Chapter 86 smart julio

Julio paid for the cigarettes, leaned against the counter, and tore open a corner of the pack.Just then, a beautiful brunette walked into the grocery store. She walked in the direction of Julio, and the way she walked was very seductive.She was wearing pink shorts and a top that showed off her breasts and back, revealing a beautiful, strong figure, like a female athlete participating in an international sports meeting.She has a pair of blue eyes, milky-white skin with a slight brown color, and a cheerful and lively expression on her face. She is holding a big dog in her hand. The big dog is a standard French poodle, well-trimmed and lively. Follow behind the hostess.

The brunette walked up to Julio, picked up a newspaper from the newspaper rack next to the cash drawer, folded it, crumpling the ends slightly, and handed it to the big dog. "Babe, here," she said cheerfully. "Help me hold it." Beibei happily bit the newspaper in her mouth and wagged her tail vigorously, waiting for the hostess to pay the owner for the newspaper. Julio was born to love dogs, and he stuffed a half-open cigarette into his pocket and bent down to play with the dogs. "Hey, Baby," he said affectionately. "You're a beautiful dog, aren't you?"

He held out a hand for the dog to sniff.As Bebe continued wagging his tail, Julio grabbed the newspaper from its mouth and pretended to take it away.Beibei knew it was a joke, shook his head, and bit the newspaper tightly, his black eyes were shining brightly, and bluffed out a scary cry from between his teeth as he bit the newspaper. The bell of the cash box rang behind him, and Julio stood up, smiling at the brunette who was taking the change. "It's a good dog," said Julio. "Poodles are highly intelligent." The brunette turned and nodded to him in agreement.At this time, the owner behind the counter said: "It's very smart. It brings newspapers home for the owner every day, isn't it, Baby?"

Beibei shook her tail. Julio said: "Everyone admits that the poodle is mentally superior to the average dog." The brunette smiled at him, seeing that Julio liked the dog as much as she did.Then, she led the dog, left the counter, and went out.Beibei raised her head proudly, followed behind her with a newspaper in her mouth. Julio took out a cigarette from a new pack of cigarettes he had bought, lit it, and after taking a puff or two, he raised his hand to say goodbye to the shopkeeper behind the counter, opened the door, and walked out onto the sidewalk.He saw the brunette walking north with the dog.

It was a very hot day, one o'clock in the afternoon, and Julio's shirt was soaked before long. He wondered why the brunette looked so fresh and cool walking under the sun? Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry and Lyman leaving the window across the street and walking towards him. He continued walking as if he didn't see him, and didn't speed up his pace. They kept walking on the opposite sidewalk, keeping a certain distance from him, and they didn't follow him until he was walking towards the low-end hotel where he was staying. The hotel is very basic, the lounge only has a bar and a bar, and the bar is located behind the landing.At this time, there was no one in the bar, only a fat waiter lying on the bar counter, sound asleep.

As soon as Julio reached the first step, Harry called to him, "Julio!" Julio stopped, turned, and squinted at Harry and Lyman. "Is that Harry?" "Yeah," said Harry. "You live here?" "Temporarily, how did you find me?" "I didn't find it, I came across it," said Harry. "After you gave Andy your address last week, you moved. What happened?" "Can't pay the rent, you should know." Harry said, "It's a good thing we saw you go into that grocery store, otherwise Andy might have thought you were trying to slip away."

"I wouldn't do that," Julio said. "What do you want to do?" "Talk to you," Harry said. "About what? I told Andy last week I had no money." "I know you said," Harry and Lyman were now standing on the landing. "Let's talk in your room!" Julio turned and led up the narrow stairs.At the top of the building, there is a dark corridor leading directly to the depths of the house.There are six doors on each side.Julio walked to the room closest to the landing and opened the door, followed by Harry and Lyman.Lyman closed the door behind him.

Lyman was short, with a beard and one protruding eye.Harry was tall and muscular. Julio sat down on the messy bed and asked, "What's the matter?" "Andy thinks you might be rich now," said Harry softly. "I didn't," Julio said. "I didn't have any money last week, and I don't have any now. Andy promised me a one-month deadline. Of course, there are several other conditions." There was sarcasm in his voice. "You heard it, you were there" "Yeah," said Harry. "But now Andy thinks you have money, so you don't have to wait a month."

