Chapter 42: Theft

Song Jiashu carefully recalled and then shook his head in response, "Café Rui Mei? I didn't really pay attention to that. Could it be that Mr. Monet, your friend or relative, established it in Shanghai?"

Before Monet could answer, Yule, who was beside them, eagerly interjected, "That's right, Mr. Song. Café Rui Mei is a prominent company with significant promotion in New York recently. Their banner is to attract investments for opening a chain of coffee shops in China, possibly with Tony investing as well. So, they wanted to inquire about how it's going from you!"

"Brown, you've misunderstood. I haven't invested because I find this investment rather unreliable," Monet quickly clarified, waving his hand.

Song Jiashu nodded in agreement, "Mr. Monet is correct. Although Western influences are gaining ground in our country, changing Chinese people's tea-drinking habits is nearly impossible. Therefore, I don't consider this a good investment project either."

To their surprise, Miss Song San retorted, "Why would it be impossible? Most of my friends prefer coffee over tea. So, I believe it's a great investment opportunity. In fact, I'm even thinking of opening a café myself when I grow up, with a piano inside – how romantic!"

Song Jiashu sighed wryly, "Meiling, Chinese people like you and your friends are truly rare. Ah, when you grow up a bit, I really should take you back to our country for a good look. So you won't speak such naive words!"

After a bit more conversation, Monet noticed that Yule had started attending to Miss Song San's illness and took his leave. He had initially planned to check Nicole's cosmetics for radium content once he got home. However, what he hadn't anticipated was Nicole's anxious expression as soon as he entered the house. She exclaimed, "Tony, you've finally returned. Something has happened at our home!"

"What happened?" Monet asked, his anxiety growing.

"After you went to Brown's for your medical checkup, I took Casey to Doris's place. But when we returned, we found that our house had been burglarized!" Nicole explained.

"What?! Our home was robbed? What... what did they steal?" Monet couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

"Fortunately, there weren't many valuable items in the house. Our money is in the bank, and most of my jewelry is fake, so the loss isn't substantial."

Upon hearing this, Monet breathed a sigh of relief. While it was still an unfortunate incident, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. However, he realized he needed to discuss this matter with Chief Klein properly. How could even John Street start experiencing thefts? And it was a break-in theft at that – so audacious!

Just as Monet was lost in his thoughts, Nicole added, "By the way, I saw your study completely ransacked. I hope you didn't have anything important stored there!"

Monet hadn't reacted immediately, so he responded softly, "There are just some manuscripts in there, nothing valuable." But as the words left his lips, he suddenly remembered and muttered worriedly to himself while heading upstairs, "This darn thief better not have taken my manuscripts. I have a deadline next week!"

According to Murphy's Law, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. So, when Monet checked the study a little later, he let out a cry of dismay. Hearing him, Nicole quickly arrived at the study and asked, "Could it be that this thief actually took the manuscripts you're supposed to submit next week?"

"More than just next week's, all of my manuscripts, including the drafts with creative ideas, have been taken in one go. Can you believe this? The thief didn't steal money or jewelry, but he stole my manuscripts!" Monet raged.

"Well, actually, he did steal money and jewelry too, but the jewelry is mostly fake, and there's just a few tens of dollars in cash," Nicole thought to herself. However, she refrained from saying this out loud now, as she didn't want to upset Monet. She also understood how important these lost manuscripts were to him. These were his livelihood; Monet could earn several hundred or even a thousand dollars from just one of his short stories. Creativity and inspiration were fickle, so Monet would jot down ideas whenever they struck. Losing all of that was a tremendous loss.

While Nicole was lost in thought, Monet stood up and instructed her, "Keep the scene intact. I'm heading to report this to Chief Klein. We must catch this damn thief, no matter what!"

However, halfway out the door, Monet turned back and whispered to Nicole, "By the way, I said the jewelry was real, so make sure you tell Casey not to let that slip."

"Say it's real? But... but won't it be obvious if the thief is caught?" Nicole asked anxiously.

Monet sighed, "Do you really think we'll catch the thief? This isn't your typical street thief. There's definitely more to this. So, I think it's unlikely we'll catch this thief. In that case, it's better to hide your jewelry during this incident. You'll have a suitable excuse to show to the outside world. We can gradually buy real jewelry later."

"Makes sense, makes sense. And who knows, if we catch the thief later, we might even make them compensate us with some real jewelry. Darling, you're truly brilliant!" Nicole exclaimed excitedly. In the end, she couldn't contain her emotions and planted a firm kiss on Monet's cheek.

Monet wiped off the lipstick mark while reminding her, "It's good that you understand. But tone down your emotions. You don't look like someone whose home has just been robbed."

Nicole, being an actress, immediately got into character and then asked Monet, "Is this good?"

Monet nodded approvingly, "Very good. Alright, go rehearse with Casey."

When Chief Klein heard that Monet's home had been robbed, he was furious, "What?! Someone dares to rob your house? They have some nerve! Randall, gather the team. We're heading to Mr. Monet's residence to solve this case. We must catch this damn thief!"

However, after Chief Klein thoroughly examined Monet's house, he pulled Monet aside and whispered, "Tony, it's not that I don't want to help, but this case is just too strange. While the thief did steal dollars, jewelry, and your gold pen, it's not typical for a thief to take your manuscripts. Plus, the number of items stolen is odd. This isn't normal. So, discreetly investigate whether a jealous colleague might have orchestrated this to harm you."