Chapter Eight Clues

  "It looks like you've found the answer." Seeing the confident smile on Zheng Hanfei's face, Ouyang Xiu knew he must have grasped a very important clue. "Who is the murderer?"

  "Ah, the culprit I still don't know, but I've grasped a clue that can lock down the suspect." Zheng Hanfei smiled, his eyes slowly shifting towards a certain place, where Sterling, Katie, and Dilo were standing.

  "Are they the three suspects?"

  "Not just that, but also people who are close to the display racks during the exhibition, for example, the staff moving those magic props."

  "What? What clue makes you so sure?"

  "Heh heh, go find it yourself, aren't you very clever, Ouyang Xiu?" After finishing speaking, Zheng Hanfei turned around and walked towards the backstage. He wanted to ask those seemingly unrelated porters, sometimes people who seem unrelated may grasp some clues about the case.

  Full of energy! Looking at the back silhouette full of fighting spirit, Ouyang Xiuzi showed a barely perceptible smile...

  "Excuse me, which one of you was near the display rack while moving those magic props?" Behind the scenes, Zheng Hanfei had a serious face and his eyes were fixed on the staff, making everyone break out in cold sweat.

  "What? You suspect us of stealing the manager's gemstone?" one of the young staff members said with some annoyance, "Although we are low-ranking employees, we are honest and upright. The manager has also been good to us, how could we do something that would wrong him?"

  It's no wonder, whoever is suspected, will definitely not be calm in their heart.

  "Calm down, I'm just asking about the situation. Why are you so agitated? Are you somehow related to this case?" As he spoke, a glint of sharpness flashed in Zheng Hanfei's eyes as he carefully observed the person's reaction.

  "What... what are you talking about? Don't be ridiculous! We've already searched him, and there's no gemstone on him!" the man said somewhat nervously.

  "Then tell me who was approaching the display rack at that time."

  "We all drew closer."

  "What? How can this be?"

  "That's for sure, Mr. Dilo's props are all placed near the display rack, and those props are big and heavy, we must get close to the display rack to move them."

  After hearing the staff say that, Zheng Hanfei also remembered that when Di Luo was performing magic tricks, he was standing near the display rack, and the props were also very close to the display rack.

  "Was it him? Zheng Hanfei's confusion grew more and more, in order to get a few more clues, he asked again: "When you were moving those props, did you find any water stains on the red cloth covering the display stand?"

  "This... we really didn't notice, did we?" The young staff member thought for a moment before turning to ask others.

  "I saw it," said a staff member who appeared to be in his 40s or 50s, "but all I could see was some stains on the red cloth. Whether they were water stains or not, I don't know."

  "I understand, thank you." Zheng Hanfei nodded and turned to run in one direction. Now he should go ask those three people with the most suspicion.

  When Zheng Han appeared in front of Sterling and the other two, each of their expressions was different. Sterling was smiling, but there was a hint of loss in his eyes, while Dilo and Katie were angrily turning their heads to one side.

  "Uncle Stirling, don't worry, although I failed to protect the gemstone, as a detective, I will definitely find out who the thief is and retrieve the gemstone for you."

  "Thank you, with your words, I can rest assured now." Sterling smiled slightly, the loss in his eyes slightly alleviated.

  "What dignity as a detective? You've lost the gem, what dignity do you have?" Dilo sneered with a scornful smile.

  "Dyro!" Sterling sounded slightly irritated.

  "Uncle Sterling, it's okay." Zheng Hanfei first shook his head to indicate that he didn't mind, then said to Dilo: "Although I lost the gemstone and lost my reputation, I will continue to investigate. I'm not doing this to restore my reputation, but because it's a detective's duty."

  "Oh?" Dilo's disdain on his face never faded away. "Then tell me, who is the thief? And where is the gemstone?"

  "It's still unclear now, but I'm sure of one thing, the thief is someone in this venue."

  "Nonsense! You've seen it yourself, to smash the bulletproof glass with an iron hammer, you need a lot of force. The other person must be very strong. Take a look around the venue, is there anyone like that?"

  "You're talking about this?" Zheng Hanfei smiled, "I've already cracked this technique a long time ago. Do you want to hear it?"

