Ch.184Careless Whisper! (2)

#184

“Some people know, and some don’t.”

When Dexter, who had just gotten off work, showed Emily the note, she immediately answered after seeing the four names.

“How many do you know?”

“Two of them. One is known as a big shot in this industry, and the other is a fence.”

“Have you contacted them or heard from them recently?”

“This fence is still in contact, but the big shot, well…”

“You’re still in touch with criminals?”

“Can’t let my skills get rusty, you know.”

“I thought you said you’d get my permission before stealing?”

“Will you let me?”

“Son of a…”

Dexter frowned, having expected Emily to do as she pleased, but never dreaming she was already back to stealing.

“Let’s go see the fence then.”

“Is this Caransa’s order?”

“Not an order, a request.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Whether I do it of my own will or not.”

“Ah. Dexter always cared about that sort of thing.”

“Why does your way of speaking sound so strange?”

“All men are like that, aren’t you?”

Dexter glared at Emily briefly, then pointed to the fence’s name and said:

“When can we contact him?”

“We could do it now. He’s naturally nocturnal.”

Since Jesse and Himena would be back soon, Dexter glanced at his wristwatch and then said to Emily:

“How about going after dinner?”

“Sounds good. Jesse said he’d make pork chops today anyway.”

Just as Emily said, Jesse started preparing pork chops as soon as he returned, along with apple pie that Himena had brought for dessert.

After hearing Dexter’s plan to find information on George Hayward, Jesse and Himena nodded and each added a comment.

“Caransa… I’ve certainly heard she knows all kinds of people.”

“Even inmates from Block 2?”

“She was notorious. Not because she mistreated other inmates, but I heard she did a lot of threatening. I’ve actually seen those threats carried out.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“There are always fearless people like me in Block 2, and there are stories about someone who cursed at Caransa during exercise time and ended up spending the rest of their life in the hospital after release.”

“Hmm, couldn’t that just be coincidence?”

“When coincidences accumulate, they become inevitable, don’t they?”

It seemed there were dozens of such cases, not just a few.

Jesse, placing pork chops on the plates, shook his head and said:

“She’s a dangerous woman. She hadn’t been in that prison long, but she completely conquered Block 4 and had the guards eating out of her hand. Dexter, you know she’s much more dangerous than that dimwit arsonist Turner, right?”

“I don’t have a choice. If I want to find someone who disappeared 40 years ago, I need to talk to whoever I can.”

“That woman makes me uneasy. Hasn’t she already set her sights on Dexter?”

“According to Judy, she already did. Dexter kicked her away first.”

“I told you she’s sharp! She’s trying to grab Dexter at the first opportunity.”

As Jesse and Himena grumbled, Dexter pointed at the pork chop with his fork and said:

“I’ll eat this and then go out with Emily for a while.”

“Why?”

“Caransa asked for help regaining some of her influence if she’s going to help me. She wants me to find out why some criminals aren’t answering her calls.”

“I don’t like you getting friendly with that woman.”

“Me neither. Why would someone like her be with you?”

“Right.”

Dexter visibly showed his displeasure at their reactions and said:

“Do I look like that kind of thoughtless guy to you?”

“Don’t you think it’s already a problem that there are three women here with you?”

“Ah, you’ve left me speechless again.”

“Didn’t Judy say she was busy today?”

“That, and she’s a bit upset with me.”

Since Himena’s real profession, as well as Dexter’s past and current work, were being kept secret, Judy had declared she’d rather be alone until Dexter properly explained things.

“Judy’s got quite a personality.”

“People like Judy are incredibly stubborn. It’s actually people like Jesse who get hurt easily.”

“I get hurt easily?”

“The other day when Dexter said he was spending time with Judy, you were sniffling in bed wearing the clothes Dexter had worn.”

“You did that?”

“No! Why would I do something like that?”

“In the morning when Dexter asked why your eyes were so puffy, you said it was because you ate instant ramen at night…”

“Jesse…”

At Emily’s vivid testimony, Dexter looked at Jesse with pity, which made Jesse burst out in anger.

“I told you I didn’t! Emily, I’m confiscating your pork chop!”

As Jesse took away the plate of pork chops in front of Emily, she stared forlornly at her departing meal with fork and knife in hand.

“Ah.”

“Say I didn’t cry, quick!”

“But you told me not to lie.”

“What thief doesn’t lie!”

“Fine, Jesse didn’t cry. Her eyes were puffy because she ate too much instant ramen the night before.”

As soon as those words left Emily’s mouth, Jesse returned her plate and said to Dexter:

“I really didn’t cry.”

Fearing Jesse might take his plate too, Dexter simply nodded without saying a word.

Despite the small commotion, dinner was satisfying.

After devouring the apple pie for dessert, Emily took out her phone and sent a text message somewhere, and soon received a reply.

“10 PM at the RV parking lot in Red Rock Canyon. He definitely seems to be having some kind of personal issue.”

“Why?”

“We usually met on the Strip. It’s crowded there, making it harder to track someone.”

