Volume 1: First Arrival Chapter 035 Refusing to Cooperate
Noisy, bustling, crowded, and flowing——
As soon as you step into the lobby of the Plaza Hotel, you can feel a completely different atmosphere. It is the chill of early spring outside, but it is the tropical midsummer inside.
The center of the hotel lobby is the famous "Palm Hall", where palm trees and marble columns complement each other, creating a paradise in the center of New York like a desert oasis.
The crystal chandeliers are refracted through layers of mirrors, making the entire space magnificent and bright. It is said that there are more than 1,600 crystal chandeliers in the entire Plaza Hotel. Not only are they intricately designed and gorgeous, but each one is a priceless work of art, perfectly interpreting the luxurious experience.
Dazzling!
All of a sudden, huge and complex fragments of information rushed into the brain like a torrent, colliding, roaring, and exploding, which was really difficult to digest.
Kirk needed a reprieve.
Today, in preparation for Easter Sunday, a small patch of grass was built in the center of the front hall, with a holly tree erected. A small hill was built around it with suitcases of different colors and sizes, and colorful Easter eggs and rabbits were scattered around, with bright lilies dotted in between.
In a very, very brief moment, there was a sense of time and space dislocation, as if I had stepped into another world from New York.
Clearly, this is the effect the Plaza Hotel wanted to create, and they succeeded.
However, the hotel guests in front of them had no mood to feel this kind of atmosphere. From the front hall to the Palm Hall and then to the hotel lobby, it was all chaotic. People were coming and going, and everyone's face had an expression of anger, anxiety or excitement, and they were protesting to the staff with all their might and gesticulations.
From a distance, Kirk had already seen Callum in the crowd and shouted loudly.
"NYPD, please make way, thank you for your cooperation. NYPD!"
No one came to confirm Kirk's identity, and although the NYPD lacked deterrence in the eyes of hotel guests, they still made way for Kirk to pass through.
The journey was smooth.
As a result, a man in a suit and tie directly intercepted Kirk who was lagging behind, and questioned him directly without any hesitation.
"Detective, the hotel security personnel have illegally restricted my personal freedom. I want to call the police and file a complaint. This is my right. I want to leave the hotel."
Before Kirk could respond, a staff member in a hotel security uniform came up and tried to pull the man away, "Please don't disturb the police, sir."
"Get out of here! You have no right to tell me what to do." The man was so angry that he yelled back at the security guard.
Originally, Kirk was not going to meddle in other people's business, after all, his police badge was a fake; but when he saw this scene, a smile appeared in his eyes. Waiting for the man to turn around again, Kirk showed a polite smile, being polite and respectful, and his words and actions were perfect.
"Thank you very much for your patience and enthusiasm, sir."
"We are investigating a murder. Excuse me, is there any reason why you tried to leave the scene?"
The man was dumbfounded. "You... me... murder? How is that possible? You are slandering me! Damn it, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Kirk looked very obedient, even raising his hands in surrender, facing the gazes around him with an innocent face.
The next second, all those irritated, anxious, angry and nervous gazes were directed towards the man.
The man was speechless. Looking at Kirk who was smiling all the time, he felt a breath stuck in his chest and couldn't swallow.
Suit, tie, glasses.
He does not have the rigor of a lawyer, nor the arrogance of Wall Street, but instead has an unconcealable shrewdness and calculation. The eyes hidden behind the lenses are always observing and judging, judging Kirk's position and his own position. If you think about it carefully, he is more like a real estate or car salesman.
Of course, the powerful kind.
With a simple scan, Kirk noticed that he had two mobile phones, one in his hand and one hanging at his waist. It seemed that one of the phones belonged to a woman, and he had to keep his trip to the Plaza Hotel a secret from the other woman. As a result, he was stopped in the hotel lobby because he was worried about being discovered.
If this was the murderer, it was possible that he committed the crime impulsively because he was angry and ashamed of being caught having an affair; but Kirk did not think so. He was too timid and too confused, strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Even if he was really caught, he would not dare to make a sound. It was more likely that he would run away without even having time to put on his pants.
Kirk raised his eyebrows slightly, "Sir, can you provide any assistance? If not, I still have work to do."
The man hesitated for a moment, not even daring to look Kirk in the eye, and then lowered his head slightly and stepped aside.
Kirk continued walking forward, and from a distance, he could see the lobby manager opposite Callum, who was trying his best to remain calm but couldn't help frowning.
Kirk didn't rush over, but quickly scanned the lobby -
Crowded. Anxious.
This is the core keyword.
After the incident, the hotel security should have blocked the exit immediately to ensure that the murderer would not leave the scene, but this triggered strong protests from the guests.
Perhaps there is a suspect hiding here; perhaps the residents here can provide clues to the truth; perhaps there are different stories hidden here -
This is an occupational disease. Whether it is a policeman or a detective, it has become a habit to control the overall situation.
At the same time, Kirk tried to find and contact his client, but the chaos on the scene was beyond imagination, and he didn't know where Henry was hiding.
Kirk looked around as he moved forward, but he didn't stay too long in the end. After all, he didn't know anything about the case or the situation, so he didn't know where to start.
In a blink of an eye, the footsteps were approaching, and amid the hustle and bustle, one could clearly hear a hint of arrogance and determination in the lobby manager's tough voice, making his position clear and refusing to give an inch.
"……No!"
"This is not a street shelter, this is the Plaza Hotel, we are not going to lock down the whole hotel, we need to keep calm and keep traffic flowing."
Next to Callum, there was another man, also dressed in a suit and tie. His shirt, tie, and jacket were all meticulously dressed, demonstrating his rigor. He tried to open his mouth to explain himself, but the lobby manager did not give him a chance and raised his right index finger to stop him.
"Mr. Gurbas, no, I will not allow you to search 411."
"Do you know who the guest at 411 is?"
"Corbyn-Johnson, the CEO of the third largest car company on the East Coast, brings his employees here for meetings every year. He is one of the hotel's most distinguished and important long-term guests."
"I told you, that kid is lying, 100 percent!"
Little by little, it became apparent that the lobby manager was losing control of his voice, so much so that Callum had no chance to interrupt.
But the lobby manager himself realized his mistake, took a deep breath, controlled his emotions, and lowered his voice again, but his expression remained serious.
"Mr. Gurbas, these guests choose the Plaza Hotel because they want the most perfect and comfortable experience. We will not block the entire hotel because of the nonsense of an eleven-year-old child."
"Do you understand the seriousness of this matter?"
"Now the TV stations and major newspapers are hovering over our heads like vultures, waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves, and we take the initiative to deliver ourselves to them?"
Gurgle, gurgle, no matter how hard you try to suppress it, you can still hear the sound of the alveoli bursting.
