Volume 3: My days in a college fraternity Chapter 126 Welcome to Stanford
Butch Young, an investigator from Pinkerton, licked his dry lips while flipping through a stack of Lotus employee information handed to him by a colleague.
If the detective industry also has a special title of "white shoes" that represents the elite, then there are probably only two firms in the entire United States that are qualified to get it.
One of them is the Pinkerton Office, which was founded in 1850 and is known as the "America's Private Investigation Bureau."
Thanks to the fact that Pinkerton has always stood firmly on the side of the government and capitalists since the day it was founded, their business has remained prosperous for more than a hundred years.
Their main job is to help the government disrupt various rallies and marches in which the people try to criticize the government. For example, in the Black Panther Party incident, the assassination of the Western Union of Minors, the Colorado Labor War, the Blair Mountain Labor Uprising and many other strikes or demonstrations, they accepted employment by the government or capitalists to act as labor spies who infiltrated the unions, instigated internal strife within the unions, disrupted various strikes initiated by workers, and even acted as saboteurs, thugs and assassins at critical moments.
Between 1865 and 1931, the Pinkerton Office even had a private police force in Pennsylvania, responsible for helping major coal mining companies in Pennsylvania suppress or kill any workers who dared to express dissatisfaction.
"I really envy my colleagues from a hundred years ago. Even the judges had to flatter them. Whoever they said was a criminal would be hanged by the court." Butch said boredly while looking at the information, "Rookie, you chose the wrong career. Today's Pinkerton is no longer as glorious as it was a hundred years ago. Now we can't even call ourselves detectives. We call ourselves investigators instead."
"I think this guy is most likely to be willing to cooperate with us." Butch flipped through it roughly, then picked out a document and read it for two minutes, then threw it in front of his rookie companion.
"Bobby Black?" His companion picked up the document and read it through, his face blank.
The information shows that this guy is half Vietnamese, graduated from Northeastern University in Massachusetts with a degree in electrical engineering, and joined Lotus after graduation. He was only responsible for some simple tasks in the company and did not seem to have any distinctive features that could attract attention.
"I don't quite understand, what makes you think he will be willing to help us, Mr. Young?" Butch's companion, the rookie who had just obtained a PI (private investigator) license asked curiously.
Although Pinkerton has an office in Boston, Butch Younger was a person specially summoned by Delia Key from the Pinkerton headquarters in Michigan. Upon learning of Butch's arrival, the local office immediately sent him, the office's best newcomer, to serve as Butch's assistant, hoping that he could learn a few tricks from this golden detective.
If you only look at the image of this old guy, you would never imagine that his hourly wage is as high as two hundred dollars per hour, the same as those of those well-known lawyers, while other investigators in Pinkerton's Boston office only make fifty dollars per hour.
"This little Vietnamese bastard, his address is in a Vietnamese community. Look at his half-yellow, half-black mixed-race appearance in the photo, and you can tell that his mother must have given him the last name Black. He must have a missing black soldier as his father. Maybe it was because of his ugly appearance that his mother was able to get a visa to live in the United States at the mercy of the American Embassy when he was ten years old." Butch lit a cigarette and continued:
"He studied at Northeastern University, but he didn't get a full scholarship, which means his mother's small business in the United States must be doing well. I don't believe she could have turned herself from a Vietnamese refugee into an American middle-class person who could send her son to a private university in just eight years. She must have either participated in human trafficking or provided assistance to the smugglers. As long as we investigate carefully, we will definitely find clues. Once we find them, it will be much easier. Tell this idiot, either we hand over the information to the FBI and send your mother to prison, or you stand on the side of justice and help us deal with your boss."
The rookie was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Is this how you work?"
"This is the way Pinkerton has always worked for the past 143 years, ensuring that the target has the right to make their own choices." Butch said calmly, "You have to hold those people's balls in your hands so that they are willing to listen to your request."
The rookie shrugged. "Well, what can we do to get this Bobby Black in the sack? Find an Asian guy to blend into the Vietnamese community?"
