Chapter 362
Chapter 362
“Spill it.” Lena stuffed her phone into her pocket and pulled up the sleeve of her puffer jacket.
Clayton shifted from lying on the ground to sitting, covering his mouth as his fingers carefully prodded his front teeth.
They wiggled. A couple more hits and they’d definitely fall out.
‘Poor teeth. Who have they pissed off to get knocked out so often?‘ he thought.
He sucked in a sharp breath and mumbled, “I lied to her. I didn’t see
anything.”
“Damn it!” Lena cursed inwardly and kicked him twice more.
Thud. A bundle of clothes fell out of her jacket, leaving Clayton staring in disbelief.
“Don’t play games! I’m not a toddler,” she snapped. “Where did you see her? When? Talk!”
Despite her small size, Lena had a commanding presence.
Clayton groaned, “I made the whole thing up. I just wanted to trick Audrey into meeting me.”
“For what?”
Clayton dropped his head, silent.
Lena sneered, thinking, ‘He intended to grope her?‘
Just thinking about the way he’d grabbed her earlier made her skin crawl. She thought, ‘If Audrey, heavy with babies and unable to break free, had been touched by him, she’d have been revolted.‘
‘Getting upset could’ve harmed the babies.‘
Lena punched him again, then snatched up the bundle of clothes that had been padding her fake stomach. “If you ever harass Audrey again, I’ll beat you so badly you’ll forget your own name!”
“Let’s roll,” Lena barked, waving Hugo toward the van before they sped off.
Clayton, already stiff from the cold and now aching all over–not the excruciating kind, but a dull, throbbing ache that seemed to be everywhere–limped
back to his car and headed for the slum..
In the darkness, a car started tailing him.
A man stepping out to throw trash nearly crashed into the bedraggled Clayton, jumping back in alarm. “What’s your deal?”
“Looking for a place to rent.” Clayton’s words were muffled by his hand over his mouth as he shuffled toward the courtyard.
The man didn’t recognize him at first, but hurried to dump his trash and follow him inside.
“This one.” The man opened the door, flipped on the light, and only recognized Clayton when he started detailing the rent. “Got beat up, huh?“,
Clayton nodded. “Borrowed cash for medical bills. Ran into a collector.”
The man eyed him doubtfully, wary he might stiff him on rent.
Clayton pulled out his phone to transfer money. “What’s your name?”
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Chapter 362
“Kyle,” the man replied.
“Let me see your license.”
Kyle Merton eyed him suspiciously. “Why?”
Clayton shrugged. “I’m renting from you. I show you mine, and you
show
me
- TS.
Standard stuff, right?”
$28
Kyle had been about to ask for Clayton’s license but waved it off. “Nah, short–term rental. No need for a license. Just don’t trash the place.”
He gave Clayton his bank account but got no transfer.
“How do I know you’re legit if you won’t show me proof?” Clayton said.
Kyle studied him, finding the guy seemed different from his last visit.
Noticing the hesitation, Clayton glanced toward the courtyard and raised his voice. “You ain’t just another renter scamming a dying man, are you?”
Two apartments lit up at the commotion, sounds of people rustling to get up.
“Are you even wanted by the cops?” Clayton added.
Kyle’s eyes hardened. He didn’t want to deal with this anymore and definitely didn’t want to rent to him.
He barked, “Get lost if you’re not renting.”
Clayton grabbed his duffel and headed out as a middle–aged woman emerged from the opposite unit.
“Kyle? What’s happening?” she asked.
“Nothing. Just a guy asking about the room,” Kyle said.
Clayton stepped to the woman and pointed at Kyle. “I want to rent, but
he
says he’s the landlord and won’t show his license. Is he legit, ma’am?”
“Yeah.” The woman pulled her coat tighter. “Kyle is Hogan’s son. They live upstairs in that unit.”
She pointed to the room where Clayton had been caught by Kyle during his last visit.
“If he’s the landlord’s son, why won’t he show me his license? Something’s definitely fishy here. I’m not renting this place.” Clayton played the concerned
citizen.
The middle–aged woman was the nosy type. “Kyle, what’s the harm in showing the man your license? The room’s vacant anyway. It’s almost Christmas.
All the workers have left town. Take whoever you can get.”
Kyle reluctantly pulled up a photo of his license on his phone and thrusti
it
at Clayton.
It wasn’t her nagging that got to him. She was a community clerk who loved sticking her nose in everyone’s business.
Her old house by the road had been torn down, and her new place wasn’t ready, so she was crashing there temporarily.
Before Clayton could get a clear look, Kyle snatched the phone back. “If you can’t afford it, scram. Stop talking nonsense.”
Clayton didn’t argue. He transferred the money via phone, then went to his room and shut the door.
The woman kept Kyle talking for a few more minutes before letting him go.
Once the courtyard went quiet, the two men lingering outside finally walked away.
The next day, Clayton started chatting with the woman under the pretense of asking for directions.
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Chapter 362
Suddenly, he changed topics. “I saw on Kyle’s license he’s from Fairfield. Is this really his house?”
Glancing up at the upstairs unit, the woman waved Clayton into her place and poured him a glass of water.
901
She said, “The original owner is Kyle’s aunt. She only has one son, who moved her abroad a couple of years ago. Kyle paid her a lump sum to buy this place. Since he’s not a local, he can’t legally transfer the title. They just have a private agreement.”
Clayton held his water cup, pretending to be envious. “I heard this area’s going to be demolished. The payout must be huge. Bet he shelled out a fortune for this place, huh?”
The middle–aged woman smiled and nodded.
The payout was indeed huge. Her place was only a little more than 1000 square feet, yet she’d scored two apartments and 300 thousand dollars.
This courtyard, about 1600 square feet, was bound to net even more. Too bad it wasn’t in as prime a spot.
Her old house sat on the main road, a direct casualty of the road widening project. Kyle’s place was tucked deeper in the neighborhood. He and a few other holdouts demanded an absurd amount, so the developers simply worked around them.
Whether it would ever get torn down and when remained up in the air..
As for the cash to buy the courtyard, the woman scoffed, “Kyle’s dad was a construction worker. He got hurt on the job and cashed in a fat settlement. Otherwise, how could he afford a place here?”
Clayton still came up empty–handed. But once the men who’d tailed him reported back to Yann, Audrey pieced things together.
She asked Yann to dig into Hogan Merton’s contacts and bank records.
Hogan’s last transaction dated back five years. After Prosperity Rising Estates stiffed him on his pay, his income dried up.
Yet, a month after the wage debacle, Kyle suddenly deposited 300 thousand dollars into his account.
