A heart-to-heart

The night outside the window was already deep, and the two sat on the broken quilt on the floor surrounded by candlelight, nibbling on the fish in their hands. The charcoal fire in the iron basin made the faces of the two of them red, and the two of them were hot. Jack opened his neck and rolled his sleeves while Charlie wrapped the blanket around his waist.

The large-mouth bass just now was being roasted on a charcoal fire until it was crispy and oily on the skin. Oil and egg whites emit a tangy aroma under high-temperature baking. Although there are no seasonings with rich flavors such as salt, it does not affect the delicacy of the world that the two of them regard as first-class at the moment. Charlie had been hungry for a long time, and now that delicious food was in hand, he let go of eating.

Under the firelight, Charlie noticed that Jack was wearing a necklace in front of his open chest, with a heart-shaped pendant hanging from the end of the chain. "What is that?"

Jack held the heart-shaped necklace in the palm of his hand and broke it gently with both hands to split a "heart" into two halves. Among them, she is inlaid with a photo of a young girl. She has golden shawl hair, a sweet smile, and looks like she is eighteen or nineteen years old.

"My daughter, Amy"

"She must be a lovely girl with blond hair like you," Charlie ate the fish in his hands, not forgetting to suck his fingers from time to time. "But the temper doesn't matter."

"If she's still around, it shouldn't be a few years older than you." Jack handed the necklace of Amy's photo to Charlie. Charlie hurriedly rubbed his oily hand on his body a few times before taking the chain.

"Wow, she's so pretty!" Charlie put the photo closer to the candlelight to see more clearly, "I bet Amy would be the school flower in our high school."

"So where is she now?"

"I do not know."

Charlie retracted his smile and slowly raised his head to look at Jack. In front of Jack, his eyes stared at the jumping charcoal fire, his face was full of sadness, and tears were shining in his eyes reflected by the fire. He straightened up and lit a cigarette.

"She disappeared. It was a winter five years ago. At that time, I didn't come home for a week because of work. I promised St. Mary's to pick her up from school. But I... ugh... Damn! It's all. It's my fault! I'm on vacation; I could have let someone else go after the damn robber; why should I meddle in this shit, damn it."

"I'm sorry, Jack." Charlie returned the necklace in his hand to Jack.

"For five years, I have tried every means I can think of to find her whereabouts, but she seems to have evaporated. I had a car accident two years ago, and the doctor suspected it might be suicide. During that time, did I ever think about suicide? However, I always believed that Amy was still alive and I would be able to find her."

"Yes, I also believe she must be alive. You will find her."

Jack put on the necklace again and stared at the charcoal fire without speaking.

"At least you're better than me. You still have Amy in this world; all I have left is myself."

"No, boy! You have a family!" Jack grabbed Charlie's collar. "Remember, you have a mother, and Jenny is your mother, your biological mother. There's nothing worth risking her death to save one. People, except you, do you understand!" Jack let go, and Charlie sat heavily on the ground.

"Okay, okay! Even if it's true, I think I need time to take it in. It also takes time to get to know each other with her. That's right!"

Charlie crossed his legs and sat down again. He hugged his shoulders, tilted his head to look at the shadow shaking on the ceiling, and muttered while thinking in his heart. "However, is she in danger now? Should we come up with a plan to save her? By the way, you said that Jenny disappeared 30 years ago. Will it be the same person who took her away this time? Maybe it's because she knew a secret."

"That's not what you should think about."

Jack exhaled a long breath, "Not long ago, I made an accidental discovery. It was a file of missing persons in Gotham City for nearly 30 years that I obtained at a great price. Most of these missing objects seem to have a potential law."

"What's the rule?" Charlie leaned forward and listened with wide eyes.

At this moment, there was a sound of knocking cans from outside the house. It was a little mechanism designed by Jack. A long, indistinguishable long line is pulled up at both ends of the railing of the wooden steps. One end of the long line is tied to a string of cans. Once the long line is pulled a little, it will immediately make a series of noises.

Jack grabbed the shotgun that set aside, blew out the candle, and kicked the charcoal over with one kick. Charlie quickly loaded his gun while stepping on the still, slightly bright coals with his foot. This time, he was more experienced, and his movements were smooth and smooth.

Jack patted Charlie's arm, motioned him to stay where he was, and walked to the window himself. Charlie suppressed his breathing and blinked hard, trying to adjust quickly to the darkness. He couldn't help thinking, is it the blowing of the night wind outside the house, the homeless who returned late at night, the so-called people who came to join? Or a visit from a group of uninvited guests?