Free Web NovelChapter 319: Chapter 319 Parade of Fans_1
A week later, Rose Iron Prison.
"What exactly is happening outside?" Aiden approached the prison reception and asked the guard in charge there.
Since morning, crowds wielding signs and banners had congregated on the main road outside the prison, shouting slogans that included but were not limited to "Punish the thief severely," "The sentence is too light," and "Demand execution by firing squad."
"Warden, haven’t you seen the news?" The guard reporting seemed very aware of the cause, "The maid who stole from Sophie Carter was brought to our prison yesterday."
"Hmm, I remember that." Aiden paused, recalling briefly, "So those people outside..."
He had seen the news about the theft at the residence of the singer Sophie Carter and had skimmed through it. Subsequent news had been intermittently reported in the newspapers, but Aiden had mostly just glanced at the headlines without reading in detail.
Moreover, the criminal profiles of theft cases generally didn’t require his personal review, especially not for an inmate from the general section.
"They are Sophie Carter’s fans, dissatisfied with the verdict. They had actually demonstrated outside the courthouse a couple of days ago." The guard shrugged, "Actually, the sentencing isn’t really a problem, it’s just that after this incident Sophie Carter suddenly announced she would take an extended break due to health reasons, and so..."
"It’s all being blamed on this maid?" Aiden understood the implications.
There really are such troublesome, fervent fans in every world.
"Because the rumor has it that this maid had been with Sophie Carter for several years, and they were quite close. Her sudden betrayal had a big impact on Sophie, and the so-called extended break for health reasons is actually because of this. Now Sophie Carter has left Silvertown, and it seems that her mansion has been cleared out." The guard continued to explain.
"Oh, no wonder the fans are flipping out," Aiden finally understood.
"After all, many celebrities start to fade from the public eye with ’extended breaks,’ and then retire completely. These past years Sophie Carter has been like a cash machine—her tour has ended... and many people speculate that even if she makes a comeback, she probably won’t return to this city. Most of the group outside are local fans from Silvertown," the guard said indifferently, "I overheard some grumbling while chatting this morning."
"We have Sophie Carter fans here too?" Aiden suddenly remembered overhearing conversations about Sophie Carter at work before.
"Yeah, quite a few," the guard answered.
"Which section is the maid held in?" Aiden asked.
"Section two."
"We need to check the staff positions in section two," Aiden shook his head.
He was worried that among his prison staff there might be fans like those outside who, driven by personal vendettas, might seek retribution against the inmate, potentially leading to a scandal.
"Warden, how should we deal with those people outside?" the guard asked, "It’s fine for now, but there’s concern that things might get out of control."
"Did you set up a cordon?" Aiden asked, "How are those fans behaving?"
"We did, and so far they are behaving, just shouting there and haven’t disturbed the main gate’s traffic."
"At least they’re using their brains. We can’t manage a normal protest, but if they cross the cordon, warn them. If they dare to rush through the main gate... I’ll have Veronica and a couple of others watch the inside of the gate. If anyone dares to try and force their way in with banners, she’ll teach them a lesson," Aiden quickly issued instructions.
The local laws on public demonstrations are very lenient; even shouting slogans outside places like the parliament or courthouse wouldn’t lead to forceful dispersion—provided no objects are thrown.
But forcefully breaking into a prison is a different matter, and Aiden would not be lenient in dealing with it.
"Understood," the guard replied.
Aiden returned to the core area, summoned Veronica and relayed the instructions, then had someone call the section two warden to inquire about the situation.
"Inmate 1562 is now detained in room fifteen of section two. As for Sophie Carter, yes, I’ve heard people talking about it..." the warden reported.
"Then be vigilant. If there are any fans of Sophie Carter on the staff, swap them with someone from section one. You understand what I mean?" Aiden asked.
"Uh, Warden, I’m actually a fan of Sophie myself," the warden chuckled sheepishly.
"This singer sure is popular... Well, you should be able to handle yourself," Aiden reminded.
"Of course, of course, I’ve been doing this for fifteen years," the warden chuckled. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Speaking of which, there wouldn’t be fans of Sophie Carter among the inmates, would there?" Aiden suddenly thought of this, "The maid wouldn’t get beaten up as soon as she went in, would she?"
"Don’t worry about that, how would the inmates in prison get a chance to hear Sophie Carter’s performances?" the warden waved it off.
Aiden thought so too. In this era telephones had not been widely adopted, let alone gramophones. Inmates basically had no chance to listen to music, and those who had been imprisoned for years were bound to be disconnected from the outside world to some extent. Naturally, the proportion of celebrity fans among inmates was much lower than on the outside.
At that moment the warden continued, "And, that maid seems quite... eloquent. I heard from the duty staff that she got along rather well with her cellmates, talking late into the night, even getting warned by the patrolling guards."
"She fits right in with a bunch of criminals on her first day?" Aiden was a bit surprised, "That’s quite a rare talent."
"It seems mainly because she’s been quite generous, sharing some nice things with her roommates from the items she brought into prison. Come to think of it, there is something peculiar, a large sum of money was deposited into her restricted cash account upon her imprisonment."
"How much?"
"Five hundred pounds."
"Where did a maid get so much money?" Aiden was a bit taken aback.
Usually, inmates don’t deposit more money than necessary into their restricted cash accounts, as they don’t have many expenses in prison and there’s hardly a channel for splurging. In the core area, there was a short-term inmate, a succubus pimp with too much money to spend, who had a large sum in her account, but a maid... It’s worth noting that the jewelry she stole was probably not even worth half that amount.
"I’m not quite sure about that," the warden responded.
Aiden suddenly felt something was amiss.
He thought for a moment and instructed, "Keep a close eye on this inmate, inform me if there’s any situation, and for now check where the money in her account came from."
