The weekend passed serenely, and unexpectedly, a fourth case did not occur. The serial killings Jimmy and Mahong had suspected did not seem to follow a fixed ti interval, and surveillance of the club yielded little.
Since surveillance was only possible around the periter, the monitoring team successfully captured images of only a few people; most club mbers entered and exited by car. Except for those in convertibles who could be directly photographed, the rest were those captured by telephoto lenses in relatively open areas. Although so people were identified, it could not be confird if they were the ones who owned the corresponding yachts.
If another case occurred, it might be possible to deduce the client list based on the timing of the case. Now, without a new case, that inference was impossible.
Mahong had returned to his normal state, and Mary had confird Jimmy's plan. Tomorrow morning, she would take so ti to co over for tea; everything was going very smoothly.
While Jimmy was idly passing the ti in his office, so minor incidents happened in Small Stone City. After much consideration, Jas finally decided to retire completely after this term ended.
In fact, since being shot last year, Jas had been contemplating retirent. Age does not spare anyone. While a normal police officer might recover in about a month, it took Jas over three months to fully recuperate. Aside from Deputy Chief Martin handling police station affairs, Jas's daily life was also affected.
Even after recovering, Jas's body was irreversibly affected. Although it was not to the extent of frequent fatigue and severe aging, his energy was not what it used to be. Jas used to occasionally take night shifts at the station and participate in other operations, but now, apart from working during the day, he needed to rest once he was ho.
As an experienced officer, Jas clearly understood that his body was no longer fit to continue another term. Although his wife Mary did not explicitly say it, he understood from her reducing her activities to stay with him that she was very worried as well.
After making up his mind, Jas began to arrange everything. As for the arrangents for the police station's managent, communicating with the Managent Committee took a lot of ti. Though the chief of police was elected, often there were manipulations involved.
Deputy Chief Martin had been brought along by Jas to many events, and each committee mber had also had private contact with him. Jas being shot was now common knowledge. Given his age and what had happened, everyone understood that this arrangent was the best for Jas.
Martin, having been Jas's partner for many years, wouldn't be the kind to completely settle scores with the forr boss. For him, Jas was very satisfied, particularly since Martin was much younger. If nothing unexpected occurred, Martin could remain in this position for two or three terms, thus ensuring that the police station would not be destabilized unexpectedly.
While Jas was handling the police station's affairs, others had also noticed his impending departure. As for this kind-hearted old man, there wasn't a single person in the police station with any significant grievance or complaint against him, so no unfortunate power struggles like those seen in TV dramas or movies occurred.
Jimmy received a call from Cage at the office; Cage didn't ntion any specific business, only calling to catch up. But Jimmy, ever suspicious, knew there had to be sothing amiss, though Cage spoke with an easygoing tone that didn't suggest anything negative.
Jimmy played along—he couldn't find out the reasons if he didn't ask, right? Who did they think they were dealing with?
While taking a break to smoke downstairs, Jimmy used another phone to call Justin. If anyone was well-inford about Small Stone City, it would definitively be Justin, particularly as he ranked very high on that list.
Justin: "Oh, it's been a while since you called. What's up?"
Jimmy: "Nothing special. How have you been?"
Justin: "I'm just a regular bartender, what can be new? Everything's normal. But why are you calling at this hour? It's exactly my bedti."
Jimmy chuckled. He had completely forgotten that Justin's bar wasn't open all day, only at night, so he had to sleep during the day.
Jimmy: "Alright, I've been out of Small Stone City for a while now. Anything new happening there?"
Justin: "Alright, cut the chitchat. You want to ask about Jas, don't you?"
Jimmy: "You know , tell , what's happening with him?"
Justin: "He's preparing to retire. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be stepping down soon. The police station is basically already under Martin's control."
Jimmy: "That's rather sudden. He hadn't ntioned anything to before."
Justin was speechless for a mont before saying, "You think too highly of yourself. It's been over a year since you left, do you really expect the police station to keep you inford at all tis?"
Jimmy was taken aback by Justin's words; although he knew he had a good relationship with Jas, Justin's comnt was still hurtful.
Jimmy: "Alright, I get it. I'll find out what's going on by myself later."
Justin: "No need to find out. I already know. Amy from your old police station already visited, though without a scheduled ti, but asked to prepare a spot. They're planning a retirent party for him one of these evenings, so I guess he will retire soon; it won't be long."
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