America: The Gear-Up Detective

With a mental attribute of 12.6, Rhode instantly realized that the figure on the bed must be the effect of the [Glasses of Love] skill 2 after he saw it clearly.

Nathan's body, which had been lying on the ground, disappeared and reappeared on the bed, half-lying down with a cigarette between his left and right hands, staring intently at the dark television screen in front of him.

"I never imagined that virtual imaging could adjust the scene in real time!"

Rod looked closely at the figure on the bed, feeling that something was amiss.

"That's right, Nathan isn't left-handed, and judging from the placement of the snacks on the bed and the ashtray, he's probably right-handed!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the figure on the bed switched the cigarette from its left hand to its right.

"Something must have happened while Nathan was smoking that made him switch the cigarette to his left hand."

And then she got out of bed, only to fall to the ground!

The next moment, the figure also moved according to Rhodes' description.

In the video, Nathan, who was half-lying down, paused slightly, switched the cigarette to his left hand, then got up, stood by the bed, and walked with a slightly unsteady gait.

A few steps later, he collapsed onto the carpet where he had died earlier, lying motionless on the ground.

Rod kept replaying this scene in his mind's eye.

Watching Nathan fall down and get up again and again.

Mysteries gradually formed in my mind.

"Judging from his movements, Nathan wanted to get to the door and open it, which is why he switched the cigarette to his left hand—it's more convenient for him to open the door with his right hand!"

"So what happened in between? Why did he open the door? Was someone knocking? Or was he calling for help?"

There are too few clues at the moment; Evan also got stuck at this step before and made no progress.

"There must be some clue that we've overlooked."

What is it?

Rhodes sat on the edge of the bed, pulled up the files he had scanned in his mind, frowned, and read them word by word.

Soon, Rhodes sensed something amiss in the description in the dossier.

"According to Nathan's two colleagues who were the first to enter, 'the room was unusually stuffy when the door was opened...' But I remember that Mrs. Renee had previously stated in her statement that Nathan was extremely sensitive to heat and would cough incessantly when it got hot!"

A glint of light flashed in Rod's eyes, and his tone became excited. "Then why didn't Nathan turn on the air conditioning?"

Rod picked up the air conditioner remote from the TV cabinet and successfully turned on the air conditioner.

After thinking for a moment, Rod went downstairs and asked the black man at the front desk, "Did room 348 request air conditioning repairs a year ago?"

The black guy didn't mention anything about a search warrant; he simply took out a thick stack of notebooks from the drawer.

"These are the repair records for the past two years. Every repair is recorded. The boss said that this can be used to apply for a portion of the tax exemption."

If there's no record here, then there isn't.

Rod flipped to the repair record from a year ago and quickly reviewed it.

Soon, Rhodes found a new lead.

A year ago, room 348 had applied for electrical repairs because Nathan accidentally caused a short circuit while using the popcorn machine, resulting in a power outage for his room 348, the neighboring room 349, and the downstairs room 248.

Rod pointed to the record and looked at the young Black man beside him, "Why wasn't this clue mentioned at the time?"

The Black receptionist looked bewildered and said, "Nobody asked at the time."

Rhodes didn't want to delve into the specific reasons.

At this moment, at least one new clue has been discovered.

That night, Nathan's room lost power, which is why his colleague felt the room was stuffy the next morning, because he hadn't turned on the air conditioner that night.

Rhodes looked at the maintenance log, which showed the maintenance worker as Gerald Newman.

"Is this Gerald Newman a staff member of your hotel?"

The Black guy glanced at it and gave an affirmative answer.

Rod's heart skipped a beat. If nothing unexpected happened, this repairman should be the only suspect who entered room 348 before the incident.

He could very well be the last person to see Nathan!

Instead of rushing to find Gerald, Rod picked up his phone and dialed Hank's number.

"Hey, Hank, I have a case here..."

He briefly explained the situation to Hank and asked Hank to come to the scene to support him.

Rhodes is currently a Detective I, which is the entry-level investigator in the American police system. Their primary responsibilities include responding to crime scenes and conducting preliminary and follow-up investigations; simply put, they are on the front lines handling and solving cases.

They do not have the authority to handle cases independently.

Only Detective II officers can handle cases independently. Starting from this rank, they also have to take on some responsibilities of supervising and guiding junior officers.

Rhodes' previous investigation could be described as verification of case files, but the subsequent questioning of repairman Gerald Newman could easily escalate into an interrogation.

That's why Hank, a second-level detective, was needed to be present.

Hank arrived at the scene shortly afterward.

As soon as he entered, Hank greeted him, "Hey, man. Where's our suspect?"

Rod looked at the hotel manager beside him.

The manager gave a wry smile. "He's in my office. I haven't told Gerald yet that the police want to see him, so..."

Upon hearing this, Hank waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, it's just a routine inquiry."

Rod smiled, turned and nodded to Hank, "Let's go."

"Not bad, Rhodes. I've heard Evan mention this case before; the investigation has stalled for various reasons."

"I didn't expect you to find a new clue so quickly."

Rhodes waved his hand dismissively. "After you've finished asking the questions, then praise me properly in front of Evan and the captain."

......

Inside the manager's office on the first floor of the hotel.

A middle-aged man wearing a dark blue work uniform was sitting on the sofa, his legs shaking incessantly.

Across from him, Rod and Hank were conducting an interrogation.

"Didn't you notice anything unusual after you entered room 348 that night?"

The man swallowed hard and recalled, "I entered the room that night and started fixing the electrical problem. I didn't talk to him much."

Do you remember the time?

"I fixed the circuit around 8:30 and left. The hotel's CCTV footage and maintenance log can testify to this!"

Rhodes glanced at the repair kit Gerald had placed at his feet, filled with wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools of various sizes, and asked, "Were you carrying this tool kit into the room that night?"

"I'm a repairman, so it's reasonable for me to carry some wrenches and tools with me, right?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Hank immediately asked, "You seem very nervous?"

Gerald was taken aback, then gave a bitter smile. "I understand the police's procedures... I have a criminal record."