Hmph! Why should I be afraid of you, Harry Hudson? The one paying me to do this knows your boss.
Harry's gaze fell on Lacey. “Ms. Hinton, could you please explain what's happening?”
Lacey nodded. “She came to our store earlier today to buy a few outfits-”
Hang on...
“Ms. Hinton, correct me if I'm wrong, but these clothes are luxury goods, aren't they?” Harry interrupted.
“They are,” answered Lacey.
“First Bloom Apparel is a luxury brand, so our prices are certainly considered above average to most common folk.”
“How much did she pay for these clothes?”
Lacey turned to the sales assistants. “How much did she spend in total?”
“About thirty five thousand and eight hundred,” one of them responded quickly.
Harry turned to Sally with a skeptical look on his face. “Tell me, Sally Lodge, where did you get thirty five thousand
and eight hundred when you just came out of prison last week?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“I... I...” the woman in question instantly turned red.
The crowd broke into discussion once again.
“What? She just came out of prison? So she's an ex-con?”
“How could someone who just got out of prison have so much money?”
“Honestly speaking, I've been saving up for two years now, but I haven't even managed to collect this much.”
“I'm starting to think this whole incident was staged.”
“That's what I was thinking too. Why would such a high-end store sell defective goods? They'd just be giving
themselves a bad rap.”
Sally's accomplices hastily began to try and steer the crowd again. “That's not necessarily true! What if she actually
comes from a rich family? She might've gone on a shopping spree after finally being let out of jail.”
“Yeah! It's not unusual for something like this to happen. There's nothing suspicious about it.”
“But judging from what she's wearing and how she behaves, she doesn't seem she comes from a wealthy family,”
someone refuted.
“She's obviously a farmer.”
The accomplices were rendered speechless.
“Sally Lodge does come from a village, in fact. Her parents are both farmers. They don't come from a wealthy
background like some of you are saying.”
With Harry's confirmation, more and more people began to think that Sally was a fraud.
“Tell me, Sally Lodge, where did you get nearly forty thousand from?” Harry pressed on.
“My... My children gave me the money,” the woman stammered.
Oh, really?
“But according to my knowledge, your children also work in the fields. How could they willingly give you this much
money just to buy some clothes? On top of that, none of your children visited you even once while you were in
prison. It just doesn't make sense that they'd give you nearly forty grand once you got out.”
“I... I... They probably gave me the money because they felt guilty about never coming to see me.”
Oh?
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHarry smiled profoundly. “I guess I should ask them about this.”
Thus, he took out his phone to call Sally's son.
“Mr. Hudson!” Sally suddenly called out. “Don't... Don't call him.”
“Why not? Do you have a guilty conscience?”
No! Not at all!
The woman shook her head immediately. “Of course not. They... They're just pretty busy, so they might not pick
up.”
“That's not a problem. If none of them picks up, I can always get someone to bring your son here so I can talk to
him in person.”
With that, Harry pressed the dial button, and the call got through immediately.
“Mr. Hudson! Hello, there,” said a reverent and fearful-sounding voice.
“Good day, Simon Levine. There's something I'd like to ask you, so please give me your honest answer.”
“Of course, Mr. Hudson! Ask away. I'll tell you everything I know.”
“I heard you gave your mother nearly forty grand to buy clothes.”