Josie’s eyes sparkled mischievously as she half-smiled. “I’m not upset,” she said, glancing at the clothes. “Do you know who’s really upset?”
Dexter remained surprisingly calm. “You used to be quite similar to her.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Josie became anxious. “Don’t compare me to her. It’s bad luck.”
He chuckled softly, gently lifting her chin. “I once said she doesn’t think as much as you do, and that still holds true.”
Josie brushed his hand aside and sat down to have breakfast. “Scott wants me to go to the police station to give a new statement.”
“He didn’t inform me.”
“Why should he? I am the primary person involved, after all.”
“I’ll ask Moses to accompany you.”
Josie accepted without protest. She didn’t turn around, nor did she notice the gaze Dexter fixed upon her. She simply left promptly.
Upon arriving at Russell Group, Larry approached and reported, “Matthew has booked the earliest flight to Japrium.”
Dexter raised an eyebrow.
“Someone is already taking care of it,” Larry continued. “And someone is keeping an eye on Ms. Olsen. After you left last night, she had an argument with Claudia.”
“For what reason?”
“It seems to be about a dog,” Larry recalled. “Ms. Olsen is afraid of dogs, and there happens to be one in Olsen Residence. She wanted someone to remove it, but Claudia stopped her.”
Ah, so that’s the cause.
The servant didn’t dare make a decision on his own, so he sent for Claudia. She hurried over and found Heather clutching an iron rod. Tearfully, she said, “Mother, I’m really scared of dogs now. Please take it away. It barks every day, and I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”
The servant responsible for the chili plants found it hard to believe. Given the vastness of Olsen Residence, Heather’s room was far from there. How could she possibly hear a dog barking?
Claudia’s gentle face also appeared somewhat gloomy. “Leanne, has something been bothering you?”
“No, it’s not… I hate it. Mother, I really hate it!”
Claudia patted her on the back. After a moment, she said, “I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”
“Mother! Do you love me?” Heather’s anxiety and anger intensified. “I want you to deal with it now. I want it dead!”
The sudden outburst of these words shocked Claudia. She had been practicing asceticism for many years, never taking a life. Upon hearing this, she tightly gripped Heather’s wrist. “Calm down!”
Heather cried until she was completely drained.
“Is the dog’s name Pepper?” Dexter seemed to recall something as his brows furrowed deeply.
“Yes.”
Doubts began to arise within him, so he commanded, “Keep an eye on Claudia. We must save that dog at all costs.”
“Yes, but Claudia is religious. She probably wouldn’t kill…”
“No matter how she handles it, this dog must stay in Wavery!” Dexter interrupted.
Larry immediately went to take care of it.
Under the autumn sun by the floor-to-ceiling window, Dexter’s expression appeared complex. After a while, he suddenly asked,
“Larry, do you believe in fate?”
“Fate…” Larry hesitated before responding, “I only believe in human effort.”
“Everything depends on human effort,” Dexter pondered over these words, then asked crisply, “Has Josie left yet?”
“Moses, your driving skills have improved tremendously,” Josie said from the passenger seat, holding a bottle of drink. “When I first met you, you weren’t as steady as you are now.”
Moses found it hard to sit still. “Josie… just say what you want to tell me.”
With a smile, Josie suddenly unbuckled her seatbelt and splashed the drink in her hand directly into Moses’ eyes. The drink was spiked with chili powder, causing such a stinging pain that Moses couldn’t open his eyes.
“Holy crap!”
“My apologies.” Taking advantage of his momentary loss of control, Josie quickly reached out to spin the steering wheel and hit the brakes. She then jumped out of the car and swiftly got into another one that had been waiting by the roadside for a while, and sped away.