Julio stared at him: "With what?" "Nonsense, of course it's money, what else can I use to pay for it?" Harry giggled, seeming very pleased with himself. "What money? I told you—" Harry said to Lyman, "Did you hear that, Lyman? What money? He doesn't seem to know what we're talking about." Lyman turned one eye to Harry, and the other remained motionless, Julio wondered. Laugh, but hold yourself back. "What money are you talking about?" he asked. "Andy heard you got it yesterday." "Successful?" Julio said in surprise. "What did you get?"

"Century Savings," said Harry. "robbery." Julio didn't say anything for a long time, and then said, "How could Andy think I did it?" Harry shrugged: "He knows anyway, that's his skill." "He's mistaken, and you can tell him I didn't even know about the robbery yesterday until I read the papers today. Tell Andy I've been raising money to pay him back, but not in that way." "If it wasn't Century Savings," said Harry, "where would the money come from?" "From other loan sharks, I think Andy has blacklisted my name, I can't borrow any money." "You think you can borrow money from other loan sharks?" Ha Leigh asked contemptuously. "You borrowed three thousand dollars from Andy, and you didn't pay a penny back, and word got around, Julio."

"If the usury can't borrow it, where does he expect me to borrow it?" "Let's get down to business," said Harry, smiling. "Andy said you got five thousand from Century." Julio exclaimed, "Andy is crazy!" Harry shrugged. "Maybe you're lying." He gestured, and Lyman drew a pistol from under his coat and aimed it at Julio's stomach. "What is this for?" Julio asked. "Andy said he wanted to see it," replied Harry, going over, grabbing Julio's arm, and pulling him to his feet. Julio wanted to resist, but knew it would be futile. "Turn around, friend," said Harry. Julio glanced at Lyman's pistol, turned around, felt Harry's hands searching him, and Harry took out of his pocket the cigarettes he had just bought, a pack of matches, a dirty handkerchief, A ballpoint pen, thirty-eight yuan and eight anise two cents in cash. "Where's the money?" Harry asked, turning Julio to face him. "That's where the only money I have is," Julio pointed to the bills Harry had thrown on the floor. "That's it. It's all there. Thirty-eight yuan, all my property. Now you should understand why I moved to this dump, right?" Harry didn't answer, and they began to search Julio's room carefully.Harry tore off the mattress and tapped on the floor to see if anything was loose.Pushing open the only window in the room, carefully inspecting the window sill, nothing can be found. "Where's the trash can?" Harry asked. "In the corridor, by the second door on the left," Julio said. Harry walked out. Lyman stood in the middle of the room with a gun, watching Julio until Harry returned. "Not there," Harry said to Lyman. Lyman spoke for the first time: "Let me ask." Harry giggled and said, "Okay, jock, please! You think he's lying?" Lyman nodded. "I think so. Put his hand on the table." Harry grabbed Julio's left wrist, pulled him to the edge of the table, and forced Julio's left hand flat on the wooden tabletop. "Is that so?" he asked Lyman. Lyman nodded, turned the pistol around, and slammed it down, hitting Julio's little finger.Julio heard the sound of his fingers snapping, he let out a cry of pain, and tried hard to break free from Harry's grasp.Harry laughed out loud, continuing to squeeze his hand. "Now," Lehman raised his gun, "it's just like that, every time you tell a lie, you cut off a finger. Where's the Century money?" Julio paled, his lips clenched in pain.He said: "I know Andy has a lot of eyes and ears in this city, but this time he got it wrong. Let me tell you again, I didn't rob, and I didn't have that money. I can't pay Andy's debt. You pay Don't get it? You guys can snap off every finger of mine and I still can't get paid." "Harry, hold his hand," said Lyman, raising his pistol. "Wait a minute," said Harry, considering what Julio had said. "Lyman, enough is enough so far, let's contact Andy again." Lyman shrugged and tucked the gun into his jacket. Julio withdrew his hand and gently touched the broken little finger with the other hand.He said, "Lehmann, next time I see you, I'm going to skin you." Lyman smiled slightly and said: "You scared the hell out of me, Julio," he said, wiping the bad eye with the base of his thumb. Harry said loudly: "I'm very sorry about the finger, Julio, even if you didn't do the Century Company case this time, it is equivalent to showing you that Andy doesn't like people's delays. For your own sake, I hope you to be honest." "Yes," said Julio, "it's a strange way of expressing yourself to people." Harry and Lyman left. Julio went out to the public bathroom outside, closed the door, put cold water in