Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 32 Commission
bang bang bang-

There were knocks on the door of the reception room.

Rosanne, who was chewing the bread, raised her head, with a look of embarrassment on her face: "It can't be that the captain is back... No, if it was him, he probably wouldn't have knocked on the door."

She looked at the passive lunch in front of Angel, blinked, and muttered as if trying to convince herself.

"Please come in, the door is unlocked." Klein put down the fork in his hand, and responded to the knock on the door.

The door was pushed open from the outside, and a gorgeously dressed woman walked in, accompanied by a soft female voice: "Excuse me, is this the Blackthorn Security Company?"

Seeing that the three people in the reception room were forming a table with a half-eaten lunch in front of her, a trace of guilt appeared on her chubby face: "I'm sorry, didn't I disturb your meal?"

You have interrupted... Angel thought to herself, she put the uneaten bread back into the lunch box, wiped her hands with a napkin, and changed her sitting position on the sofa, facing the lady at the door.

"This is the Blackthorn Security Company, what can I do for you?"

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, the lady breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on her face again: "I have a request, and I would like you to find a lost item."

Delegate?

When Angel heard her words, his first reaction was that it was a little funny. The Nighthawks belonged to the extraordinary force of the church, were under the jurisdiction of the church, and usually accepted the entrustment of the local police agency, but they were not civil organizations like private detective agencies or mercenary gangs. This lady probably went to the wrong place.

But she immediately realized that the other party was probably coming for the brand of "Black Thorn Security Company".

Seeing the anticipation in the lady's eyes, Angel did not answer, but turned his attention to Luoshan, wanting to see how the "security company" would deal with such a client who accidentally came to the door.

Roseanne had already stopped eating when the visitor opened the door and entered the reception room. She didn't panic when she heard that there was an entrustment, but replied in a business-like tone: "The entrustment to find the lost item will cost between ten and fifty pounds depending on the difficulty and the required time limit. You need to provide detailed item information. If it is a stolen item, you must also include the time and place where it was lost. The more detailed the information, the greater the possibility of finding it."

"The entrustment fee for the lost and found needs to be paid [-]% in advance, and the balance will be paid later, but we cannot guarantee that we will find it. If the entrustment cannot be completed, the advance payment will only be refunded in half."

That is to say, no matter whether the lost item is found or not, the consignor has to pay at least 10% of the commission fee... Angel listened to this somewhat harsh request, and looked away at the lady, but saw that instead of showing dissatisfaction, she had a smile on her face.

"It's a very reasonable request, so can you accept the commission now? I can sign the contract immediately."

Luo Shan didn't seem to expect the other party to be so straightforward, and her face was obviously stiff, but her excellent professionalism played a role, and she quickly adjusted: "Please wait a moment, I will draft a contract, you can communicate with our security personnel here first."

She reluctantly left her lunch, quickly walked around the partition at the back of the reception room, and then heard the crisp clicking sound of the typewriter.

The lady came to the sofa that originally belonged to Brett, sat down gracefully, looked at Angel and Klein present, and seemed to be evaluating who was the leader of the two.

Klein took the initiative to ask, "What's your name? What kind of item are you looking for?"

The lady quickly replied as if she had already prepared a draft: "Just call me Mrs. Green. What I am looking for is a gold ring. It originally belonged to my husband, but it was stolen a week ago. This ring is very important to me. I hope you can find it as soon as possible."

"Well, the gold ring... was stolen a week ago..." Klein nodded, repeating the main points of Mrs. Green's words, "What are the other characteristics of the ring? If it's convenient, it's best to explain its importance in detail so that we can analyze its possible whereabouts."

"The ring is not made of pure gold. It is harder than ordinary gold rings. It is about this wide in diameter. It is flat on one side and printed with the word 'Green' protruding." Mrs. Green gestured the size of the ring with her hand. "No need to analyze it. I know where it is. You just need to help me find it."

Listening to Mrs. Green's description, the shape of the ring gradually appeared in Angel's mind, which looked like a ring-shaped seal.But when she heard the last sentence, she couldn't help interjecting:

"Know where? Then why do you need us to find it?"

Mrs. Green took out a folded paper from her handbag and handed it to Angel: "This is the report that the private investigator I found gave me yesterday. He has found the whereabouts of the ring."

Angel took it, unfolded the thin paper, and spread it on the coffee table. Klein also came over and looked at it curiously.

