Ch.200Another Brick in the Wall! (3)

#200

When I visited George Hayward’s villa, I had somewhat expected it.

But when several pieces of indirect evidence came together, they became as good as direct proof.

The shock that hit Dexter lasted a long time.

Himena was so worried about Dexter’s dazed state that she even brought her private aircraft to transport him to Las Vegas.

After somehow moving Dexter to his house in Honeygood Springs and laying him in bed, the four women left the room where Dexter was trying to sleep with his eyes closed.

“We can’t just leave him like this, right? He’s always so bright—what should we do?”

Judy, who had never seen Dexter look so lifeless before, stomped her feet anxiously.

“I’ve never seen Dex like this either… Was it really that shocking?”

“Of course it’s shocking! Finding out that a famous person who publicly had no children—and who was also a prime victim of what you do for a living—is actually your great-grandfather? I’d be shocked too.”

As Himena spoke with a pitying look, Judy nodded in agreement.

“But we can’t just leave him like that. Isn’t there something we can do to help?”

Emily, who had her back turned to the others with her chin resting on the sofa backrest, stared at the wall as she spoke.

“We could help with Dexter’s work.”

“Help with his work?”

“Tomorrow is Dexter’s day off, so we don’t need to worry about the prison. I don’t know much about solving cases, but Dexter said it’s related to the Galactic Union, right?”

“Y-yes?”

All three were focused on Emily’s words, but she continued speaking with her chin still resting on the sofa backrest, her bottom sticking out.

“Jessie could try contacting Ms. Eliya, and Himena could talk to the OSA agents. Maybe something will come up? Judy and I can talk to Caransa’s organization members.”

“Um, Emily? I have to talk to Caransa?”

“Yes.”

At Emily’s firm answer, Judy made a troubled face.

“Talking to that woman makes me feel like I’m drowning…”

Jessie was about to say something about how that didn’t make sense, but considering it was Caransa, she thought it might be possible and added:

“Well, Caransa is a bit of a tough bitch, isn’t she? Emily, you must have heard the rumors too.”

In response to Jessie’s words, Emily wiggled her bottom instead of shaking her head.

Annoyed by this ridiculous behavior, Jessie smacked Emily’s bottom with a loud slap.

“Seriously?”

“Ow… Don’t hit so hard.”

“Then speak properly!”

As Jessie fumed, Emily adjusted her posture and looked into Judy’s large eyes.

“…I’d have to go through several people to talk to Caransa. Wouldn’t it be faster if Judy went to her directly?”

There was nothing wrong with Emily’s reasoning.

In the end, Judy was the only one who could speak to Caransa in prison without issues.

“Will I be able to talk to her properly…?”

Judy showed a worried look, as she somehow felt it would be difficult to speak when standing before Caransa. Emily stared at her with her usual expressionless face and said:

“It’s for Dexter, right?”

“Ah, yes… that’s right, for Dexter…”

While Emily’s expression seemed cold, as if suggesting it didn’t matter whether it was for Dexter or not, her voice was not light.

After hearing Emily’s words, Judy’s gaze fell on the closed bedroom door.

“I’ll… try my best. Yes.”

As Judy nodded with determination, Jessie, who was beside her, grabbed both her cheeks and pulled them.

“You’re as cute as Aisha, really.”

“…I’m still older than you, you know?”

“Can someone older be this cute?”

“Stop it, really!”

Judy frowned but didn’t push Jessie’s hands away.

After Dexter, Himena knew the most about this case.

‘I think we’ve been relying too much on just Dexter and Eliya.’

The Pluto incident was supposedly Eliya sending refugees there for her revenge, but beyond that, Dexter wasn’t just dipping his toes in this case—he was fully immersed in it.

Without Dexter, the investigation would essentially come to a halt.

‘This isn’t right. We’re depending on him too much.’

As Emily suggested, they needed to expand the effort rather than letting Dexter work alone.

The four women looked at each other, resolving to help one man.

