Arriving at a quiet cafe, they saw a woman sitting in the corner, staring blankly at her coffee cup. Cologne recognized the woman from the photos she had seen earlier. “That's Clara,” she whispered to Berlin.
Berlin nodded and the two approached Clara's table. Cologne carefully opened the conversation, “Clara? I'm Cologne, this is Berlin. We're friends of Xiao's. We want to talk about Elena.”
Clara looked up, her eyes looking tired and puffy. She nodded slowly. “Yes, Xiao told me. Please have a seat.”
After ordering drinks, Cologne immediately asked a question, “We heard that Elena disappeared three months ago. Was there anything strange before she disappeared?”
Clara sighed heavily. “Elena was very scared before she disappeared. She wouldn't talk much, but I knew she was involved in something dangerous. She once mentioned a businessman who tried to contact her again after she was released from prison.”
Cologne and Berlin looked at each other. “A big businessman involved in embezzlement?” Berlin asked.
Clara nodded. “That's right. His name was Vincent Lengrand. Elena was once a witness in his case. Although she didn't give much information, Vincent always suspected Elena of keeping important evidence. After Vincent got out of prison, Elena often received threats.”
Cologne added, “Did Elena ever mention keeping the evidence somewhere?”
Clara shook her head. “Not directly, but she said something about a safe place. I don't know what she meant. However, she also mentioned that she trusted someone with the evidence.”
Berlin squinted. “Who is that person? Did he ever mention his name?”
Clara looked doubtful for a moment. “No, he didn't. He never mentioned a name, but he said it wasn't from the agency or his neighborhood. Someone she met by accident.”
Cologne felt this was a pretty big clue. “Do you have any contacts or other clues that could lead us to this person?”
Clara took out an envelope from her bag and handed it to Cologne. “This is the last letter from Elena before she disappeared. Maybe you can find something from it.”
Cologne opened the envelope and found a letter in Elena's handwriting. The letter was quite long, but one part caught Cologne's attention. “I've entrusted everything to an old friend. If anything happens to me, she will know what to do. She lives in a place where we used to go as children, a place full of memories.”
Cologne and Berlin looked at each other. “We should find out more about that place,” Cologne said. “Clara, thank you so much for your help.”
Clara smiled weakly. “Please find Elena. She is my best friend.”
Berlin and Cologne promised to do their best and left the café. Outside, Berlin whispered, “A place full of childhood memories? That could mean many things. We need to narrow down our search.”
Cologne nodded. “We need to delve deeper into Elena's background, maybe ask her family or people who knew her as a child.”
Berlin seemed to agree. “Let's start with her family. We can ask Xiao for their address.”
They immediately contacted Xiao and got the information they needed. Their next journey took them to Elena's family home in the suburbs. When they got there, they were greeted by a worried-looking middle-aged woman.
“Are you Elena's friends?” the woman asked.
Cologne nodded. “Yes, we've come to find information about a place she frequented as a child. We hope to find clues to her whereabouts.”
The woman seemed to think for a moment. “She used to play in a small park near her grandmother's house. It was her favorite place. Maybe you can start there.”
Cologne and Berlin thanked her and headed for the park. When they arrived, the park seemed deserted and full of childhood memories that Elena might have had. They began to search around the park, hoping to find something that would bring them closer to an answer. Berlin's eyes fell on an old bench under a large tree. “Look over there,” he said, pointing.
Cologne followed suit and they approached the bench. Berlin groped under the bench, expecting to find something hidden. Suddenly, she felt something hard. “There's something here,” he said excitedly.
After a few minutes of trying to pull it out, Berlin finally succeeded. It was a small wooden box that was locked. Cologne took a small tool out of her bag and managed to open the lock. Inside, they found some documents, a flash drive, and an old photo of Elena with a young man.
Cologne examined the documents carefully. “This is the evidence Vincent was looking for,” he said. “Financial records, illegal transactions, it's all here. But who is the man in this photo?”
Berlin looked at the photo carefully. “Maybe this is the old friend Elena mentioned in her letter. We need to find out who he is.”
They left the park with the box and quickly headed to their hotel to check the contents of the flash drive. After connecting the flash drive to a laptop, they found more digital evidence: emails, voice recordings, and some videos.
“Everything points to Vincent Lengrand,” Berlin said. “But we still need to find Elena's old friend. Maybe she can help us piece it all together.”
Cologne agreed and they started looking for more information about the man in the photo. After several hours of intensive searching, they found a clue to the man's identity. His name was Lukas, an old friend of Elena's who now lived in a small town.
“This is a big clue,” said Cologne. “We have to go there and talk to Lukas.”
The next day, they arrived in the small town where Lukas lived. After some searching, they found his house and knocked on the door. A brown-haired man with a wary gaze opened the door.
“Lukas?” asked Cologne.
The man nodded. “Yes, who are you?”
“We're Elena's friends,” said Berlin. “We need your help to find her. We believe you have information that could help.”
Lukas looked surprised to hear Elena's name. He invited them in and after they sat down, Lukas started talking. “Elena is my best friend. She gave me some documents and asked me to keep them. She said they were very important and could endanger her life.”
Cologne took out a wooden box from her bag. “We found this in the park where you used to play. Is this what she gave you?”
Lukas nodded and looked at the documents. “Yes, this is part of what he gave me. But there was more. Elena kept the rest in a safer place.”
Berlin felt this was a good time to ask an important question. “Lukas, do you know where the safe place is?”
Lukas thought for a moment, then his eyes widened as if he had just remembered something. “Yes, there is one more place. An empty house belonging to his family at the edge of the forest. She often goes there to hide when she feels threatened.”
Cologne and Berlin felt this was a very important clue. “Can you take us there?” asked Cologne.
Lukas nodded. “Sure. But we have to be careful. If Vincent knows about this place, he might send his men.”
The three of them immediately set off for the empty house at the edge of the forest. When they arrived, the atmosphere around the house seemed quiet and a little eerie. Lukas showed them the way into the house, which looked abandoned but still solid.
Inside, they began to rummage around and eventually found a secret room under the wooden floor. There, they found more documents and a small chest with a key.
Lukas took the key out of his jacket pocket. “Elena gave me this,” he said as he opened the chest. Inside were some of Elena's personal belongings, including a notebook full of information about Vincent and his plans.
As they read the notebook, they realized that Elena was not only gathering evidence, but also planning something to frame Vincent.
Suddenly, they hear footsteps outside the house. Cologne immediately turned off their flashlights and whispered, “We have to hide.”
Berlin, Cologne, and Lukas hid in the secret room, listening anxiously as the footsteps approached. The door to the house opened slowly, and they could hear familiar voices.
“They're here,” Berlin whispered. “It's Vincent's men.”
Cologne nodded, preparing a plan to escape and bring this evidence to the authorities. They had to get out of this house safely and bring justice to Elena and all that she had sacrificed.