"Are you sure? I don't recall having any appointments at this time." A white man in his thirties stood up, sizing up Luke and Jackson, "Buddy, are you sure you have an appointment today?"

"Making an appointment now wouldn't be too late, would it?" Jackson flashed his badge, "LAPD, we'd like to ask you some questions."

Victor looked puzzled, "What about?"

"Do you know Gelina Sweeney?"

"Yes, she's a client of mine. What about her?"

"She's dead."

"Oh my god, she was only in her thirties, last I saw her she was perfectly fine. How did she suddenly die?"

"She was murdered, and that's why we're here investigating. We were hoping you could give us some valuable insight."

"OK, let's go upstairs and talk." Victor left a message with a waiter, leading Luke and the other man upstairs.

There were no other customers upstairs, and Victor introduced himself, "Formally, Victor Smith."

Jackson said, "This is Captain Lee from the Robbery and Murder Department, and I'm Detective Jackson."

"Pleased to meet you Captain Lee. Feel free to ask anything, Gelina Sweeney was not only my client but also my friend. I am very sorry about her death and hope to do something for her."

"Were you close with her?"

"How should I put it? I see my clients like friends, and I always treat them as such. Besides hairdressing, we sometimes stay in touch."

"When was the last time you got in touch?"

"Around September 10th, I don't remember the exact date."

"Did you two go shopping together?"

"Not often, but we did go shopping together."

"According to people close to Gelina Sweeney, your relationship wasn't just friendly."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Did you know about Gelina Sweeney's separation from her husband?"

"Yes, I knew." Victor seemed to understand and flashed a peculiar smile, "Are you suggesting that Gelina Sweeney and I were lovers?"

"Were you?"

"No, that's absolutely not possible. Gelina was nice, but she wasn't my type."

"That reason won't convince me. If I'm not interested in a woman, I wouldn't go shopping with her."

Victor smiled, "Captain Lee, I'm different from you; I'm not interested in women."

"Are you referring to not being interested in Gelina Sweeney, or all women?"

"I am gay."

"Did Gelina Sweeney know?"

"Everyone knows; you can ask downstairs if you don't believe me. I never hide my orientation.

It's natural, a gift from God, and I have no reason to hide it."

Jackson looked Victor up and down, "You don't look gay."

"What should gay look like, in your opinion?" Victor's tone changed as he twirled his body around, came close to Jackson, and waved his fingers effeminately,

"Do you think gay people must act like this?

Come on, some gays might be flamboyant, but most are pretty normal.

Don't let television mislead you, those are fake, but I am real."

Victor turned to look at Luke, "Captain Lee, what do you think?"

Luke shrugged, "That's great, one less competitor in this world for me."

"That's a novel way of looking at it; I've never heard that before." Victor appeared concerned, "When did Gelina Sweeney die?"

"September 15th."

"No wonder she hadn't contacted me for so many days. She was a good person; she shouldn't have experienced this."

"Did she act strangely recently?"

"Not that I noticed."

"How was her relationship with her husband?"

"It's always been bad, they had already separated and were likely going to divorce.

We even ran into him once while shopping. I think he might have misunderstood something. I wanted to explain, but Gelina Sweeney said there was no need."

Luke handed him a business card, "Thank you for your cooperation. Here's my card; contact me if you think of any other clues."

"I will. I'll see you out."

"No need to." Luke declined, leading Jackson down the stairs.

When they reached the doorway on the first floor, a waiter proactively opened the door for them.

Luke casually asked, "Is Victor's girlfriend pretty?"

The waiter laughed, "Victor doesn't have a girlfriend, only boyfriends."

"Bye."

Luke and Jackson left the barbershop and got back into their car.

Jackson didn't start the car immediately and said, "Captain, I still don't think Victor looks gay."

"Why do you say that?" Luke didn't notice any signs of lying from him.

"I can't put my finger on it, just a feeling."

"You think he's lying."

"I can't say for sure, but he might be hiding something."

...

It was past nine in the evening.

The Eustace Barbershop didn't have many customers left.

The barbers also began leaving one after another.

After tidying up, Victor, with a blue shoulder bag, blew kisses to the remaining staff, "Babes, see you tomorrow."

Victor left the barbershop and walked about a few dozen meters.

"Beep beep."

A car horn sounded.

Victor saw a white Ford sedan parked ahead and hurried over, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Hey, baby, you're right on time."

A plump black woman was sitting in the driver's seat, "I'm your dedicated driver."

"You're dressed so beautifully today." Victor wrapped his arms around the black woman, and they involuntarily began kissing passionately.

Victor's hands also roamed around naughtily.

"Thump thump." Suddenly, there was a knock on the window.

Startled, Victor turned to look, and two curious people were standing outside the car, staring at them.

"Are they perverts? Why are they staring at us?" The black woman looked displeased.

"No, they're police," Victor sighed.

The two outside were indeed Luke and Jackson.

Luke waved, signaling for Victor to roll down the window, "Mr. Smith, we need to have another talk."

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