Chapter 6 Chapter 4 Old Friends

The heavy rain became a drizzle, but the clouds became thicker and darker, indicating that there would be more rain.My mother was stuck on the window of the living room, her curious eyes almost burned my eyebrows.As soon as she noticed that I was looking at her, she immediately picked up the rag and began to wipe the glass vigorously. "Well done," I said to Kevin, "thank you." He glanced at me briefly and said, "It feels weird." The elder brother who used to help him steal potato chips from the store is now a policeman who looks like a fake. "I can't tell," I said approvingly, "like an expert. You're gifted, you know?"

He shrugged: "What's next?" "I'm going to put this thing in my car before Matt Daly changes his mind," I said, grinning as I waved to Mom with my suitcase in one hand. "Then, I'm going to talk to someone I know from the past, and you're going to help me fix Mom and Dad." Kevin's eyes widened in fright: "Oh, my God, no, absolutely not. She must still be mad at breakfast." "Okay, Xiao Kai, tighten your pants for your partner, let's go." "What a fart, buddy. You provoked her first, and now you want me to go back and block the gunfire?"

His hair stood on end with rage. "That's right," I said, "I don't want her to harass the Dalys, or make a show of it, at least not right now. I only need an hour or so before she messes things up, can you?" "What should I do if she decides to go out? Capture her?" "How much is your mobile phone?" I took out the mobile phone used to contact my subordinates and netizens, and sent a text message to Xiaokai, just a word of "Hi". "Here," I said, "if my mother runs away, please reply me a text message and let me capture her myself, right?"

"Shit!" Kevin muttered, looking up at the window. "Very well," I said, slapping him on the back, "what a man. I'll be back with you in an hour. How about a drink tonight?" "It's definitely not enough for me to watch a few cups." Xiao Kai said dejectedly, and then straightened his shoulders and walked towards the gunfire. I stowed my suitcase safely in the back of the car to give to a lovely lady in the forensics department—whose address I happened to know.A group of ten-year-old boys with thinning hair and no eyebrows leaned listlessly against the wall, carefully looking at the surrounding vehicles, and wanted to use clothes hangers to attack.When I get back, the suitcase will be gone.

I leaned against the trunk of the car, sorted out the identification photos of Fei Fei, smoked a cigarette, and thought about the future of the country.Finally the kids got away, and they went off to rob people who weren't going to bother them afterwards. The layout of Daly's house is the opposite of mine. There is no place to hide the body, at least not for a long time.If Rosie died in the house, the Dalys had only two options.Assuming Mr. Daly had the guts, which I don't rule out, he could wrap the body up and leave by the front door, and dump it in the river, at the abandoned construction site, or at the hog farm Shay graciously suggested.Still, a free zone is a free zone, and doing so was likely to be seen, remembered, or told, and Mr. Daly didn't look like a lot of luck.

A less risky option is the backyard.Backyards these days are mostly shrubs, decking, and all sorts of cast-iron gizmos, but in those days, backyards were often desolate and unattended, with either short turf and dirt, or planks, broken furniture, and crooked things. broken bicycle.Nobody goes there except to go to the toilet or to dry their clothes in the summer.All the action is out front, on the street. It was cold, but the soil was not yet frozen.Dig the grave for an hour at night, spend another hour the next night to complete it, and dump the body on the third night to fill it up so no one will see it.There is no light in the backyard, and only a flashlight is needed to go to the toilet at night.And no one would hear, the Harrison sisters slept deaf, and Veronica Clottey lived in the basement with the back windows boarded up to keep the heat from escaping.Others' windows must have been shut tightly against the December cold.After the work is done, put a piece of tin or an old table or something on top of the mound during the day, and no one will give a second glance.

I can't get into the backyard without a search warrant, and I need to have evidence of something resembling a crime to apply for a warrant.I tossed the cigarette away and went back to Mandy Brophy in Loyalty. Mandy was the first person who was unabashed, unpretentious, genuinely happy to see me.Her screams literally knocked the roof off.I know that my mother will stick it to the window again. "Franco Mackey! God, God!" She punched me hard and hugged me so hard I was bruised. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought I'd never see you around here again. What are you doing here?"

