When Louie first saw the two men pull out handcuffs, he knew they weren't on patrol; they were likely robbers. The actions of the chubby man further confirmed his suspicion. After all, what kind of police would handcuff someone without stating a reason, just because they lit a fire on the mountaintop in the park at midnight?
As the slim man revealed part of the truth, Louie speculated that these two individuals were not first-time offenders. True to his guess, once the slim man finished his disjointed confession, it validated Louie's assumptions.
These two specialized in nighttime robberies, using handcuffs to immobilize victims in advance before proceeding with their crimes. Although the slim man didn't explicitly mention any sexual assault on women, Louie had no doubt it had occurred at some point. However, these details were not what concerned Louie.
Once the slim man had finished, Louie decided it was time to leave. He turned away, grabbed the remaining food from Mia, and discarded the iron pot in the pavilion. "Little girl, let's go back," Louie said, walking out of the pavilion. Mia hesitated, looking at the two men tied to the railing, and asked, "Louie, what about them?"
"Let them fend for themselves; people like them don't deserve sympathy." Louie saw Mia still hesitating and grabbed her small hand, leading her down from the mountaintop.
"Please, let us go," the pitiful voices of the two men echoed on the mountaintop.
Once in the car, Louie took out his phone and dialed a number – Kathleen's number.
"Hello, who's this?" Kathleen's voice came through the phone, sounding lazy. It seemed she hadn't fully awakened yet.
It was already half-past eleven at night, an unusual time for a call. "Oh, it's me. I noticed it's already half-past eleven; just wanted to remind you to get up and use the bathroom," Louie said with a mischievous smile, imagining Kathleen's reaction to his call. As expected, he heard Kathleen's furious roar from the other end, "You jerk, did you call at this hour just for that? Do you want to die? Just wait; I won't let you off easily."
"Officer, what's the rush? I'm just showing some concern. Besides, we're so familiar now, a reminder call is only natural," Louie teased.
Enraged, Kathleen hung up the phone. Louie dialed again, and this time, Kathleen answered with a furious shout, "You jerk, are you bored or something? I've been working all day, just got to sleep, and you wake me up. If you keep this up, I swear I'll have you arrested right now."
"Officer, don't be angry; I really have something important," Louie said with a serious tone. "I was walking in the West Mountain Park just now, and I saw two men – one slim, one chubby – handcuffed to the railing in the pavilion on the mountaintop. Officer, shouldn't you send someone to check it out? They seemed like they were on patrol at night, but who knows, they might be planning to rob someone and got caught instead. Haha, I don't know the details, so it's best for the police to handle it. Oh, by the way, a responsible citizen like me who is eager to report such incidents should be commended, right?"
"Louie, what are you talking about? Tell me again in detail," Kathleen, upon hearing Louie's words, suddenly became alert. She had been investigating a case where a couple was robbed and the woman was sexually assaulted during a late-night park date. Some citizens had also reported similar incidents of being robbed by two men – one slim, one chubby – when walking in the park or alone on the street at night. Although the locations varied, the criminals' appearance and modus operandi were similar, using handcuffs to restrain the victims before proceeding with the robbery or assault.
"Officer, I forgot," Louie said smugly, hanging up the phone. He felt a sense of satisfaction, imagining Kathleen's angry expression on the other end of the line.
Mia couldn't understand why Louie laughed after hanging up the phone, but she didn't inquire further. Louie drove down from the mountain, exited West Mountain Park, and then asked, "Little girl, where do you want to go? I'll drop you off."
After considering, Mia hesitated and said, "Louie, I... I'd like to stay at your place. It's too late for me to go back to the dorm."
"Well, well, this is an opportunity for me. I'm a big pervert, you know. A pure little lamb only escapes from my hands once. Next time won't be so lucky," Louie deliberately gazed at Mia with a lecherous look. "Aren't you afraid I'll do something?"
"I trust Mr. Louie's character. Otherwise, just now..." Mia blushed again, lowering her head, unwilling to meet Louie's eyes. The sensual scene from earlier kept replaying in her mind, and she couldn't help but feel a burning sensation in her chest.
"No fun, can't scare you like this." Louie, realizing that Mia wasn't cooperating with his playful banter, became disinterested and said awkwardly, "Rest assured, I have a housekeeper to keep you company."
When they arrived home, it was already past midnight, and Bessie had already gone to bed. However, as soon as Louie opened the security door with his key, Bessie heard the noise and walked out of the bedroom in her pajamas.
"Mr. Louie, are you hungry? I'll prepare something for you right away." Bessie noticed Louie with a tall and beautiful young girl and her expression subtly changed, but she didn't ask too many questions. After all, she was just a housekeeper and had no right to inquire about her employer's private life.
Seeing Bessie heading towards the kitchen, Louie quickly waved his hand and smiled, "We've already eaten. Oh, let me introduce you. This is my friend, Mia. Bessie, she'll be sleeping with you tonight; is that alright?"
Bessie, upon hearing Louie's words, showed a genuine smile and reassured, "Of course, no problem." She then affectionately took Mia's hand and said, "I'll show you the room and see what you need."
"I'm going to take a shower and then sleep. Whatever you two decide to do tonight, just don't disturb me," Louie said, grinning. "And don't dismantle my house."
Mia sweetly smiled. She quite liked Louie's playful way of joking.
Louie returned to the bedroom, grabbed his pajamas, and headed to the bathroom for a shower. As for when Bessie and Mia would go to sleep tonight, that was their concern. Apparently, Louie had been teased enough by these two women tonight, especially Mia, who had already made him unable to resist. After his shower, Louie returned to the bedroom, collapsed on the bed, and fell asleep with all four limbs stretched out.