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Josiah’s car was already waiting outside when Winnie emerged from the Xenhall residence.
She opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat before syncing her phone with the car’s
Bluetooth function and sharing the location on her phone on the display screen.
She said to Josiah, “Follow this car. He’s a private investigator that I hired.”
“Okay.” Josiah glanced at the screen. “I’m on it. How is Xavier, by the way?”
“He’s sleeping soundly. Nothing serious. But I can’t guarantee he’ll call us once he wakes up.
Remember to silence your phone after catching up with Yolanda. It’ll ruin everything if your phone
suddenly rings later.”
Josiah nodded. “You have a point. I’ll do as you say.”
Winnie grunted, and the pair did not speak further as they followed the car ahead.
Around ten minutes later, a major traffic accident happened.
A collision of five cars had caused the traffic to come to a standstill.
“What’s going on?” Josiah smacked the steering wheel impatiently. “It would take at least half an hour
to take another way. If we don’t, who knows how long more we’ll be stuck for? We are getting further
and further away from your private investigator.”
Winnie gazed at the two points on the screen. They were stuck and unmoving while the other red dot
was accelerating ahead.
“Let’s take another way. Who knows when the accident ahead will be taken care of. This is a rare
opportunity we must not miss out on.”
Because of the slight hiccup, Winnie’s private investigator had already arrived at the destination when
they finally got back on track.
“Spa Village?” Josiah took the opportunity to enlarge the map for a closer look when the traffic light
turned red. He could not resist a chortle when he saw the location. “Hah! Yolanda sure knows how to
pick a spot. A motel like this is unlike your typical hotel. There are almost no surveillance cameras. I
wonder who she’s going to meet.”
“I’ve no idea.” Winnie frowned. “They might be one of ours for all her secrecy. Otherwise, she wouldn’t
need to meet them in the dark like that.”
“Good point,” Josiah muttered. “We just don’t know who it is.”
“Who cares?” Winnie narrowed her eyes, sounding grim. “We must catch them in the act today.”
“But,” Josiah protested, dashing her hopes, “he had a head start. They might have already met long
ago while we were still stuck on the way.”
“Be that as it may, we still have somebody powerful on our side. Don’t forget that.”
Just as Winnie said those words, the traffic ahead cleared up miraculously. Not only that, but they did
not encounter a single red light throughout the rest of their journey.
Josiah sped up, as it was smooth along the way. The estimated time of thirty minutes needed to
complete the journey only took ten for them.
Josiah gave Winnie a thumbs up after he parked the car. “Your luck is incredible.”
“Oh, please, you were the one who drove. Who’s to say it wasn’t your luck? We’re heading in. Don’t
forget to put your phone on silent.”
After Winnie spoke, she took out her phone and silenced it.
It was at that moment that she realized that the private investigator had suddenly stopped sharing his
location with her.
She sent him a question mark at once but received no reply.
Josiah noticed the sudden change and could not resist asking, “He couldn’t have been found out, could
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“Very likely.” Winnie frowned. “I’m even suspecting that his phone has been controlled.”
Winnie closed her eyes to recall the private investigator’s last known location.
“Southeast,” she told Josiah. “Let’s head over there and take a look. From the looks of the photo he
sent me, the building bears a traditional architectural style. Keep your eyes peeled.”
“All right,” Josiah responded. “Your memory is incredible.”
Winnie appeared pleased with herself. “Are you just finding that out now?” she said as they walked.
Before they went very far, her phone vibrated all of a sudden.
“It’s yours,” Josiah said instinctively.
Winnie froze in her stride. “It’s not just a call,” she announced while raising her phone. “It’s a video call
from the private investigator.”
“What’s so urgent that he couldn’t just make a regular call and have to make a video call instead?”
Josiah mused. “It must be Yolanda or her accomplice who’s calling. She discovered the private
investigator and must have asked him who he works for. Based on how things look, your private
investigator has not yet ratted you out. Otherwise, Yolanda and whoever is with her will not need to
make this video call.”
“That’s right,” Winnie said. “The private investigator doesn’t know my actual identity, anyway. Even the
number I used to contact him is not registered.”
“What do we do now? Should we answer this video call?” Josiah asked.
“We’ll pick up and see what she wants,” Winnie said and covered the front camera with her hand
before answering the video call.
The first image that greeted them was a fat yet haggard face as soon as the call connected. It was the
private investigator hired by Winnie.
It was evident from the angle of the video that the private investigator was holding the phone, but it was
also apparent that he was forced to make that call as there was a cold glint of a thin, long silver needle
just visible at his neck.
Immediately after, the voice of the owner of the needle rang out. It was Yolanda.
“Aren’t you going to show yourself? Your man has been caught in the act. Who are you? Why did you
send somebody to follow me? What is your motive?”
Yolanda bombarded Winnie with questions to which the latter did not respond.
“Refusing to speak, are you?” Yolanda grew impatient after waiting several seconds. “It seems you’re in
a bamboo forest. You must be close by. I’ll give you five minutes. If you don’t show up by then, my
needle will not be diplomatic. I’m sure you must have had me investigated since you took the time to
follow me. You should also know that silver needles are my weapons. The five-minute countdown
begins now!”
Winnie furrowed her brows.
“Yolanda is vicious,” Josiah whispered in Winnie’s ear. “Her needlework is formidable; I have once been
on the receiving end. She might be capable of harming the private investigator. Why don’t we just
confront her?”
Winnie had her reservations. She was still unsure if only Yolanda and the private investigator were in
the house.
If a third person, Yolanda’s backer, perhaps, is present, it will not be the end of the world to surrender
now. If, however, that person does not show up today and is still hidden, I’m not going to reveal myself
so easily.
