Chapter 216 - 19: It Doesn't Have A Deadline

When Tristan left the building, the sky was quite bright. Some parents were taking their kids to school. He passed a flowerbed and saw some roses in full blossoms, like the faces of youthful ladies. His eyes could not help staying there for a few seconds.

The car was still there. Ed came out to open the door for him and said with his attentive smile, "Morning, boss."

Tristan made a hum as a reply and got into the car.

Ed gave a secret glance at the rearview mirror and chuckled, "Boss, was it good? Feel like rain after a long drought?"

Tristan stretched his wrinkled shirt and seemed not to hear his words. After a while, he said suddenly. "She is used to speculating on others' ill will."

Ed paused to ponder and soon added, "It was not a smart scheme. One could easily see, though as if chained to another person."

Ed pursed his lips. "Who cares! As long as it worked. Even if she knew about it, she could do nothing about it."

Tristan didn't agree with him. "If I do it now, she probably won't get over it in her whole life, with her disposition."

Her whole life! Ed was taken aback at the word, and he jerked and almost hit an old man carrying his breakfast in his hand.

Tristan frowned. "Watch out!"

"Heck! Boss, you didn't do it last night?" Ed was suspicious.

"Do I need to report to you on the details?" Tristan lifted the corners of his eyebrows.

"No, no." Ed scratched his messy hair with one hand and chuckled, "It doesn't have a deadline, does it? Anyway, a night is enough for getting to know each other better. Haha."

Tristan didn't reply to these words. He looked out of the window, thinking, "Too obvious of a weakness, so easy to be taken advantage of."

He didn't intend to do it, but he did it anyway.

It was all because of that accidental discovery. But that worked for her. Besides, it was a fundamental issue. She didn't cry her heart out like the last time he saw her in the hospital. Not even a drop this time. But her numb and desperate look was concerning. That was why he stayed overnight.

Ed, who was in the front seat, was recalling another thing. One night, two months ago, he was called to the downstairs of his boss' apartment building. Cherry's classmate was in tears, and after she got in the car, she stammered and asked, "Your boss cannot do it?"

He gave her a slap on the face and said, "You say it again?"

The girl was dumbfounded. He ground his teeth and said, "You don't deserve him." And he threw a stack of money to her, pointed at her nose, and threatened her. "Remember, if you say a word about this, I will kill all of your family."

The next day he exchanged what had happened with Chapman. Chapman nodded and said, "That is right."

Ed didn't know what was right. "I cannot figure this out. What does he see in her? She isn't qualified to wash Jessie's feet."

Chapman gave him a profound glance. "Of course, she is not qualified, but she has her advantage. First of all, it is less risky and of low cost. Besides, who could tell what is right or wrong in s.e.x? If it feels good, it is good."

"Well," Tristan thought suddenly, "You check it out. The policeman she knew, who is he? How long have they knew each other and what relations are they in?"

Ed agreed immediately, but the scene at the bar occurred to him. Was it that policeman? If yes, then they have known each other for quite a long time. Hell, he wasn't careful enough as is.

"Any problem?" Tristan detected the change in his expression.

"No. I will check on it."

After some silence, he asked again, "You haven't used it for a long time?"

"Uh, for some time." Ed panicked. He expected a lambasting, but Tristan just said quietly, "Women and children can be careless, but men cannot. Never can."

There was a deep silence in the car. After some time, the phone rang, and Tristan answered, "Yes,…Mr. Harderson is in town? OK, I got it. Thank you."

****

Jimmy took two days off for his annual vacation, and together with Columbus Day, he booked a trip back to his hometown for his grandma's 80th birthday.

As soon as he walked inside his grandma's house, he saw his ex-girlfriend Linda Galvin. It was natural because she was on good terms with his grandmother. But when they sat down for dinner, his grandma asked them when they would get married, and she could have a great-grandson. Jimmy explained to her that he and Linda were not together a long time ago. When he looked at Linda, he found she had lowered her head and was upset.

Later he found out that Linda wanted to get back with him. His grandma and his parents had even been conspiring to intervene. It made him look like a jilted lover.

Even on his way back to LA, his mother still called perseveringly to interrogate and urged him to think it over. Linda was a good girl, she repeated again and again.

Jimmy explained too weakly that he could not waste Linda's time because she was a good girl. Something could be compromised, like his career.

