Chapter 157: Chapter 157: This Girl’s a Good One, I Like Her

"If you get any good ’merchandise,’ you have to let my boy get first pick. He’s almost thirty..."

Chief Lowe’s expression soured. His wife immediately rushed into the courtyard to stop the woman from saying anything more.

"Auntie Mayer! We have guests!"

Startled, Auntie Mayer immediately covered her mouth.

Chief Lowe’s wife hurriedly pulled her out of the courtyard.

The courtyard fell silent. Inside the main hall, Renee Jennings and the others exchanged uneasy glances.

Beads of cold sweat formed on Chief Lowe’s forehead.

Henry Stark asked casually, "Still selling ’merchandise,’ Chief?"

"Ah." Chief Lowe raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. "Just some products for...male enhancement."

"Now that’s the good stuff," Kyle Morgan snickered.

Seeing that they didn’t seem suspicious, Chief Lowe quietly sighed in relief.

After lunch, Chief Lowe saw them to the door. "Should I have my wife bring dinner over tonight?"

After a quick discussion, Kyle Morgan transferred another five hundred yuan to him, asking for dinner to be delivered at seven.

"Alright. Take care, everyone." Chief Lowe watched them until they were out of sight, his face darkening as he turned and headed for Auntie Mayer’s house.

"Lowe..." Auntie Mayer was knitting a sweater. When she saw Chief Lowe enter, she stood up apologetically. "I’m so sorry, Lowe. I didn’t know you had guests."

"Damn it, you almost blew the whole thing!" Chief Lowe raged at Auntie Mayer.

Not daring to talk back, Auntie Mayer went inside and returned with a black plastic bag, handing it to him. "Lowe, I’m counting on you to take care of my son. He’s your nephew, after all..."

Chief Lowe opened the bag and glanced at the cash inside. "Only fifty thousand? And you expect the good stuff?"

"It’s all the money we have!" Auntie Mayer pleaded. "Lowe, please, just help Bobby. Find him a good one so he can have a healthy son. Then maybe he can be successful someday, just like your boy..."

"Another ten thousand." Chief Lowe snapped the bag shut. "Then I’ll take you to see the premium ’merchandise’ Hayes brought back yesterday."

Auntie Mayer agonized, "What if... what if I pay five thousand now, and the other five thousand later? Would that be okay?"

"Fine," Chief Lowe sighed. "For Bobby’s father’s sake, I’ll let you owe me for now."

He tucked the black bag under his arm and stood up. "I’ll come get Bobby tonight to take a look."

After sunset, Chief Lowe came to Auntie Mayer’s house again. "Get Bobby."

"Right away!" Auntie Mayer immediately went into another room to get him.

Bobby came out leaning on a crutch. Seeing Chief Lowe, he called out, "Uncle."

Chief Lowe said, "Let’s go. Uncle’s taking you to find a wife."

Inky, perched on the eaves of the courtyard, watched them leave, then took flight and followed.

The pitch-black room reeked of pungent, foul odors. Evelyn Hollis had been crying for a day and a night. Her eyes were swollen shut and her voice was gone.

She sat huddled in a corner, knees drawn to her chest in despair. The thought of smashing her head against the wall to end it all kept surfacing, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

’Why did it come to this...’

Just then, she heard the sound of a key in the lock. The door creaked open, and a beam of light sliced through the darkness.

Evelyn Hollis scrambled to her feet and shouted, "Let me out! What you’re doing is illegal!"

"Shut up!" Chief Lowe barked. He swept a flashlight beam across the three women in the room and asked the man beside him, "Baldy, which one did Hayes bring back yesterday?"

Baldy squinted, then grabbed the flashlight from Chief Lowe and centered the beam on Evelyn Hollis. "That’s her."

"What are you going to do?" Evelyn Hollis shrank away, a powerful sense of dread washing over her. "Don’t come any closer..."

Chief Lowe turned and handed the flashlight to the person beside him. "Bobby, go on. Go check her out."

Bobby took the flashlight and, leaning on his crutch, limped toward Evelyn Hollis.

"Stay away!" Evelyn Hollis’s face was a mask of terror. She struggled, pressing her back so hard against the wall it was as if she were trying to merge with it.

Bobby shone the flashlight in her face. Though her hair was a mess and her eyes were red and swollen, he could still see her skin was fair and supple.

Bobby swallowed hard. "Uncle, this one’s great! I like her!"

In the flashlight’s glare, Evelyn Hollis saw that Bobby’s face was covered in a dense constellation of black spots, as if he were afflicted with some kind of virus. The sight made her scream.

"So you’ve made your choice?" Chief Lowe said around his cigarette. "Then take her home tonight."

"What are you talking about?" Overwhelming terror seized Evelyn Hollis, and she began to tremble violently. "What do you mean, take me to his house? I’m not going to his house! Get Herbert Lee! I want to see him!"

She shoved Bobby away with all her strength and bolted for the door.

The next second, a sharp pain exploded across her scalp.

Baldy grabbed her by the hair, yanked her back, and slammed her against the wall. "Stay put!" he snarled.

"Uncle Baldy, don’t hurt her!" Bobby cried out, looking worried.

Chief Lowe and Baldy both laughed. "Well, well, Bobby. Getting protective already?"

Bobby grinned sheepishly.

The pain was too much, and Evelyn Hollis passed out.

Seeing this, Chief Lowe told Baldy to help carry her to Bobby’s house.

Auntie Mayer was waiting at her doorstep. When she saw Bobby returning with the girl, her face lit up. "You’re back! Thanks for your trouble, Baldy. You can just take her straight to Bobby’s room!"

Inky witnessed the entire scene, then immediately flew back to find Renee Jennings.

"Renee! It’s bad! It’s really bad!" it chirped urgently, flying in through the window.

Renee Jennings heard the commotion from the bathroom. She quickly washed her hands and came out. "Inky, what is it?"

"Evelyn Hollis!" Inky chirped anxiously. "The chief took the money, and a male human with legs of different lengths took Evelyn Hollis to his home!"

Renee Jennings’s heart sank, and her slender brows furrowed. "She’s already been taken away?"

Inky bobbed its head furiously. "Evelyn Hollis passed out!"

The others all turned to look at Renee Jennings nervously.

"Renee, what did Inky say?" Sawyer asked, his voice tight with anxiety.

Renee Jennings’s gaze swept over the group, her tone grave. "Inky said the chief took the money and had Evelyn Hollis taken to someone’s house."

"Already?" Kyle Morgan exclaimed.

Zachary Conway frowned. "We have to find a way to save her."

"I know," Levi Hollis said, his face etched with worry. "But the backup from Tarian Province hasn’t arrived yet."

"But Evelyn Hollis can’t afford to wait," Sawyer said, clenching his fists. His gaze landed on Henry Stark. "Boss."

Henry Stark pressed his lips together, his brow furrowed in thought. He was weighing their options.

’The villagers had the numbers and the home-field advantage. There were only a few of them. He didn’t know if they could hold out until backup arrived.’

"I have an idea," Renee Jennings said suddenly.

Henry Stark turned his head toward her, his dark eyes questioning.

Renee Jennings said slowly, "Ash says the family that took Evelyn Hollis raises pigs, dogs, and chickens. We can have them buy us some time."

"Will that work?" Zachary Conway asked, unconvinced. "If they can’t stall them, Evelyn Hollis will be..."

Renee Jennings frowned. "It’s the only option we have right now. If we expose ourselves too early, these scumbags will scatter. This is their turf. If they decide to hide, we’ll never find them."

"That’s also true," Zachary Conway sighed. "We have to prioritize the bigger picture."

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