Mrs. Geert looked at Jenkins suspiciously, and then pinched the paper bag with her hands. She could feel the thickness of the banknotes inside. If it wasn't for the fact that the other party deliberately made a pile of penny bills as a joke, then the amount of money in this bag is really amazing.
She wanted to call the young man to stop and ask some more questions, but when she looked up, the man had gone away. When Mrs. Geert walked out of the gate and walked into the street, the man just now was completely gone, as if he had never appeared.
She tightly held the money in her hand, knowing that this was the only hope for this broken family in the future. Although the husband bankrupted the family because of his addiction to that expensive tobacco, the family always had to stay afloat.
Thinking of her deceased husband, she couldn't help crying again. When she lowered her head and wiped her eyes and walked home, she didn't notice that the middle-aged man who passed by was actually the young man just now.
Jenkins walked back again, but this time for the Barnards. He doesn't have any reason to get in touch with this family now, but he still can't help but want to come over and have a look.
It has been less than half a year since Mr. Barnard passed away, and Jenkins was surprised by the speed of time passing. He still clearly remembers that night, that admirable gentleman, even after death, would venture into his dreamland for the sake of his family. This is probably the power of mortals, and Jenkins admires such people very much.
He planned to just stand outside the house for one stop before leaving, but unexpectedly found a house resale notice posted next to the mailbox. Surprised and worried that Mrs. Barnard was short of money, he took the risk of ringing the bell.
There was someone in the house, indeed the middle-aged woman. After Jenkins briefly explained his intention to buy a house in a crappy local dialect, he asked in a roundabout way:
"Hello, I'm actually curious, is there anything wrong with this house? Why are you in such a hurry to sell it? I noticed on the paper over there that the last date left by the listing agent is the middle of next month, Is there something wrong with this house?"
The middle-aged woman's face is full of sadness, but at least it's better than the woman next door who just lost her husband:
"No, sir, it's just that I'm leaving the city. You see, I have three children to take care of, and it's not convenient to live with a maid. My parents in the country are willing to take me home, so I will Selling here in such a hurry."
Half a year has slightly eased the grief of her husband's death, and half a year is enough to add a few wrinkles and gray hair to her.
After learning that it wasn't as bad as he thought, Jenkins made excuses and left. It is best not to have anything to do with them now, it is best for the Barnard family. Past experience told Jenkins that anyone or anything he got involved with would get him into bigger trouble.
I thought that this matter was settled in this way, and Jenkins also focused his energy on the direction of Luen. Every evening, he would go there for a walk in the snow field with his friends. This was the real vacation time.
But things were not always as simple as Jenkins imagined. On Saturday afternoon, he yawned and touched the chocolate, regretting that he stayed too late in Loen last night.
Just as he was about to fall asleep in a daze, the door of the store was suddenly pushed open.
Dad and Chocolate, who were also drowsy because the room was too comfortable, were shocked just like Jenkins. When they looked up, they saw a little boy coming in.
This is the eyeliner of the old man on the street. He usually helps the antique shop to find out the news of his colleagues or deliver letters. A few days ago, he even helped them watch the train all morning. Of course, Dad will never treat them badly.
"Your letter, sir!"
The boy took out the envelope from the patched cotton coat and put it on the counter on tiptoe, then said hello to Jenkins loudly, and took the coins from him before leaving.
"I was really scared just now. Just a second ago, I dreamed that my house was on fire and the chocolate was gone..."
Jenkins lay down on the counter again, comforted the cat, and then babbled about his dream. The old man raised his hand to signal him to stop for a while, he had already opened the envelope, and his brows were tightly wrinkled:
"The Gelts are all dead, in the cemetery."
The tone was so serious that Jenkins even heard anger.
"Who are you talking about... hmm?"
He froze for a moment before realizing who his father was talking about, "How could it be?"
Jenkins couldn't believe the message: "You mean, Mrs. Galter and her children..."
"Yes, in the cemetery in the east of the city. This happened in the morning, and the police are probably still investigating. Do you have anything to do in the afternoon? If there is nothing, come and take a look with me."
"nothing."
Jenkins said immediately, turned and walked out of the counter, picked up the coat from the hanger and handed it to the old man. While his father was handling the fireplace, he quickly changed into his own clothes, put a black hat on his head, picked up the chocolates, and followed behind his father to leave.
"Please wait a moment."
He turned around and walked back to the counter, and picked up his cane:
"Okay, that's it."
There are many cemeteries around Nolan, which is also related to the city's huge population. If private cemeteries like the Augustus family cemetery are excluded, most of the remaining public cemeteries are concentrated near the hills in the northeast of the city.
For example, Fei Ni's relatives, the grandparents of the three Jenkins brothers, are all buried there.
Jenkins and his father took a carriage, starting from Fifth Queen's Avenue near the dock area in the west of the city, and crossing the entire city before arriving near the cemetery. Today seems to be a festival that Jenkins forgot. There are a lot of pedestrians on the street. It took them a full three hours to reach their destination, and by this time the sunset had even appeared on the horizon.
Chocolate fell asleep in the carriage, and woke up sensitively after the carriage stopped. It climbed onto Jenkins' shoulder and followed the man into the cemetery.
In the evening, the humidity in the cemetery was particularly heavy, as was the fog. After entering the park, the visibility decreased rapidly, and the water vapor in the air condensed into mist, mixed with the turbid air, filled with a strange smell.
Jenkins was skeptical that a new steam factory had opened nearby, otherwise it wouldn't make sense.
He followed closely behind his father, walked along the stone road for ten minutes, turned into a small road among the tombstones, and then continued to go deeper, only then could he see a group of people gathered somewhere from a distance. Most of them wore police uniforms.
Through the cracks in the crowd, Father Jenkins saw the cruel scene.