If someone who always met in crowded places suddenly chose a secluded location, they were likely afraid of something.

When Dexter nodded, Emily stared at him intently.

Since this was unusual behavior for Emily, Dexter chuckled and asked:

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I’m wondering if Dexter can keep a secret.”

Emily stared at Dexter’s face for a few minutes, then slightly raised the corner of her mouth and said:

“Alright. Let’s go to the place I’m talking about.”

“Where is that?”

“My garage.”

* * *

The place Emily entered into the navigation was an unnamed mountain range near Red Rock Canyon.

“You have a garage in a place like this?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Eventually, she guided them onto an unpaved dirt road, and they finally arrived at a location with a dried-up ravine surrounded by old, rusty iron fences and what looked like a military outpost.

“Please stop here for a moment.”

Emily unlocked the rusty chain on the iron gate, opened it, and gestured for Dexter to come in.

“Come in.”

As Dexter entered the fence, he saw a concrete bunker that looked decades old.

“Is this an abandoned military base?”

“Yes. But it’s my property now.”

“Your property? This military base?”

“Technically, I bought it under an alias. My grandmother gave it to me as a gift.”

“A grandmother who gives abandoned military bases as gifts.”

No matter how famous she was as a master thief, it was hard to imagine a grandmother who would gift a military base.

Following Emily’s guidance, Dexter parked in front of the bunker and immediately got out, shining his phone’s flashlight inside.

The inside of the bunker was so deep and dark that the flashlight couldn’t illuminate its end.

“But you call this a garage?”

“It’s where I store cars, so it’s a garage.”

Thinking that Emily must be the only person in the world with such a garage, Dexter continued inside, shining his flashlight around.

The two stopped at a place lined with endless sliding metal doors.

Dexter guessed it was a warehouse for storing military vehicles or various items.

“Shine your flashlight here, please.”

Emily pointed to a button keypad next to one of the metal doors.

After entering several numbers and swiping a card she took from her pocket through a reader next to the keypad, there was a cheerful electronic sound, and the door’s lock disengaged.

Emily immediately placed both hands on the metal door and pushed hard to open it.

The door must have been well-maintained, as there was no sharp metallic sound, only the sound of small wheels connected to the door rolling.

“Ugh.”

Dexter winced at the strong light shining from the ceiling inside as soon as the door opened.

“What could possibly be in this garage… Whoa.”

Before Dexter’s eyes stood a sleek blue 1960s muscle car.

“That’s a Plymouth Barracuda, isn’t it? Jesse would go crazy if he saw this.”

“I’ve kept it here because I’m sure Jesse would definitely try to take it if he saw it.”

Dexter was about to object to such a ridiculous statement but then nodded, thinking Jesse would indeed be capable of that.

“The fence would be suspicious if I showed up in a pickup truck. I’ll drive, and you take the passenger seat.”

“Can I drive it later?”

“You can drive it when we come back here after we’re done.”

With the Plymouth Barracuda’s powerful exhaust note, the two headed to the meeting place in Red Rock Canyon.

Dexter had thought Emily’s driving skills would be poor given how often she seemed spaced out, but then he realized a thief who specialized in stealing cars couldn’t possibly be a bad driver.

Thanks to Emily’s smooth and gentle driving, Dexter almost dozed off.

“We’re almost at the meeting place.”

In the RV parking lot, where there was no light except the moonlight above, only one other car was parked.

“Is that him?”

“Probably.”

Dexter remained in the car while Emily got out and approached the parked vehicle.

Dexter watched Emily tensely, ready to jump out at any moment in case something happened.

“Decker.”

“Hey, Emily! I heard you went to prison, but you’re out already?”

The fence, Decker, was a white man who looked like a drug addict—the kind you could see anywhere.

Emily had met him through her grandmother Bonnie’s recommendation when she was first starting out as a high-end car thief under the alias “Old Folks,” and they had maintained an easy relationship ever since.

“I had a good lawyer.”

Emily slightly bowed her head and tapped the ground with her foot as she spoke.

“I’ve been asking around, and there’s a rumor that people can’t get in touch with you these days.”

Emily said in her usual emotionless voice.

When others wanted to meet Decker, they typically didn’t contact him through personal channels but through secret intermediaries.

Emily, who contacted Decker when she needed to dispose of unnecessary or already acquired cars, was like a major shareholder to him and one of the few people who knew his personal contact information.

Decker didn’t deny Emily’s statement and nodded:

“I guess you wouldn’t know since you just got out of prison. The overall atmosphere isn’t good these days.”

“Why not?”

“Recently, a gang from another region has appeared on the Strip, and they’re violently absorbing members from other gangs. Most of the riffraff have joined that organization, and cautious guys like me are lying low, watching our backs.”

Judging by Decker’s obvious distaste, he clearly wasn’t on their side.

Emily’s expression remained unchanged, but her mind was busy calculating how to solve this problem.

Dexter, who had been listening to the two, quickly caught on.

‘A gang from another region?’

Thinking this was a significant clue, Dexter got out of the car and said:

“I’d like to hear about that too.”