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Think about it, what kind of place with so many talented people could bring together the cheese factory where Penny works, Toretto's coffee shop, the restaurant owned by the two broke girls, and a comic book store with someone skilled at drawing.
The last one was the reason why Ron came here, but when he walked to the door, he found that this comic book store was the one that Sheldon and his friends often visited.
No wonder when he first saw the name Stuart, he thought that this person would be a loser. It turns out he really is a loser.
"Hi, your name is Stuart?"
"Yes, I am. What do you want to see me about? You don't look like the kind of nerd who usually comes to our store." Stuart hasn't become as neurotic as in the later seasons of The Big Bang Theory. At least he still looks like a normal person.
"You drew this picture, right?" Ron directly took out the copy of Heisenberg's portrait that he got from Jack. "I want to know what the situation was like at that time. Also, is the person in this painting really the same as what you saw? I always feel that he looks more like the bald guy from X-Men. What do you call him?"
"Professor X."
There was no one in the store at the moment. Stuart rubbed his hands nervously. "Sir, before answering your question, can I know your identity first? If you happen to be that person's associate, I..."
"I'm from the IRS. Are you relieved now? Don't worry, if you're ever retaliated against, you can always apply for witness protection with the FBI. We'll also provide moral support," Ron flashed his ID in front of Stuart. "Plus, I'm Sheldon's brother, the tall, skinny scientist who often comes to your store and looks like a praying mantis."
Stuart suddenly realized, "I know him. He, along with Howard, Rajesh, and Leonard, are my biggest customers."
The purchasing power of these four nerdy scientists made them Stuart's biggest customers. How bad is your business? Ron grumbled inwardly.
However, there was another possibility: how much money did those poor, single guys spend on all those comic books? Others didn't know, but Ron knew about Sheldon. He had a whole collection at home.
This eccentric guy even rented a safe deposit box at a bank just to store his treasured comics. Ron felt a pang of pain just thinking about it. All of these things were sold to Sheldon by this profiteer in front of him.
Although Sheldon didn't care about money, his salary was actually the highest among the four.
"Before you answer my question, I'd like to ask you to answer another question. Do you pay your taxes properly, friend?" Ron's eyes gleamed mischievously.
If this "con artist" who had made countless profits from his brother dared to evade taxes, Ron would recover every penny Sheldon spent in this store today. However, the result disappointed him.
"Of course, paying taxes according to the law is the obligation of every citizen. These are my tax receipts for this period. If you want to see them, I can also give you the ones from previous years." Stuart pulled the receipts out from under the counter.
"Okay, let's talk about that later. How about telling me about what happened that day?"
Stuart fell into recollection. "So I went to the art exhibition as usual and saw three sketchy guys. You know, art exhibitions are full of weird people, but I still noticed them because they were so rough-looking.
At this time, a guy in a windbreaker and a fedora walked towards them. He called himself Heisenberg, which sounds German, so I guess he might be of German descent."
Ron quickly interrupted, grasping the key point. "Heisenberg - this can't be his real name. How old is he?"
"About forty or fifty years old. He looks no different from a teacher in a public school. I guess he should have kids. By the way, he doesn't look very good. Maybe he just had a fight with his wife at home, or he has a serious illness."
Ron quickly made a note of this, realizing the age had narrowed his search considerably. "Go on, then? What did they talk about?"
"Because they didn't seem like good people, I didn't dare listen much. I just heard those three sketchy guys talking about how one of their crew had killed someone with an ATM, and how they expressed admiration for Germans.
You know, I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I was already scared when I heard them talk about killing someone with an ATM."
Ron's heart skipped a beat. The ATM murder case? He'd heard about it on the radio a while ago. This might be a lead. And then there were those three small-time thugs the FBI had overlooked.
Since they knew Heisenberg and knew about his crew killing someone with an ATM, they must also know other members of his operation. At the very least, they might have more information about Heisenberg.
Ron even suspected those thugs were distributors for Heisenberg's bulk goods. But the word "distributor" wasn't quite right in this context. Those small-time thugs weren't that sophisticated; at most, they were street dealers.
"So, can you draw those little thugs too?" Ron thought of a way forward.
Heisenberg was hard to find, but couldn't he find those street thugs? The FBI couldn't find them because they didn't happen to know Toretto, who was well-connected in the underworld, like Ron.
"Of course." With nothing else to do, Stuart pulled three sheets of paper from under the table and finished the drawings in less than twenty minutes. "That'll be five dollars each."
The price was fair, and Ron paid readily. As he walked out of the store and was about to return to his car, he ran into Caroline.
"OMG, Ron, what are you doing here?" Caroline exclaimed in surprise.
"I'm working a case nearby, and you?" Although Ron had already known Caroline would be nearby, he still feigned similar surprise and waved the evidence in his hand.
"I found a new job. I work as a server in a restaurant nearby. Ron, have you eaten yet? How about I treat you to something to repay you for taking me in yesterday?"
"No need, I just ate." In fact, he hadn't eaten yet. He was just afraid of running into Max or something awkward when he and Caroline went back together. Ron wasn't afraid of drama, but if the three of them were to meet now, it would inevitably be a little uncomfortable.
What would he say to Max?
Hi! Girl, I didn't have a good time at your place yesterday, so I slipped away in the middle of the night and found another girl. How's that for honesty?
Ron probably wouldn't have the chance to hook up with Max anymore, so this situation required strategy.
"Really? I originally wanted to ask for your help with something, Ron."
Author's Note: The plot thickens as Ron gets closer to solving the case while juggling his complicated personal life.
(End of this chapter)
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