Apparently, Wu Xiaoming's time with Du Bai was not yet finished today. Later in the afternoon, someone knocked on the door - it was Du Bai, alone.
"Well? Did you find anything? " Wu Xiaoming asked as he showed his childhood friend in.
"I can't disclose case information to you." Du Bai shrugged. He then sighed: "But, yeah - not much."
"Okay." Wu Xiaoming sighed: "But to tell you before hand - I can't really tell you too much about the show we did. I just asked my agent, he almost yelled at me. But the gist is - I can tell you what I experienced, what I saw. But I cannot tell you anything about the show itself, including anything that might reveal the show's theme, content, stage and - and whatever that could be leaked and connected to the nature of the show."
He was almost reciting what Douglass Kirkland told him word for word. And he was not exactly lying when he said he almost got yelled at. Douglass Kirkland reminded him, with a voice that clearly indicated he was rubbing his nose bridge, that talking to the police was almost always a bad idea, and since he had already talked to the police officers, NOT talking to them would also be a bad idea. So the guideline for him from now on would be: talk in limited terms, request lawyer presence if possible, contact Douglass Kirkland if the police wanted a serious talk, and other things of the sort.
"Yeah, I got the feeling. But don't worry, I am not here to investigate you, I'm just trying to follow up on some information we received." Du Bai nodded: "Now, do you know that there was another guy who fell from the building almost right after you wrapped up your shoot?"
"... yes." Wu Xiaoming had to hesitate a little before answering, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge: "You want something to drink?"
"No, thanks. Did you - or your crew, notice anything special or odd in the hotel when you were there?" Du Bai sat in a chair by the island table.
"That depends on what you mean by 'odd'. To be honest - the hotel is just plain creepy." Wu Xiaoming shook his head: "It's old, undermaintained, and just - just creepy, man. I don't know what to tell you."
"Creepy? Can you give me an example?"
"Well - the hallways are always very cold. There are tons of rumors about the place being haunted. And there's a lot of - you know, signs that the place might actually be."
"You know none of that could serve as leads for investigation, right?" Du Bai sighed.
"That's all I know, maybe the most relevant thing to your investigation." Wu Xiaoming shrugged: "You know, if you're even a little bit open minded about the haunted theory, things would be much easier. "
"Dude, we are police, not mediums or exorcists." Du Bai frowned: "Is this what your show is about? Looking into haunted hotels?"
"Mm-mm, Can't tell you." Wu Xiaoming shook his head.
"Okay, let's for argument's sake, the place is haunted. " Du Bai knocked the island table with his knuckles: "But what does it have to do with the two individuals who fell to death?"
"Didn't the police rule the first one as a suicide?"
"With the second one, we're re-evaluating that conclusion. " Du Bai scratched his jaw: "And - if we're going by horror movie logic, you're suggesting that something inside the hotel is killing people, and those two were dead thanks to it?"
"That wouldn't be a crazy idea, right? The past owners did kill themselves there." Wu Xiaoming laid back on his chair: "You know what? How about I be your consultant? Nothing official, just like - you share some case information with me, and I can help you - you know, investigate something in that particular angle."
This was not just a random thought, but something Wu Xiaoming had been thinking about. As a civilian, the means with which he could access information regarding cases like these were quite limited. But if he was to follow the common tropes of novels, TV shows and movies with this kind of setting and become a police consultant, he would have reasonable access to the case, as well as the privilege of visiting crime scenes.
"Nope. Can't do that." Du Bai shook his head: "In order to become a consultant, you must prove to be very useful in a certain area. Whether it's a niche specialty, or someone with access to information, locations or other resources the LAPD would like access to. And - are you any of those?"
"How about this - I can see ghosts?" Wu Xiaoming cleared his throat and lowered his voice: "I see dead people - more than dead people."
"Oh, so you're a medium now?" Du Bai couldn't help but laugh.
"Hmm, what if I am? Do you have any way of proving I am not?" Wu Xiaoming chuckled.
"Ah, I bet you think this is clever." Du Bai shook his head: "It would be, if not for the fact that - for one, LAPD already has a psychic and medium consultant program, which includes a list of items and tests to evaluate a supposed medium's abilities; and for two, if you really want to do this kind of medium/paranormal consulting, you'll need to become a member of MAGLAA, Medium Association of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Do you happen to be a member?"
"I - uh - " Wu Xiaoming scratched his head, he was utterly embarrassed that he hadn't even bothered to look into what MAGLAA was. He really should have looked into it when he first heard it from the Abbot of the Shenmue Temple. He tried to tell himself that he had been too busy - but he was mostly only kidding himself at this point. "I'm sorry, I don't. To be honest that's the first time I heard its full name."
"Well then, maybe if you're serious about it - try to apply for a membership?" Du Bai raised his brows at him: "What do you think? It's not gonna be easy, it's not like that actor - actress union of yours. You either need to be introduced by someone inside, or pay a hefty fee to train with them - "
"I'll think about it. Sounds like a lot of trouble - "
"I heard the first test is for the candidate to go into a haunted house or an apartment, stay for one night, and then report everything they discovered." Du Bai narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice: "And you know what I heard? Not many had passed this first entry, pass rate is 15%. And there are two more to go."
"Wait - I thought you don't believe in this?"
"I don't - but some higher ups in LAPD do. As do some of the officers and detectives." Du Bai sat back, shaking his head with a wry smile: "And I'm just telling you that this exists, since you brought it up."
"But - is it still a no on me being a consultant? I believe I really can help you."
"Nah." Du Bai stood up and extended his hand at Wu Xiaoming: "I wasn't lying about the criteria, plus I am not authorized to refer you to anyone, even if I want to try. The best I could do is direct you to the online form."
"But if I get a referral from someone with enough weight, that will do?" Wu Xiaoming tilted his head slightly.
"Yes." Du Bai shrugged: "But still, you need to be a MAGLAA member first. It's kind of a hard requirement."
"I'll think about it." Wu Xiaoming sighed.
"Alrighty - " Du Bai tidied up his clothes before heading towards the door: "Now, remember to call us if you remember anything."
"Can you also let me know if you have any updates?" Wu Xiaoming asked.
"I'll try, but uh - usually we can't tell you anything not approved to be publicized, since you're not really an involved party." Du Bai shook his head: "But I'll see what I can do."
Just as Du Bai turned, a thin trace of black smoke arose from his left sleeve - the same kind of smoke coming from under the sheet covering the dead body.
"Du Bai." Wu Xiaoming called out to his childhood friend as he walked out the door.
"Yes?"
"Please be careful when you go into that hotel." Wu Xiaoming said with a tone as serious and stern as he could: "Not go there at all, if possible. That hotel REALLY is dangerous. This I can tell you with a hundred percent confidence."
"... thank you." Du Bai pondered Wu Xiaoming's words for a brief moment before he headed towards his car.