Chapter 122 A Hunter At The Cemetery

Chapter 122 A Hunter At The Cemetery
Both Ezekiel and Caleb didn't react in time. Yes, their brains processed that the voice and name sounded familiar, but it wasn't until a few seconds later that their eyes snapped toward the direction of the voice.

Amber and Julius stood side by side, both wearing the same look of confusion as they watched the three people dig.

"Amber?"

Amber, who had a simmering hot cocoa in hand, raised a brow and blew on it for a moment before taking a sip.

Then her eyes darted over to Mr. Forensic, who had temporarily forgotten the pain in his leg and was staring at her in surprise.

Recognizing him, her face darkened. She shifted the cup to Julius, then walked over.

"What is this? I buried you. I'm sure I buried you!" For the first time since that evening, Mr. Forensic was wide-eyed with disbelief.

"Yes, you did, you piece of shit!" Amber leered at him, briefly stopping to grab a nearby stick.

She reached him and grabbed him by the collar, but as she watched his expression, she realized he wasn't afraid of her gripping him by the collar. Instead, he was wincing in pain from something else.

Her eyes narrowed, and she followed the direction of his quivering gaze to his leg.

Her eyes twinkled mischievously.

Before anyone knew what was happening, she switched the stick to her other hand and slammed it down on the bullet wound in his leg.

"Argh!"

The shriek tore from his lungs in a guttural scream.

"Amber, do I want to know how you're standing there and not under here?" Caleb frowned, slowly tossing aside his shovel.

"And how is Julius with you? Wasn't he arrested with Henry and me?" Ezekiel frowned as well.

"Oh, yeah, I got lucky. The elderly groundskeeper who tends to this cemetery happened to see him dumping me into the grave and dug me out as soon as he was gone," Amber replied, getting to her feet.

"I scrubbed my fingerprints because I didn't want to be identified. So as soon as the officers tried to book me, I slipped out," Julius responded as well, slipping both hands into his pockets.

Ezekiel was dumbfounded.

"Is that... How exactly does that benefit you? The entire nation saw your face. You can't continue working for the Hargroves if they know what you look like."

"That's where he comes in." Amber grinned widely, looking down at Mr. Forensic. "Ezekiel skipped bail because he knew he was being wrongly accused, so he tracked down the real murderer himself. Surely the district attorney would show such a heroic young man mercy, won't they?"

Caleb, knowing the question was directed at him, sucked in his teeth.

"The law doesn't work like that, Amber."

"Even when I watched him struggle so heroically against the man who kidnapped me and was about to bury me alive as well?" Amber grimaced.

"You were right, Mrs. Kent. This really tastes marvellous." 

Ezekiel turned at the voice and saw Henry Pates walking toward them, also carrying a steaming cup of hot cocoa

"Told you. I've chugged down three cups since I arrived. This is my fourth," Amber chortled, reaching over to take the cup back from Julius.

Caleb and Ezekiel exchanged glances.

Less than an hour ago, they had both been worrying themselves sick over the pair, convinced they were on the verge of death.

Instead, they looked perfectly at home, leisurely enjoying cups of hot cocoa.

"You two have to try this. It's excellent," Amber moaned between sips.

Then she began walking back toward the rear of the cemetery with Henry.

"I released Julius as soon as I heard Henry had been taken. How were you able to track her down so fast?" Caleb asked as they followed after the duo.

A look of embarrassment crossed Julius's face before he began.

"You scared me so much when you showed up that day, so I secretly put a tracker on your car just to know when you'd come get me. I never planned to use it, but when I got released, I knew you'd go looking for her, so I followed you."

"Then I lost track of the car and was about to turn back home when I suddenly saw the same car ahead of me. I was confused because I couldn't understand how or when it had switched routes."

"I followed after it and caught up. That's when I saw it was a homeless man driving it. He asked if I was the one who owed him ten grand. I said no, and he told me he already knew it was a scam when he got an email telling him to simply pick up a car and drive it away."

"I had my suspicions, so I checked the boot of the car. That's where I found Henry Pates."

"The homeless man was terrified. He told me he had no idea who had hired him. All he received was the location to pick up the car, where to drop it off, and the promise that someone would meet him there with his payment."

"So I asked if he had moved another car that morning. He said yes. I asked where, and he directed me to this cemetery. But by then, Amber had already been dug out by the elderly groundskeeper."

Caleb thinned his lips.

"I was going to call you, but Amber told me not to. She said you and Ezekiel being motivated would lead to the capture of Mr. Forensic, so I didn't. Turns out she was right in the end."

"Amber, can I get a sip of the cocoa?" The two were still talking when Ezekiel's voice sounded as he jogged after them with Mr. Forensic slung over his shoulder.

Amber nodded and held the cup to his mouth.

He took a sip, swirled it around in his mouth, then smacked his lips before looking at her in disappointment.

"It tastes just like every other hot cocoa I've ever had. Maybe I need to get kidnapped and almost die to appreciate it."

The group fell silent for a moment.

Then the trio burst into laughter.

"Exactly! Being buried alive really opened up every single one of my taste buds in ways you wouldn't understand," Amber said between laughs.

"Uh... that reminds me." Julius' smile slowly faded. "Have you been able to find where Anna Beth Romney and the rest of the crew are?"

"What now?" Amber stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look back at Julius.

Ezekiel stopped as well and dropped Mr. Forensic onto the ground before bending over and slapping him across the face until he woke up.

"Where did you keep Anna Beth Romney and the rest of the crew?"

Mr. Forensic looked him dead in the eyes and hissed, "What crew?"

A chill suddenly crawled down Ezekiel's spine.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as his eyes slowly shifted toward the distance.

A tiny red dot had settled perfectly in the middle of his forehead.