Mandy has become her mother's figure, and her hair is also her mother's head, but a pair of dimples are still there. "Just hang around," I said, smiling back. "Seems like a good idea to come back now and see how everyone is doing." "Just in time, I gotta say. Come in. Hey, you two—" Two little girls with dark hair and round eyes sprawled out on the living room floor. "Go upstairs and play in your own room, let my uncle and I talk quietly. Go!" She waved her hand and shooed the girl away. "They look exactly like you." I turned my head towards the two girls.

"They are a pair of fire chariots, really, they exhausted me, I won't lie to you. My mother said this is my retribution, who taught me to always make her nervous when I was a child." She put on the half-dressed doll , dessert wrappers and broken crayons are swept away from the couch. "Come and sit, I heard that you are going to be a policeman. It's a very stable job, I didn't expect it." Holding the toy in her arms, she smiled up at me, but her black eyes were sharp and wary.She is probing. "You don't need to say it," I bowed my head and gave her the most "bad boy" smile. "People will grow up, it's as simple as that, just like you."

Mandy shrugged and said, "Yeah, I'm consistent, just look around." "Me too. You can make people leave the Loyalty..." "But you can't let the place of loyalty leave your heart," she kept her cautious eyes for another second, then she nodded, lowered her head slightly, and pointed to the sofa with her baby legs and said, "Go and sit there, you want to drink A cup of tea?" I pass, and no password is more useful than "in the past". "Oh my god no, I just finished breakfast at home." Mandy dropped the toy into the pink plastic toy box and slammed the lid shut. "Are you sure? Then do you mind if I fold the clothes while chatting? In case the two ladies come down later and turn this place upside down again." After she finished speaking, she sat down beside me and pulled the laundry basket closer . "Did you know I'm married to Gale Brophy? He's a chef now. Gale grew up loving food, really."

