The red moon returns

Chapter 45 Save me (I got the flu, degrees, I’m on leave 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 know 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, it 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 remedy the situation.

"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 5, 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 how it feels."

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.

"Ok?"

Lynch pointed around the room: "This Ms. Maya's working habits are actually very good. She piles up her daily work notes randomly, and will pile up new ones in a few days. I just roughly flipped through a few. Zhang, it’s basically certain that this is how she works.”

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. Based on her work habits, the records of these work contents should be at the very end." The surface is right, but there is none now, not even a single one.”

"Huh, it's true. So when she left on May 5, she took all the relevant documents with her?"

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

With that said, Lynch ran to the door and looked at the padlock.

There are no signs of being pried, but the spare keys here are not strictly managed and anyone can get them, which doesn't mean anything.

Thinking about it in his mind, Lynch turned around and found the police officer lying on the chair where he had just been sitting, twitching her nose and breathing hard.

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

How dare you call me a hound! The police officer glared at Lynch fiercely and wrote down the account. She pointed at the chair with her fingers: "When you passed by me just now, I smelled something wrong. There seemed to be a rotten smell. It was very faint. , but it’s still there, it’s probably from you sitting here just now.”

Lin Qi smelled his arm, but he couldn't feel it.

"Rancid smell is a very recognizable smell, and it has strong adhesion and can easily stick to the body. But the smell here is very weak. If it sticks to the body, it will be difficult to notice if the nose is not sensitive enough. How about you smell it first? File she touched and try again?”

This woman can actually joke? And why are you so vindictive? The days ahead must be very difficult. Lin Qi murmured and moved closer to the chair. The two of them lay beside the chair and sniffed like two perverts.

There was indeed a faint smell on the chair, and once it was recognized, it felt very strong. The two of them simply split up and walked around the office, smelling every corner.

"wrong."

After smelling a circle, the two went back to the chair. The smell was still the strongest here, but this time due to their posture, they realized that the strongest rancid smell was not actually the chair, but came from under the chair. , or the space under the desk.

There was nothing there, but once the chairs were removed, the smell was noticeably stronger.

Has anyone stayed in there for a while?
  Lynch thought for a moment, leaned over and crawled in. Officer Natalie pulled him before entering, but finally let go. He just held the hilt of the sword and was ready to fight at any time.

The space below was very small, just enough for a person to hug his knees and huddle inside. Lynch assumed 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 that was blocked by the drawer was exposed.

A piece of paper was pinned to the table, and it was impossible to see it from any angle unless you got in.

That's it, you've found the treasure.

Suppressing his nervousness and excitement, Lynch took off the note and crawled out, looked at each other with the police officer, put their heads together, and unfolded the note while holding his breath.

Help me, Donnie.

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

There is a long string of equally messy numbers and letters behind it, with no pattern to follow.

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

"It seems to be her." Lin Qi 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. Looking at the handwriting on the note, her I'm afraid my mental state is not very good. Wait..."

"Ok?"

"She left the note for Donnie here, and Donnie can't see it, unless..."

Officer Natalie's eyes lit up: "Unless this is the method of interrogation they agreed upon, a secret message in times of danger."

Before they finished speaking, the two of them rushed out of the door at the same time. If it was the agreed method, there was a message under Maya's desk, where was Donnie's?
  Did he also leave a message for Maya before his death? Don't be ruined by those rangers.

Downey's office was still unlocked, so the two rushed in. Lynch got directly under the table, and Officer Natalie opened the drawer consciously.

A piece of paper was quietly pinned to the back of the table.

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

what is this?
  (End of this chapter)