North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 610 - 342 Strange Community_1
In a quiet Los Angeles graveyard, a man clad in an overcoat and wearing a round gentleman's hat stared at the tombstone before him, his eyes brimming with sorrow.
He stood still for a long while before squatting down. He took out a notebook tucked with an ink pen from his chest. As he crossed off names on it one by one, he murmured sadly,
"Silly little sister, you've always been hot-tempered since you were little.
"As a child, when you broke your leg playing, you clenched your teeth and refused to cry in front of others.
"When I got your call and heard you crying, I knew something had happened to you.
"I rushed over from Vietnam overnight, but it was still too late.
"I didn't even get to see you one last time.
"Silly little sister, why didn't you wait for your brother..."
His voice trailed off. The dozen or so names in the notebook were all crossed out with increasingly forceful lines.
The man took out a lighter and set the notebook ablaze.
Flames rose. The cold wind of late autumn howled, sweeping up wisps of black ash that spiraled above the tombstone, lingering long before dissipating.
Not until the flames died out did the man pull out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, light it, and take a deep drag. Then, with self-mockery, he said,
"Silly little sister, I've killed all those who harmed you, but I still feel awful. 'When the son errs, the fault lies with the father.' Since I've lost you, the families of those beasts don't deserve to live either.
"And your classmates too.
"When you left home, I always reminded you to stay away from your compatriots, stay away from your compatriots, but you wouldn't believe me.
"Forget it.
"You were always a temperamental person; I won't say any more. I knew you agreed to attend that party. It was because your classmates were jealous—jealous of your wealth, your beauty, and your popularity. So they slandered and maligned you. That bothered you, and it's why you fell for that pretty boy's trick.
"You couldn't stand it and sought help from countrymen, sought help from teachers, sought help from the embassy...
"But it was all in vain.
"Those people believed they stood on the moral high ground, so they felt they could say unpleasant things at will. They thought that by slandering and trampling the dignity of their compatriots in front of those white pigs, they would be accepted by them.
"These beasts are also your murderers.
"Silly little sister, don't worry.
"That pretty boy is probably down there serving you like a dog by now.
"I'll soon teach the remaining beasts a lesson in humanity, let them know the harm that can come from wagging their tongues, let them all come down and apologize to you..."
Thick boots crushed the still-smoldering cigarette butt.
The man turned, walking against the wind, his coat flapping, and disappeared deep into the quiet paths of the graveyard.
「Elsewhere.」
After a forty-plus minute drive, Dean and Lawrence, guided by the address and having asked for directions several times, finally reached the community where the Eden Consulting Company office was located.
The environment along the way, however, was not what they had expected.
Typically, communities near a college town tend to be bustling, driving local food businesses, housing rentals, the second-hand market, and other enterprises.
This place, however, looked quite desolate.
"This place is too remote. We hardly saw anyone on the way. If it weren't for the road signs when we came in, I would have thought we were in the wrong place," Lawrence grumbled as he got out of the car, forced to park due to a sign at the intersection prohibiting outside vehicles.
Dean followed suit and got out.
He closed the car door and looked around at the nearby decrepit old streets, nodding in agreement. "Daisy's information was a bit off. Something must have happened here that made most people move away."
Lawrence, upon hearing this, disagreed, "Dean, this place may look a bit run-down, but the streets are still clean. There are no signs of people leaving in a hurry. Could it be that some construction company took a fancy to this place and bought it, intending to turn it into an apartment community for rich students to live in?"
His guess had some basis. Many rental companies liked to contract houses near schools and lease them out second-hand.
As for the incident Dean mentioned, Lawrence was skeptical. In his view, if something major had happened near the college, it would surely have attracted the attention of Los Angeles newspapers and media, but he hadn't heard of any such events. On their way over, they hadn't seen any police cars or military personnel on guard, so he thought Dean's guess was flawed.
Dean shook his head. "That would be too high a cost and risk. No one would make such a foolish deal. There are no signs of a construction crew here either. Plus, look at the dust accumulation inside those buildings. It's clear no one has lived in or maintained them for at least a month. Otherwise, we would at least see raccoons loitering."
"Raccoons..."
The image of those trash pandas immediately came to Lawrence's mind, a look of realization in his eyes.
No wonder Dean said people had moved away some time ago.
In this suburban part of Los Angeles County, if it were more populated, you'd typically see raccoons strolling the streets, rummaging through trash, exploring sewers, stealing chickens and dogs, and bullying kittens.
Yet, not a single one was to be seen here, clearly indicating the community's streets had been deserted for some time.
The absence of a construction crew was another issue. They hadn't seen any workers or vehicles on their way here. Apart from the wind, they hadn't heard any significant noises. This clearly indicated Lawrence's own guess was also problematic. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
But if so, what exactly had happened to this community to make it like this?
A brief discussion left them both feeling the eeriness of the situation.
"Never mind that for now. Let's find the consulting firm by following the house numbers."
