Chapter 148: The Amazing Amy You Can't Avoid Everyday
"Ugh."
Detective Amy Santiago heard her phone buzz and took it out to look at it. Her brows immediately furrowed in disgust. Seeing Chuck wasn't showing any normal curiosity, she held the screen out to him. "Look at your assistant."
"Perfect,"
Chuck said, glancing at the photo and nodding.
"Perfect?"
Detective Amy Santiago was speechless. "He's throwing up everything he's eaten."
"As long as he doesn't pass out."
Chuck got into the driver's seat.
"Why are you like this?"
Detective Amy Santiago got into the passenger seat and looked at Chuck in disbelief. "I thought you two had a good relationship."
"By normal standards, we do."
Chuck waited for her to buckle her seatbelt before starting the car and driving out of Brooklyn, heading towards New Jersey.
"But he's determined to be a comedian. Even when he's vomiting, he has to do it with dramatic flair for comedic effect. Did you laugh?"
"...No."
Detective Amy Santiago felt completely out of sync with Chuck's thought process. She simply gave up on the disgusting topic and discussed the case. "What should we do next?"
"Talk first,"
Chuck said as he drove. "Confirm it's her, then see if we can find any evidence. Are you following up on the clown recruitment notice posted online?"
"Yeah,"
Detective Amy Santiago nodded. "But anonymous online posts like that are difficult to trace... you know."
At this point, she shrugged, giving him a knowing look.
"Understood,"
Chuck nodded.
Many law enforcement agencies appear impressive and all-powerful, but many of their employees are just going through the motions. It's surprising they solve cases at all.
Often, their leads come directly from television tips.
Following the address information, Chuck and Amy arrived at Noah's house. His fiancée, Daphne, and Noah's brother had already received the notification and were waiting.
"Is this real?"
Noah's brother, suppressing his grief, looked at the two people who entered. "Is my brother really dead?"
"I'm sorry for your loss,"
Detective Amy Santiago consoled him. "Do you know if Noah had any conflicts with anyone?"
"My brother is a math genius. He's not very social and doesn't have many friends, so naturally, he doesn't have conflicts with people,"
Noah's brother said sadly.
"Could it be like the incident from last time?"
Daphne looked at Chuck. "Didn't a mathematician get murdered during that math competition?"
"Was Noah still participating in math competitions?"
Chuck asked.
"I don't know."
Daphne shook her head. "You know I don't understand his mathematical formulas."
"Analysis of Fourth-Order Differential Equations."
Detective Amy Santiago followed Daphne's gaze to the thick book on the table, reading the title with difficulty, her expression showing understanding.
Like most people, she was intimidated by advanced mathematics.
"Amazing Amy: Growing Up!"
Chuck's eyes fell on the book beneath the large math textbook.
"Go ahead and make fun of me, I know this is completely different from Noah's book."
Daphne wiped her tears and laughed bitterly at herself.
"Why would I make fun of you?"
Detective Amy Santiago picked up the book, her eyes lighting up: "What girl doesn't want to live like Amazing Amy? I remember Amazing Amy just had her sweet sixteen, and you bought this special edition. OMG! Don't tell me this is Amazing Amy's autograph?"
"Yes."
Seeing that Detective Amy Santiago was familiar with the series and was a fellow fan, Daphne's smile became much more genuine: "I'm very lucky. Not long ago, Amazing Amy and her parents came to our restaurant for dinner. I was their server. When they learned I was a fan of the Amazing Amy books, Amy signed this for me personally."
"You are so lucky."
Detective Amy Santiago exclaimed, then realized this wasn't an appropriate time for such enthusiasm, and quickly apologized to Daphne and Noah's brother: "Sorry, I'm also a fan of the Amazing Amy books, so I got excited seeing such a precious signed collector's edition."
"Where are his recent research materials?"
Chuck wasn't interested in the Amazing Amy discussion and redirected: "Has he been in contact with anyone else recently?"
"I'll get them."
Daphne stood up and said: "He's been much more social lately. He's been in regular contact with your friend, that young genius."
"Sheldon Cooper?"
Chuck asked.
"Yes!"
Daphne handed Chuck a notebook filled with formulas. "That's Sheldon. He's so young, but he and Noah really connected over math."
Chuck took it and began flipping through it.
"What's Amazing Amy like in real life?"
Detective Amy Santiago asked in a low voice, admiring the signed book.
"She's like the perfect girl straight out of the books."
