Investigation (2)

Based on the plan I drafted to find out the truth, I had to go back to the place where we encountered Sarah for the first time and search for the man who bothered her that day. After finding him, I’m to follow him without being noticed by him to his hideout and try gathering some information while I’m there as discreetly as possible. Lucas’s job in the meantime would be to buy me time by helping out at the restaurant as my alibi. The plan looked swift but it contained great risks. If I were to be discovered, things would inevitably take a drastic turn for the worse.

“ Good luck, Jennifer! Be careful!” Lucas exclaimed in an anxious tone.

“ Don’t worry! I’ll be perfectly fine”. I waved my goodbye to Lucas and headed off.

( Good luck, Jennifer! I’ll be waiting for you at the restaurant).

Lucas heads off to the Esperanza Restaurant a few seconds later after Jennifer had left the place.

Jennifer arrived at the place where they had encountered Sarah for the first time and waited patiently for the man to show up in a nearby cafe.

“ What can I get you, Miss?” The server came to my table, ready to take my order.

( Order! I’m not here to order something but if I don’t order anything, I might be driven out of here).

“ I’ll be having coffee, please!” After glancing at the menu, she chose to order coffee.

“ Coming right up!” The server took note and left.

Five minutes later, the server brought my order to the table. As I didn’t require anything else, he excused himself and left.

I had a sip of the coffee I ordered and it was to my liking. Just as I was enjoying my delicious coffee, a man entered the cafe and I recognized him right away. He was the man I was searching for, the same man who had harassed Sarah that day.

( I finally found you at last! The first step has been a success).

At the Esperanza Restaurant, Mrs. Evangelina was serving up the customers when Lucas appeared at last before them.

“ There you are, Lucas! We were wondering when you were going to show up”. Sarah looked around but didn’t see Jennifer near him.

“ Sorry for the wait!” He apologized for being late.

“ By the way, why isn’t Jennifer with you? Weren’t you supposed to arrive together?” Inquired Sarah in an assertive tone.

“ Something came up on our way here!” Said Lucas.

“ What kind of thing?” Mrs. Evangelina inquired assertively.

“ Jennifer went to investigate the nearby restaurants. She wanted to discover the reason for the sales dropping out suddenly and the clients declining in number”. Lucas fabricated a made-up story on the spot.

“ Why do that for us? This doesn’t concern her in the slightest”. Mrs. Evangelina had a hard time believing the story Lucas had just narrated.

“ I know you don’t believe me, Mrs. Evangelina. I can see it in your gaze. This doesn’t concern them, so why bother helping out? That is what your gaze is saying, isn’t it? Am I right, Mrs. Evangelina?” He asked as naturally as possible.

…

“ We’re merely travelers on a journey to find answers to our numerous questions. We happened to stop by your village to rest before continuing our journey. By coincidence, we learned of your financial situation and decided to help you out as compensation for letting us lodge in your house for free. Is that so wrong?”

…

“ If we’re a nuisance to you whatsoever, we can leave right away. The last thing we want is to make you feel uncomfortable due to our presence here”. He added further.

…

“ Get ready to work! We have clients waiting to be served”. Mrs. Evangelina turned around and left to tend to other clients.

( I’ve done my part here. How are things going on your end?)

Back at the cafe, the man heads towards the exit after finishing his meal. Jennifer paid for the coffee she ordered in a hurry and exited the cafe.

Outside the cafe, the man walked forward, and Jennifer followed him meticulously without being spotted. After stopping for a while, the man stopped. Near the place he had stopped was an abandoned house. The man headed inside the house.

( I should head inside too).

That was Jennifer’s first thought but she realized doing so would put her plan in jeopardy, so she thought of another option with less risk.

( I should stay outside. That’s much safer. Fortunately, I thought of buying a pair of binoculars in case such a situation occurred).

Jennifer stood by the window outside and used the pair of binoculars she had bought to scrutinize inside. What she saw inside the binoculars stunned her to the core.

“ Mister, please release me! I want to go home”. A young boy was pleading with the man to set him free.

The boy got nothing but a slap in the face which resulted in him screaming in pain.

( What’s this kid doing in a place like this? Where are his parents?)

Jennifer was wondering about that question in her mind when she got the answer to her interrogations.

“ Unless your sister pays what she owes me, you’re not getting out of here”. Said the man sarcastically.

( Sister! Is he here because of his sister?)

The man left, heading into another room of the house. Jennifer continued scrutinizing him with her binoculars.

“ Sarah, will you give in already and be mine? After all, there’s no way for you to find 100,000 Yuan just like that. I took all the necessary precautions so you would never gather that amount of money. You’ll be mine sooner or later, Sarah! You don’t have any other alternatives if you wish to save your brother”. He opened a bottle of beer to drink.

( That kid is Sarah’s younger brother and he’s been kept captive because of 100,000 Yuan! Did she borrow that amount of money from him? If so, what did she need that much money for? Also, what did he mean when he said he took all the precautions? Could it be-----------?)

Jennifer thought it over in her subconscious mind. She reminisced about what Sarah told them about the Esperanza Restaurant losing its clients and of the sales dropping suddenly.

( Is he behind their restaurant’s miserable state? The restaurant that opened recently, does he have anything to do with it?)

Jennifer was so angry when she came to realize everything had been nothing but a sham. Out of anger, the binoculars fell to the ground, making a sound that alerted the sneaky man.

“ What was that sound?” The man headed outside to check the provenance of the sound.

The man looked around the horizon but didn’t find a soul. He heads back inside not finding anything suspicious.

Jennifer was on her way back to the restaurant. All the way, she thought of everything she had learned in such a short time.

( Poor kid! He’s suffering so much because of that cunning man. Don’t worry, kid! I’m going to get you out of your captivity soon).

Instead of heading to the Esperanza Restaurant as it was previously planned, Jennifer heads back to Sarah’s household. Given that Mrs. Evangelina gave her a spare key, it was easy for her to get inside. After entering the house, Jennifer headed to her room and lay flat on the bed.

A few hours later, Lucas, Mrs. Evangelina, and Sarah arrived home. Upon returning home, they noticed Jennifer’s shoes.

( Jennifer got home just like that! Why didn’t she come to the restaurant as we planned? Did something happen while she was investigating?)

“ Jennifer got home before us”. They entered the house and closed the door afterward.

As they already had their fill at the restaurant, they didn’t eat anything more and headed straight to bed.

The following morning, Jennifer was accustomed to a question she didn’t see coming.

“ Hello, everyone!” Jennifer put up a grand grin to make it look as if everything was fine.

“ Good morning to you too, Jennifer!” Sarah said in return.

“ By the way, how were your investigations? Have they gone smoothly?” Mrs. Evangelina’s question surprised Jennifer and the latter didn’t know what to say.

( Investigations! What investigations is Mrs. Evangelina referring to? Lucas couldn’t have possibly told them about what we planned yesterday, so what investigations is she referring to?)

...