Ch.172Big Gun! (5)

#172

A little while after hearing Judy’s answer.

“Should we find a new place to live?”

“Emily, are you rich?”

“Oh, don’t worry about money. Himena has plenty of it.”

“Why Himena? Didn’t you say she was an FBI agent?”

“No, why is the conversation drifting to my money again?”

“Even though I joined most recently, I should ask what Dexter thinks about this.”

At Judy’s words, Dexter, who had been sitting with his arms crossed and a bored expression like the three women, slowly blinked his eyes.

“Finally looking my way, I see.”

“What?”

“I was watching to see how far you’d go, chatting away so happily while ignoring me.”

Judy didn’t understand what he meant, but the three women were used to Dexter’s behavior and took it in stride.

At times like this, when Dexter wasn’t the subject or initiator of the conversation, he tended to act more like an observer than an active participant.

While Jessie and Himena didn’t openly criticize Dexter in harsh terms, even if they did, he would sometimes just sit quietly and listen.

“Does he always stay quiet like this?”

“He said when your girlfriend or wife is talking, you should just stay quiet.”

“Who said that?”

“Dan, a senior corrections officer. My senior.”

“Officer Dan says things like that?”

“Well, guys talk about these things sometimes when it’s just men.”

With those words, Dexter carefully examined Judy’s expression.

Unlike before, it was a clean, friendly smile without any trace of resentment.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Since this was his usual demeanor, Dexter responded with a light smile without any suspicion, but Judy’s reaction was different.

“No, I’m not.”

Judy said, narrowing her brows intensely.

“I haven’t forgiven Dexter. I’ve given up.”

“Forgiven?”

“How could you not tell us about something so important yourself?”

Dexter couldn’t say anything in response to Judy’s measured words, and the other three nodded in agreement.

“That’s right.”

“She’s not wrong.”

“Come to think of it, that’s true.”

“Hey, you guys are the ones who did this. You. I can understand Judy, but why are you all agreeing with her?”

Dexter was dumbfounded by the three women chiming in with Judy’s words.

“I don’t know if you’re all finally united and feeling high about it, but let’s all calm down first. You too, Judy. It’s obvious that rumors would spread about a house with four women and one man, so do we really need to make such a decision?”

Since Dexter’s point was valid, the three women except Judy nodded.

However, Judy was the only one who didn’t agree with his words.

“So, Dexter, you want to maintain the status quo?”

“I’m saying everyone’s thinking too hastily. Let’s all calm down first and think about it slowly, taking our time.”

As Dexter said this and took Judy’s hand, she tried to pull away.

“Is this how it’s going to be?”

“…I haven’t forgiven you.”

When Judy glared at Dexter with wide eyes, he slightly turned his head away.

He understood she was angry, but it really didn’t suit Judy.

“…?”

“Kuk, kukuk, kuk…”

When Dexter suddenly started shaking his body and pressing his lips tightly together, Judy looked at him with a mix of confusion and anger.

“Why, why are you laughing? I told you I’m angry!”

“You look like, kuk, an angry hamster.”

“A hamster?!”

But the laughter wasn’t coming just from in front of her.

“Kikikik, kik.”

“Hup, don’t, laugh. You might, huup, slip.”

When Jessie and Himena among the three women started laughing, Judy’s expression changed again.

This time it was mixed with indignation and anger.

“First you include me, and now you’re making fun of me?”

“There are no permanent allies or enemies here. You just bite whatever you see.”

At Emily’s emotionless words, Judy exclaimed in disbelief.

“What is this, the Savannah?!”

“She’s not wrong. But this is our daily life.”

“Ah, owww. I’m getting dizzy… What is this?! Where in the world does a relationship like this exist? Just a moment ago, we were talking about stopping women from approaching Dexter!”

“At that time, we were allies.”

“I, I need to take a break. This is, no matter how I look at it, not right…”

As Himena led Judy toward the bedroom, Jessie stared at Dexter and said:

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Satisfied with what? You said you’d handle it yourselves, but you’ve practically made someone faint.”

