NOVEL WEB Chapter 317
The tension and anxiety, elevated by stress, raced through him like a truck with no brakes. Just hours before, the man who ran a modest café suddenly recalled a phrase from a regular customer who claimed to enjoy reading.
Bang! Crash! The drawers clattered noisily.
Glass cups tumbled from the wide-open cupboard and sink. The pulled-out drawers and scattered clothes on the floor seemed to reflect the man’s complicated and uneasy state of mind.
He wandered through the room, which looked like it had been swept away by a typhoon. Trampling on his precious belongings with shoes muddied from dirt, he resembled a common thug, yet in truth, he was the rightful owner of the house, having moved in through legitimate contract.
No one could fathom how an ordinary self-employed person could end up in such a state.
Only the fact that a regular patron, who professed a love for reading, had handed him a large reward and that he, wanting to escape a life harried by debt, had accepted the money without a second thought, led to his sudden transformation into a fugitive.
Now he rummaged through his home like a man chased by loan sharks, grabbing anything that might bring him money.
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Episode 13 – There is No Country for Magicians
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-Ding Dong!
At the unexpected sound of the bell, the man’s hand, which had been hastily collecting the hidden reward money, suddenly froze.
His mind, stretched tight with tension and anxiety, instantly quieted as if doused with cold water.
In the act of searching his home with ruthless hands, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and peered through a peephole, trembling in terror.
Through that peephole, he saw two police officers standing firmly at his door.
One officer knocked gently on the door and spoke.
“We’re the police. Mr. Bonasera.”
The mere mention of the word “police” made Bonasera’s heart plummet. He felt like a condemned criminal, trembling hands now uncontrollable.
“We received a report today. You were contacted earlier, correct?”
“……”
Although the police officer mumbled something, Bonasera heard nothing. No, he physically couldn’t hear it.
Right then, he could have surrendered himself to the police. He could’ve attempted to create a friendly atmosphere at the door while serving coffee or perhaps even talk them out of their suspicions with clever lies. Yet Bonasera did not do that.
By the time he regained his senses, he found himself crammed into the narrow bathroom window. Balancing on the flimsy outdoor unit, he climbed the fire escape ladder.
Though flustered by the sudden appearance of the police, his legs were already in motion without his consent. Climbing the ladder with a loose bag of cash slung over him, Bonasera suddenly realized.
“Ah, this was another tip the bookworm regular gave me.”
“……”
With half his mind lost, he was led towards a secluded alleyway near the villa. As he absentmindedly surveyed the meeting spot, he spotted a parked car.
Two men were standing around the car. They had cigarettes hanging from their mouths, standing with expressions that suggested something was lacking.
Dragging his reluctant feet toward them, Bonasera stammered out the agreed-upon phrase.
“Hey, Poppy…”
“……”
The two men smoking turned their gazes toward Bonasera. One of them looked him up and down, then opened the passenger door and said, “Get in.”
It seemed to be a signal. The man who had been extinguishing his cigarette hopped into the driver’s seat, while the one who had invited Bonasera slid into the seat right behind.
Although they said nothing, Bonasera couldn’t shake the feeling that if he didn’t get in, they would leave him behind.
Feeling uneasy at their cold welcome, Bonasera quickly glanced around to ensure no one was watching before scrambling into the passenger seat. He then fixed his gaze on the man in the driver’s seat.
However, that man did not start the engine nor even turn on the ignition.
“Seatbelt.”
“Ah….”
Only then did Bonasera realize he hadn’t buckled his seatbelt. Fumbling with trembling hands, despite his amateurish blunders taking time, he eventually secured the seatbelt and leaned back in relief.
Just then.
“Cough…!”
A sound, like a zipper being pulled down, came from the back seat. Without him noticing, an Information Officer had looped a thin, sturdy cord around Bonasera’s neck while pushing the seat away with his foot.
As Bonasera knocked against the window and kicked the glove compartment, he lost consciousness in less than 30 seconds.
“…….”
“Is it done?”
“Yeah, he’s dead.”
At the remark from his colleague in the driver’s seat, the Information Officer finally loosened his grip on the cord.
After a brief confirmation of the agent’s demise, the sequence of events that would follow was as clear as day.
“Let’s make it look like he was killed by the mafia. The evidence is in the passenger seat.”
“Let’s get this guy out first.”
Retrieving the rope, the Information Officer pulled Bonasera’s body from the passenger seat.
As he concealed a few forged pieces of evidence in the scene, his colleague took out a security terminal and notified the agency that the cleanup was complete.
“Let’s go.”
The Information Officer took Bonasera’s place in the very seat where he had been sitting. The professional fired up the vehicle and calmly drove away from the scene.
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In a quiet alleyway, just as dawn began to break, police arrived after receiving a report from a resident, only to find the dead body of the café owner.