Marco's home is a small, two-story building on the outskirts of downtown Reno, far from the riverside promenade.

Shortly after Dean knocked on the door.

Marco, who was dressed in pajamas, opened the door, he had two faint bags under his eyes, loose skin, unkempt hair, and obviously didn't sleep well last night,

"You're done talking to Jairo? Did you find anything? ”

"Hmm. Jairo is full of praise for Luben instead of belittleing him as a waste as you say. Dean walked through the hallway to the couch in the living room, sat down on it, and looked around—

The house is much more luxurious than the apartment, quite opulent, the sofas, tables and chairs are all expensive mahogany, from the entrance to the living room are placed ceramic vases, on the gold and silver foil wallpaper, the side walls of the stairs leading to the second floor are hung with portraits, judging from the appearance and linen hair color, it should be the Van Hersing family lineage, perhaps their ancestors.

Even the petal-like lampshade hanging from the ceiling is exquisite, like an antique work of art.

"And I can now be sure that Luben's disappearance is related to his last autobiography, Luben Van Hersin."

"That's just a broken book." The old man shook his head and sat on the sofa across from him, his eyebrows furrowed, "Why do you always struggle with this place." ”

"Intuition," Dean tapped his temples, his eyes brightening, "It's hard to believe, but my investigation is mostly based on intuition, and it's my strongest weapon." ”

"Besides, I don't want to beat around the bush anymore, I'll put it here now, as soon as I mention that book, you change the subject, if you haven't read it, how can you have this attitude?"

"You must have a copy and give it to me," Dean said with no doubt as he stared into his old employer's eyes, "or I will give up Luben's commission now and return to Las Vegas, and I won't be paid." ”

The threatening voice landed.

The air in the hall is still, and the dim light seems to be frozen in the picture by the camera.

Marko's old cheeks froze for a moment, and the wrinkles on his face wriggled like sandworms.

The expression struggled.

But he didn't say a word.

Dean got up,

"Then farewell, Marco, thank you for taking care of you for the past two days, next time you come to Las Vegas. I ask you to turn around. ”

In the sound of hurried footsteps, the silent Dean strode out of the door, pressed the doorknob with his right hand, and twisted it.

"I'll give you a copy." A dejected voice came from behind him.

The corners of Dean's mouth curled slightly.

Then, as he wished, he got the book and sat on the couch and flipped through it by the living room light.

It is very rudimentary, without a cover, and it is a dense draft of the book, more than 100 pages in total, and the condition is very new, and it seems that it has not been read much.

"More than half a year ago, I took advantage of Lu Ben to go to a bar for a drink at night, sneaked into his apartment, took the manuscript and copied it." The old man was holding a cup of enthusiastic black tea, as if he wanted to warm his cold heart, but he was hunched over, and his expression was extremely helpless, as if he had aged several years in an instant, "I'm also worried that he will burn books impulsively again." ”

"Why do you care about your son secretly and can't be more open? As a father, don't always keep your concerns in your heart. ”

Dean glances at him, and the first page of the book begins with the identity of the protagonist.

"My name is Luben van Hersin, the last bloodline of an ancient family that immigrated from the Netherlands to America... A third-rate writer who has lived up to the honor of his ancestors and achieved nothing. ”

In the midst of self-deprecation, Luben began to talk about his upbringing, which Dean had heard from both Jairo and Marco before, so he would not repeat it.

But there are a lot of details in the book, such as Luben's complaints about his father Marco's attention to work and ignoring himself.

"A dictatorial tyrant who only knows how to give orders and never listens..."

"Macho Hitler II ..."

"The egg-cutting maniac of the pet clinic..."The corners of Dean's mouth twitched, and Marco next to him looked embarrassed.

In addition, the book is full of adolescent Lu Ben, all kinds of fantasies about the goddess of her dreams - big blue eyes, a straight nose, a small cherry mouth, a bumpy figure, she likes to wear a graceful red dress, and her most distinctive feature is a beautiful mole on the corner of her mouth.

"How is Ruben's dream goddess familiar?"

"That's right, exactly like my wife, his mother, Mary." Marco slapped the table and said angrily, "This morally corrupt stinky boy can only imagine in his heart, and it is really unethical for him to write his shameful fantasies in the book openly." ”

"This behavior brings shame on the whole family!"

"And it's not over yet," Marco took a deep breath, his face began to redden, and he growled, "There's even more ridiculous plots to come!" ”

Dean continued to look back.

The process of Luben's growth into a down-and-out writer is mixed with a lot of Luben's complaints about his bad luck and lack of talent.

The writing is gorgeous, the description is delicate and vivid, and the appearance of the characters, dressed as in front of them.

But Dean, as a reader, doesn't just want to see something cool, this Luben prefers self-pity.

One glance at Wenqing, deserves to hit the street!

……

Skip these whining words.

Dean flipped all the way to the last part.

A turning night in life.

Luben, who has been stumbling for 36 years, drunkenly heroically saves the beauty at the Virginia Street Bridge, and then confides in each other.

The rescued woman's name is also Mary, and it is very similar in appearance to Luben's mother's name.

And the reason why she committed suicide was precisely because her ex-husband had an affair that she couldn't stand it and came to Reno for a no-responsibility divorce.