“It’s because Judy is too nice. If she had my temperament, she would have flipped over half the furniture in here.”

“That’s a boast, definitely a boast. But did you and Himena negotiate well… or did you actually fight each other?”

“We didn’t fight. What do you take me for, Dex?”

“Then that’s good. I hate seeing you fight over me.”

“I thought men liked that sort of thing.”

“After living with fighting for 15 years, what’s good about it?”

Dexter went to the kitchen and, seeing half-prepared food and ingredients in the refrigerator, said:

“Were you planning to cook right after Judy calmed down?”

“That’s right, but the way you say it sounds like you’re talking about ‘cooking’ Judy.”

“That kind of ‘cooking’ is what you all do.”

Dexter chuckled and pointed to the bedroom door.

“Himena is probably working hard to soothe her, so we should do what we can.”

“Hmm, you’re not wrong. Emily, could you remove the plastic wrap from the plates?”

“Sure.”

Jessie cut a piece of butter and placed it on the heated frying pan to melt.

The rich aroma of premium butter, more expensive than usual, spread throughout the house.

* * *

“Oh my, what brings you here?”

Dexter frowned at the already trembling voice.

“Shut up and just answer my questions.”

Dexter, who had entered Singleton’s detective agency, was wearing clothes he rarely wore.

“You, you look like a lumberjack.”

“I told you to be quiet.”

As soon as Singleton saw Dexter in a red checkered shirt, dark jeans, and suspenders, he made a comment.

“I dressed like this on purpose, so shut up.”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Paul Bunyan.”

“This bastard, really.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll be quiet.”

In some countries, they say provoking assault is also a crime, and Dexter wanted to apply that crime to Singleton.

“Has the guy who ordered you to tail me arrived?”

“He, he said he’d come before lunch time…”

At Singleton’s hesitant words, Dexter glanced at his wristwatch.

Dexter had arrived at 9 o’clock sharp, so the man would probably come a bit later.

‘Usually when someone says they’ll come before lunch, they come around that time.’

He needed a place to hide and wait.

“Is there somewhere I can hide?”

As Dexter looked around, he saw that the office was extremely messy for a working place.

It seemed so cluttered and dirty that even if he were to lie down and roll around on the floor, no one would notice anything unusual.

“Um, there’s an unused storage room over there.”

“Isn’t this whole place a storage room?”

“Hey, it’s still my office. Hehe.”

“Don’t laugh, I might get attached.”

“Ah, yes.”

Singleton looked dejected, but Dexter didn’t care.

When Dexter went to the storage room Singleton had pointed to, he saw a pile of boxes covered in dust blocking the door.

“Are you kidding me? If you’re not going to put them in the storage room, why pile up all these cardboard boxes?”

“I, I’ve been meaning to clean up, but I forget every day…”

“That’s something to be proud of.”

Dexter stared at the cardboard boxes for a moment, then instead of moving them aside, he began using them to create a small space.

“What are you doing with those boxes…?”

“I’m making a space to hide, so keep people away from this area. If you signal or whisper, I’ll throw a box at your head.”

The boxes were filled with documents that hadn’t been used for years, and despite being paper, they were heavy enough that even an adult man couldn’t easily lift them when boxed together.

Singleton slowly looked at Dexter’s arm muscles as he lifted the document-filled boxes as if they were empty.

Seeing the thickness comparable to an average man’s thigh, Singleton nodded vigorously.

“Ah, understood.”

Dexter entered the space he had created with the boxes, and Singleton sat at his desk waiting anxiously.

Just as Dexter was about to drift into morning sleep from boredom, the bell on the door jingled.

“Ah, I’ve been waiting for you! Please come in!”

“…You’re sweating profusely.”

“Well, Nevada is hot, isn’t it? Hahaha.”

‘He’s here.’

It was a male voice Dexter had never heard before.

