Chapter 673: Son and Daughter-in-law
Chapter 673: Chapter 673: Son and Daughter-in-law
The next day, Renee ate breakfast and drove to the police station to pick up Sawyer. Together, they headed to Evening Maple’s home.
Evening Maple lived in an old residential complex. The buildings were only eight stories high and had no elevators. Her apartment was on the fifth floor.
Renee and Sawyer stood outside apartment 503. Renee raised her hand and knocked.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
"WOOF!" Sunny the golden retriever’s bark instantly sounded from inside. "Renee is here!"
The bark was followed by the sound of claws scratching at the door.
"WOOF! Grandma, hurry up and open the door!"
Evening Maple hadn’t heard the knocking. Seeing Sunny pawing at the door, she asked with an amused laugh, "Buddy, do you want to go out and play?"
Sunny strained to lift his front paws, trying to reach the doorknob. "WOOF! Grandma, open the door for Renee!"
Renee figured Evening Maple hadn’t heard the knock, so she knocked again and called out, "Ma’am, I’m Renee Jennings, the streamer you connected with yesterday."
Upon hearing her voice, Evening Maple finally realized why Sunny had been so excited. She quickly opened the door, explaining, "Ah, Streamer, my apologies. My hearing isn’t very good, so I didn’t hear you knock earlier."
"It’s no problem," Renee said with a small smile. She then introduced her companion. "This is my friend. She’s a police officer."
Upon hearing this, Evening Maple gave a slight bow. "Hello, Officer. Please, you two, come in."
Renee and Sawyer moved to take their shoes off, but she stopped them. "Oh, no need for that. The floors haven’t been mopped in a few days, so just come right in. I’m having a cleaning service come tomorrow anyway."
"Alright," Renee agreed with a slight smile and a nod.
Stepping into the living room, Renee’s eyes swept across the space. "Ma’am," she praised, "you’ve made your home feel so warm and cozy."
"Now that I’m older, I don’t tidy up as much, but I used to put a lot of care into it," Evening Maple said, gesturing for them to sit. With a smile, she asked, "Can I get you some juice?"
Renee waved her hand dismissively. "Please, Ma’am, don’t go to any trouble. We’ll only be staying for a little while," she said with a pleasant smile.
"It’s no trouble at all, no trouble at all," Evening Maple insisted, her face wreathed in smiles. "Or perhaps some milk?"
She was already walking toward the refrigerator as she spoke.
Sunny wagged his tail furiously, glancing from his grandma’s retreating back to Renee and Sawyer.
"WOOF! Grandma loves having company!"
’It’s been so many days since we had guests.’
Renee raised an eyebrow and reached out to stroke Sunny’s head. "And what about you?"
Sunny nodded, then shook his head.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Renee asked.
Sunny explained, "WOOF WOOF WOOF! I like company, but I only like it when good people visit! If bad people come, I don’t like it at all."
Renee was about to say something, but Evening Maple had already returned with juice and milk. "Juice or milk? I have both."
It was hard to refuse her hospitality. Renee smiled and said, "Ma’am, you can just set them down for now. We’ll help ourselves if we get thirsty. You’re looking much better today. Did you sleep well last night?"
"I slept quite well," Evening Maple said, sitting down on a small stool. She stroked Sunny’s back and chuckled. "It’s a good thing you reminded me, Streamer."
Renee asked gently, "By the way, Ma’am, do you have a blood pressure monitor here?"
"Yes, I do."
"Let me take a reading for you, then."
"Alright, I’ll go get it." Evening Maple stood and pulled open a drawer in the TV stand.
She took out the blood pressure monitor and handed it to Renee.
After taking the measurement, the numbers on the screen showed that everything was normal.
Renee placed the monitor back in its case before speaking slowly. "Ma’am, how often do your son and daughter-in-law visit?"
"Sometimes once a week, sometimes once a month. It’s not a fixed schedule." A resigned smile touched Evening Maple’s weathered face. "They’re busy with work. There’s nothing to be done."
"I see," Renee said with a soft nod. "Ma’am, did you take your blood pressure medication today?"
At the mention of that, a gentle smile crinkled the corners of Evening Maple’s eyes. "I did. Right after I finished breakfast, Buddy brought the medicine right to me."
She stroked Sunny’s head, her face full of adoration. "He’s such a good boy. He’s more dutiful than my own son."
"And the bottle of expired medicine from before?" Renee asked, turning to Sunny. "Can you bring it to me?"
Sunny, who had been snuggling affectionately with his grandma, immediately grew serious at the question. "WOOF! I’ll go get it!"
With that, he trotted off toward his secret hiding spot.
"Buddy hid the medicine," Evening Maple said with a laugh. "He’s quite good at hiding things. Even I don’t know where he puts them."
Sunny quickly returned with the bottle in his mouth, stopping in front of Renee.
Renee held out her hand, and the dog dropped the bottle right into her palm.
She twisted off the cap, shook a few pills into her hand, and sniffed them.
"Well? Have they gone bad?" Evening Maple asked, puzzled.
Renee looked up at her. "Ma’am, could you get me one of the new pills you bought last night?"
"Of course." Evening Maple opened a drawer in the coffee table and took out the new bottle of blood pressure medication.
Renee sniffed the new pill, then placed it in her palm next to the other one for comparison. "Sawyer, can you see a difference?"
Sawyer pointed to the new pill. "This one looks whiter. The pills from the bottle Buddy brought are more of a yellowish color."
Hearing that, Evening Maple frowned. "So they really have gone bad. I’m so thankful Buddy didn’t let me take them."
Renee pressed her lips together, her eyes fixed on the older woman’s face. A flicker of hesitation crossed her expression. "Ma’am, there’s something I need to tell you."
"What is it?" Confusion clouded Evening Maple’s eyes.
"It’s about your son and daughter-in-law," Renee said, her brow furrowed with concern. "But I’m worried... that the shock might be too much for you."
Evening Maple’s brow tightened, her expression growing grave. "What do you mean? Streamer, do you know them?"
"I don’t," Renee replied, shaking her head gently. "But Buddy does."
Evening Maple glanced at Buddy. After a moment of silence, her tone became serious. "Streamer, just tell me. I’m feeling much better today. I’ll be alright."
At this point, Sawyer spoke up. "Ma’am, would you be willing to let us record this? Please rest assured, the footage will not be made public. It’s solely for our internal records."
"Yes, that’s fine," Evening Maple agreed.
Sawyer took out a camera, positioned it, and asked again, "Ma’am, are you feeling any physical discomfort at this moment?"
Evening Maple shook her head at the camera. "I’m not feeling any discomfort. You don’t need to worry."
She turned to Renee, a hint of urgency in her eyes. "Streamer, what’s wrong with my son and daughter-in-law? Please, just tell me."
Renee clutched the medicine bottle Sunny had brought her. "Ma’am," she began slowly, "this medicine isn’t actually expired. The reason Buddy wouldn’t let you take it... it’s something else."
"Something else?" Evening Maple’s brow furrowed deeply. "What reason?"
Renee took a deep breath before speaking softly. "The pills in this bottle aren’t for high blood pressure. Your son and daughter-in-law replaced them with something else. We’ll have to run some tests to determine exactly what it is."