Volume 1: First Arrival Chapter 033 Telephone Commission
New York's Fifth Avenue is world-famous.
Even in prosperous and bustling Manhattan, it is still the top, most popular and most expensive area. The area from 60th Street to 35th Street is called the " Street of Dreams" because there are countless brand-name stores here, making it a high-end shopping street full of luxury goods.
Rumor has it that even British aristocrats come here every year to shop.
According to Forbes statistics, in an annual survey of 45 countries around the world, Fifth Avenue remains the most expensive retail location in the world.
Here, the annual rent for shops exceeds one thousand dollars per square foot, which truly interprets the saying "every inch of land is worth a lot of money".
At this time, Callum's patrol car was parked a little further away, twenty-four blocks away.
If the road is normally smooth, it would take eight to ten minutes to get there. But now is the end of the morning rush hour, and a rough estimate is that it would take at least thirty minutes to get there.
That said, Callum wasn’t the best choice.
So, Callum signaled to Kirk and did not respond to the dispatch center immediately, but waited a moment to see if there was a patrol car closer to respond to the dispatch.
Callum's attention was a little distracted. On the one hand, he wanted to continue discussing Anna's matter with Kirk, and on the other hand, he was worried about the dispatch center. He tried to speak twice but failed.
Then, Callum saw Kirk take out a bag of gummy candies, put one into his mouth, and chew it with relish. As if he noticed Callum's eyes, Kirk turned his head and looked over, then he handed the gummy candy to him and added a sentence.
"dessert."
Callum shook his head slowly with a look of astonishment on his face, but he couldn't help laughing in the end. He didn't refuse and took a gummy candy and put it in his mouth.
After waiting for a while, I didn't hear any response from other patrol cars. It seemed that it was peak time and the patrol cars were all busy.
Callum didn't hesitate any longer and grabbed the walkie-talkie, ready to go.
"14Lincoln23, receiving a code three alarm at 7th Avenue at 32nd Street, en route to the scene."
As soon as Kirk heard it, he knew that Callum was ready to go, so he made way without further ado.
Callum didn't have time to say hello. He opened the car door and got directly into the driver's seat. He raised his voice to Kirk and said, "Sorry, it's a call of duty. Let's talk about it when we get home."
Before he could finish his words, Callum had already released the handbrake, spun around, stepped on the accelerator to the bottom, and drifted all the way. The police siren had already whizzed past him.
Beep, beep.
Anna, who was about to go to the subway station, was stunned by the vibration in the air. She turned her head reflexively, and then she saw the police car roaring up. The bright flashing siren lights tore through the shadows cast by the tall buildings and pulled out a long red halo.
Anna didn't even realize it, but her heart was tightening.
Police , patrol, case, these words are no strangers in daily life, and Anna is used to them; but this is the first time she has witnessed Callum on duty, and those ordinary words suddenly come alive.
Anna couldn't help but feel worried and dazed for a moment. She stood there in a daze until the patrol car disappeared around the corner. The sound of the sirens was still surging in the air, slowly fading away.
Hopefully, everything is alright.
…
Kirk also stood there for a moment, watching the patrol car go farther and farther away, and then slowly returned to his car.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Kirk also needed to sort out his thoughts——
The senator's clues need to be followed up. Before there is any progress with Adrian, he can learn more through newspapers, television and relevant official news, and piece together the context of the senator's recent series of actions to see if he can find a motive or a political crisis.
Seven victims, all black, Kirk doesn't think it's a coincidence.
At the same time, he plans to mark the last known locations of the victims on the map of New York City to see if he can find overlapping routes, compare them with the routes of the Senator's Relief Office's activities, analyze and find overlaps and deviations, and explore potential possibilities beyond the yellow ribbon.
Despite Adrian's impending investigation, Kirk believes in himself more.
Buzz.
Buzz buzz buzz.
The phone vibrated rapidly, and Kirk answered the call without even checking the caller ID.
"Kirk-Hull."
“…” There was no sound on the other end of the phone, but in fact, Kirk’s hearing was equally sharp and he could pick up the sound of wind and breathing on the other side of the receiver.
Although both are the sounds of air flowing, there is still a difference between the two.
"Kirk-Hull." So Kirk repeated it again.
"…Excuse me…Are you a private detective?"
He could sense the other party's hesitation from the drawn-out ending and the intermittent speech; moreover, with a cursory listen, Kirk could detect the immaturity of the voice and the vagueness of the pronunciation. Although he could not be 100% sure of the age, it was most likely a child, around ten years old.
Kirk raised his eyebrows slightly——
mischief?
Not really, because there was a sense of restraint and nervousness in the voice, and even a slight tremor, it was hard to tell whether it was from fear or timidity, and it didn't sound like a prank.
For some reason, Kirk thought of Nate's childhood appearance. He was always helpless when it came to children. This was his weak spot.
He stopped what he was doing and picked up his phone. "Yes, I'm a private investigator. How can I help you?"
"..." Zizi, the person on the other end of the line was still a little hesitant, breathing a little faster, but because of the kindness conveyed in Kirk's words, he regained his courage, "I'm at the Plaza Hotel, I just witnessed a murder."
Kirk paused—
Although he couldn't be 100% sure of the exact address of the New York landmark building, three weeks was far from enough; but if he remembered correctly, the Plaza Hotel should be on Fifth Avenue, and the place where Callum just received the alarm was also on Fifth Avenue, so the house number should not be far away.
So, is it a coincidence? Murders happened at the same time in two places not far apart from each other?
No, the most likely scenario is that what Callum is dealing with now is this murder.
"You should call 911." Kirk remained patient.
The person on the other end of the line was a little anxious. “I have called 911 and the police have arrived at the scene, but they don’t believe me. No one believes me.”
"They thought it was a prank."
"But. But! I didn't, I really saw it."
As she spoke, her voice began to take on a hint of tears, and all the panic, fear, and grievances came flooding back at once.
Kirk couldn't help but feel soft-hearted.
If this kid is acting, then he is absolutely genius, at least from the brief dialogue, Kirk is willing to believe what this kid says.
Exhaling lightly, Kirk comforted softly, "Boy, you should trust the police. When they arrive at the scene, they will definitely complete the search according to the rules and regulations and confirm the specific circumstances. I am a private detective, and I can't help you in this situation."
The person on the other end of the phone was not convinced.
"but!"
"but……"
"A private detective is responsible for investigating cases, isn't he? I, I, I, I can hire you to investigate this murder. I really saw it."
