"Damn…" Kelly cursed, throwing her sunglasses to the ground. She looked at Jeff angrily. “Book a ticket to the academy, I have to be right back to kick that boy’s ass.”
"Calm down, Kelly..." Jeff raised his hand to calm her down, then returned his gaze to the woman. “We are looking for a baker who used to work on this street. Was this a commercial area before they turned it into a park?”
The woman nodded. “That's right, this was a slum area containing many unlicensed stores, so when it was decided to turn it into a park, many demonstrations took place to stop this project. In the end, the city municipality created a new commercial area and moved the store owners there.”
"Excellent..." Jeff's spirits rose when he got the tip of a thread that might lead him to his goal. “Can you tell us where the owners of those shops were transferred?”
The woman pointed east. “They are in the Loiselle area...”
“Thank you...” Jeff and Kelly took a taxi and headed to Loiselle area
After they got out of the taxi, Kelly looked around with a frown. “How are we supposed to look for one man in an area where there are thousands?”
“If what that woman said is true, then all the stores that were in the Brownsville area have been moved here. As a mid-level commercial area, the store owners must know each other and have some kind of relationship, whether friendship or enmity.” Jeff showed the plan they would follow
"You mean we should look for bakery owners because they'll probably recognize Winston Hitler."
"..." Jeff looked at Kelly in amazement
A dark line appeared on Kelly's forehead. “I feel like you're questioning my intelligence with that look.”
“Cough... Never mind, let's start looking for the wanted man...” Jeff smiled embarrassed and they looked for a bakery they could start from.
They were able to reach the largest bakery located on Loiselle Street after inquiring from some passers-by
Jeff suggested that they not go directly to the bakery, but rather go to the police station in the area to inquire about some things
They were able to obtain some useful information from an old officer who worked on Brownsville Street and was transferred to the police station in the Loiselle area
That officer knew most of the store owners who had previously worked on Brownsville Street
But he could not recognize the picture of Winston Hitler
This made Jeff a little frustrated, but he did not give up and asked the officer about that big bakery on the street.
The officer showed them all the information he knew. “The demonstrators were able to obtain financial compensation from the government after their stores were removed. The people who were running bakeries in that area decided to open one large store and share the profits instead of opening several separate stores.”
“So, we can find all the bakers in the area in that place?” Jeff asked him
The old officer scratched his head as he tried to remember. “I think some of them decided to leave this profession, most of them were old so they decided to retire...”
“That's enough for us…” Jeff decided that their next destination would be Loiselle Bakery
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Jeff and Kelly entered Loiselle's pastry shop
The place was full of customers
The thing that attracts attention is that most of the bakery workers are elderly men and women, and even the youngest of them was middle-aged.
An old dwarf with a long beard approached them with a smile. “What can I help you with?”
“We are from the government, and we are here on a mission—”
Before Jeff could finish his words, the smile disappeared from the dwarf's face and he shouted angrily. “We have paid all our taxes. Are you here to blackmail us?”
The customers looked at them and began to whisper cautiously, while the faces of the bakery workers became hostile
“No, no, we are not tax collectors, we are from the police and we came to ask you about someone.” Jeff explained that he was not there to collect taxes
“Who are you looking for?” The old dwarf's expression became lighter, but he did not apologize to them. He did not seem to like the fact that there were police officers who wanted to investigate him.
Jeff wanted to end the matter quickly and leave this place. So he presented the paper on which Winston Hitler's face was drawn. "We're looking for this man...His name is Winston Hitler."
“I don't know anyone with that name, but...” The dwarf examined the paper, seeming to suspect something.
“If you notice something, please let me know...” Jeff was hoping they would find something here, because if no one recognized this man then their visit to Cairn City had been in vain.
“I know a man who had a face like that, but without that stupid mustache...”
Jeff's eyes lit up with hope. " truly!..."
“Well... I'm not sure...” The old dwarf was hesitant, so he walked towards an old human woman and handed her the paper. " Nicole, does this guy look familiar?"