This is an investigation report issued by the "Jules Detective Agency". It describes in detail how they investigated more than a dozen witnesses and suspicious persons within three days, locked down the suspect of the burglary, and then determined the method of selling the stolen goods based on the suspect's confession.

Angel frowned when he saw the "Location of Loot Sales: Dockside Labor Mutual Aid Association", "Ten days on average for the sale of loot", and "Suspected to be a gang organization" noted in red notes at the end of the report.

She raised her head, looked at Mrs. Green with expectant eyes, and asked:

"Since the suspect and the whereabouts of the items have been found, why not call the police directly? I think the Tingen City Police should welcome such a case with clear evidence."

"The police won't care about it. These gangsters have existed for so many years. Do you think they don't know about it?" Mrs. Green obviously had a deep prejudice against the police, and then she changed her tone: "Besides, I don't want the police to get involved. They always act in a high-profile way, and they are inefficient, but they can make a lot of noise in the city."

"Originally, I wanted to ask Detective Jules to get the ring back, steal it, or negotiate with them to buy it back, but he didn't want to continue the investigation at this point, and it didn't even help me to ask for an increase in compensation."

Presumably, since this so-called "Labor Mutual Aid Association" has a gang background, private investigators are definitely unwilling to get into trouble. It is one thing to investigate and collect evidence, but another thing to directly contact or even steal things. The difficulty and risk of the latter are much higher than the gold pounds that can be obtained.

The same is true for the "Black Thorn Security Company". When Mrs. Green first spoke, Angel thought that the entrusted tasks were similar to finding clues to stolen items and investigating suspicious persons. Unexpectedly, "Detective Jules" had already done all these things, and the rest was the most troublesome step.

From Cole Granger's memory, we can know that although Tingen City does not have gangsters on the surface like a big city like Backlund, various "mutual aid associations" and "industry associations" have monopolized or semi-monopolized some industries and low-end labor to form quasi-gangster organizations that are legal on the surface, but actually engage in various underworld businesses.They usually collect membership fees and commissions, organize labor services, maintain industry rules, and even take care of homes for people. When encountering illegal businesses with high profits, they will rush to take a big bite without hesitation.

The lack of police forces made Tingen City police turn a blind eye to this gray area. As long as no one is killed or their claws are not stretched out on the dignitaries, they don't bother to take care of this mess.

Seeing that Angel was hesitating, Mrs. Green said eagerly: "I know this last step is a bit difficult, how about it, I can double the entrusted amount, one hundred pounds, as long as you find a way to get the ring back."

One hundred pounds, which is almost two years' salary of an ordinary person... Even if the ring is pure gold with diamonds, it is definitely not worth the price, let alone an impure gold ring.It can only be that it has other value, such as being used as a seal, and Mrs. Green urgently needs to use it, otherwise the loss will be much higher than the one hundred pounds.

Angel did not rush to answer Mrs. Green, but scanned the documents in front of him over and over again, analyzing the feasibility of this commission.

"This is already a very high commission price. How did you find us? The detectives introduced you?"

Klein on the side asked.

Mrs. Green showed an embarrassed smile, and she hesitated to answer: "Actually... Detective Jules did recommend several security companies. He thinks that it is more appropriate to entrust a powerful security organization with tasks involving gangsters."

Looking at her ambiguous answer, I'm afraid that the detective's recommendation is not included here. Is this "Black Thorn Security Company" too failed in operation, or too successful in hiding?

"But those security companies are completely out of manpower to take on such tasks. Recently, several vicious cases have occurred in succession. There are homicides and disappearances. The rich people in the entire Tingen City have hired all private investigators and security personnel. I also came to you with the mentality of giving it a try."

No wonder the lady accepted the harsh request without hesitation when she heard that Luo Shan wanted to accept the commission, agreed to sign the contract immediately, and even increased the price on the spot.

It's a pity that the one hundred pounds is not so easy to earn. If it's just looking for the lost cats and dogs, it's okay. This kind of stolen goods are already in the pockets of gangsters. If they don't get it right, disputes will arise, and even people will die.Angel didn't know how Captain Dunn, or the "Nighthawks" thought about this high-risk commission, so he didn't dare to agree rashly.

"Ms. Green, we have accepted your commission. Miss Roseanne will bring out the contract later, and the commission will take effect after you sign the advance payment."

Ok?
Angel looked at Klein in surprise. The latter stretched out his left arm at some point, holding a silver chain with a yellow crystal tied to the end of the chain.

"If your information is accurate, then you should be able to get the ring tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)