"No." Butch looked at the rookie and pointed at himself. "I'll go by myself. I'll rent a room in that community. From now on, I'm a Vietnam War veteran looking for my former lover or possible surviving children. This identity of a veteran looking for relatives can make the Vietnamese there recognize me. Then I can collect information about Bobby's mother from them, and finally visit her. As long as she says one wrong word, it will be enough to send me to jail."
"But... are you sure you can deal with the Vietnamese?" The companion looked at Butch and asked worriedly.
This guy is full of racist remarks. If he goes to a Vietnamese community, he might be beaten to death by Vietnamese people that same day.
"Of course, I participated in the Vietnam War in 1965. I am a genuine Vietnam War veteran. I know how to deal with Vietnamese women, but I don't want to look for relatives. If I want to find one, at least a dozen Vietnamese women have given birth to my children. But who the hell is willing to have a bunch of emotionless illegitimate children to share their pitiful wealth?" Butch extinguished his cigarette and grinned cruelly at the rookie:
"What happened in Vietnam will end in Vietnam. We helped Vietnam increase its birth rate, but they are not grateful to us. Instead, these damn Vietnamese women brought their children to the United States. They have no love for their own country. If you don't love your own country, you must be punished. We are doing the right thing, which is to pry open Bobby Black's mouth. As long as we pry open the first person's mouth, we will pry open as many mouths as there are later."
…
"Our investigators got Jim Manz's itinerary, which shows that Jim Manz flew to California to attend a software trade show and stayed for two days." Delia was sitting in the cafe of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco and handed a document to Tommy Hawke: "Normal business behavior."
Tommy Hawke handed the information to Susan Curtis next to him: "Susan, give this guy's photo to those high-class girls in the entertainment company and see if there is any news about this guy looking for pleasure. If not, choose a few girls who like to perjure and have a strong mouth to throw dirty water on him. In short, I hope the information the court sees will show that Actor helps prostitutes to turn over a new leaf and return to society, while the president of Lotus Company tramples on the dignity of women."
"Okay." Susan took the information and agreed , then smiled at Delia and got up and left.
Delia looked at Susan's leaving figure and said, "Of your four companions, only she and the one named Jason completely believed in you. The other two had wavered."
"I know. Don't worry. They won't waver now." Tommy took a sip of coffee. "Are there any other new news from Lotus?"
"Soft Arts gave testimony that was unfavorable to Lotus. After all, Lotus stole their business back then. Now they have a chance to take advantage of their misfortune, so they certainly don't want to waste it. Also, Mickey Kapur accidentally said in front of me that he had discussed computer technology with his friend who is a development engineer at Soft Arts. In my eyes, this statement is equivalent to Mickey Kapur exploring Soft Arts' business secrets. If they want to refute it, the amount of evidence they need to provide will be staggering." Delia observed Tommy and said calmly.
Noticing Delia's gaze, Tommy responded with a smile: "How are Mickey Kapur and Jonathan doing lately?"
"It may not be good. After all, no matter who it is, if they wake up every morning and see a dozen cheap prostitutes holding banners standing outside their house, or go to the company and see a dozen cheap prostitutes holding banners standing outside the company, they will be in a bad mood. Two nerds are scolded all day long for stealing jobs from prostitutes. The investigator said that these two guys have started to contact a psychologist and are preparing to have psychological counseling twice a week. The investigator will find a way to get the conversation data between them and the psychologist." Delia thought for a while and said to Tommy:
"In fact, the two founders of Lotus are much less mentally competent than Jim Manzi, a professional manager."
Tommy nodded with satisfaction. "Keep going, increase the intensity until they no longer need a psychiatrist, but a psychiatrist to convince them that they are stealing the prostitutes' jobs and doing the wrong thing."
"Let's go back to the question you just briefly skipped over, Mr. Tommy Hawke." Delia stared into Tommy's eyes. "I don't know what method you used, but your tone of affirmation told me that my companion who was shaken in his heart has now become firm again. This makes me feel that I was not very friendly when I first met you."