Linda and Jimmy had been high school classmates. She sat in front of him in the home economics class. She always heard him talking about his dream. Later he went to the police academy, and Linda went to college in another city. They kept in touch all this time and ended up together.

However, after Jimmy graduated and started working, he became busier and busier. Linda first complained about him not spending enough time with her and then blamed the danger and difficulty of his job as a police officer. Later, she went so far as to ask her father to pull strings and switch Jimmy's job. At the time, they fought hard; she wanted to break up with him, and he agreed.

Jimmy drove the car sulkily. When he stopped, he found he had arrived at the office building he worked at. It was in his blood now, he thought bitterly. He'd better just marry his job.

There was clamor all about the office. The holiday had just ended, and there was no major case, so everyone was lazing around. The newly graduated college student girl greeted Jimmy and told him there was a package waiting for him.

He went to his desk and found a big package on it. His idle colleagues gathered around to see. "Is it a bomb?" one said.

Jimmy slapped this moron on the head and picked the package up. It was sent from the same city. He opened it. It was uniform. Examining the police number, Jimmy realized that it was his.

One of his colleagues made fun of him. "Who sent this? A would-be-Mrs. York?"

Jimmy didn't say a word. He knew exactly who had sent it. But he didn't understand why she would do this. Maybe it was because he had ignored her for a long time? Why waste the postage?

He dialed her number but got no answer. He ignored his colleagues' looks, grabbed his car key, and went out.

Jimmy sped away and arrived at the supermarket Kate worked in. He asked as soon as he walked in, "Where is Kate?"

The two girls at the cashier counters stared at him strangely and said, "Outside."

Jimmy turned back and walked out, looking around. He saw a familiar figure on the opposite side of the road. Kate was making a call. She looked frail from this angle.

Two big boys were playing on the sidewalk. One of them ran by and bumped into Kate. She didn't fall, but the phone in her hand flew out, drawing a perfect parabola in the air, and fell straight into the middle of the road. Jimmy was going to laugh, but he muted himself immediately when a van passing by rolled over Kate's phone.

Kate saw her cell phone broken into pieces on the road and sighed. It looked like her streak of bad luck would never hit bottom.

None of the culprits were in sight now. Kate was just about to walk over to the dismembered remains of her phone when someone ahead of her collected it first.

She looked up and found it was someone she knew. If it had been just a few days before, she would be full of joy at the sight of him, but now her face turned pale, and she felt the d.e.s.i.r.e to run away.

Kate felt paralyzed and remained where she was.

Jimmy spread his hands in the middle of the road and said to her with regret: "You have to get a new phone."

Kate was speechless.

Over a month had passed since their last meeting.

Jimmy was still the same person he had been a month ago, but Kate certainly was not the same woman he had known then. She felt so depressed. What she had lost that night was not just her v.i.r.g.i.n.i.t.y. The extravagant dream of a poor and innocent girl who struggled with the difficulties of life, a dream for true love, was dead.

Jimmy poked the pieces of her phone in his hand as he walked, but suddenly he stopped and picked out a small object. He showed it to Kate.

Kate looked at it blankly. "What is it?"

Jimmy said grimly, "This is not part of your phone."

She didn't understand.

"If I am not mistaken, this is a wiretap device," Jimmy said expressly.

"Ah…" Kate opened her eyes widely. How could this have happened?

Jimmy lifted the device and examined it for a while, finally muttering, "So small. Quite hi-tech."

When he turned to her, his eyes had an air of exploration. "Why would this be on your phone? Who had the opportunity to put this on your phone?"

The new discovery diluted her sorrow. She echoed Jimmy's questions inside and recalled the people she had encountered in the past year.

She heard Jimmy ask again, "How long has this been in your cell phone? You have been under their surveillance every minute. This probably also has a location tracking feature."

Jimmy was right. Those strange experiences flashed back in her mind.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#&apos;t-have-a-deadline_51721675326151759">#&apos;t-have-a-deadline_51721675326151759</a> for visiting.

Her father had fallen ill, and those men showed up; she was about to be r.a.p.ed, and he arrived just in time; she went to the hotel room, and he was the guest; his man saved her brother from the gang…

Kate found that her brain could not function properly. She now felt bizarre while reflecting on her experiences, but when she was the person involved, she hadn't had time to think about it. Now, these were not something one could explain as coincidence.

She felt the air become cold, and her face turned as white as paper.