The next day, when Dexter woke up having somewhat recovered his mental strength, he was confused to find Jessie not lying beside him in bed.

Yesterday’s events had been so shocking that he couldn’t even remember how he’d gotten back to Las Vegas, only vaguely recalling the four women putting him to bed.

When Dexter came out of the bedroom, he confirmed that no one was there, took cereal and milk from the refrigerator, and thought while eating his cereal.

‘Maybe I worried them too much yesterday.’

Indeed, someone who had been constantly on the move since they met suddenly acting like he was broken down and doing nothing would naturally cause concern.

‘But where did everyone really go?’

While Himena and Judy had their own homes, it was strange that Jessie, who had no connections in Las Vegas, and Emily, who rarely went outside without a specific reason, were both gone.

The feeling of eating breakfast with the lights barely on in an empty house was indescribably odd.

Focusing first on regaining his composure, Dexter changed into workout clothes as usual and went outside for his early morning exercise.

Judging by the eastern mountain range’s sky gradually turning orange, the sun was slowly rising.

Without a word, Dexter grabbed his phone and wallet and went outside, starting a light 9-mile run.

He usually didn’t bother taking his phone, but he brought it in case the women called.

After spending time alone until the sun was high in the sky, the first person to return to Dexter was Emily.

However, Emily was not in a normal state.

“Where have you been… Why are your clothes like that?”

“Ugh… I’ll tell you later… See you in the evening…”

Emily, wearing heavy makeup and clothes so thin they were nearly transparent, quickly wiped off her makeup and went straight to her room to sleep.

Dexter, not understanding why Emily was covering herself with blankets up to her head, was about to call Jessie.

“Whew, it’s hot… Oh, Dexter! You’re up?”

As Dexter was about to make the call, Judy opened the front door, beads of sweat on her forehead.

Dexter was surprised to see Judy, who usually wore flowing clothes as casual wear, dressed in an ill-fitting short leather jacket and tight jeans.

“What’s with everyone’s strange outfits today?”

“I had to meet with some of Caransa’s cartel members today. I dressed like this on purpose so I wouldn’t look intimidated in my usual clothes.”

Dexter frowned, not understanding Judy’s explanation.

“Why is Judy meeting with cartel members?”

“For you, of course! You’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately.”

“I’m not tired because of the nanobots.”

“That’s true for me too. But while nanobots take care of physical fatigue, they don’t help with mental exhaustion.”

Judy sat on the sofa and beckoned Dexter over as she continued.

“Honestly, I had no idea you were handling so many things. How could you not say anything about all this?”

“Well, this level of work was standard even when I was in space…”

“You shouldn’t live like you’re still in space. This is Earth, not space.”

“But threats are coming in real-time, and to solve them, I need to—”

“You need to rest while working on them. Come on, lie down here quickly.”

Judy patted her thigh with one hand.

“But I got plenty of sleep yesterday.”

“Dexter, no saying ‘but.'”

“But—”

“Ah-ah! Come here now.”

Finally, following Judy’s instructions, Dexter laid his head on her thigh and said as she stroked his hair:

“But I’m really not tired.”

“Just try lounging around for one day. People need to rest sometimes, you know?”

“This is uncomfortable.”

Judy frowned at his words.

“Are you saying I’m uncomfortable?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“I said no saying ‘but,’ remember?”

When Dexter tried to lift his head to argue, Judy firmly pressed his forehead down to prevent him from getting up.

“If you don’t listen, I won’t let you touch my body for a week.”

“A week?”

“Yes, a week.”

“That’s harsh.”

“If I don’t do this, you won’t listen, will you?”

“I have nothing to say to that.”

“You’re not allowed to leave the house today. No eating out, no going to the Oasis Bar for drinks.”

“I feel like a kid grounded for not listening.”

Dexter stayed like that until lunchtime, lying with his head on Judy’s thigh, making light conversation.

Dexter glanced at the phone in his pocket.

“It’s lunchtime now.”

Judy also glanced at Dexter’s phone screen and said:

“Don’t think about helping—just keep lying on the sofa.”