"Lawyer Case, can we talk business? I don't think there's anything wrong with this being our first meeting. I'm certainly very excited." Tommy said blankly , "Let's continue talking about work, okay?"
"No." Delia took out her purse, pulled out a check from it, and pushed it in front of Tommy: "The investigators' fees need to be paid normally, but my commission can be returned to you. Of course, the case belongs to me."
Tommy showed a harmless surprised expression: "What are you talking about, Lawyer Case? This is what you deserve. I am not stingy. Whether it is the case or the money, it is all what you deserve."
"You are a man of means, Tommy. I am a little worried about the way you control your companions. The only thing I can guess is that they have all taken your money. This means that it costs a lot to take your money. Obviously, my cooperation method was a bit hasty at the beginning, because I despised you at that time and chose to take both the case and the money. When we first met, I thought you were a college student, but now, I think of you as a mature man of the same age as myself." Delia said to Tommy with a smile:
"I hope my discovery is not too late."
Tommy still looked at Delia with a puzzled look on his face, trying to make her believe that he was just a simple college student, but Delia shook her head slightly: "Stop pretending, Tommy, lawyers need to be proficient in psychology. If I really make up my mind to pay attention to you, no matter how superb your acting skills are, I can't hide it from you."
"Huh~" Tommy sighed, looked down at the check, and pushed it to Delia: "When did you start noticing it?"
Delia took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth skillfully. "After I thoroughly understood the information of Actor Company and discovered your methods from beginning to end, when I communicated with Sophia on a daily basis, her reaction was also a little strange. So, as I guessed, you want to replace me, destroy me, and find another group of free lawyers?"
"I'm sorry, it's too late, Lawyer Case." Seeing the other party's look, Tommy simply put away his expression and looked at Delia calmly: "I did think of replacing you. It's not that you didn't do a good enough job, but I need another group of free lawyers to help me complete another task."
Delia laughed. "It's really hard to imagine . You're just a college student. If I want to avoid being replaced by you and ensure that I participate in this case throughout, I need to pay you to work for me?"
"Ms. Case, I really like your vigorous work attitude. Of course, I also hope that you will stand with me in court in the end to complete all this, but I have already promised the other party that I must keep my word." Tommy took out a lighter, lit it, handed it over to help Delia light the cigarette in her mouth and said:
"Or, if you insist on staying and participating, then you need to be sold by me once, and you can keep the check as the proceeds of selling your body."
Delia was silent for a few seconds before she spoke: "You want to sell me to Stanford Law School as a guest lecturer at the law school. How many classes will I teach each semester?"
"When you're not arrogant, does your mind work so fast?" Tommy lowered his head depressedly and stirred his coffee. "Can you recover and return to the way you were in your office, with your slightly raised, slightly pointed chin facing me?"
Delia raised her chin slightly, crossed her left leg, smiled at Tommy and said, "Like this?"
Tommy smiled and nodded, "Yes, Stanford University will certainly be happy that you are here as a visiting professor at Stanford Law School. Then you can continue to be the lead attorney for this case, and those lawyers from Stanford will have no complaints. Everyone will be happy."
"So I can still accept this check, after all, it's my body money now? And you helped Stanford University find an unpaid visiting professor of law... Shit... What I said just now was also part of your calculation." Delia's smile just appeared on her face, and suddenly her pupils shrank slightly, staring at Tommy Hawke:
"You know I'm not an idiot. Sooner or later I will discover your abilities and methods, and then talk to you openly about this matter. That's why you have been waiting for me for a long time, and I am willing to be sold out by you."
Tommy rolled his eyes in confusion and held out his hand to Delia: "The money is yours, but the person is mine, so, is it a pleasure to cooperate with you?"
Delia looked at Tommy, then suddenly laughed and held Tommy's hand: "Of course."
"Welcome to Stanford." Tommy squeezed Delia's hand slightly, then released it, opened his arms and said, "We are a family now."