  "Listen carefully!"

  "Of course it is... uh!" Before he could finish speaking, a severe pain struck Zheng Hanfei, causing his body to sway and almost fall to the ground.

  "Are you okay?" Sterling supported Zheng Hanfei in time and asked with concern.

  "It's nothing." Zheng Hanfei rubbed his head, blinked twice, feeling much better, and slowly got up. "Dilo, that move is very simple. After I find the gemstone, I'll tell you about it."

  "Heh heh, great detective, you actually have no idea. That thief must be an outsider, definitely one of those security guards who let someone escape during the lockdown."

  "Oh? That was said by Ouyang Xiu himself, and you don't believe it? Are you guys friends?"

  "This... so you two are...? Today is the first time we've met, right?"

  "We are not friends now, and even rivals, but that doesn't mean we won't be friends in the future. I trust him because he's a detective, and he understands the principles of detection. I won't disturb you anymore." With that, Zheng Hanfei turned around and left, knowing that he wouldn't get any leads here, only ridicule from Dilo, and possibly even Katie.

  "Sister, didn't we mistake the person?" Dilo deeply looked at Zheng Hanfei's back and asked Katie.

  "Maybe... our vision can never compare to Ouyang Xiuxiu's." Katie said, "Ouyang Xiuxiu came this time, probably just for him."

  ……

  "Master, I didn't know you were here." Wang Bo ran over slowly, panting and saying, "I heard Mr. Sterling say that you had a headache again just now, are you okay? Is it..."

  "It's nothing." Zheng Hanfei knocked his own head, "Maybe that's why I didn't tell Dilo about that move, I don't want to..." At this point, Zheng Hanfei fell silent again, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

  Young Master!

  "I'll do my best to find all the clues in this case, it's not too late by then, at least I've tried my best. Oh, right, Wang Bo, that thing I asked you about..."

  "You're absolutely right, young master," Wang Bo nodded. "Mr. Sterling, Mr. Dilo and Miss Katie all stepped down and walked into the dining area to chat with the guests for a few words, because they were in another dining area on the other side, so we didn't see them at all."

  Zheng Hanfei pinched his chin, starting to think. The current clues can prove that Sterling, Dilo and Katie all have the possibility of committing a crime. However, what has always puzzled him is where the gemstone is. In such a short period of time, except for hiding it on their bodies, there was no other place to hide it, but the result of the body search was that none of them had any trace of the gemstone on their bodies.

  Unless... they had taken the gem out from the very beginning. Zheng Hanfei was amused by his own thoughts, because this condition was simply impossible. After all, during the exhibition period, the bulletproof glass had only been opened once, and the gem had been put in under everyone's watchful eyes. Afterwards, everyone had also seen the shadow of the gem, it was impossible...

  Wait! If that's the case, then it wasn't an accident, but her... At this time, a flash of inspiration flashed through Zheng Hanfei's mind, and some of his doubts dissipated, but more doubts surged in.

  "Uncle Wang!" Zheng Hanfei spoke up, "I'm troubling you again to help me gather some information."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Go to Upper Stirling Uncle's place and ask if he found anything strange in the meeting hall." Zheng Hanfei whispered a few words into Wang Bo's ear, then thought of something and said: "Right, we should also ask Di Luo and Katie about this matter."

  "I understand, young master, I'll go now." Wang Bo nodded and turned to head towards Sterling.

  No! This won't do at all! Although Wang Bo has been replaced, if there really is a thief among them, he (or she) will definitely lie. It's necessary to ask the others.

  Damn it! Zheng Hanfei irritably scratched his head, he and Ouyang Xiu were standing at the best position in front of the surveillance display rack, but they were a bit far away from it, even if both of their eyesight were 1.5, they couldn't discover some minor things on the display rack.

  I should have known better than to get close to the display rack. Zheng Hanfei complained in his heart, and immediately looked at the crowd still standing on the stage, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. At this point, he could only expect that the guests below would find something abnormal and provide some useful clues for himself.

  Maybe those clues are just the key to unlock the mystery of the disappearance of the gemstone.