North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 420: 330 clues


When it was time to get off work, Jimmy packed up and prepared to go home. There had been no news from Chuck, which was normal. It wasn't possible to get more information in just half a day, and they were definitely still in the investigation phase.

Jimmy drove past Chinatown, this time coming specifically to update his tea collection. He didn't previously think much of it when he drank tea alone, but when he invited Ruiz to have tea, he suddenly felt that he might have done poorly, as one should serve good tea to guests, especially when it wasn't a financial burden to buy.

It was the same tea shop as always. Jimmy was actually quite lazy; he generally headed straight to the familiar shops unless there was a problem with a previous one or if something was unavailable. He didn't care to wander around searching for new experiences in the tea world.

Based on the shop owner's recommendation, he previously gifted Mary Lapsang Souchong which, although expensive at over a hundred bucks per ounce, wasn't for daily consumption but sufficient to treat others. This time, he didn't need to buy tea sets since the ones purchased before could still last him a while before he'd need to replace them. He also bought some Longjing tea that could be brewed in glass cups for his personal use.

Having spent money on tea, naturally, he also needed some post-sale service. Jimmy was learning from the owner how to brew black tea. The owner, generous as ever, used the very same Lapsang Souchong Jimmy had bought for the demonstration. The first brew was to cleanse the tea, starting from the second brew they began tasting. That's when a Chinese girl walked in from outside.

"Uncle De, how do I look now?" The girl didn't seem to mind that there was a customer, and shouted to the owner immediately upon entering.

The owner, called "Uncle De", frowned at her, "Didn't you see there's a customer? Go outside."

Jimmy also turned to look; she was an attractive Chinese girl with straight black hair, an oval face, and fairly large eyes. She was just not very tall, probably only about 160 cm, with a slim build.

"Tch, just showing you the results of my plastic surgery and you are not even pleased. Fine, I'll leave." The girl said, flipping her hair and turning to leave.

Well, standing there silently one might have thought she was a gentle girl, but she apparently had quite a temper.

Uncle De apologized and continued teaching Jimmy how to clean the tea set. Meanwhile, Jimmy was mulling over something that briefly crossed his mind and then forgot again.

"Uncle De, who was that just now?" Jimmy picked up the cup from the third brew. Uncle De, being from the north, had no problem with Mandarin, so their communication had always been in Mandarin, and he was teaching Jimmy the complete process, letting him experience the taste of each brew.

"Ah, that's my brother's daughter. I don't know what she's thinking, she's obsessed with those Korean pop stars, insisting on getting surgery to look like them. Such a good girl, why doesn't she just focus on school instead of all this nonsense?" Uncle De sighed. People from his generation did not understand the young people of today. Jimmy seemed young, but his manners were good and he seemed not to have the unhealthy habits of some others on the streets, which is why Uncle De was so patient in teaching him. If it had been just any customer, it wouldn't have been worth the hassle.

"Plastic surgery, huh? I couldn't even tell. It seems she's really got a good foundation." Jimmy shook his head, having seen many celebrities in his previous life, he was used to seeing oval faces and did not find hers particularly stunning.

Plastic surgery, change, Diego was a cosmetic surgeon, no, there were flaws in the earlier hypothesis.

Jimmy suddenly remembered the fleeting thought he had earlier, which was that Diego's death might not have been due to drug trafficking or hosting others for drug use in his studio, but rather his craftsmanship. Could it be one of his clients came to kill him after undergoing surgery?

Failed plastic surgery that disfigured a client, and in revenge, they hired an assassin to kill him? Or a successful surgery, killing him to erase any trace of their former appearance? Both were possibilities.

Jimmy calmly drank the fifth brew of tea, by now it was very, very weak, the color of the tea was only a very light shade of yellow. Uncle De explained, "You see, normally, Lapsang Souchong is about done after five brews, the flavor diminishes a lot after this, so if you're serving guests, it's best to clean the teapot and tea set after the fourth brew, and start over to not give a bad impression."

Jimmy nodded, "Thank you, Uncle De, I understand. I have some things to do tonight, so I won't keep you any longer. Goodbye."

Jimmy picked up the tea leaves, turned, and left the tea shop, heading to the public parking lot to drive home.

It was already evening, and Chuck and the team probably wouldn't solve the case in just a short time. He would go to the police station tomorrow to find him; this case was getting interesting. As there was nothing else pressing, he might as well join in on solving the case. Currently, there were three directions to consider: drug trafficking, failed plastic surgery, successful plastic surgery. It was just a matter of seeing which of these possibilities was the most likely.

With new clues in mind, Jimmy was energized. He headed straight to the police station early the next morning. Chuck was still at the station and had not gone out for more clues, which was good news. Jimmy shared his speculations, and Chuck had someone bring the evidence list. Jimmy and Chuck checked it, and Diego's medical records were not there.

Chuck frowned, certain they had investigated the studio previously; if they hadn't brought the records back then, whether they could find them now was questionable.

Chuck placed the evidence list back on the desk, picked up his coat, and with Jimmy, headed towards Diego's studio. Fortunately, the studio had been closed since Diego's death, and no one had touched anything inside. Speaking of which, it had been two weeks and Diego's family, still in mourning, had not rushed to clear Diego's belongings.

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