Free Web NovelChapter 462: Chapter 462: Back on Track
Melody Summers felt that since Joanne White’s parents had taken in Lucy White when she was in trouble, it was understandable for Joanne to seek refuge with Lucy now that their situations were reversed. Helping each other during a crisis was only natural.
’I just don’t know what Paige Walsh would think, though. After all, Joanne had drugged her and even helped Bernard Simmons have an affair that brought her so much shame...’
To her surprise, Joanne White slowly shook her head. She lowered her gaze and replied, "Forget it. After what I did, Zane Simmons’s mom must hate my guts. If I went, it would just make things difficult for Lucy White. Why bother? Besides, with a mother like me, my child would be the subject of gossip..."
Joanne White couldn’t quite describe the feeling in her heart. It was as the saying goes: one wrong step leads to a hundred more. All the immoral things she had done over the years had finally come back as her just deserts.
For the first time in her life, Joanne White felt a twinge of regret for her past actions. ’If I hadn’t done those things back then, I wouldn’t have given Sylvia Lancaster something to hold over me. I wouldn’t have been dragged into her scheme, and I wouldn’t have been kicked out of the Simmons Family...’
Now she had nothing. Her parents were both dead, and she was separated from her child.
It was all her own fault for walking the wrong path. She had no one to blame but herself.
Pushing down the chaotic thoughts, Joanne White sighed and said quietly, "I heard from someone that in a few days, the temperature will rise, and everything will go back to normal... When it does, I want to go home. First, I’ll set up memorial tablets for my parents and burn a few sticks of incense for them. As for what comes after... I’ll figure it out when the time comes."
Melody Summers gave a noncommittal response. ’When the temperatures rise, Terra will be hit by a new wave of torrential rain and floods,’ she thought. ’If I remember correctly, Joanne White’s home is in a flood discharge area...’
Melody Summers hesitated for a moment before reminding her, "You don’t need to be in a rush to go back. Who knows what the future holds? It might be better to stay here at The Metropolis Residences for a while longer."
Joanne White nodded silently after hearing Melody’s words. Melody couldn’t tell if Joanne had actually listened, but she didn’t press the issue. She just picked up her water kettle and left.
...
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March brought with it the flight of orioles and the growth of new grass as temperatures continued to climb. By late March, the outdoor temperature had stabilized above freezing.
The sun broke through the clouds, bathing the earth in warm light. The thick blankets of snow were melting at an astonishing rate. Every night, in the quiet darkness, Melody Summers could hear the gurgling rush of water outside her window—the sound of melting ice and snow.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of both the government and the people, the snow outside had been mostly cleared. Aside from a few rural roads that hadn’t been touched, traffic on the main thoroughfares had largely returned to normal.
The snowfall also replenished the groundwater. Streams and lakes that had been completely dry were now filling with snowmelt, and the city’s water supply system was slowly coming back online. The Metropolis Residences now had running water for ten minutes each day.
Ten minutes wasn’t long, but it was enough to collect a substantial amount of water. It was, at the very least, a huge improvement over surviving on melted snow.
The power grid and internet hadn’t been fully restored yet, but they too were gradually coming back. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Melody Summers had seen on the news that the nation was working hard to restore the power grid. Massive amounts of coal were being transported across the country by freight train, power grid technicians were diligently cleaning and repairing generation equipment, and both hydroelectric and wind power systems were also being progressively brought back online.
Everything was heading in the right direction.
Yesterday, Melody Summers went to the villa with her mother, uncle, and aunt, armed with shovels and spades. They cleared the accumulated snow and then carefully inspected every nook and cranny of the house.
Fortunately, the villa was well-built. Despite being battered by the blizzard, it showed no signs of cracks or damage.
So, the family began packing, planning to move back to the villa in a little while.
In the master bedroom, Melody’s grandmother remarked while packing, "Living here is nice and all, but it’s just not as convenient as the villa. You even have to wait for an elevator just to get a breath of fresh air."
Grace Sutton, who was nearby, nodded in agreement. "That’s right. And while we can grow vegetables in foam boxes, it’s nothing like having a proper yard. A house with a yard is just so much more comfortable!"
As they were chatting, there was a knock on the door.
Melody Summers hurried to get the door, only to find the long-unseen Officer Tate standing on her doorstep!
Melody Summers said in surprise, "Officer Tate? What are you doing here? Long time no see!"
If it hadn’t been for his uniform, Melody Summers might not have recognized Tristan Tanner at all.
Officer Tate was visibly much thinner. His once-plump cheeks were now deeply hollowed, and his healthy, sun-kissed complexion had faded to a sickly pale. It was clear he had endured great hardship during the blizzard.
Officer Tate returned a knowing smile and replied, "Long time no see, Comrade Summers!"
Hearing that familiar greeting, Melody Summers felt a sudden, inexplicable sting in her nose.
Having just survived an unprecedented blizzard, the sight of a familiar friend, alive and standing right before her, filled them both with a surge of emotion.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Officer Tate’s expression grew serious. "I’m here today to ask you about what happened in apartment 1601. We just received a report from a Ms. Joyce Lawson of 1601, who claims her entire family was murdered by the tenants in 1603. Were you present at the scene?"
As soon as the snow was cleared, things started returning to normal. Once Officer Tate and Officer Sean Pierce were back on duty, Joyce Lawson had gone to the emergency response office at the first possible moment to file a report.
Joyce Lawson reported that three robbers from 1603 had broken into her home. She claimed they were vicious criminals who not only forced her to transfer money but also threw her father and grandmother out the window. She also stated that her mother and younger brother, overwhelmed by grief, had taken their own lives a few days later.
Joyce Lawson’s family members’ bodies had already been recovered by the snow-clearing crews. They were piled in a snowbank along with a heap of other corpses, awaiting mass burial.
Officer Tate and Officer Sean Pierce had taken Joyce Lawson to identify and claim her family’s bodies. Joyce Lawson also identified the corpses of the three murderers from 1603.
Since Melody Summers was also involved in the incident, Officer Tate came to get her statement after inspecting the crime scene.
Melody Summers and Joyce Lawson had already gotten their stories straight. After listening to Officer Tate’s question, Melody immediately launched into her rehearsed account: "That night, I heard a commotion outside, so I ran out to see what was going on. That’s when I saw the men from 1603 kidnapping Joyce Lawson and dragging her away..."
Melody Summers’s statement was almost identical to Joyce Lawson’s. Furthermore, surveillance footage from the camera outside Joyce’s apartment clearly showed the three Lowell brothers sneaking into her home.
Of the three brothers from 1603, both Leopold Lowell and Drake Lowell were on a blacklist and had prior criminal records, giving them a clear motive. Combined with the transfer records from Joyce Lawson’s account, everything lined up. The case could essentially be closed.
The entire investigation was far from rigorous, but countless people had died or been injured during the blizzard. The known death toll in The Metropolis Residences alone was in the hundreds. With a limited police force, it was simply impossible to open a case file, analyze, and investigate every single death the way they would have before the disaster.
