Silly Bride Chapter 192
Chapter 192
Josiah’s car was already waiting outside when Winnie emerged from the Xenhall residence.She
opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat before syncing her phone with the car’s Bluetooth
function and sharing the location on her phone on the disy screen.She said to Josiah, “Follow this
car. He’s a private investigator that I hired.”“Okay.” Josiah nced at the screen. “I’m on it. How is
Xavier, by the way?”“He’s sleeping soundly. Nothing serious. But I can’t guarantee he’ll call us once he
wakes up. Remember to silence your phone after catching up with Ynda. It’ll ruin everything if your
phone suddenly ringster.”Josiah nodded. “You have a point. I’ll do as you say.”Winnie grunted, and
the pair did not speak further as they followed the car ahead.Around ten minutester, a major traffic
ident happened.A collision of five cars had caused the traffic toe to a standstill.“What’s going
on?” Josiah smacked the steering wheel impatiently. “It would take at least half an hour to take another
way. If we don’t, who knows how long more we’ll be stuck for? We are getting further and further away
from your private investigator.”Winnie gazed at the two points on the screen. They were stuck and
unmoving while the other red dot was elerating ahead.“Let’s take another way. Who knows when
the ident ahead will be taken care of. This is a rare opportunity we must not miss out on.”Because
of the slight hup, Winnie’s private investigator had already arrived at the destination when they finally
got back on track.“Spa Vige?” Josiah took the opportunity to erge the map for a closer look when
the traffic light turned red. He could not resist a chortle when he saw the location. “Hah! Ynda sure
knows how to pick a spot. A motel like this is unlike your typical hotel. There are almost no surveince
cameras. I wonder who she’s going to meet.”“I’ve no idea.” Winnie frowned. “They might be one of ours
for all her secrecy. Otherwise, she wouldn’t need to meet them in the dark like that.”“Good point,”
Josiah muttered. “We just don’t know who it is.”“Who cares?” Winnie narrowed her eyes, sounding
grim. “We must catch them in the act today.”“But,” Josiah protested, dashing her hopes, “he had a head
start. They might have already met long ago while we were still stuck on the way.”“Be that as it may, we
still have somebody powerful on our side. Don’t forget that.”Just as Winnie said those words, the traffic
ahead cleared up miraculously. Not only that, but they did not encounter a single red light throughout
the rest of their journey.Josiah sped up, as it was smooth along the way. The estimated time of thirty
minutes needed toplete the journey only took ten for them.Josiah gave Winnie a thumbs up after
he parked the car. “Your luck is incredible.”“Oh, please, you were the one who drove. Who’s to say it
wasn’t your luck? We’re heading in. Don’t forget to put your phone on silent.”After Winnie spoke, she
took out her phone and silenced it.It was at that moment that she realized that the private investigator
had suddenly stopped sharing his location with her.She sent him a question mark at once but received
no reply.Josiah noticed the sudden change and could not resist asking, “He couldn’t have been found
out, could he?”“Very likely.” Winnie frowned. “I’m even suspecting that his phone has been
controlled.”Winnie closed her eyes to recall the private investigator’sst known location.“Southeast,”
she told Josiah. “Let’s head over there and take a look. From the looks of the photo he sent me, the
building bears a traditional architectural style. Keep your eyes peeled.”“All right,” Josiah responded.
“Your memory is incredible.”Winnie appeared pleased with herself. “Are you just finding that out now?”
she said as they walked.Before they went very far, her phone vibrated all of a sudden.“It’s yours,”
Josiah said instinctively.Winnie froze in her stride. “It’s not just a call,” she announced while raising her
phone. “It’s a video call from the private investigator.”“What’s so urgent that he couldn’t just make a
regr call and have to make a video call instead?” Josiah mused. “It must be Ynda or her
aplice who’s calling. She discovered the private investigator and must have asked him who he
works for. Based on how things look, your private investigator has not yet ratted you out. Otherwise,
Ynda and whoever is with her will not need to make this video call.”“That’s right,” Winnie said. “The
private investigator doesn’t know my actual identity, anyway. Even the number I used to contact him is
not registered.”“What do we do now? Should we answer this video call?” Josiah asked.“We’ll pick up
and see what she wants,” Winnie said and covered the front camera with her hand before answering
the video call.The first image that greeted them was a fat yet haggard face as soon as the call
connected. It was the private investigator hired by Winnie.It was evident from the angle of the video
that the private investigator was holding the phone, but it was also apparent that he was forced to make
that call as there was a cold glint of a thin, long silver needle just visible at his neck.Immediately after,
the voice of the owner of the needle rang out. It was Ynda.“Aren’t you going to show yourself? Your
man has been caught in the act. Who are you? Why did you send somebody to follow me? What is
your motive?”Ynda bombarded Winnie with questions to which thetter did not respond.“Refusing
to speak, are you?” Ynda grew impatient after waiting several seconds. “It seems you’re in a
bamboo forest. You must be close by. I’ll give you five minutes. If you don’t show up by then, my needle
will not be diplomatic. I’m sure you must have had me investigated since you took the time to follow
me. You should also know that silver needles are my weapons. The five-minute countdown begins
now!”Winnie furrowed her brows.“Ynda is vicious,” Josiah whispered in Winnie’s ear. “Her
needlework is formidable; I have once been on the receiving end. She might be capable of harming the
private investigator. Why don’t we just confront her?”Winnie had her reservations. She was still unsure
if only Ynda and the private investigator were in the house.If a third person, Ynda’s backer,
perhaps, is present, it will not be the end of the world to surrender now. If, however, that person does
not show up today and is still hidden, I’m not going to reveal myself so easily. Winnie began to tap
furiously on the phone screen before the video call ended.The duration of each tap was different, with
every note representing a different signal.It is themunication method known as Morse code.Soon,
Winnie ryed the most sinct question to the private investigator in the shortest time.The private
investigator regained hisposure and gave her a definitive answer.Upon understanding the
situation, Winnie abruptly ended the video call.Seeing that Winnie had hung up, Josiah asked in his
usual volume, “Were youmunicating with the private investigator via Morse code? I was interested
in it when I was in school and have dabbled in it. Although I didn’t understand the question you sent, I
understood the private investigator’s answer. I think he told you ‘yes,’ am I right?”“That’s right,” Winnie
confirmed. “I asked if he had been alone with Ynda the whole time, and he said yes.”“Does that
mean we came all the way for nothing today? Ynda must havee to meet with someone, and
she discovered your private investigator before her contact person arrived. D*mn it! Her contact person
will definitely not appear today.”“That’s right. Not only that, but we must also rescue the private
investigator.”“D*mn! Aren’t we shooting ourselves in the foot?”“That’s true.” Winnie took a deep breath.