The human woman, who was a full meter taller than the old dwarf, bent down to take the paper from him. “Hmmmm?...”
After a full minute of looking at the paper, Nicole screamed. “This guy looks like Old Patterson!”
“So I wasn’t wrong!” The old dwarf pointed at her when he saw that he was not mistaken
“But what is this strange mustache?” Nicole looked at the drawing strangely
The bakery workers began to gather to look at the drawing, and they all agreed that the face drawn on the paper resembles Old Patterson's face, but without that mustache.
“Okay...” Jeff put his hand on his chin. “The presence of a mustache is not very important because it is something that is easy to remove whenever one wants...”
“But why are you looking for Old Patterson?” Nicole asked
“We suspect he is involved in a crime...” Jeff tried to explain the situation to them, hoping to get their help, but he noticed that the bakery workers were starting to look at each other strangely.
He realized something was wrong
Nicole handed him the paper and said. "Old Patterson died two years ago..."
Jeff's shoulders fell when he heard those words. After they had finally found the man they wanted, they were back to square one
But he tried to find another way. “Did he have a family?”
"He wasn't married...I think." Nicole's words were hesitant
“You think?” Jeff didn't understand why Nicole was so hesitant
Nicole didn't answer
So a middle-aged man who had facial features similar to Nicole came forward. “In fact, Old Patterson often kept his personal life secret...”
"Can you explain more..." Jeff's suspicions about Old Patterson increased
“In fact, we had a good relationship and we often met on the weekends at one of us’s house to stay up late, drink and play until dawn, but Old Patterson refused to let us come to his house. He did not explain the reason and no one asked him why so as not to embarrass him. We thought he had his own reason."
" Only this?." Jeff inquired again
"Yes..." The man nodded
“Where was his house?” Jeff decided to head to Old Patterson's house in hopes of getting a lead there
“It's on what's left of Brownsville Street, right behind the park.” Nicole answered
"Hasn't that street been completely removed?"
“There were some dilapidated houses left there. We all decided to leave, but Old Patterson still lived there and refused to come with us. We don’t know why he was so stubborn, that place has become almost deserted.”
"Didn't he work with you in this store?"
“He gave up work after the government demolished his shop...”
Jeff raised an eyebrow. “How did he live without a source of livelihood?”
Nicole remained silent and even the man who was her son did not answer
Jeff couldn't help but sigh, he knew very well that these people were cautious in giving out private information about their friend
So he had to show them the seriousness of the situation. “In fact, the crime we are investigating is serious and many lives are at risk, so we need all the information if possible...”
“So can you show me your badge so we can make sure you are really from the government and not an imposter?” The old dwarf came forward with his hands on his waist
“Old Ken...” Nicole whispered, but Old Ken stopped her with a wave of his hand
Jeff took out his badge and handed it to Old Ken
“Imperial Intelligence!” A look of horror appeared on Ken's face
All the bakery workers were shocked
They realized that the situation was so serious that intelligence had intervened
Ken returned the card to Jeff and said. “After Patterson’s store was demolished, he refused to move here with us and stayed in his house. Then one day several young men appeared and began to live with him in his house. We do not know much about them, but Old Patterson told us that they were his relatives...”
This is getting more suspicious...Jeff thought deeply
Did all these people give up their homes and jobs to suddenly come to a new city to take care of an old man?
Even if their relationship was strong, wouldn't it be easier for him to go live with them?
Jeff decides to head to Patterson's house to investigate
“Thank you for your cooperation...” Jeff thanked them
Nicole's son came forward and gave Jeff a sheet containing prices for some sweets
" this?." Jeff was confused for a moment
Nicole's son pointed to the side. “This is the bill for the sweets that this girl ate...”
Jeff looked at the place the man was pointing to and found that Kelly was sitting at a table with plates of various sweets and baked goods in front of her, and she was eating greedily.
"..." Were you eating all the time?