PDLP Chapter 45 Eavesdropping
Chapter 45 Eavesdropping
Miguel, the shelter supervisor, felt his arm tighten around the short-haired white woman's grip. A hint of impatience crossed his face. He gently pulled his arm away, his tone dismissive: "Madam, calm down. In this place, homeless people disappear all the time. One leaves today, another arrives tomorrow. Even the police can't keep up. We're powerless to do anything about it."
Although Miguel was telling the truth, Simon Lin still caught the underlying message:
Who cares if a homeless person goes missing?
Excuse me, have you paid your taxes?
Whether it's a police station or a shelter, they all need to eat.
Upon hearing Miguel's words, the short-haired woman's face turned deathly pale, tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face, her lips trembling as she tried to plead again.
Miguel, however, changed the subject, a broad smile spreading across his face: "Speaking of which, you're quite lucky, ma'am. What's your name?"
"Miranda..." The white woman named Miranda paused, looking at Miguel with a puzzled expression. "Luck, what does that mean?"
"Ms. Miranda, I feel very sorry for you."
A warm voice suddenly came from the side. Miranda turned her head and saw a white man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a sharp suit walking quickly towards her with a gentle smile on his face.
Miguel quickly introduced, "This is Mr. Gray. He's very philanthropic and often helps homeless people with their problems. He might be able to help you."
Upon hearing this, Miranda's dim eyes instantly lit up, as if she had grasped a lifeline. Her voice trembled with excitement, "Really? Mr. Gray, please, you must help me find Jason!"
"Don't rush, tell me slowly."
Gray waved his hand gently.
Seeing this, Miguel patted Miranda on the shoulder: "You should talk to Mr. Gray about the situation; he'll definitely do his best."
With that, he led Miranda and Mr. Gray to a room next door.
That was rented by the shelter, specifically for the staff to rest.
Lin Ximeng watched this scene from a short distance away, but felt a little strange:
On the West Coast, would anyone be so concerned about a missing homeless person?
Simon Lin turned to Emily and Martha and asked, "Who is that man with glasses?"
Martha spoke first: "He's Gray, the representative from Connolly Pharmaceuticals. He often comes with us to distribute supplies."
Emily added, "And he's particularly enthusiastic about things like homeless people going missing. Whenever someone is looking for a missing relative or friend, he always steps forward to help."
Pharmaceutical representative?
Lin Simon recalled that when he questioned the two brothers in red and blue pants, they mentioned:
Before Jason disappeared, he had seen a white man wearing glasses several times.
Those pieces of information, when combined with the name "Grey," instantly connected.
What made him even more suspicious was that he vaguely remembered the two brothers mentioning that whenever someone went missing in this area, Gray would frequently appear, and soon after, news of the missing person's death would come.
"Pharmaceutical representatives, why does that sound like the Grim Reaper knocking on your door?"
When Simon Lin shared his doubts with Emily and Martha, the two of them also became interested.
"Let's go listen to what they're saying."
Martha took the initiative to suggest that the three of them quietly move towards the staff break room.
The door to the room was tightly closed, and only faint voices could be heard inside, but the content was completely inaudible.
Martha had a sudden inspiration and pointed to Emily's medical kit.
"No, that won't do," Emily said softly, but unable to resist Martha's pleading, she took out a stethoscope from her medical kit and listened to the sound through the crack in the door.
She still couldn't hear it clearly, and shrugged helplessly: "It won't work, the sound frequency is not right, I can't hear it clearly."
A stethoscope is designed to capture faint biological sound sources (such as heart sounds) and is specifically optimized for certain frequencies. It is not very effective for common human conversations.
Lin Ximeng pondered for a moment, then took out two disposable paper cups from the supply box and strung them together with a piece of thin thread: "Try this."
As he spoke, he carefully aimed at the crack in the door, and with a gentle push, the paper cup, along with the cotton thread, slowly slid into the room.
Simon quickly held another paper cup to his ear, gesturing for Emily and Martha to come closer.
The conversation was intermittent, but the content was still clear.
Martha looked surprised and then looked at Simon Lin with a hint of admiration.
Emily was also a little surprised.
Gray's voice was unusually urgent: "How is Jason's health usually? Has he been taking any enhancement drugs lately?"
Miranda quickly shook her head: "He never touches those things, he's very healthy, he rarely even catches a cold."
Gray asked a few more questions, repeatedly confirming that Jason was free of illness and in good health, his excitement barely concealed.
Martha leaned close to Simon's ear and whispered, "This focus is so weird! Asking a homeless man about his health? And specifically hiding in the rest room to say it, there's definitely something fishy going on!"
To hear more from the paper cup, the three of them moved closer and closer.
Lin Ximeng sat holding a paper cup, and Martha leaned half her body against him, her shoulder almost completely pressed against his arm, her hair brushing against his neck, and her warm breath gently brushing against his skin.
Emily squeezed to the other side, and the three of them were pressed close together.
Martha also felt her body getting hot from the physical contact with Lin Simon.
But she pretended not to mind and whispered, "Come closer, I didn't hear what you just said!"
As she spoke, she pressed herself closer to Lin Simon.
The next second, a gentle yet distant voice came from the paper cup: "Ms. Miranda, please go back and wait for news. We will contact you as soon as we have any leads."
Then came Miranda's grateful thanks and the sound of the door opening and her leaving.
After the door closed again, the content of their conversation changed instantly.
Gray said, "I've been eyeing this body for a long time. It didn't need any medication or have any diseases. It's much more valuable than those who die from drug use. I can't afford to lose it."
"I know," Miguel replied cheerfully. "Normally, a homeless person's body costs $1400. In this case, it should be double that, right?"
The two talked a lot more, mostly about the prices of body parts, for example:
躯干900、腿340到350、头骨210到650.....零零总总，给身体的每一个部位都标了价。
These words greatly surprised the three people who were eavesdropping.
Martha covered her mouth in shock and gripped Simon Lin's arm tightly.
Emily was also deathly pale.
At this point, Lin Ximeng finally understood why Gray was so enthusiastic.
The conversation between the two people inside the room continued.
Gray's voice came through: "The most important thing now is to find the body. We need to find someone capable of doing it."
Jason, a black man, had been missing for several days, and Gray deduced that, for a homeless man, he might have been dead for several days.
Miguel quickly chimed in, "Indeed, who do you think is more reliable?"
"That security guard from earlier."
Gray said with certainty, "He was the first to rush in and stop the riot just now. He seems quite capable, so it's perfect for him to search for Jason's whereabouts."
Miguel nodded: "He's Emily's friend. I'll call Emily right now."
As soon as she finished speaking, Emily's phone suddenly lit up, and the screen clearly displayed:
Incoming caller ID: "Miguel".