"Victor! I finally found you! My name is Hammer, and I’m your ’hourly worker’."
Not only Helen, but even Zhou Qingfeng was stunned.
Hammer? Hourly worker? Dementia? Zhou Qingfeng stood at the staircase, unable to fathom how this old man appeared here.
Helen turned around, angrily questioning Zhou Qingfeng, "Victor, who is this old man? When did you call for an hourly worker? What is he here for?"
Zhou Qingfeng quickly walked up to Hammer, trying to explain, "Mr. Hammer, I canceled the order last night. You didn’t have to come, so why are you still...?"
The old man paused with the coffee in hand, furrowed his brows in thought for a moment, then let out a long "Oh...".
"Right, right, I remember now. You did cancel the order." He shrugged, "But I forgot about it.
The agency later called me, urging me to come over quickly, and gave me your new address. So, I still came.
No worries, since I’m already here, it hasn’t delayed anything much. This time, I’ll charge half for the ’hourly’ fee."
Helen was bewildered, unable to hold back her question, "Mr. Hammer, how did you get in?"
"Through the front door." The old man pointed to the living room door.
"I locked the door!" Helen’s voice rose an octave.
"Uh... I’m pretty good at picking locks." The old man smiled, quite pleased with himself.
"I have an alarm system!" Helen added, unwilling to admit defeat.
"That thing only scares off petty thieves." The old man waved dismissively, unfazed, and leisurely sat back on the sofa, taking a sip of his coffee.
Even more shocking to Helen and Zhou Qingfeng was the old man’s next words: "At eight-thirty this morning, a police officer knocked on the door, saying there was a big case in town and he needed to investigate the residents.
I opened the door, told them I was staying at my daughter’s place for a few days. They saw my age and didn’t suspect a thing. As for Mrs. Mary..."
He paused, turning his gaze to the kitchen, "I said she was my private nurse because I’m a bit forgetful and needed someone to take care of me. The police didn’t suspect a thing; they even wished me good health."
"Mary? Who is Mary?" Helen’s mind was a complete mess, unable to make sense of the situation.
Just then, from the kitchen came the "ding" of the toaster finishing its job.
Immediately, a woman wearing an apron walked out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of freshly toasted bread, and said coldly, "Breakfast is ready."
Helen and Zhou Qingfeng simultaneously turned to look at her – she was the wife of the ’Corpse Collector’ and also the nurse taking care of Chief Inspector Karl.
It was as if Helen’s memory suddenly returned, clutching her head in pain, she said, "Damn it, what did I do last night? Seems I’ve gotten into big trouble."
Old Hammer reminded, "I checked on Carl in the guest room; that FBI chief inspector is in decent shape.
But with my over thirty years of CIA experience, Victor, don’t expect to solve the current problem through normal channels."
Zhou Qingfeng and Helen once again stared at the old man on the sofa.
Only the wife of the ’Corpse Collector’ remained calm, "Hammer Lee, this old man is notorious in the underground world. But getting him to come was no small feat.
Oh, and Carl has woken up now, you might want to check on him. Although he’s still very weak, he wants to say something to you."
In the first-floor guest room, Chief Inspector Karl lay quietly on a mobile stretcher bed, his face pale, breathing weak.
He had an IV needle in his arm, with glucose dripping into his veins to sustain his life.
The heart monitor made regular "beep beep" sounds, the waveform on the screen showing normal vital signs.
Every hour, the wife of the ’Corpse Collector’ would come in to help him turn and move his muscles, preventing stiffness from prolonged bed rest.
In addition, she would meticulously clean his body, handle his excretions, ensuring he stayed clean and comfortable.
Zhou Qingfeng felt thankful, marveling, "Spending ten thousand US dollars a day was indeed worth it."
Without this detailed and thorough care, even with a successful surgery, Chief Inspector Carl’s condition could have rapidly deteriorated, undermining all of Zhou Qingfeng’s efforts.
Hearing the door opening, Chief Inspector Carl’s eyes slowly opened, raising a finger to point at the phone beside him, typing, "Contact the Internal Security Office of the Department of Justice for me."
Zhou Qingfeng frowned slightly. He knew nothing about ’internal security’ and instinctively looked at Old Hammer, hoping for some advice.
Old Hammer shrugged, shook his head, and mocked, "It’s useless, Carl, don’t be naive.
Even if that young man contacts high officials in the Washington Department of Justice, without sufficient connections and resources, they’ll just refer the matter to the Miami local authorities.
Do you believe, as soon as Victor makes a call, within half an hour, Deputy Director Shult will personally take a helicopter, leading a team to your location.
He would then gratefully thank Victor for his contributions to American judicial justice and ’protect’ him by cutting off all his external contacts.
As for you, Carl..." Old Hammer glanced at the chief inspector lying on the stretcher, "you’ll be sent to the hospital and ’die from severe injuries.’
Victor’s lottery payout would be processed immediately, but he would never be able to control his account.
At that point, Victor’s attorney, Beck Hughes, would consider himself professionally impartial if he maintains neutrality."