Leland’s hair was soaked and messy, almost covering his eyes. He pushed it back with his hand and loosened the tie around his neck.
The madness had subsided, but his every move was still intimidating.
Outside, Wesley had no idea what was happening inside. He only heard screams and muffled thuds.
Henry lit a cigarette, took a puff, and offered the pack to Wesley. “Want one?”
Wesley shook his head.
Hearing footsteps, their expressions turned serious instantly. Leland walked past them. “Those two inside are for your entertainment. At least play with them for a month. I’ll check the results after a month.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
They replied simultaneously. After Leland left, Henry got interested. “Let’s go in and take a look.”
Henry walked ahead. Wesley, being more composed, hesitated for a few seconds before following. As soon as Henry entered, he saw the miserable state of the two men inside.
To be honest, they no longer looked human-more like ghosts or dead dogs.
“Tsk tsk tsk…” Henry examined their wounds and looked at the shovel on the ground. He picked it up.
The sound of the shovel made the two men, who seemed dead, tremble again.
“No… don’t hit me… I was wrong… I’m sorry…” Charles could still speak despite his broken limbs, while his accomplice, who had initially added insult to injury, had half his tongue cut off and couldn’t stop bleeding. Now he couldn’t utter a word, only gasping for breath with his mouth wide open.
“Such cruelty.” Henry poked the man whose face was covered in blood with the shovel. “In this state, Mr. Burns wants us to play with them for a month? If we don’t treat them, they might not see daylight.”
Wesley spoke calmly, “What do you suggest?”
“Get a doctor to take a look at them. At least keep one alive. Look at this one with the severed tongue-doesn’t he look like a lapdog? And the other one with limp limbs looks like a turtle.” Henry said with dark humor.
Wesley rolled his eyes at him. “Alright, get someone to check on them and stop the bleeding. We don’t want Mr. Burns to find maggot-infested corpses when he comes to inspect.”
As they talked about this as casually as discussing the weather, the two men on the ground couldn’t take it anymore and fainted from fear.
…
Leland walked out and slowly rubbed the watch in his pocket. He felt like he hadn’t left that storage room yet; he could still hear those men’s voices begging for mercy and recall the entire crime process…
Especially that sentence…
-“He was about to assault that woman when she said she had a watch worth millions and asked if we wanted it…”
How true was that statement? It seemed too abrupt.
Winifred knew very well that her watch couldn’t be removed; why would she say such a thing?
Leland was naturally suspicious and tended to overthink things.
He didn’t want to overthink, but now that he had calmed down, he found too many suspicious points. Winifred was supposed to be in the cemetery; how did she end up on that path? And how did she suddenly encounter those two ill-intentioned men?
What were those two planning when they first saw her? Robbery or assault?
He gripped the watch tightly under the streetlamp’s light. The diamonds embedded in it sparkled faintly, but the bloodstains on the strap were glaringly obvious.
The driver had been waiting outside for Leland for who knows how long without daring to leave or even change clothes. Fortunately, there was heating in the car set to maximum; he dozed off without realizing how long he’d been waiting until a knocking sound woke him up. Seeing Leland’s stern face through the window nearly scared him out of his wits.
“Mr. Burns.”
“Open the door.”
The driver quickly unlocked the door, and Leland got in.
“To the hospital.”
The driver stepped on the gas pedal and drove off. He didn’t know how long he’d slept; his wet clothes were almost dry from the heater. Looking at Leland through the rearview mirror, he noticed a significant change in him compared to before he went inside.
His face had become colder, with bloodstains still visible as he held his forehead, seemingly enduring something painful; veins bulged on his hand.
“Do you have any cigarettes?” Leland had been thinking about Winifred’s situation and didn’t want to delve deeper into it; smoking might numb his nerves and stop him from overthinking or suspecting Winifred at this moment.
“No.” Smoking was taboo for drivers; during his interview, there was a clear question about smoking and drinking habits.
The driver never smoked; there were no cigarettes in the car.
Leland must have forgotten about this rule he set for drivers.
Seeing Leland’s increasing discomfort as he held his head in silence, likely due to a headache, the driver pulled over and took out some menthol oil and mints from the glove compartment.
“Mr. Burns, have some mints if you’re feeling nauseous or apply some menthol oil for headaches; it might help.”
Leland stiffened slightly and looked at the driver’s wristwatch.
He asked, “If you couldn’t remove your watch, would you cut off your hand?”
Driver: “?!”