Investigation at the market

As he inspected the STORE,  he remembered that he wanted to do something this morning. So he went to the home phone device and then pulled out a public phone catalog.

He looked over to find the number of the nearest hospital to where Tam’s father worked. Next, he wanted to check how his health was.

He usually would want to explain to him what happened and the reason, but he knew he wouldn’t understand. He had lost a son, and no matter the reason, this wouldn’t make it less painful.

So at least he could learn how he is handling it, and try to help him go through it as much as possible.

Once the line connected, he asked the nurse if he was a patient there. He had to wait for a few minutes till the nurse responded that he got discharged this morning.

Mark thanked her and ended the call. He then started dialing the number of the phone of Tam’s father,  but no matter how much he waited, there was no answer.

Mark didn’t want to pursue it anymore, as he knew that he probably needed some time alone. But he planned to visit him soon to check how he was.

At that point, Maria got out of the shower, while her sister entered after her exit.

She headed towards her room to change.

“I am going to head out for a bit,“ Mark shouted at her.

The young girl turned towards her grandpa and looked at him with a look full of suspicion.

“They made some error in the market, and they brought us some things I didn’t order. Even if we could  use them, it isn’t right to keep them, so I will return them.“

They hadn’t made a mistake in the order, but it was the most straightforward excuse he could think of.

“Okay, but you better tell them to give you a discount next time for not stealing them.“

Mark nodded at her, and this was one of the times that he wondered who was in charge int the house.

This time, he took his truck and had informed Truck-kun about it to use the minions to prepare a place to park. Now that he knew he could do something like that, it would save him time for his future business or meetings with a client.

He still needed to work, as it would be suspicious by having money appear out of nowhere.

The store wasn’t too far, and with the help of the System minions, Mark saved a lot of time.

He made it in the store and towards one counter.

“Excuse me, can I speak to once in charge of the delivery service?“ he said to a middle-aged lady that was at the other side of the counter.

“Oh, Mr. Henderson, good morning. Is everything ok? Did something happen with your order?“ the woman asked him.

“Everything was ok with my order. I actually came here for the ones who made the delivery.“

The woman seemed surprised by that response, but Mark continued speaking soon after that.

“They did nothing. I just found this silver ring on my floor, and it isn’t mine or of my granddaughters. So I thought maybe it might have fallen from them.“

He brought out a simple ring for her to see. It really wasn’t his or of his granddaughters, but it was something that belonged to his daughter.

It was a simple ring, not too expensive, not too cheap-looking, and looked like something one of the age of the pair he met would wear.

“I see. If I remember correctly, Ray and Kura made your delivery. They should be in the back helping in the store. You can leave the ring, and I will deliver it  myself.“

“I would prefer to deliver it myself. I had visitors the other day, so there is a chance it  is theirs, but they are currently traveling, so I can’t call them to  ask.“

Mark needed to see them, to hopefully notice a clue who was the target.

“Oh certainly, you can wait over there. I will let them know you are here then.“

The woman left, and Mark went to take a seat at a table nearby that was used for people to wait for others who did the shopping without them getting in.

Soon enough, he saw the boy from before running towards him.

The boy stopped in front of him, full of sweat and out of breath. Mark was uncertain why the boy came here in such a hurry.

“You have the ring of my Ray?“ the boy asked.

At that moment, Mark was confident about who was his target. He heard from the person before that their names were Ray and Kura, but the boy talked about his sister more intimately than a typical brother would.

“Kuuuurrrrraaaaa…. waaaaiiittt“  a voice was heard from behind, as soon the young girl joined them. She also seemed to have run her way here, but she seemed more tired than her brother.

She stopped next to Kura and started catching her breath.

“It is ok, Ray. I will take your ring and will be back to your lovely fingers in an instant.”

In what seemed to be inhuman speed, the girl made her move as she slapped her brother.

“If…if you didn’t run like…. like a maniac, you would hear that I…. I lost no ring,“ the girl said while pausing a few times to catch her breath.

The boy looked at his sister with tears in his eyes. He looked a bit like a puppy that got scolded by his master.

“Oh, I can’t stay mad at you if you are using those eyes.“

As the girl said that, she hugged her brother. As she did so, Mark noticed two things.

Firstly, the brother had a wide grin on his face, and secondly, the girl seemed to become a little red on her cheeks.

Mark was mistaken about the boy being the new target. Instead, it seemed like both of them were the targets.