Mrs. White also sensed the problem, "What's with the photographs? At which club was Alyssa dancing?"
White hung his head, seemingly struggling to speak.
"At a strip club," the deputy team leader clarified bluntly, believing that Alyssa's disappearance was likely related to her profession; this paper screen had to be pierced.
"What? Alyssa, how could she go back to such a place!" Mrs. White exclaimed loudly, sobbing softly, "My poor daughter… What on earth happened?
"Was she forced to dance by the club?"
Luke countered, "Why would you think that? Did she ever mention anything?"
"No, but I don't believe my daughter would do such a thing; I'm a teacher, that's not how I raised her…"
Luke looked again at White, "Mr. White, where did you put those photos?"
"I burned them all. I don't want anyone else to see such photos; I can't accept it."
"Did you talk to Alyssa about it?"
"I looked for her… but the conversation didn't go well; I was a bit agitated at the time… Alyssa didn't want to talk about it, and in the end, we parted on bad terms.
"I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how?"
"Do you have any suspects for the person who left the photos at your doorstep?"
White shook his head, "No, I can't think of anyone who would do something so despicable."
"Do you still have the bag that the photos were in?"
Upon hearing that someone had left the photos, Luke was initially hopeful; this person was likely related to the case, and if they could find the photos or the bag, there would be a chance to lift biological traces.
But White's fire burned everything, effectively cutting off that line of inquiry.
Luke escorted Mr. and Mrs. White out of the office, promising to inform them immediately if there was any news about Alyssa.
After Mr. and Mrs. White left.
The deputy chief said to Luke, "What's your take on the person who sent the photos?"
Luke thought for a moment, "This person probably doesn't have good intentions; even if he's not the suspect, he might have some connection to the case."
"You're right, so we have to go to the club again. If he was able to take photos of the dancing, it means he has definitely been to the club and might have had a conflict with Alyssa."
"I'll go in a while; it's quieter during the day. I'll get a formal statement from the owner." Luke turned and asked, "David, you're not going to refuse this time, are you?"
David stood up, took his car keys from the table, "What are we waiting for?"
Marcus's eyes moved around slickly, glancing at Luke, then at David, "If you need, I can come with you."
"No, I don't want to bring you along," David refused bluntly.
David tossed the car keys to Luke, "You know the way, you drive."
Half an hour later, the two arrived at Boel Club.
Different from the bustling clamor of the night, it now seemed somewhat deserted.
The club's door was still closed; Luke knocked, "Bang, bang…"
The door opened halfway, a large African American man glanced at Luke, "We're not open yet, come back in the evening."
Luke showed his badge, "I'm Detective Luke, looking for Paul."
The big man paused for a moment, "What do you want?"
Luke raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Wait here." The African American man dropped the phrase and was ready to close the door.
Luke held the door with his right hand, "I'll wait inside."
The big man reluctantly stood his ground for a moment but eventually gave in.
Luke entered the club, which was empty and quiet. Not bothering to go backstage, he simply pulled up a chair to sit down, "I'm having second thoughts; we should have come in the evening."
He glanced at the screen; it was Daisy's number. Hesitating for a moment, he still pressed the answer button, "Hello."
"Luke, are you free tonight to have a drink?"
"Sorry, I'm a bit busy today; I probably won't have time in the evening."
"OK, let's make plans some other time."
Luke hung up the phone.
David laughed, "Is it Daisy again?"
Luke nodded slightly.
"Weren't you interested in her? Why not go? Don't tell me you have to work overtime, because I won't believe that for a second."
"I'm not so sure, I'll just let it be for now." Daisy's appearance was indeed Luke's type, but he wasn't sure about Daisy's thoughts.
If Daisy liked him too, he would be more than happy to have a drink with her, but if it was out of gratitude or because of the case, Luke felt it wasn't very interesting.
However, Daisy taking the initiative to treat him to a drink was a good start, and even if Daisy refused next time, Luke would have an excuse to return the favor.
"Wow... Isn't that Officer Luke? Didn't expect to see you again so soon," Paul sashayed out from backstage.
"Hi, Paul, this is Detective Chief David, and we need to take a statement from you."
"Officer Luke, I told you everything I knew last night, do you really need to go through it all over again?"
Luke made a gesture inviting the other party to sit down, "Last night, we were just getting an understanding of the situation and didn't even know if Alyssa's departure was normal or if something untoward had happened.
Now we're fairly certain that Alyssa encountered some trouble and need to ask some targeted questions."
"You mean to say, Alyssa was actually kidnapped?"
"It's a possibility."
"So the resignation text on Saturday wasn't sent by her."
Paul sat down, pulling out a chair, "Oh, that's terrifying. She's a good person; she shouldn't have had to go through this.
If the resignation text wasn't sent by her, she's still considered my employee.
I have a responsibility towards her, ask away."
Luke turned on the body camera, "How long had Alyssa been working here?"
"You remember so clearly?"
"After you guys left last night, I checked her file."
"I will need to take her file with me later."
Paul spread his hands, "Then there's nothing more to say."
"How did Alyssa come to apply for a job at your club?"
"We usually have three ways of recruiting. One is through personal referrals, another is posting advertisements at the club entrance, and we also have a club website where we recruit.
She was the third type, applied online, sent a few photos, I thought she was alright, so I had her come in for an interview.
She was really great, a lot of customers liked her."
"Why did she apply for this job?"
"I didn't ask, but it's probably for the money. No one comes to a place to dance just for fun. Of course, I'm the exception." Paul swayed his body a bit.
"Did Alyssa run into trouble here?"
"We have bouncers in our club, and they're not just for show."
Luke changed his questioning approach, "Was there a particularly enthusiastic customer who really liked her, the kind who is fervent and can't get what they want?"
"Is that wrong too? Are you police meddling too much?" Paul dismissed the question; he wasn't going to easily betray his customers.
Customers pay when they walk in; police don't.
Especially since that black jerk last night even tried to hit on the club dancers, the audacity.
"Through investigation, we've discovered that someone secretly took photos of Alyssa dancing and sent them to Alyssa's father. Is this also something your club allows?"
"No, I have always made sure to protect the dancers' privacy; our club doesn't allow photography."
"Apparently someone broke your rule, and Alyssa's disappearance could be related to this. Still think it's a minor issue?
What if the fathers of the other dancers received similar photos?"