the washbasin, and put his injured hand in cold water until the pain eased.Then go back to the room, lie on the destroyed mattress, and think about what to do next. At three o'clock, he got out of bed, combed his hair with a comb, straightened his tie and coat, picked up the money on the ground, put it in the pocket of his coat, and took a picture in front of the broken mirror of the chest of drawers. attract people's attention. He went to the stairs and looked at the bar and lounge, which was now full of people, about a dozen construction workers, apparently from nearby construction sites, drinking beer.Julio decided not to risk going through the bar, as Harry and Lyman might be waiting for him outside.Andy never trusted people who borrowed money. Julio went through the back door of the hotel and into the narrow alley behind it.He walked to the end of the alley and looked back, no one seemed to be following him. He found a phone booth at a gas station, pulled out a coin, threw it in, and dialed the number. After the phone rang three times, a lively female voice said, "Hello?" That voice, Julio thought, was the brunette with the dog. He said, "Are you the owner of that black poodle?" "Yes," she said cheerfully. "Who?" "My name is Julio, and I'm the one who talked to you about dogs at the grocery store two hours ago." "Ah!" She laughed loudly, her voice was very crisp. "Finally calling! I've been waiting for you." Julio's heart skipped a beat, and he thought that maybe it would go well, so he asked cautiously, "Is it because of money?" "Of course, I was very surprised at first, and then I thought it must be yours and no one else's, could it?" "Mine," said Julio. "Can I come and pick it up now? I'll explain it to you when I meet you." "I live at 225 Rose Road," she answered promptly. "Do you know where it is?" "I can call a taxi, will you be home?" "I'll be here," she said. "I'm curious." Julio stepped out of the phone booth, wiped his forehead with a dirty handkerchief, put his injured hand in his coat pocket, stood outside the gas station, hailed a taxi, and jumped into the car. She answered the door herself, the black poodle by her side, still in her pink outfit. "Come in, Mr. Julio." Beibei recognized him, let out a cry of joy, and wagged her tail vigorously. She led Julio into a modest but elegant living room, very cool with the air conditioner on at the back window. She invited him to sit in an easy chair and she sat down in one with a back, but then she jumped up again and said, "How about some iced tea, Don Julio? Or a glass of wine?" " "Iced tea will do," he said. "Sorry, I haven't asked your name yet!" "Josephine," she said, smiling at him. "I'll be there in a minute." She went through a door, roughly into the kitchen, and soon brought out a jug of iced tea and two glasses. "If you don't know me, how do you know my phone number?" "Bebe's neck tag has your phone number on it, I saw it in the grocery store." "My God, you are really careful, but, according to this situation, put five thousand yuan in the dog's mouth, I think you did it." He nodded. "I reckon the people at the grocery store know who you are because you and Bebe seem to be regulars there." As soon as Bebe heard his name, she came over with a plastic turkey bone in her mouth and sat down in front of Julio. Bright eyes stared at him, begging Julio to play tugging with it.Julio reached out with his uninjured hand and pulled the plastic bone a few times.Beibei bit and pulled back violently, making a low growl on purpose from the back of her throat. Josephine said, "You can imagine how I felt when your bag of hundred-dollar bills fell out of Bebe's newspaper!" "That was the only way I could think of," said Julio solemnly. "It can be safely taken out of the store, and can be retrieved later." He thinks it is too much to say. "I'm so sorry, Miss Josephine, to involve you in such a thing." "No need to apologize," Josephine said. "I'm really happy to be a part of this, it's exciting! Of course, what I want to know is, why did you sell that money when Bei Bei and I came in? " Julio sipped his iced tea and said, "I'll tell you the truth, that's the only way I'm going to keep this money. You know, I owe a few thousand dollars to a loan shark and I didn't have any money last week , I told him I couldn't pay back the money, and I really couldn't. So he gave me some time off. Then, the other night, I unexpectedly won five thousand dollars. Started making small bets with my only Some bet 20 yuan. Slowly won 5,000 yuan, which is the money I put in the newspaper that Beibei is holding today. Why? The reason is that just before you entered the store, I looked out the window Look, just happened to see the two collectors of the loan shark, in fact, they are two criminals who do all kinds of crimes and specialize