Joseph and I came out of the museum. We had barely taken a few steps when someone called out to me.
“Miss, please stop!”
I turned around, saw the man who had bought the box at the auction just now and I smiled. “Hi!”
He nodded. “Miss, may I buy you a cuppa?”
I glanced at Joseph to indicate that I would like to go. He had just told this man that we have another box.
Joseph nodded to indicate that I can accept the offer. I nodded and looked at the man. “Mister, may I know your name?”
“My surname is Bates; you may call me Yuri.” He spoke with the smile of a trustworthy man.
I nodded with a smile. “I’m Scarlett Stovall. Nice to meet you.”
He smiled and gestured with his hand, “This way, please, Ms. Stovall!”
We followed him into a cafe bistro and seated ourselves. There was a live music performance going on.
Yuri took his time. He enjoyed the performance, and said, “The band is quite professional.”
I did not say anything but Joseph looked at him and said in a dull tone, “Mr. Bates, it’s better to go straight to the point.”
Yuri looked at him indifferently, smiled, and then looked at me saying, “I heard that Ms. Stovall has a box that resembles mine. I’m very curious so I want to give it a try to test it out. Is it true that the boxes can open each other as they say?”
I pursed my lips. “Mr. Bates, those are my thoughts exactly but my box is kept at home. We have left our address. When it is convenient, you can bring your box to our place and we can try it out together to see if that could work.
He raised his eyebrows and sipped his tea, smiling. “Ms. Stovall, you have planned it well but I’m curious where you got your box from?”
I frowned and paused for a while. “My box was not obtained from an auction, rather, it was inherited from my ancestors.”
For a moment, Yuri was stunned but he quickly recovered his composure and smiled, looking at me. “If that is the case, Ms. Stovall, you have come from an outstanding lineage. A normal family would not be able to afford craftsmen who can make this.
He thought about what he had just said and frowned slightly, “Even though I am not a native of J City, I still know a little about the city. I recall that J City does not have a prominent family by the surname of Stovall!”
I smiled and glanced at Joseph. He understood and looked at Yuri. “Mr. Bates, you are overthinking things. We are not from a prominent family but an ordinary one. Although this box is passed on by the ancestors, we don’t know yet if the box you bought is a pair so we have to compare them to confirm.”
“Oh, dear, we came out late. So much time has passed. We have to go home now.”
Yuri frowned and he looked at me. “Ms. Stovall, why…”
I smiled. “I’m really sorry. I have a child at home. I must go home to check on her.”
At that, I got up but Yuri seemed to have more to say. Nevertheless, when he saw that I was ready to leave, he held back whatever he had to say.
After leaving the museum, we got in the car and Joseph started the engine. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw a car following us. His lips leered in disdain.
I took a look and saw that it was Yuri who was driving the car. I said quietly, “Have you checked out who this Mr. Bates is?”
Joseph shook his head. “No, not yet. Tonight we’ll know.”
Looking at the Maybach, which was following us, I could not help but frown slightly. “There must be someone behind him.”
Joseph nodded in agreement.
What puzzles me is why is Yuri attempting to trick information out of me?
“What are they planning to get from me?” I asked, somewhat puzzled.
Joseph shook his head slightly. “I would presume that they have designs on the box.” After a pause, he looked at me and said, “Did you ask about the origins of the box before?”
I shook my head. “I have seen my grandma putting it in the cabinet since I was a child but I don’t remember seeing it being opened before. I thought it was a jewelry box so I didn’t care much and didn’t pay much attention to it.”
He grunted and then said plainly, “Yuri seems interested in finding out about the owners of the box.”
I pursed my lips and made no further comments. These are things we need to investigate. Guessing won’t help.
The car behind continued following us but it had put some distance in between for fear of being caught.
Joseph was driving towards the villa. Seeing this, I could not help but caution him, “It is too dangerous to let them see where we stay. Lose them first!”
After all, we have yet to know who Yuri is. It would be to our disadvantage if they know where we live and put us in a vulnerable position.
Joseph nodded and went into the next lane to speed up. Fortunately, he was very familiar with J City and it did not take long for him to drive around in a circle and shake off the car tailing us.
When we reached the villa, it was already dark and Summer had fallen asleep. Mrs. Eriksen had gotten ready the things required for visiting the grave and placed them downstairs.