"Gordon Ransey?" I gave her an evil smile. "Tell me, if you are disobedient, will he take the spatula home and punish you?" Mandy screamed and thumped my wrist and said, "You scum. You're still the same, aren't you? Well, Gale isn't Gordon Randsay, he works in one of the new hotels at the airport. He says the customers are mostly It's the family who missed their flight or the business guy who wants to have fun and doesn't want to get caught, they don't care about the food. One morning, I swear he was really bored, and he added fried bananas to his breakfast to see what they would have What a reaction. As a result, no one spoke at all, not even a word." "They must have thought it was a new dish. Well done, Gal." "I don't know what they thought, but they all ate. Eggs, sausages and bananas." I said, "Gal's a nice guy, you guys are doing well." Mandy snapped and shook off a little pink sweatshirt. "Yeah, yeah, he's okay, he's funny. Anyway, it's all meant to be. We told mom we were engaged, and she said she'd known since we were in diapers. Like..." She He glanced up hastily, "It's just like most weddings here." In the past, Mandy must have heard about the suitcase by this time, plus the bloody rumors in detail.However, the channel for gossip has long since withered, and there is a partner in the family, Kevin, who gags my mother, so she is neither nervous nor terrified, but a little cautious, not wanting to stir up my old heartache.I leaned on the sofa easily, enjoying the rare moment.I like a messy home, where women and children can be seen in every inch: the fingerprints on the wall, the miscellaneous powder pomade and hairdressing utensils on the mantelpiece, and the smell of flowers and ironing clothes. We chatted for a while: her parents, my parents, who's getting married in the neighbors, who's moved to the suburbs, who's got some weird disease that doesn't make sense.Imeda still lives nearby, Harlows Lane, two minutes' walk from here, but the change in the corner of Mandy's mouth shows that they have rarely seen each other, so I didn't ask much.I just kept making her laugh.If you can get a woman to laugh, it's not hard to get her to talk.She still giggles like popping bubbles when she laughs, and you can't help but laugh too. After about ten minutes, Mandy casually mentioned: "So, tell me, do you have any news about Rosie?" "Not a single fart," I said in the same relaxed tone. "And you?" "No, I thought..." She glanced at me again, "I thought you might have it." I asked, "You know what?" She fixed her eyes on the rolled socks in her hands, and blinked her eyelashes. "what do you know?" "You're so close to Rosie, I thought she might tell you." "Say you want to escape? Or is she..." "Say anything." She shrugged. "Oh, come on, Mandy," I said, with a touch of humor in my voice, "it's been over twenty years, and I promise you, I'm never going to get mad at girls for whispering, I'm just curious .” "I had no idea she was planning to break up. I swear to God, I had no idea. To tell you the truth, Franco, I was surprised to hear that you two weren't together. I thought you were going to get married, Had half a dozen kids, forcing you to slow down." "So you know we plan to leave together." "The two of you disappeared on the same night, anyone can guess." I grinned at her, shook my head, and said, "You said 'break up', you know we're still dating. We've kept our secret for almost two years, or so I think." Mandy was silent for a moment, then made a face at me, threw the socks into the laundry basket and said, "Smart girl. She didn't give us her heart. She didn't say a word until... you and Rosie left. Did the family meet up for a few drinks in the week before they ran away? I guess in town, huh?" O'Neill's Bar on Pierce Street.Rosie walked back to the table with a mug of beer in each hand, and all the college boys turned to look at her.She's the only girl I know who drinks blackjack, and definitely drains it. "Yes," I said, "exactly." "That's it. You see, Rosie told her dad she'd go out with me and Imelda, but she didn't tell us that we'd lie for her, you understand? As I said, she kept quiet about you, None of us knew. But Imelda and I didn't come home very late that night, and Mr. Daly saw us at the window and found us walking in without Rosie. She didn't come home until very late." Mann Tee dimpled at me. "You guys must have a lot to talk about, right?" "Well." I said.Kissing goodbye against the walls of Trinity College, I grab her by the hips and pull her into my arms. "Anyway, Mr. Daly waited for her to come home. Rosie came to me the next day, which was Saturday, and said he was mad." It's back to Mr. Daly, the big villain. "Sure." I said. "Imelda and I asked her where she was going, but she refused to say anything, only that her father was very angry, so we guessed she must be meeting you." "I've always wondered," I said, "what does Matt Daly hate about me?" Mandy blinked. "Well, I have no idea. He doesn't get along with your old man, I guess maybe that's why. But, does it matter? You don't live here anymore, and you don't have to see him again..." I said, "Rosie dumped me, Mandy, clean and without warning, and I still don't know why. If there was a reason, whatever, I'd like to know. I'd like to know if there was anything, If I had done it, it would have made all the difference now." I make a bunch of "tough and painful" expressions, and Mandy looks sympathetically, the corners of her mouth softening. "Well, Franco . . . you know very well that Rosie never cared what her father thought of you." "Maybe, but if she's worried about something or hiding something from me, or even afraid of something... how much is he going to get mad at her?" Whether Mandy looked confused or wary, I couldn't tell. "What's the meaning?" "Mr. Daly is very hot," I said, "and the first time he found out Rosie was dating me, the whole Loyalty could hear him yelling. I kept wondering if he just yelled at her, or...well, or Will he hit her?" Mandy put a hand over her mouth. "My God, Franco! Did she tell you anything?" "No, Rosie won't, unless she wants me to knock her dad out. I just thought she might tell you or Imelda." "Oh, God, no, she didn't say a word. If there was, I think she would say it, but...you can't guarantee it, can you?" Mandy fell into deep thought, soothing the pain in her arms. Blue uniform