Chapter 152: Sold and Still Helping to Count the Money
Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Sold and Still Helping to Count the Money
Inky came to the kitchen and relayed the conversation between Evelyn Hollis and Herbert Lee to Renee Jennings.
"Inky, you’re amazing." Renee Jennings dried her wet hands and gently tapped Inky’s head with a fingertip. "What you overheard is incredibly useful!"
"Really?" Inky was delighted. "I’m just glad I could help!"
Renee Jennings said with a grin, "You helped me a ton!"
"Hehe," Inky chuckled shyly.
Renee Jennings handed the spatula to Diana Jennings.
She went back to her room, grabbed her phone, and typed out the news from Inky into a message for Henry Stark.
Renee Jennings rarely saw Henry Stark on his phone, but oddly enough, whenever she sent him a message, he almost always replied instantly. Like right now.
Henry Stark: [Okay, I’ll arrange for people to start surveillance near Evelyn Hollis’s house now.]
Renee Jennings: [Okay.]
**
Only two days remained until the weekend.
Henry Stark arranged for his people to run surveillance in shifts.
On Friday night, it was Kyle Morgan and Zachary Conway’s turn. From downstairs of Evelyn Hollis’s office, they saw her get into a taxi carrying a large tote bag.
"She’s out," Kyle Morgan said, shaking Zachary Conway awake. He started the car and followed the taxi.
Levi Hollis and Sawyer were at the station, staring at Evelyn Hollis’s mobile communication data with colleagues from the technical investigation department.
A message came in from Kyle Morgan’s end: Evelyn Hollis had met up with Herbert Lee and gotten into a black private car.
Sawyer immediately had someone check Evelyn Hollis’s communication data, then frowned. "From this afternoon until now, aside from food delivery, Evelyn Hollis hasn’t spoken to anyone on the phone?"
"Herbert Lee didn’t contact her by phone," Levi Hollis said with a frown. "No wonder we couldn’t find any call records from him on Elaine Rivers’ end."
Sawyer asked doubtfully, "Did they use WeChat?"
"That bastard is too careful!" Levi Hollis gritted his teeth. "He knows that if WeChat chat logs are deleted, they can’t be recovered or retrieved!"
Sawyer: "Should I apply to monitor Evelyn Hollis’s WeChat now?"
Levi Hollis clenched his fists in frustration. "It’s too late. Evelyn Hollis is with Herbert Lee right now. He’ll definitely find an excuse to delete the chat history on her WeChat."
Henry Stark arrived just in time to overhear them. He immediately called Quentin Lowell. "The situation is urgent. This chat history could become a key piece of evidence for prosecuting Herbert Lee later on..."
After hanging up, he said in a low voice, "Pull Evelyn Hollis’s WeChat history now. Director Lowell has approved it. The paperwork will be filed later."
"Right." A colleague from the tech investigation department immediately got to work.
They pulled Evelyn Hollis’s WeChat history, only to find she hadn’t been chatting with Herbert Lee.
Levi Hollis’s brow was furrowed so deeply you could kill a fly in the creases. "How the hell is this bastard contacting Evelyn Hollis? No calls and no WeChat?"
Sawyer asked, confused, "Could the chat history have been deleted already?"
"No," the colleague analyzed. "If he were going to delete it, he’d either delete the last two days’ content or the entire history. But their conversations from the past half-month are all there. They probably used another app to communicate."
"This bastard’s counter-surveillance skills are too damn good," Levi Hollis said helplessly.
As dusk settled, the black sedan passed through a toll booth and sped along the open highway.
Herbert Lee sat in the back seat, gripping Evelyn Hollis’s hand tightly.
Evelyn Hollis tilted her head to look at him and asked softly, "Chuck, are we going to the high-speed rail station or the airport?"
Herbert Lee’s face was hidden in the dim light. "Neither," he said, his expression blank.
"Huh?" Evelyn Hollis asked in surprise. "Then how are we getting there?"
Herbert Lee: "We’re driving."
"Is your hometown close to Zenvia?" Evelyn Hollis looked curious.
Herbert Lee said with a smile, "Not far. You might even be there by the time you wake up from a nap."
"That’s great," Evelyn Hollis said, looking relieved. "I was worried your hometown was too far from Zenvia and my parents wouldn’t approve of us being together."
"Is that so," Herbert Lee said, his tone flat.
Evelyn Hollis then asked, "By the way, Chuck, how many people are in your family?"
Herbert Lee: "You’ll know when we get there."
Evelyn Hollis was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Chuck, did something happen? You don’t seem to be in a good mood."
The usual Herbert Lee wouldn’t be this cold to her, and his tone wouldn’t be so harsh.
Herbert Lee: "I am in a bit of a bad mood."
"What’s wrong?" Evelyn Hollis asked with concern. "Is it about work?"
"Yeah," Herbert Lee nodded.
They hadn’t settled on a price for Evelyn Hollis.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Evelyn Hollis asked.
Herbert Lee stared at her in the darkness, a cruel smile slowly forming on his lips. "No need. Just be a good girl."
"I’ll definitely be good." Evelyn Hollis leaned into Herbert Lee’s arms, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Don’t be in a bad mood anymore."
The burly man driving in the front seat heard Evelyn Hollis’s words and sneered, laughing inwardly at her naivety.
’About to be sold off, and she still wants to help them count the money?’
Kyle Morgan followed Herbert Lee’s car at a steady, unhurried pace.
Zachary Conway, sitting in the passenger seat, reported the license plate number and their location to Henry Stark.
Henry Stark quickly set out with a team.
Relying on just Kyle Morgan and Zachary Conway, it would be easy to lose them.
When he left, he picked up Renee Jennings as well.
And Renee Jennings brought Inky with her.
The car drove on through the night. Evelyn Hollis woke from a nap to find it was already past eleven p.m.
She turned her head to look at the man beside her. "Chuck, are we almost there?"
"Almost," Herbert Lee said perfunctorily. "Go back to sleep."
"Okay." Evelyn Hollis was indeed a bit sleepy. "Wake me up when we get there."
Herbert Lee: "I will."
Evelyn Hollis slept again, and when she woke up, the car had stopped.
She raised a hand and rubbed her eyes. "Are we there?"
Herbert Lee, who had been resting with his eyes closed, said flatly, "Not yet. This is a rest stop."
"Oh." Evelyn Hollis nodded, picked up her phone, and saw it was already three in the morning. "It’s so late. We’re still not there?"
Herbert Lee opened his eyes and looked at her. "Almost."
Evelyn Hollis just said, "Oh."
After a moment, she reached for the door handle and found it was locked.
"What is it?" Herbert Lee asked with a frown.
Evelyn Hollis: "I need to use the restroom."
Herbert Lee had the burly man unlock the car doors.
Evelyn Hollis got out of the car alone.
She had only walked a few steps when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.
She glanced back uneasily, but when she saw it was Herbert Lee, she instantly relaxed. "Chuck."
"It’s too dark out here. I wasn’t comfortable with you going to the restroom alone," Herbert Lee explained.
Evelyn Hollis’s gloomy mood from the long drive instantly lifted.
She took Herbert Lee’s hand, a smile spreading across her face. "You’re so good to me."
Renee Jennings stood not far away, happening to overhear their conversation.
She stared at Herbert Lee’s back, a flash of sarcasm and sharp intensity in her bright, dark eyes.