“You’re not going to let me do anything today?”

“Today is a day for doing nothing and resting.”

“Hmph.”

Seeing Judy being so firm, Dexter had nothing to say.

A little later, Dexter was still lying on the sofa, and Judy was wearing her apron, humming and nodding her head as she cooked in the kitchen.

“Are you sure I can’t help?”

“I told you to lie down, didn’t I? If you stand up even a little, I’ll give you a warning.”

“Emily is probably sleeping in bed right now too.”

“Yes, she called earlier saying she finished her work.”

“…What work?”

“She said something about extracting data from the Pentagon. I don’t know the details. When Himena said the OSA data wasn’t enough, she said she’d get it quickly.”

“What?”

When Dexter raised his head to look at Judy, she turned around and glared at him.

“That’s a warning.”

“Emily casually went in and out of the Pentagon, and you’re acting like it’s nothing?”

“Lie back down on the sofa.”

“No, I don’t think lying on the sofa is the important issue here.”

“Should I give you a second warning?”

Dexter frowned and lay back down on the sofa before asking:

“She didn’t get caught?”

“No. She said she almost did, but she used her feminine charms to smooth things over and get out.”

“Huh, I’m afraid of what they might do without me.”

“That’s because you always try to do everything alone. Trust us sometimes.”

Soon, Judy announced that lunch was ready and woke up the soundly sleeping Emily to bring both of them to the table.

Dexter chuckled at Emily, who was rubbing her puffy eyes as she sat down.

“Why not just let her sleep a bit more?”

“She should eat before going back to sleep. I prepared something light for lunch.”

Looking at the cream soup, Scotch eggs, and fish and chips placed in front of him, Dexter rubbed his chin and said:

“Is today’s theme British cuisine?”

“I know how to make other dishes too, but I realized I’ve never made British food for you before.”

Since Judy’s hobby was baking and cooking, they always ate different things, but they had never actually tried food from Judy’s homeland.

After cutting a Scotch egg in half with his fork and taking a bite, Dexter nodded.

“Meat and eggs—a combination that can’t fail.”

“Is it good?”

“Yes, very.”

Emily, watching Dexter with her disheveled appearance, moved some french fries and fried cod to her plate and sprinkled a bit of vinegar on them.

Seeing this, Dexter blinked and asked:

“Why are you putting vinegar on it?”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be eaten.”

Emily, who like Dexter had put french fries and fried cod in her mouth at the same time, nodded and said:

“It’sh delishioush.”

“Hehe.”

After finishing lunch and being served scones and tea by Judy for dessert, Emily headed to the kitchen with Judy to do the dishes.

When Dexter tried to help, Emily gestured for him to go away and said:

“Not today.”

“Why?”

“Jessie said not to let you do anything today.”

“Since when do you listen to Jessie so well?”

“When you show that kind of behavior, we have to follow Jessie’s instructions.”

Dexter, who had indeed shown “that kind of behavior,” had nothing to say.

So Dexter continued to receive this somewhat alienating form of care, doing nothing until evening.

However, since it felt like his body was getting stiff from literally doing nothing, he occasionally hugged Emily or Judy while sitting on the sofa watching TV. Then:

“Open the dooooor!”

Along with the sound of someone kicking the door, Jessie’s strained voice could be heard.

When Judy got up and opened the front door, there was Jessie holding a large paper box full of scrolls.

Jessie, whose face was barely visible behind the box filled with long scrolls, wobbled before setting the box down in a corner of the house. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she said to Dexter:

“Did you rest well?!”

“Yeah, I guess. But what’s all that?”

“This? Blueprints.”

“What kind of blueprints?”

“Original blueprints for Las Vegas sewers and drainage systems.”

Jessie grinned as she spoke.

“I turned the OSA and Las Vegas City Hall archives upside down today to get these!”

“What are you going to do with them?”

“What else? Find what your great-grandfather hid!”

As she exclaimed with a bright smile, Dexter stared at her with a blank expression.