“I don’t like to admit it, but the fact remains. Let’s go. We’ll talk further when we get there.”They only
managed to take a few steps when the phone rang again.It was not a video call this time, so WinnieProperty belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.
quickly picked up.Ynda’s voice came from the other end. “Two minutes have passed, and you only
have a hundred and eighty seconds left. I advise you to hurry up. Don’t take my generosity for
granted.”Take her generosity for granted? Hah. That’s a bold im.Winnie did not say anything.
Instead, she hung up.The pair promptly arrived at the little wooden house with a minute of the time
allocated by Ynda to spare.“What do we do now?” Josiah asked Winnie quietly. “Do we barge in?
Why don’t I go instead? It’ll spare your exposure.”“To her, we’re in this together. Your exposure would
mean mine too. I’ll go around the back. There must be windows there.”Josiah was puzzled. “Why are
you looking for windows? Are we going to ambush her?”Josiah meant it as a joke, but Winnie nodded
solemnly.“You are beginning to know me better, Dr. Houghton.”Josiah gaped at her and even tugged
her arm. “Are you serious?”Winnie was unsmiling. “Do I look like I’m joking?”“No, I should go. I’m a
man, at least.”“I don’t mean to discourage you, Dr. Houghton, but there are some things I do better than
you. All right. Let’s not say another word now.”At that, Winnie snuck around to the back of the house
and crouched beneath a small window.She nced inside and saw the back of Ynda’s and the
private investigator’s heads.“These windows are tiny,” Josiah whispered as he tugged her sleeve
gently. “How are you going to go in? You aren’t going to tell me you can shrink yourself, are you?”“You
read too manyic books.” Without another word of exnation to Josiah, Winnie undid her
scrunchie.Her hair was thick, so she used a thick band that day. It had good sticity, making it
suitable to sling the pebbles she had picked up earlier from the side of the road.Josiah was
speechless. That works? This woman seems to know everything! I have to admit she really is better
than me at that! Would an stic hair tie work, though?Just when Josiah was beginning to sweat
bullets on Winnie’s behalf, she sent the first pebble flying inside, which found its mark squarely on the
back of Ynda’s head.Startled by the sharp pain, Ynda instinctively retracted the silver needle in
her hand.Hazarding a guess that his employer hade to rescue him, the private investigator took
the opportunity to escape.Ynda’s head throbbed, but she was unwilling to call after the private
investigator, so she clutched her head in preparation to give chase.This time, Winnie aimed at her
knees and ankles.The pebbles were flung outward one at a time like bullets, each time striking the
most tender spots with deadly uracy.Although it did not cause great harm to Ynda, those two
spots were the most sensitive. It hurt so much that she curled up on the ground and hugged her ankle,
unable to stand.Having aplished her goal, Winnie tied her hair back up.Ynda was about to
leave, but she called Winnie’s name from within the house, to thetter’s surprise.“I know you’re out
there, Winnie! It must be you! I can’t think of anybody else in Avenport who would follow me except
you. If you have the guts to follow me, show yourself instead of resorting to such underhanded tactics,
you shameless woman!”Winnie froze.She had forced herself to hear Ynda’s words and was
indignant to discover them to be disparaging and hypocritical.She used me of employing
underhanded tactics. What about herself? She hypnotized Xavier and altered his memories when
nobody was watching. Is that above board, then?“You think you’re so smart, don’t you, Winnie? Well, to
be honest with you, I wasn’t actually meeting anyone. I made a special trip here today because I knew
you were following me. You can spend all of next month tailing me, and it won’t be of use.”Josiah had
enough. “D*mn it! This b*tch is toying with us. Since she had the monkey snatch my bag the first time I
went to her house, she has been toying with us.”“Rx.” Winnie tugged on Josiah, who was agitated.
“We lose this the moment we lose ourposure. Let’s go.”The pair quickly departed the scene. They
realized when they got in their car that the private investigator’s car had disappeared, and all four of
Ynda’s tires had been punctured.Josiah chuckled coldly. “That works. This private investigator’s
rather petty.”“That suits us. Ynda won’t be able to return soon. Since this is a wasted trip, we might
as well snoop around her room. The day won’t be aplete loss.”“All right. Sit tight, then.”Josiah
drove as quickly as possible, and the pair arrived promptly at the Xander residence.Winnie pressed the
doorbell, but nobody answered the door.When he peered through the window beside the door, Josiah
found a shocking scene and tugged urgently at Winnie’s arm. “Come quick. Look!”Winnie looked in the
direction where Josiah’s finger was pointing and found Sebastian lying unconscious on the floor.