Chapter 18 Chapter 18 The Angry Reader

Valerie tried every means to calm Andrew, and his exhausted appearance worried her very much.At noon, she took Andrew for a walk in Brooklyn.Together they visited an antique store in the Williamsburg area.Andrew was wowed by a painting of a steam locomotive, from the 1950s, which cost far more than Andrew could afford.So Valerie sent him around the back of the store, and as soon as Andrew turned away she bought what he wanted herself and slipped it into her purse. Simon followed Olsen throughout the day on Saturday.When it was slightly bright, he went downstairs to Olsen's house and waited.Driving an Oldsmobile 88, it was difficult for Simon not to draw the attention of pedestrians every time he stopped at a red light.In the end Simon had to consider whether he should switch to a more low-key car, but this car was already the most low-key car in his collection.

Olson spent his lunch hours at a questionable massage parlor in Chinatown.He emerged from there around two o'clock in the afternoon, with shiny gel on his hair.Next, he headed to a Mexican restaurant to munch on a taco, licking his fingers clean so as not to waste the sauce.Simon parked the car in front of the restaurant. Previously, Simon bought a professional camera and a telephoto lens for reporters. In his opinion, these are essential equipment for successfully completing the mission. In the afternoon, Olson went for a walk in Central Park, and Simon saw him try to strike up a conversation with a woman who was sitting on a bench reading a book.

"Wear this Tabasco shirt, and if you can read this book, my beauty, I'll be a priest." Simon sighed as the lady closed her book and got up to walk away. While Simon was following Freddy, the hacker he hired was also copying files from Freddy's computer, and he successfully broke in in less than four minutes.By analyzing the background data, he can know whether Olsen is the person who uses the screen name Spookie-Kid. But Simon's computer engineer wasn't the only one tapping away at the keyboard.On the other side of the country, a retired sheriff was exchanging emails with an old colleague in the Sixth District, a subordinate he had brought in hand in hand and now the head of the Chicago Police Department's crime division.

Pileg asked the retired sheriff to do a little favor, which would have required a judge's approval, but since it was entrusted to him by a colleague for a good cause, to hell with administrative regulations. It’s just that the news he received made him hesitate, and he hesitated for a long time before calling Andrew. "You sound tired," he said to Andrew. "A terrible night." "Me too. I haven't slept all night. Insomnia only gets worse as you get older. But I didn't call you this time to complain about my own little trouble. I wanted to tell you today In the morning Mrs. Capetta bought a plane ticket to New York. What bothers me the most is that the ticket was booked on June 14th and the return time has not yet been confirmed. Maybe you can tell me sooner It's cheaper to book tickets, but the coincidence of timing is too worrying."

"How do you know about this?" "If a police officer asked you to tell him your sources, would you say so?" "Absolutely not." Andrew replied. "That's it, you just need to know the information I told you, and the rest has nothing to do with you. I will ask people to pay attention to Mrs. Capetta's every move. When she sets foot on the land of New York, she Words and deeds will be monitored from morning to night. Especially in the morning, the reason is well known to you and me, so it goes without saying.” "Perhaps she wanted to see her husband again."

"If so, it's the best news I've had in weeks, but since I have a nasty flaw, I never believe good news. By the way, is there any progress on your end?" "Nothing came of it. Olsen's ambiguity worried me, but he wasn't the only one, and I found myself trusting no one." "You should get out and get some air and get out of New York to recharge your batteries. You're on the front lines of this investigation. You need to stay calm, or the time limit will work against you. Of course I know you won't listen I'm really sorry for my suggestion."

Pileg said goodbye to Andrew, promising to call Andrew again as soon as he had any further news. "Whose phone?" Valerie asked while eating ice cream. "It's nothing important, it's still work." "This is the first time I've heard you say that things at work are not important. It seems that you should be more tired than I thought." "What do you think of us going to the beach at night?" "of course can." "Then let's go to Central Station now. I know there is a charming little hotel in Westport. The sea breeze there is very pleasant."

