Chapter 112: The Threat

Abilene Town Police Station.

"Damn it, Sandra, can't you just hold it in?" Sheriff Coffin complained irritably to the burly man sitting in the chair with his hands cuffed. "You get into trouble several times every year... And you, please, stop crying like a sissy. If there's nothing else, get out of here. And go get that bandaged up at the hospital on your way."

The last sentence was directed at the young man sitting nearby, whose cheek was swollen.

"It doesn't matter. Lock me up if you want. Once I'm out, you'd better watch your back. If I see you again, I'll beat you every single time," Sandra threatened the guy holding his jaw.

This fellow used to run with David Bergin. After David’s luck turned, he was bought off by the Russians. Now that he couldn't make it in El Paso, he had returned to the town. He was Cole Bross, once a friend of Davis. However, this guy had no integrity; when he was with the Russians, he was always bullying people in town.

"Shut up, Sandra. If you threaten him again, I'll hand you over to the district attorney," Sheriff Coffin said, clearly having a headache from this guy. She couldn't help but scold him.

"I hear you, Sheriff Coffin," Sandra quickly shut his mouth.

Cole wanted to express his dissatisfaction, but under the Sheriff's glare, he didn't dare say more. Honestly, he was a bit afraid of Sheriff Coffin. There were only a few people in this town he feared, and Sheriff Coffin was definitely one of them. The other was Qiu Fengyu.

"He beat me up, are you just going to let him go like that?" Despite not daring to confront the Sheriff, he muttered under his breath, still dissatisfied.

"Oh, who do I see? Sandra..." Suddenly, a voice burst in through the police station door. As all three looked toward the entrance, they saw Qiu Fengyu walking in with a grin.

Sheriff Coffin fell silent, sitting there watching Qiu Fengyu.

Cole suddenly went quiet as well. He even recoiled, nearly falling off his chair, with an awkward expression on his face.

"Hey, Qiu, hello. I'm cuffed, so I can't give you a hug!" Sandra appeared quite affectionate.

Qiu Fengyu walked over, tapped his solid chest lightly with his fist, and chuckled, "I knew it. Besides you, no one else could possibly stir up trouble on Thanksgiving."

"No, no, don't blame me. It was this guy who provoked me," Sandra said quickly. "We just happened to cross paths, and I said he was a sissy. He actually spat at me! That wouldn't be much, but I caught him in the act. That's the point. I didn't want to get physical, he forced my hand." This was truly unreasonable.

This eccentric guy had found an eccentric excuse. The end result was that the poor guy, Cole, got beaten up.

"Then you're in for some bad luck. Sheriff Coffin is notoriously fair; don't expect to get any favors from her!" Qiu Fengyu patted his shoulder, then glanced at Cole.

Cole felt his body tense up, and he wanted to shrink back, but he couldn't move.

"Oh, I remember now. You’re that jerk who used to follow David, right?"

"Y-yes, Mr. Qiu," Cole said, his voice trembling.

Qiu Fengyu walked over, looked at the swollen cheek, and couldn't help but frown. "What a shame. To fall down like that just from walking—you’re really unlucky today!"

Cole was flustered, but still tried to defend himself. "No... no, I didn't... Sandra beat me... I didn't provoke him, he provoked me first—"

"Hey, kid, what are you trying to say?" Sandra glared at him.

Cole looked at Sandra, looking somewhat defiant.

"Let me see." Qiu Fengyu reached out, pinched Cole’s chin, and looked from side to side. "It must have been you falling down. Alright, let me ask one more time: did you get these injuries from Sandra, or did you fall?"

Cole wanted to say something else, but under Qiu Fengyu's piercing gaze, he felt a sudden chill. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "I... I fell by accident."

"That's right, buddy," Qiu Fengyu said. Suddenly, he grabbed the lapel of Cole's shirt and lowered his voice. "Listen, pal, I know who you are. I won't say anything about you following David before, but you know what kind of shitty things you did in town with the Russians. You’d better stay out of trouble from now on."

"Hey, Qiu, what are you doing?" Qiu Fengyu's actions were a bit aggressive, which annoyed Sheriff Coffin. She shouted at him, "Go over there."

Qiu Fengyu let go of Cole, winked at him, and walked away, smiling. "I came to bring you a gift, this!" He pulled a box out from his clothes and handed it over.