Daphne sighed, recalling her feelings when she met her idol at the restaurant. "Such a fortunate girl, growing up in the spotlight, brilliant and accomplished."
"Yeah,"
Detective Amy Santiago sighed. "You know, I grew up as the only daughter in my family, and my name is Amy. I should have lived like Amazing Amy in the books, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Amazing Amy was blessed with parents who loved and supported her achievements. I, on the other hand, have seven older brothers and come from a family of cops, so I've lived in constant competition since I was a kid."
"You're fortunate, too,"
Daphne smiled sadly, her eyes drifting to Chuck as he studied the notebook.
"Find anything?"
Detective Amy Santiago remembered Daphne was their prime suspect, but given Chuck's involvement in the previous mathematician murder during the competition, she wondered if this was a continuation of that case.
"He's not continuing with math competitions."
Chuck quickly scanned through the notebooks. "At least not based on these notes. Let me call Sheldon Cooper. If they've been in touch regularly, he should know more."
Then he dialed the Hofstadter home.
"Chuck!"
Little Leonard's excited voice came through the other end.
"Is Sheldon there?"
Chuck asked.
"You want to talk to him again."
Little Leonard was immediately disappointed, but he still called out for Chuck: "Sheldon! Chuck wants to talk to you!"
"Tell him I'm not here,"
Sheldon's panicked voice could be heard faintly in the background.
"He says he's not here,"
little Leonard said with a mischievous grin. "How about you tell me what you need and I'll pass it along?"
"Fine,"
Chuck said calmly. "Tell him he can either answer the phone now or I'll visit him in person. His choice."
Little Leonard pouted, disappointed he couldn't play messenger, but soon brightened up and relayed Chuck's ultimatum.
He couldn't have long conversations with Chuck, but he enjoyed watching Sheldon squirm. He was easily entertained.
Soon, Sheldon's voice came through the phone, weak and reluctant: "Hello."
He was pragmatic. Rather than face Chuck in person, where Chuck's mere presence could irritate him, he'd rather talk on the phone. At least he wouldn't have to see Chuck's face.
"Have you been in contact with Noah Valli recently?"
Chuck got straight to the point.
"Yes,"
Sheldon asked, puzzled. "Why are you asking about him?"
"Is he still participating in math competitions?"
Chuck didn't answer, just asked.
"Of course not!"
Sheldon scoffed. "He's not insane. If he were, I wouldn't be talking to him. I'm not crazy!"
"So what have you been discussing?"
Chuck asked.
"Mathematics, obviously,"
Sheldon said matter-of-factly. "He's been doing some research on cryptographic algorithms lately, but he hasn't made much progress."
Chuck looked at Daphne. He had the speakerphone on, so everyone heard Sheldon's words.
"Noah told me he was planning to become a day trader,"
Daphne explained. "Since I'm the only one working right now, he feels guilty about it and wants to help share the financial burden."
"Why?"
Little Sheldon's confused voice came from the other end of the line.
"What do you mean?"
Daphne was startled, staring at the phone.
"Why would Noah feel guilty about that?"
Little Sheldon, having obviously heard the conversation, said bluntly, "You earn money to support the household, and he pursues intellectual work. It's perfect complementarity. Why would he feel guilty about that?"
"..."
Daphne and Detective Amy Santiago were speechless.
How can someone be so matter-of-fact about being financially supported?
"You don't understand!"
Little Leonard's voice came through the phone: "Generally, men are expected to be breadwinners, and women are expected to be homemakers. If a man can't fulfill this role, he'll naturally feel guilty."
"That only shows the man isn't thinking clearly!"
Little Sheldon said frankly: "If his intellect is devoted to exploring the mysteries of the universe, he naturally has no time to worry about mundane concerns like making money. These trivial matters should naturally be handled by people who aren't intellectually gifted enough for higher pursuits. Feeling guilty about this is simply ridiculous. If a woman can't handle this, I wonder why he married her? In fact, I wonder why he needs a partner at all? There's no one in the world as brilliant and fascinating as Beverly."
"You forgot about Paige!"
Little Leonard reminded him: "And that's my mother!"
"I said fascinating!"
Little Sheldon corrected: "Paige is not fascinating at all. She's somewhat of a bully in the academic community, just like... certain people. She's completely incomparable to Beverly. And I know Beverly is your mother. She often discusses these topics with me, and we share the same views about you."
Little Leonard: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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