"This is a standard inquiry, OK?"
Before Reesi could speak, Luo An took out a Glock 18 and placed it on the desk with a smile:
"We don't suspect you, Mr. Darren. But according to procedure, we must ask these questions to eliminate any suspicions against you."
Upon seeing Luo An's gun, Darren's eyebrows furrowed, ready to explode in anger, but seeing the smile on Luo An's face he forcefully suppressed it and said with an unhappy tone:
"Yesterday, I was in Los Angeles inspecting a piece of real estate, and I stayed at the Hilton Hotel at night."
"Okay."
Reesi scribbled something in her notebook, asked a few simple questions, then with a serious face inquired:
"Mr. Darren, have you or your wife offended anyone recently, or noticed anything strange when purchasing the villa?"
"No."
Darren waved his hands emphatically, his tone very agitated: "There was nothing wrong with buying the villa, and we've always been kind to others. Everything in the company is handled according to the bylaws; we haven't offended anyone at all."
"...Alright."
Reesi briefly jotted down the information, then turned to look at Luo An, who immediately said:
"Mr. Darren, considering your and your wife's financial situation, we believe the kidnappers abducted Lady Sabina for a ransom. So, unless something unexpected happens, they will likely call you soon to demand a ransom."
"OK."
Hearing Luo An's words, Darren let out a sigh of relief, swung his hand broadly, and said directly:
"It doesn't matter, as long as Sabina can come back, they can have as much money as they want, I don't care!"
Luo An ignored the other party's low-key boasting and continued:
"But for the personal safety of Sabina, we will assign an agent to follow you to safeguard your protection and monitor your phone, attempting to track the location of the kidnappers through the call..."
"No, you cannot do this."
Upon hearing this, Darren abruptly stood up, his tone very unhappy:
"If they just want money, then just give it to them! What if they find out about your existence and tear up the ticket? I can't gamble with Sabina's life!"
"You..."
As soon as Reesi heard this, she instinctively wanted to argue, but Luo An pulled her arm back, turned to look at Luo An, who stood up and asked seriously:
"Mr. Darren, are you sure you don't need our protection?"
"Not needed!"
Darren answered coldly, but for some reason his tone suddenly softened, and he continued:
"I just want my wife to come back safely; if they want money, give it to them, we are not short of money! It's a simple transaction, I can handle it myself, you FBI just need to catch the kidnapper."
"Okay."
Luo An nodded, said nothing further, and left the villa's study, pulling along a still-bewildered Reesi.
Once they exited the villa, Reesi surveyed the surroundings to make sure no one could hear, then asked doubtfully:
"Luo An, he's being very uncooperative, doesn't that make him highly suspicious?"
"Indeed, it's possible he was the one behind it."
Luo An nodded, opened his Nokia phone, and asked Mona on the other end:
"Mona, have you checked Darren's recent economic status or expense bills?"
"Of course, you have to believe in my ability, Mona."
Mona's crisp voice came from the other end of the phone, laughing:
"Darren indeed had a plane ticket to Los Angeles yesterday, and it was first class, too. But the various Hilton Hotels in the area don't have any records of his stay. So I checked Darren's previous bills and found that he's been going to the gambling city Las Vegas quite often recently, almost always losing without any wins. A rough estimate shows he's likely already lost nearly two million dollars."
Luo An nodded, and continued to inquire:
"Did Darren and Lady Sabina sign any prenuptial agreement when they got married?"
"Uh, give me a few minutes."
The sound of clattering keys came from the other end of the phone. After a while, Mona's voice transmission through again, sounding somewhat excited:
"There is one! Documented at a well-known law firm in New York. It contains several pages of provisions. One of them states that if Darren initiates a divorce, he must leave with nothing. And if Lady Sabina dies, Darren can only receive 300,000 dollars, while the funds Sabina inherits from her parents will be donated in entirety."
"...I don't understand the thinking of the wealthy."
Luo An shook his head, then turned to Reesi and said:
"Darren's money mainly comes from the company he has with Lady Sabina. He's sunk a lot of money into his gambling addiction, and it's highly likely his finances have dried up. And since he can't discuss this matter with Sabina, it's clear that kidnapping his own wife for a ransom seems like a good idea.
According to the prenuptial agreement, Darren would only get 300,000 dollars if Sabina died, which isn't enough for him to actually consider killing his wife for the money, because it's not worthwhile."
Reesi also came to a realization, and continued Luo An's analysis:
"So Sabina should be safe right now, because if she dies, Darren won't get any money. Darren is purely after the cash."
"That's right."
Luo An nodded. This direction was worth trying, so he lifted up his Nokia and looking at the car in front asked:
"Mona, all the cars in this villa are the latest models of Cadillac, with license plate numbers *** and ***, can you track them?"
"Of course!"
The sound of rapid key typing sounded again, and soon after, Mona's voice came through with laughter:
"Done! I'll know wherever they go now!"
"OK, great work, Mona."
After hanging up, Luo An turned to look at Reesi and smiled:
"You said earlier you came from intelligence, with high tracking skills. Darren is all yours now. Follow him wherever he goes."
"Easy!"
Reesi smiled broadly, gave Luo An a trust me gesture, and then turned and walked into the villa.
Working from both angles, Luo An nodded with satisfaction, making sure that Darren's next move would not slip out of his control. Just as he was about to return to his car to quietly wait for Darren's next move, his Nokia suddenly rang.
He took out his phone and saw the call was from Reed. Luo An was puzzled but still answered the phone.
"Luo An, I need your help."
Reed on the other end of the phone didn't beat around the bush and said directly:
"I've looked through all the files for the serial killer case and haven't found any leads. I just heard in the office that you've cracked the kidnapping case, so how about you take a look at the serial killer case files?"
"Uh,"
Luo An looked at his Nokia and hesitated:
"I haven't solved the kidnapping case. The kidnapper hasn't been caught yet; I still can't return to the office..."
"You don't need to come back."
Reed's voice changed, and an SUV, identical to the one Luo An was sitting in, slowly stopped on a nearby road. Reed got out of the car with his phone and grinned broadly:
"I've already brought the files to you."
Luo An: "..."