"But we still have to go home and get some luggage." "It doesn't need to be so troublesome. We can buy a toothbrush when we get there. We only stay for one night. We don't need anything else." "What happened, I think you seem to be running away from something, or someone." "I just want to leave the city and take a love trip with you, away from everything here." "May I ask how you heard about this charming little hotel on the beach?" "I used to write the obituary for the owner of the hotel..." "I like your thoughtfulness," Valerie replied softly.

"You don't mind my past at all?" "Your past, and your future. When we were in high school, I was more jealous of the girls around you than you can imagine." "Which girls?" Valerie smiled in response, and flagged down a taxi. They arrived at Westport in the evening.Through the window of the room, you can see the waves lapping the harbor tirelessly. After dinner, they took a walk around the lagoon, where the land was devoid of human activity.Valerie spread out a borrowed hotel towel on the sand, and Andrew rested his head on her lap.Together they gazed at the churning sea.

"I want to grow old by your side, Andrew, grow old by your side, and have enough time to know you." "You know me better than anyone." "Since leaving Poughkeepsie, all I've learned is loneliness. It wasn't until I got you by my side that I slowly got out of this state and felt happy." Curled up in the cool night wind, they listened in silence to the sound of the waves. Andrew recalled their childhood again.Memories sometimes seem to be photos that have faded due to time, and only under strong light will the details emerge again.He felt that the childhood years that connected the two made their relationship even closer.

