Chapter 571: The Curse of the Cross and Ruby Ring
"The cross and the ruby ring?"
In the hospital, Luo An was stunned for a moment before he understood what Reesi was referring to.
Hamid Hogan had just explained in the ward the reason he had someone infiltrate Luo An's villa through the criminal network.
It was mainly because Hamid Hogan was desperately seeking a solution upon learning about the Krista family treasure legend and that the cross and the ruby ring were the keys; he tried to find that treasure to cover the gap of 300 million dollars.
During the investigation of this case, Luo An hadn't taken the cross and ruby ring too seriously; hearing Reesi's words, he asked with a laugh:
"Where are those two things?"
"Um..."
Reesi's face looked very strange:
"They're in the pool behind the villa where we arrested people earlier."
"In the pool?"
Luo An frowned slightly:
"Why not bring them back?"
"No one dares to."
"???"
Luo An's face was full of question marks, and Reesi swallowed and awkwardly explained while counting on her fingers:
"The first owner of the cross and ruby ring was a 75-year-old Krista old lady who was poisoned not long ago.
The second owner of the cross was Shemor Krista, a senator; the second owner of the ruby ring was Lucille Krista, a president.
Now both of them are dead, having experienced torture and suffering during their lifetimes.
Hamid Hogan, in the next ward, also had the cross and ruby ring for a while.
Although it wasn't for long, he almost died in that villa; now he's not dead, but he had half his lung cut out.
The last owner of the cross and ruby ring..."
Luo An's face grew increasingly bizarre, asking:
"Who was the last owner?"
"It was the leader of that group of black mercenaries, that African warlord's close subordinate.
He managed to grab the cross and ruby ring for himself while guarding Hamid Hogan."
Reesi pursed her lips, explaining with a dry mouth:
"He was the last bomber in that operation.
After the explosion, his remains were everywhere, he was completely dismembered."
"..."
Finished explaining, Reesi looked up at Luo An without speaking, and Luo An also remained silent, the room falling eerily quiet.
After a long silence, Luo An coughed lightly, saying solemnly:
"Reesi, we must believe in science."
Reesi suddenly widened her eyes, just about to speak, but Luo An interrupted her, saying firmly:
"Call Rister Krista, tell him we've found their family's cross and ruby ring, and let him send someone to retrieve it."
"..."
Reesi was stunned for a moment, then laughed hehe, gave Luo An a thumbs up, and walked out of the room cheerfully.
Leaving the hospital, over the next few days, Luo An started leading his team to handle the follow-up of this case.
In fact, there wasn't much work, and not many issues required Group Leader Luo An's personal resolution.
But one thing that necessitated Luo An's personal involvement was the special case funding Rister Krista had expressed before the investigation.
Las Vegas, atop a high-rise building, in a large office.
With dark brown short hair, black glasses perched on a wide, broad face, Rister Krista smiled, extended his hand to shake Luo An's hand, and gestured for him to sit:
"Please, take a seat."
"Thank you."
Luo An smiled, turned, and sat down on the couch.
The secretary poured coffee for both, bowed slightly, and left; Rister Krista took his coffee first, shook it at Luo An, and said with a smile:
"Indeed worthy of Group Leader Luo An, to clarify the truth of the matter in such a short time.
By the way, the identity of the mastermind behind this... may I know who it is?"
"Of course."
Luo An nodded. As the victim's family member, he had the right to know the truth of the case. After a brief reflection, Luo An outlined part of the situation behind the case.
"African?"
Upon learning that the mastermind was a warlord from faraway Africa, Rister Krista's brow instantly furrowed.
Luo An's expression remained unchanged. He took a sip of his coffee, finding the taste rather pleasant, even better than the beans in Vireness's office.
What Rister Krista intended to do afterward, Luo An didn't ask. He had only heard that Mr. Clement had apparently contacted the CIA.
What Mr. Clement was thinking and planning was hard to guess with such scant information.
However, regarding the CIA, Luo An didn't think they would act quickly to eliminate that warlord, given the complex political factors in Africa.
Bang—
Just as Luo An was tasting his coffee, the office door was abruptly opened. Rekasha O'Dell, dressed in a red suit and with lips red as blood, entered the room with an eye-catching demeanor.
Rister Krista's secretary stood at the door, completely overwhelmed by Rekasha O'Dell's presence, and didn't dare to speak.
Rekasha O'Dell's imposing manner, however, had no effect on Luo An. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and greeted with a smile:
"Good morning, Miss Rekasha."
"Good morning, Group Leader Luo An."
Rekasha O'Dell shook hands with Luo An and asked with a smile:
"I heard the case has been solved? Group Leader Luo An, you always bring me big surprises."
Luo An slightly smiled. The 10 million dollars special investigation fund had been transferred by Rister Krista's secretary to the 13th Investigation Team's account when he arrived at the office.
Seeing that the nearly-wed couple had things to discuss, Luo An briefly exchanged greetings with Rekasha O'Dell and then left the office.
Riding back to a hotel in Las Vegas, Winslow, Reesi, Michelle, and Chenier were waiting in the same room.
As Luo An entered the room, all four turned their gaze towards him. Reesi sprinted towards Luo An, blinking rapidly and asked:
"How did it go?"
"What do you mean 'how did it go?'"
Taking off his coat and throwing it aside, Luo An didn't beat around the bush but directly took out his phone and sent over the proceeds from the case.
Since Mona wasn't involved in investigating this case, she didn't receive a share of the proceeds.
The rest of the 13th Investigation Team members, as the leader, Luo An received 3.2 million dollars, while Winslow, Chenier, Michelle, and Reesi each got 1.6 million dollars.
The remaining 400 thousand dollars were left in the 13th Investigation Team's account for handling other future cases.
Ding—
After Luo An put down his phone, Winslow, Chenier, Michelle, and Reesi's phones rang one after another with notification tones.
Seeing the seven digits newly added to their accounts, Michelle's eyes gleamed, Chenier's mouth curved into a smile, Winslow's mouth opened wide, and his molars were all showing as he laughed.
Reesi literally jumped up with a joyful scream, then turned around and gave Luo An a big hug. Not waiting for Luo An to speak, she suddenly lowered her voice and whispered in his ear:
"Mona's not here tonight, why don't you go out with me and have some fun?
I've met a few pretty girls these days, I can share three with you… actually, one!"
"..."
By the end, Reesi seemed to regret it a bit and hastily changed to a smaller number.
Luo An's eyes flashed with speechlessness, he pushed Reesi away and straightened his clothing, scoffingly said:
"I'm not that type of person."
Reesi blinked and seemed to think of something. Before she could speak, Luo An continued:
"Enough with the nonsense, if you really want to thank me, go rent a sports car now.
Mona will be here in Las Vegas shortly, the case is cracked, I need to properly rest for a few days."
Reesi: "…"
Hearing this, Reesi instantly gave Luo An a peculiar up and down look. Seeing Luo An grabbing his coat as if to throw it, Reesi quickly dodged his action and agreed with a chuckle before dashing out of the room:
"Leave the car rental to me, guaranteed no issues!"
Ignoring Reesi as he picked back his coat, Luo An then turned to Winslow and the others, asking:
"Any plans for you guys?"
The smiles on their faces were brilliant. Chenier mentioned that she wanted to go home to see her parents, while Winslow planned to go to the mall to buy some gifts for his son.
As for Michelle, she responded with a smile:
"I've borrowed fifteen books from the library; they're right in the next room."
"…Typical of you."