Winnie began to tap furiously on the phone screen before the video call ended.
The duration of each tap was different, with every note representing a different signal.
It is the communication method known as Morse code.
Soon, Winnie relayed the most succinct question to the private investigator in the shortest time.
The private investigator regained his composure and gave her a definitive answer.
Upon understanding the situation, Winnie abruptly ended the video call.
Seeing that Winnie had hung up, Josiah asked in his usual volume, “Were you communicating with the
private investigator via Morse code? I was interested in it when I was in school and have dabbled in it.
Although I didn’t understand the question you sent, I understood the private investigator’s answer. I
think he told you ‘yes,’ am I right?”
“That’s right,” Winnie confirmed. “I asked if he had been alone with Yolanda the whole time, and he said
yes.”
“Does that mean we came all the way for nothing today? Yolanda must have come to meet with
someone, and she discovered your private investigator before her contact person arrived. D*mn it! Her
contact person will definitely not appear today.”
“That’s right. Not only that, but we must also rescue the private investigator.”
“D*mn! Aren’t we shooting ourselves in the foot?”
“That’s true.” Winnie took a deep breath. “I don’t like to admit it, but the fact remains. Let’s go. We’ll talk
further when we get there.”
They only managed to take a few steps when the phone rang again.
It was not a video call this time, so Winnie quickly picked up.
Yolanda’s voice came from the other end. “Two minutes have passed, and you only have a hundred
and eighty seconds left. I advise you to hurry up. Don’t take my generosity for granted.”
Take her generosity for granted? Hah. That’s a bold claim.
Winnie did not say anything. Instead, she hung up.
The pair promptly arrived at the little wooden house with a minute of the time allocated by Yolanda to
spare.
“What do we do now?” Josiah asked Winnie quietly. “Do we barge in? Why don’t I go instead? It’ll
spare your exposure.”
“To her, we’re in this together. Your exposure would mean mine too. I’ll go around the back. There must
be windows there.”
Josiah was puzzled. “Why are you looking for windows? Are we going to ambush her?”
Josiah meant it as a joke, but Winnie nodded solemnly.
“You are beginning to know me better, Dr. Houghton.”
Josiah gaped at her and even tugged her arm. “Are you serious?”
Winnie was unsmiling. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
“No, I should go. I’m a man, at least.”
“I don’t mean to discourage you, Dr. Houghton, but there are some things I do better than you. All right.
Let’s not say another word now.”
At that, Winnie snuck around to the back of the house and crouched beneath a small window.
She glanced inside and saw the back of Yolanda’s and the private investigator’s heads.
“These windows are tiny,” Josiah whispered as he tugged her sleeve gently. “How are you going to go
in? You aren’t going to tell me you can shrink yourself, are you?”
“You read too many comic books.” Without another word of explanation to Josiah, Winnie undid her
scrunchie.
Her hair was thick, so she used a thick band that day. It had good elasticity, making it suitable to sling
the pebbles she had picked up earlier from the side of the road.
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Josiah was speechless. That works? This woman seems to know everything! I have to admit she really
is better than me at that! Would an elastic hair tie work, though?
Just when Josiah was beginning to sweat bullets on Winnie’s behalf, she sent the first pebble flying
inside, which found its mark squarely on the back of Yolanda’s head.
Startled by the sharp pain, Yolanda instinctively retracted the silver needle in her hand.
Hazarding a guess that his employer had come to rescue him, the private investigator took the
opportunity to escape.
Yolanda’s head throbbed, but she was unwilling to call after the private investigator, so she clutched her
head in preparation to give chase.
This time, Winnie aimed at her knees and ankles.
The pebbles were flung outward one at a time like bullets, each time striking the most tender spots with
deadly accuracy.
Although it did not cause great harm to Yolanda, those two spots were the most sensitive. It hurt so
much that she curled up on the ground and hugged her ankle, unable to stand.
Having accomplished her goal, Winnie tied her hair back up.
Yolanda was about to leave, but she called Winnie’s name from within the house, to the latter’s
surprise.
“I know you’re out there, Winnie! It must be you! I can’t think of anybody else in Avenport who would
follow me except you. If you have the guts to follow me, show yourself instead of resorting to such
underhanded tactics, you shameless woman!”
Winnie froze.
She had forced herself to hear Yolanda’s words and was indignant to discover them to be disparaging
and hypocritical.
She accused me of employing underhanded tactics. What about herself? She hypnotized Xavier and
altered his memories when nobody was watching. Is that above board, then?
“You think you’re so smart, don’t you, Winnie? Well, to be honest with you, I wasn’t actually meeting
anyone. I made a special trip here today because I knew you were following me. You can spend all of
next month tailing me, and it won’t be of use.”
Josiah had enough. “D*mn it! This b*tch is toying with us. Since she had the monkey snatch my bag
the first time I went to her house, she has been toying with us.”
“Relax.” Winnie tugged on Josiah, who was agitated. “We lose this the moment we lose our
composure. Let’s go.”
The pair quickly departed the scene. They realized when they got in their car that the private
investigator’s car had disappeared, and all four of Yolanda’s tires had been punctured.
Josiah chuckled coldly. “That works. This private investigator’s rather petty.”
“That suits us. Yolanda won’t be able to return soon. Since this is a wasted trip, we might as well snoop
around her room. The day won’t be a complete loss.”
“All right. Sit tight, then.”
Josiah drove as quickly as possible, and the pair arrived promptly at the Xander residence.
Winnie pressed the doorbell, but nobody answered the door.
When he peered through the window beside the door, Josiah found a shocking scene and tugged
urgently at Winnie’s arm. “Come quick. Look!”
Winnie looked in the direction where Josiah’s finger was pointing and found Sebastian lying
unconscious on the floor.
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