In three days he was leaving for Buenos Aires, a place far, far away from her and from this quiet moment he would like to enjoy again in the late summer. A peaceful nap time and a lunch in the sun rejuvenated Andrew.His back no longer hurts now. It was Sunday night when we arrived in New York.He called Simon and told him to meet him at Starbucks at nine tomorrow morning. Simon was late and Andrew started reading the paper while waiting for him. "Don't look at me, I just had the most depraved Saturday of my life." "I didn't say anything." "Because I just told you not to." "I hang out with Freddie Olsen all day, and the guy hides so deep, he's meaner than you think." "Is it that serious?" "Worse. Whores, burritos, drugs, it only took up half a day of his Saturday. After lunch, he went to the mortuary first, don't ask me what he went there, if I followed If it is, it should be discovered soon, and the things hidden in the freezer are not to my taste. Then he went to buy some flowers and set off for Leroux Hospital." "Then he went to the hospital?" "He went for a walk in Central Park first, and then the neighborhood where you live. He stayed downstairs for a while. After walking back and forth in front of your building four times, he finally walked into the foyer of your building , looking for your mailbox, then suddenly turned around and walked out." "Olsen went to my house?" "Every time you answer my questions word by word, I always feel that our conversation will become very interesting..." "This guy is crazy!" "Of course he's cornered now. I followed him all day until he got home. This man's loneliness is a dizzying abyss. He's a drug addict." "He's not the only one who feels like a failure. It's almost June. Of course, I shouldn't be complaining, not many people have the chance to live twice." "It doesn't include me anyway," Simon replied. "For the sake of this week's amazing turnover, nothing serious, this June...wait for July." "May is the month that changed my life," Andrew sighed, "I'm very happy, I haven't met the best thing yet." "You should forgive yourself, Andrew. No one can repeat your experience. How many people have dreamed of starting all over again, and returning their lives to zero when they are about to lose everything. You tell me that this is your experience, then Enjoy it, don't cry about your life." "When we know death is around the corner, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare. If I'm gone, can you take care of Valerie for me?" "It's up to you to take care of her! Everything will pass, life is just a 100% mortal disease. But I, I don't know when the inevitable day will come, and I can't postpone the inevitable end .Whenever you think about it, it doesn't seem so reassuring. Do you want me to drive you to the airport tomorrow?" "No, it's useless." "I'm going to miss you, you know." "me too." "Okay, go find Valerie now, I have an appointment later." "With whom?" "You're going to be late, Andrew." "Answer my question first." "And the lady nurse at Le Roux. I went to the hospital again on Sunday night to see how she was after Freddie's visit. I know it's a perfectionist part of my personality, but what can I do Woolen cloth." Andrew and Simon stood up together and walked towards the door of the cafe. "I need your help with a little favor, Simon." "I thought it was all over, but it's okay, go ahead." "I might need you to go to Chicago. Here's the address of the lady I want you to watch." "So I can't go to Buenos Aires." "You really want to go that much?" "My luggage is ready and ready to go." "I'll call you and promise to have you come here as soon as I can." "Don't bother, I'm going to Chicago in a moment; you take care of yourself there. This Mrs. Capetta, isn't she pretty?" Andrew put his arms around his friend. "Well, it's all good anyway, but I think I'll have an appointment with my nurse later, or we can have some pig's head stew together in front of her, and I think I'll thank you very much .” "Pork head stew?" "It's a Quebec expression." "When did you start speaking Quebec?" "Katie Steinbeck was born in Montreal. That's weird, you just have a knack for making me mad sometimes!" Andrew packed his bags for the last day of his stay in New York.He went to the office in the morning, but Freddie wasn't there.He called the front desk lady, pretending that he had an appointment with Freddy, and asked her to call him when he saw Freddy arrive at the newspaper. After hanging up the phone, Andrew went to check his colleague's desk carefully.He rummaged through the drawers for a while, finding only a few random pads filled with ideas, after-notes, and flimsy articles that the paper would never print.How on earth did Olsen get to where he is now?Just when Andrew was about to give up, a sticky note stuck to the bottom of the wastebasket caught his attention.It says the password of Andrew's computer.How did Olson get his hands on this thing, and what did he do to his computer? "It's the same as what you do," Andrew's subconscious mind answered him, "searching for other people's information at random." "But it's not the same, and Olsen is a potential threat to me." "But from his point of view, you are also a threat to him, no matter what the situation is, you can say it professionally." Finally he thought again. A crazy idea flashed through his mind. He used his password to access Olson's computer to view the files on it, and it worked.Andrew therefore deduced that Olsen's intelligence was actually about the same as that of a goldfish.Or conversely, it should be said that his foresight is worthy of respect.Because who would have thought that someone would use their opponent's computer's password as their own? There are many files in the hard disk, one of which is named "SK".After opening it, Andrew found that it was full of messages with the ID Spookie-Kid.Olsen is a real psycho, Andrew thought when he saw the overwhelming abuse of himself in it.As uncomfortable as it is to read such text, Andrew would rather the insults come from a jealous colleague than from a reader.Andrew inserted a USB flash drive and copied the file, and he planned to go back and study it slowly.Just as he was cleaning the traces he had left on Olsen's computer, he heard the phone ring on the other side of the cubicle.When the elevator door opened, there was just enough time for Andrew to copy a file called "Punishment" to his USB drive, and when Olson finished walking down the corridor, he hurried back to his seat . Looking at his desk, Andrew suddenly realized that he had forgotten the USB flash drive on Olsen's computer, and now he could only pray that Olson would not notice this. "Where have you been?" Andrew asked, sticking his head through the partition. "Why do you ask? Do I have to report my whereabouts to you?" "Just curious." Andrew wanted to distract his colleague. "When are you going to Buenos Aires, Steelman?" "tomorrow." "If you can stay there forever, then I can give myself a vacation." Olson heard someone calling him and hurriedly left the desk. Andrew took this opportunity to retrieve his USB flash drive in a hurry. Then he tidied up his notebook, took a last look at his belongings, and decided to go home first.Valerie was waiting for him at home, and he thought it best not to be late for their last night together before he left for Buenos Aires. He took Valerie to dinner at "Shanghai Coffee" in the Little Italy neighborhood.The ambience of this restaurant is more for couples whispering than "Joey's Shanghai Restaurant".Valerie looked a little depressed, and she didn’t hide her emotions in front of Andrew.And Andrew, as happy as he was to continue the investigation, still feels guilty.They should have enjoyed the evening to the fullest, but the weight of parting made it impossible. Valerie chose to go back to her own home to sleep.When Andrew closes her small suitcase for him in the early morning, she'd rather not be there. Andrew walked her back to the East Village apartment, and they hugged for a long time in front of the apartment building. "I don't like it when you leave me here alone, but I think I'd hate you even more if you gave up the trip because of it." "So what should I do so that you can love me a little bit?" "The night before you leave. But I want you back soon. I miss you already." "Only ten days." "But twelve nights. Take care of yourself and find that fellow. I'm so proud to be your wife, Andrew Steelman. Now, before I change my mind and keep you, go."