He had thought it would be someone he knew well, or at least someone he had encountered a few times, but it was a completely unfamiliar man’s voice.

Therefore, all Dexter did was peek through the gaps between the boxes to get a glimpse of the man in front of Singleton.

“How is the investigation going?”

“Well, about that. Um. As it happens, I think he might have noticed, so if you could give me a little more time…”

“You’re stuttering badly.”

After saying that, the man began walking somewhere, and Dexter carefully observed him through the gap in the boxes.

It was an outfit that would never be acceptable in Nevada, regardless of other states.

‘A gray long coat, sunglasses, and even a fedora in this weather? What is he, Inspector Gadget?’

Seeing a man in such blatantly suspicious attire for the first time, Dexter didn’t immediately confront him but observed him carefully.

Suddenly, he felt something off about the man.

Dexter could immediately identify where that sense of discomfort was coming from.

“How disappointing.”

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

“I’ll give you another week. Make sure you can confirm it clearly.”

With those words, the man pulled out a thick wad of cash from inside his coat and tossed it to Singleton.

“Th-thank you! I’ll, I’ll work hard!”

“One week later, at this time, I’ll be back.”

The man left the office, and even after confirming he was definitely gone, Dexter didn’t come out from behind the boxes for a while.

“Um, he’s gone now.”

“Shh.”

Only after another five minutes did Dexter emerge.

Singleton, not understanding why Dexter had been so slow to come out, looked suspicious.

As dust covered various parts of his body, Dexter brushed it off while saying:

“Was that man also the one who gave you the first assignment?”

“Ahem, yes, that’s right. But if you dust yourself off here, you might get asthma.”

“Anyone would get asthma after spending five minutes here. Are you sure about that man?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“And you didn’t feel anything strange about him?”

“Strange? Like what?”

‘Was it just me?’

Despite the weather soon approaching 40 degrees Celsius, the man wore a long coat without sweating a single drop.

‘And his body never moved when he spoke.’

When breathing, one’s chest or stomach should rise and fall, or at least the shoulders should move, but he didn’t.

‘His mouth moved, but his body remained unnaturally still.’

For Dexter, who could sense even the slightest presence, this man was very suspicious.

‘Was he even a man to begin with?’

He wasn’t sure if you could assign gender to inanimate objects, but “that man” wasn’t human.

Just like the Subtrons wandering around OSA headquarters, he didn’t emit any life force or the distinctive presence that living beings give off.

‘Who the hell is bold enough to hire an android to tail me?’

Dexter put his hands in his pockets and thought for a moment, then looked at Singleton, who still seemed clueless, and said:

“Make up some schedule. Say I go to work at the prison in the morning and spend evenings with my girlfriend after work.”

“Is, is that okay?”

“Why not? I live such a boring life anyway. They’ve probably already gathered some information while tailing me, right?”

“Well, it seems you meet with a Latina woman, and also a short woman, are both of them your girlfriends…?”

“Don’t pry into my private life, just write something appropriate. I’ll let you know in advance if I’m going somewhere else, so just note that down.”

“Yes, yes…”

As Dexter was about to leave, he grabbed the doorknob of the detective agency, turned his head back, and said:

“And if you want to get more work, clean up this office. Even a homeless person would live cleaner than this. Who would want to hire you when they see this mess?”

“I’ll, I’ll clean it…”

As soon as Dexter left, Singleton muttered:

“Who does he think he is, my boss? Acting like he knows how to be a good detective. So damn nagging.”

Just as Singleton uttered those words, a loud voice came from outside the door.

“I can hear you, you bastard!”

‘Geez, he has sharp ears too.’

Singleton, who now had no choice but to lie about Dexter’s schedule, complained only in his thoughts, not daring to speak aloud.

While Singleton was Singleton, Dexter needed to find out where that android was going.

‘With such a distinctive appearance, it should be easy to track.’

Dexter left the building where the detective agency was located and looked around, sensing the faint lingering scent of men’s cologne.

‘Where is he? Where could he be?’