in collecting debts by force. Anyway, those two people are waiting for me to get out, I immediately suspect that they may know When I win money, prepare to use force if necessary, and fight back once. You know what I am in." Josephine's eyes widened. "I've heard that loan sharks are vampires," she wrinkled her nose disdainfully, pausing for a moment, Julio thought she looked embarrassed. "Maybe I'm not smart enough, but if you win enough to pay off the debt, why don't you just pay it off?" "I have a place where I need more money," Julio said. "What are you doing?" "Well, I have a sister in Columbia," said Julio gravely. "She raised me after my parents died in a car accident. Now, she lives alone, very poor, and had a stroke six weeks ago. That's why I borrowed money to help her with her medical bills. I also plan to use the five thousand yuan for her.Hospitalization is very expensive these days! " "Oh, I'm so sorry for your sister, Mr. Julio, but don't you have a job? There must be some way of making money, right? Why the usurers?" Julio smiled slyly. "I guess I'm a born idler, I gamble for a living, and for six months I've had bad luck and lost until the night before." He finished his iced tea. "Now, can I get my money back, I'm going to take the afternoon bus to Columbia City." "What time is the car?" "Five o'clock." "That's early," said Josephine. "There are other things you haven't told me." "What's up?" "For example, did the two thugs who lent usury beat you?" Julio took his left hand out of his pocket and held out his little finger.She cried out when she saw it. The finger is now very swollen, and the skin and flesh are black and blue. "My God!" gasped Josephine. "Did they hurt you, broke your finger?" He nodded. "Should see a doctor right away," she said. "As soon as you give me the money, I will go to the doctor." She poured another cup of iced tea. "The money is with me," she said after a moment's consideration. "I'm just wondering, how do you know I won't take it all by myself?" Julio said, "I see you are an absolutely honest woman, and Bebe seems honest too." He grinned at Bebe. "Thank you," Josephine said. "I also thank you on Beibei's behalf. But, to tell you the truth, I really want to take it all by myself. I have never seen so much money in my life! If I keep the money, you will not be able to prove that I am lying. I thought about it again, no, the money must belong to the guy in the grocery store who talked to Feng Bei, and that guy also likes poodles. So I decided to return the money to you, but I don’t know where to find you. So, I called my brother's office and told him the whole story and he said I should keep the money until I heard from you. He believed I would. "He was right," said Julio. "Didn't I come?" He gradually became impatient. "Now, Miss Josephine, where is my money?" She pointed casually at the table under the air conditioner and said, "It's over there, in the middle drawer." He knew she was telling the truth. "In the original envelope, untouched. I just want you to wait until my brother comes back, Mr. Julio, when I called to tell him you were coming to get the money, he said he wanted you to wait for him, he was already in the On the way, I hope to ask you some questions." "What's up?" "Oh, identity and stuff like that. My brother said you should always be careful when it comes to money." Julio's hand was hurting, and he was anxious to get the money back from the woman and left quickly, but he knew he couldn't appear anxious. Then I'll wait for him," said Julio. "I don't blame your brother for checking my identity, he's so careful that he could be a lawyer.Is he a lawyer? " "No," said Josephine. "He's not a lawyer, he's a police officer in charge of the theft." Julio let out a cry of pain, as if someone had knocked off another of his fingers.Josephine looked at him carefully, with a curious expression in her eyes.She said: "I noticed that the numbers on the banknotes were all connected, so I called my brother and he told me that your money was robbed from Century Corporation." Julio jumped up, and in his panic, his injured finger touched the arm of the chair, causing him to cry out in pain.He was about to rush for the gate when Josephine yelled, "Look at him, Baby!" Julio froze. Beibei jumped in front of Julio, bent down, and stared at Julio's face with two eyes, showing a fierce light. Julio didn't know what to do.At this moment, there were hurried footsteps on the front porch, and Julio put his aching hand back in his pocket, and sat back in the chair without saying a word. As the two policemen lead Julio away, he verbally looks at Josephine, who expresses a mixture of sympathy and suspicion. "Mr. Julio, do you really have a sick sister in Columbia City?" she asked, her voice less cheerful than usual. Julio didn't answer.