"A gift for me?" Sheriff Coffin smiled and took it.

"Sheriff..." Cole said from the side, "I think... this might be a misunderstanding. Sandra and I had some miscommunication. I'm sorry... can I retract what I said earlier?"

Sheriff Coffin glanced at Qiu Fengyu and then said to Cole, "You want to handle this yourself?"

"Yes, I think so. I believe... Mr. Sandra won't have any issues with me in the future." Cole was looking for an escape.

"Sandra... what do you think?" Sheriff Coffin asked.

"This jerk, I certainly wouldn't let him off... Fine, whatever. I won't give this kid any trouble. Damn it, you're lucky. Get out of my sight!" After a glare from Qiu Fengyu, Sandra quickly changed his tune and roared at Cole.

"Alright... that's it, I'm leaving." Cole said to the Sheriff, then turned to look at Qiu Fengyu. "Mr. Qiu, thank you for making him give his word. I promise I won't provoke him again. But he can't provoke me either."

"What do you think?" Qiu Fengyu asked, glancing calmly at the still-fuming Sandra.

Sandra chuckled and said to Cole, "You're lucky, pal. I think as long as you don't really provoke me in the future, I'll treat you like a pile of shit on the side of the road and walk around you."

Cole nodded and turned to walk out of the police station.

Watching Cole leave, Sheriff Coffin sighed and said to Qiu Fengyu, "You've set a very bad precedent. This will have a negative impact on the police station."

"You're overthinking it. Let him go!" Qiu Fengyu gestured toward Sandra. He had a bit of a soft spot for the guy. After all, Sandra wasn't a bad person at heart; although he was a bit of a bully, he usually only beat up thugs like Cole, unless he was drunk and acting out.

Moreover, after visiting Qiu Fengyu yesterday, Qiu felt the guy actually had a sense of humanity. That was why he’d spoken up, to help him out.

"Qiu, thank you!" Sandra wasn't a fool; he knew Qiu Fengyu was helping him. If this had actually gone to the district attorney, he would have faced at least fifteen days in detention. That wouldn't be the end of the world, but jail was always miserable, and it could lead to even bigger trouble.

"Don't thank me. Sheriff Coffin didn't intend to submit it to the district attorney anyway, even if I hadn't come!" Qiu Fengyu patted Sandra's shoulder. Seeing Coffin unlock the handcuffs, he gestured with his head. "Get out of here. Stay out of trouble. Sheriff Coffin is the only one on duty today."

"I know, I know." Sandra grinned, bumped fists with Qiu Fengyu, and turned to leave.

Watching him go, Sheriff Coffin sighed. "He'll probably cause trouble again someday. I really don't know the point of helping him like this."

"There will always be a point," Qiu Fengyu smiled. "Why don't you open it?"

Sheriff Coffin rolled her eyes at him but opened the box. It was a bracelet, and a smile couldn't help but bloom on her face. She put it on, turned her wrist to admire it, and decided it was quite nice.

Qiu Fengyu really was a guy who didn't want to use his brain for these things. Not only had he bought identical gifts for the two little girls, but he had also bought the same gift for both Ryoko Yonekura and Coffin. He wondered if, should the two women ever compare bracelets, they would throw his gift into the toilet.

"Don't work yourself so hard," Qiu Fengyu said to her. "Take some time to go out. I mean travel. Don't you feel stifled staying in this town all the time? Especially with your job."

"How could that be? I've been doing this for so many years!" Sheriff Coffin was very happy with the gift. In fact, she hadn't received a gift in a long time. She felt genuinely happy.

"Regardless, this isn't the life you should be living," Qiu Fengyu said, opening his arms to her. "Look at me, I do whatever I want..."

"Including killing?" Sheriff Coffin looked at him.

Qiu Fengyu laughed and lowered his voice, "Yes. If anyone tries to destroy what I have, I wouldn't hesitate... They are bad people, after all."

Sheriff Coffin sighed, "I know. I just... I have a hard time accepting that sometimes I actually help you and cover for you."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Qiu Fengyu felt that if he kept talking like this, he would end up in a very strange situation, so he said, "Alright, I should go."

"Thank you for the gift!" Sheriff Coffin said to him once more.

Qiu Fengyu turned back, made a "call me" gesture with his hand, and waved. Sheriff Coffin watched him walk away until he turned the corner and was no longer in sight.