Free Web NovelChapter 574: Chapter 574 The Warden’s Private Life_1
An hour later, the warden’s office.
"Thanks to your quick thinking, Veronica, you’ve been a great help," Aiden said with a sigh of relief in front of the desk to Veronica.
"It’s what I should do, sir," Veronica replied.
"These guys just won’t listen to reason, good thinking on your part."
Faced with those journalists who recklessly pinned scandalous gossip on others, Veronica chose, without hesitation, to place the suspicion of ’jailbreak’ onto them, as the saying goes, "it takes magic to defeat magic."
"It’s just tit for tat, back when I worked in the police force I sometimes had to deal with some biased and troublesome media journalists," Veronica shrugged.
"Anyway, I really appreciate it," Aiden thanked her sincerely.
"So..." Veronica paused, then placed her hands behind her back and muttered quietly, "Don’t you have any reward for a competent subordinate?"
"Well..." Aiden was somewhat at a loss for words.
The girl always caught him off guard with unexpected moves.
"If you want it, there is. Do you have anything in mind?" Aiden asked back.
"Then, invite me for a meal when you’re free," Veronica almost immediately had an answer, evidently having thought about it beforehand.
"Okay, I’ll find an opportunity and book a nice place," Aiden smiled.
Veronica smiled as well, but she didn’t leave immediately; instead, she broached another subject with some concern: "By the way, sir, I was just curious, are you and Miss Awen really...? The papers said you were very close..."
"Half of what these people write is credible, and that’s generous," Aiden laughed helplessly, "Me and her, we just made an agreement."
Then he explained the deal he had with Deborah to Veronica.
"There’s a serial killer in this city?" Veronica’s expression turned grave as soon as she heard this. "That definitely needs to be addressed, or there will be more victims. Sir, if you need it, I can help, too."
"Having a sense of justice is good, but this time you might..." Aiden smiled awkwardly.
"Why? I can also..."
"Have you forgotten? The days I just mentioned, when the killer strikes," Aiden hinted.
"Ah!" Veronica suddenly realized.
On the night of the full moon, a werewolf’s primal strength would surge unprecedentedly; in such condition, if they directly witness the full moon, they would undergo an involuntary transformation and lose their rationality, completely dominated by their aggressive primal instincts.
On that day, Veronica couldn’t even attend her shift and could only stay at home to recuperate.
"I understand. I’ll go take my post now," Veronica said, her expression tinged with dejection, then she left the office.
As the door opened, Tony, who was about to knock, stood petrified outside.
"Captain Veronica!" Tony saluted in a flustered manner.
"Good morning, Tony," Veronica nodded to him, stepped aside to let him pass, and left.
"What’s the matter?" Aiden asked Tony.
"Well, Mr. Gallo... I mean, warden," Tony was still not used to the change in workplace titles, "when I came to work, there were a lot of people with cameras near the side entrance, has something happened? I could only ’invisibly’ slip in."
Clearly, the reporters had unsettled Tony who was new on the job.
"They’ve moved to the side entrance now?" Aiden rubbed his forehead with a sense of headache.
The reporters, having been intimidated by Veronica, haven’t given up... no, it’s also possible that a new batch of reporters has rushed here after hearing the news.
It seems he’ll be continuously harassed by the local journalists for the next few days until the "wind dies down" and they completely lose interest.
"These people have all come for you?" Tony blinked.
"Yes, these people are here to chase shadows and dig up rumors about Deborah Awen and me," Aiden answered briefly.
"But, the warden..." Tony hesitated.
"Speak your mind." Aiden urged.
"Miss Awen did propose to you, so if you were to say there are rumors about you two, it wouldn’t be entirely unfounded," Tony said cautiously.
Aiden was momentarily taken aback; that was, indeed, the truth.
"But right now, ours is only a transactional relationship," Aiden waved his hand dismissively and then started to ponder seriously, "Continuing to be harassed by reporters will make getting around a bit troublesome. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve already got their eyes on my house."
"Do you need my help? I can help you disappear," Tony volunteered.
"That won’t be necessary; I just need to use a ’body double’ and change into a different set of clothes," Aiden declined with a wave of his hand, "However, there is something I may indeed need to ask of you."
"Please command."
"I will give you a contact address later on. I hope you can help me send a letter secretly," Aiden said.
Tony thought for a moment: "Is it to arrange a meeting with Miss Awen after changing appearances?"
"You’re very astute," Aiden nodded in approval.
"Warden..." Tony looked hesitant again.
"If you have something to say, just say it!" Aiden sighed.
"Is there really nothing between you and Miss Awen?" Tony asked again.
"Why are you asking this too? You were there when I first met her," Aiden said, surprised.
"Yes, that day I saw her kiss you," Tony blinked, "I’ve kept it to myself and haven’t dared to tell anyone."
"Lucky it wasn’t seen by the journalists." Aiden scratched his brow, "I was startled at the time too."
"Warden, I really respect you, but to be honest, about your private life, I’m a bit..." Tony murmured.
"Hold on, Tony, could it be that you have some misunderstanding about me?" Aiden suddenly realized something was amiss.
"In less than a month since I’ve known you, I can barely keep count of how many women I’ve seen you interact with. Of course, this could just be an issue with the circles you move in." Tony laid his thoughts bare, "But yesterday at noon, while I was delivering books past the yard, I heard an inmate inside the fence gossiping about you..."
"Gossiping what about me?" Aiden frowned. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Tony hesitated for a moment but then spoke out, "That inmate said you were a heart-breaking playboy, a betrayer who had abandoned her after leading her on..."
A twitch appeared at the corner of Aiden’s eye.
"Was that inmate’s number... 3307?" Aiden adjusted his facial expression and smiled as he spoke.
"I didn’t pay much attention to that, but now that you mention it, it seems right," Tony replied with a roughly affirmative answer.
"Tony, trust only those who are worthy of trust. I don’t mean you should trust me; I mean you should absolutely not trust that inmate, she’s a master at lying," Aiden said with a smile, "By the way, could you call a core zone guard to come here before you leave? I need to meet with an inmate."