gown. "I don't think he ever touched Rosie a finger," she said at last, "I don't say that to comfort you, but half Mr. Daly's problems come from the fact that he never got used to Rosie growing up, you know what I mean Is it? The Saturday Rosie came to see me was the day after she was caught late at night by her dad. We were supposed to go to the apartment complex that night, but Rosie couldn't go because, I kid you not, because she Daddy confiscated her keys like she was a kid and not a grown-up who got paid to go home every week. He said he had to close at eleven and if she didn't make it back, she'd sleep on the street. But you know that too Well, the apartment area doesn’t start to get busy until eleven o’clock. So you understand? He won’t slap her when he’s angry, but tell her to sit in the corner, just like my kids are messing around, and I’ll make them stand as punishment.” In this way, Mr. Daly is no longer the focus of the spotlight, it is no longer important to get a search warrant to search his backyard, and it is no longer interesting to hide in the cozy corner of Mandy's house. Rosie didn't show up through the front door that day, not necessarily because she was trying to hide from me, or get caught by Dad and then have a blunt weapon moral tragedy, but because she had no choice, that's all.The front door is locked, and the back door is latched. You don't need a key to go to the toilet, and you don't have to worry about being locked out.Without the key, whether Rosie wanted to hide from me or find me, she had to go out the back door, climb over the wall and step across other yards.Suspicion spread outward, away from Apartment Three. The odds of getting fingerprints from suitcases also start to drop.If Rosie knew that she had to climb over the wall, she would have hidden the box before leaving town.If someone stopped her, he probably didn't know about the suitcase at all. Mandy looked at me slightly worried, wondering if I understood what she was saying. "That makes sense," I said, "but it's hard for me to imagine Rosie going to be punished. Did she try to do something like steal the keys back from her daddy?" "No. That's why we thought there must be something wrong with her. Both Imelda and I told her, fuck it, you go out with us, and if he locks you out, you sleep with us. But she said no, she didn't want to make him angry. We said, why do you care? Like you said, it's not her style. Rosie said, it's okay, it won't be too long anyway. We noticed this line, They immediately dropped other topics and pestered her, wondering what the hell she was up to, but she wouldn't tell. Rosie acted as if her daddy was going to give her back the key soon, but we knew there was more to it. We didn't Knowing what is going on, I only know that it must not be a trivial matter.” "Didn't you ask more details? For example, what is she planning and when will it be implemented? Is it related to me?" "Oh, of course. We pressed for a long time, I poked her arm, Imelda hit her with a pillow, trying to get her to talk, but she ignored us so much that we had to give up and dress up and go out. She... God! Mandy smiled, very lightly, with a hint of surprise, and the brisk hands that were arranging clothes stopped. "There we sit, my dining room, which used to be my room. I'm the only one with my own room." Man, so the three of us always run into each other at my place. Imelda and I are doing our hair, backcombing- hey, the way we look, and the turquoise eye shadow, remember? We thought we were bracelets A remix of The Chorus, Cindy Crawford and Banana Rama, Queen of the Bananas." "You're beautiful," I said, and I meant it. "You three, you've never seen anything more beautiful." Mandy wrinkled her nose at me. "It's no good flattering me," but her eyes said otherwise. "We yelled at Rosie, asked her if she wanted to be a nun, said she would look good in a nun's dress, asked her if she was in love with Father McGrath... Rosie was lying on my bed staring up at the ceiling and biting her nails. You know how she bites, don't you? Just that one forever." Right index finger.When Rosie was trying to think, she would bite her nails.In the months leading up to leaving home, we met to make plans, and she bit and bled a few times. "I remember." I said. "I looked at her in the mirror on the dressing table. It was Rosie, yes, I've known her since I was a baby, but all of a sudden, she seemed to be a different person, as if she was older than us, half She has left here and gone somewhere else. I figured I should give her something, maybe a farewell card or a St Christopher's badge to bless her on her journey." I asked, "Have you mentioned this to anyone?" "Impossible," Mandy replied immediately, with a hint of displeasure in her tone. "You should know better than anyone else that I will never betray her." She sat upright with a sullen expression. "I know, honey," I said, smiling at her, "I just want to make sure, this is an occupational disease, leave me alone." "I talked to Imelda and we both thought you guys were going to elope and thought it was the ultimate romance. You know that, teenagers...but I've never told anyone since. We're with you, Franco , I hope you are happy." At that moment, I felt that if I turned around, I would see them, in the next room: three girls ready to go, as if everything was about to unfold, shining with turquoise light, full of excitement and possibility. "Thank you, honey," I said, "I appreciate it." "I don't know why she changed her mind. I really don't know. If I know, I will tell you. You two are made for each other. I thought..." Her voice trailed off. "Indeed," I said, "me too." Mandy said softly, "My God, Franco..." She was still holding on to the long coat with both hands, and there was indelible sadness in her voice. "Well, it was a long, long time ago, wasn't it?" The road was quiet and quiet, except for the gust of wind and drizzle beating against the windows, and the musical conversation between a little girl and another little girl from upstairs. "Yeah," I said, "don't know why it took so long." I didn't tell her.Let my mom tell her, she sure enjoyed every second of it.We hugged goodbye at the door, and I kissed Mandy on the cheek, promising to see her again soon.She has a sweet and peaceful smell, which I haven't smelled for many years.Pear soap, cheap perfume, and custard.