looked up at Luke, then lowered his head in fear, "Martin also instructed me to contact the Pinkerton Detective Agency and entrust you to investigate the threatening letter."

"Why are you entrusting me with the investigation?"

“I don’t know, it was Martin’s request.

I just did what he told me. "

"Where is Martin?"

"I have no idea."

"How do you contact me?"

"He would call me and I have his number on my phone."

"Can you contact him for me?"

"No, I called his cell phone before, but couldn't get through. He took the initiative to contact me."

Judging from Luke's experience, Martin is most likely a fake name, and the mobile phone number may also be a prepaid mobile phone. It is difficult to trace this person's identity through these two points.

"Where have you met?"

"We only met twice at the Bethel bar."

"How much did Martin give you in total?"

"One hundred thousand dollars."

"Besides the threatening letter, what else did Martin order you to do?"

"He asked me to keep an eye on you and try to keep you in Las Vegas as long as possible."

Luke stared at Baron Ackerman, seeing no obvious signs of lying.

In fact, regarding this point, Luke could also analyze from the threatening letter that he would give the hotel a big gift on Thanksgiving Day. ’

To put it bluntly, I just hope I can stay in Las Vegas until Thanksgiving.

Luke couldn't help but wonder, why?