After the divorce was successful, the man left in style.

But she was not worth the feelings she paid in the past, and she impulsively found a short-term view.

Here's how the woman in red describes her ex-husband - six feet three inches tall, on the thin side, who likes to wear jeans, casual shoes, and a big black coat. Short flaxen hair with a hint of silver white is parted with hair wax, a high nose bridge, high cheekbones, deep wrinkles on the face, and a stern and serious appearance.

And he has a bad temper, is stubborn, rigid, and has a very strong machismo.

A pet clinic was also opened.

As Dean read this, he looked up at the old man across from him, his pupils narrowing.

Isn't this ex-husband Marco?

"This bastard, rebel!" The old man was filled with grief and indignation, and suddenly got up from the sofa, "I regard Mary as my only love, even if she died a long time ago, I will never marry in my life." ”

"My dear son made up nonsense in the book, slandering my character, saying that I was having an affair, that I had broken Mary's heart! Cast me into a negative man. ”

"What kind of son would insult his father like this?"

The old man trembled with rage, and his beard and gray hair stood on end.

And Dean finally understands why Marco looks ugly at the mention of this book before - this is a proper family ugly!

In the book, Lu Ben, who is the main character, snatches Mary from her father, a tricky man.

What is this?

A son snatches his father's lover?

Shocking!

Is this the true temperament of the writer, the fault of the brain, or the depravity of human nature?

"That's right, Luben is too unspoken." Dean rebuked the old man's words,

"But for now, put your anger aside and find someone."

Dean turned the page back, and the down-and-out Luben and the suicidal Mary slowly snuggled against each other's shoulders.

Then he turned to the end of the page.

This is where the new love comes to an abrupt end.

Dean's face sank, and his expression was crazy, "The second half?" ”

"Before he could make another copy, he threw them all into the river to feed the fish." Marco pressed his liver, his mouth opening and closing like a catfish, and he kept taking deep breaths.

"Shet!"

Dean couldn't help but bow his head and curse.

"Is this teasing me? It's only half a book, so how can I find someone? ”

"Dean, you made me experience the pain of being insulted by my son again," Marco blushed, "Now tell me, what clues did you find in this half of the book?" ”

……

Clue...

Dean rubbed his swollen temples and pondered for a moment, his mind flashing over the five clues he had found in the past two days, and fusing them together—

Luben van Hersin is a destitute writer who lives on the relief of his father Marco, loves the humanistic history of his hometown of Reno, the "divorce capital of the world", and dreams of finding a girlfriend as good as his mother Mary.

Finally, one day, Luben writes an autobiography based on the history of Reno, and the heroine in the autobiography is based on Mary.

……

Based on this clue, Dean made a guess.

"Before Luben disappeared, he met this woman in red who committed suicide in reality, and then wrote her into the book?"

"And then he left Reno with the woman?"

"If we find a woman, we can find him!"

After all, the plots in many writers are adapted from their own personal experiences.

Marco shook his head categorically when he heard this,

"That stinky boy can't hide things in his heart, if he encounters this kind of heroic opportunity to save the beauty and succeeds, he will definitely be unable to help but tell Jairo and talk to me."

"He's going to be happy to keep his mouth shut for quite some time."

"But he's been depressed for years."

"If there was such a woman in reality who resembled Mary, I would have seen it, but I didn't."

……

His father, Marco, and his best friend, Jairo, both denied the existence of the heroine in the book.

It seems that it was not Luben van Hersin who saved the Lady in Red in reality and wrote her into the story.

……

"Running out of ideas, right? Man, stop dwelling on this broken book," Marco looked unexpected, and closed the pages with his withered hands, "The book is all fake, all ridiculous fantasies, it can't become reality, you should change the direction of investigation!" ”

"Wait, fantasy can't become reality?" Dean suddenly stared straight into Marco's eyes, and clenched his fists suddenly,

"No, you're wrong. The plot of the book has the potential to become a reality. ”

This is a medium-difficulty event, and there is a supernatural element, so anything is possible.

Dean re-examined the previous clues, his brain was running at high speed, and his brain was thinking in reverse.

It wasn't Luben who wrote about his own experience.

Instead, Lu Ben wrote it first, and then, the plot in the book came true.

Fantasy shines into reality!

Mary, the woman in red, ran out of the book and was about to jump off the Virginia Street Bridge, and after Luben rescued her, the two disappeared together!

And what happened to Luben after his disappearance is, as expected, recorded in the second half of the lost book!

……

This thought together.

Dean seemed to have taken a sip of sweet and thirst-quenching cold water in the middle of the hot summer and breathed a long sigh of relief.

The progress of the survey in the system has also jumped sharply, from 40 percent to 45 percent.

But it was a little lower than he expected.

Is there no conclusive evidence?

……

Marco looked at the young detective with a changing expression, a smirk and a frown, and then thought of his inexplicably entangled performance over a broken book, and his eyes flashed with strong distrust,

"Tribeca wouldn't recommend me a neuropath, would she?"

……

"But it still needs to be verified." Dean turned a blind eye to the old man's strange gaze and said to himself, "I have to ask experienced people if the situation of books coming true is in folklore?" ”

(End of chapter)