Chapter 44: Conveying "Last Words"
At 8 PM, at the Wilshire Station, Jack, eating a burger as he walked, found John, who was handing over the former banker Caleb Yost to the county police.
"I let Hannah go home to rest first. I just got off the phone with the hospital, and Deputy Graham is out of danger now. Let's go visit him."
John's expression was a bit strange. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I just asked around. Graham doesn't have a wife; he's always been single. So, the message he asked me to pass on to Beth..."
American names are troublesome with all the nicknames and abbreviations, not to mention distinguishing whether to use the first or last name based on familiarity. Jack sighed and grabbed a county officer escorting a prisoner.
"Excuse me, does Deputy Graham have any friends or colleagues named Elizabeth or Isabella?"
"I'm Elizabeth. Is there something you need?" A white female officer in her forties walked over.
John looked delighted, "Do you know Graham?"
The officer nodded, "Yes, we've worked together for the past five years."
Jack finished his burger and stepped forward, "Has he ever called you Beth?"
The officer's expression changed, not answering directly, "Why are you asking this?"
John scratched his head and explained, "It's like this, we're the LAPD officers who found Graham at the accident scene."
"He grabbed my hand before getting into the ambulance and asked me to pass on a message."
"What did he say?" Elizabeth glanced around, her eyes moistening, as if unsure what to do, wanting to explain something. "I heard he might not make it, so..."
John quickly waved his hands, "No, my colleague just spoke with the hospital. He's out of danger now. He previously..."
He hesitated, unsure how to proceed.
Jack, feeling he had rolled his eyes too much today, straightforwardly took over, "He said to tell Beth that he loves you."
Elizabeth looked disbelieving, covering her mouth with her hands, her eyes showing joy, but her voice choked, "You're lying."
"No!" John quickly vouched for Jack, "He thought he was going to die. Those were his last words."
"So, is it you? Are you two in a relationship?" Jack, eager for gossip, pressed on. This was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise tough day, apart from the kiss from the little girl. He had to get to the bottom of it.
Elizabeth burst into tears, nodding repeatedly, "He's my friend, a really good one. There was a time I thought he'd ask me out, and I hoped he would, but he never did."
"Case closed," Jack and John high-fived in celebration.
"We're planning to visit him at the hospital. Would you like to join us?" John invited.
Elizabeth, wiping away her tears, nodded excitedly.
"I'll drive," Jack said, crumpling up his burger wrapper and tossing it into a trash can in the corner with a perfect throw.
"What a fairy-tale ending," Hannah said, blushing, giving Jack a kiss after hearing about the eventful day.
"Oh, by the way," Jack added, as if suddenly remembering something, "John and that Dr. Clarisse might also have something going on. They were gazing at each other in the hospital in a way that gave me goosebumps."
"What about us? Valentine's Day is in two months, but I'll be at Quantico then. Should we celebrate early?" Hannah wrapped her arms around Jack's neck, her warm breath seemingly raising the temperature around them.
Jack planted a kiss on her white, seductive collarbone and began to move downward, but she laughed and pushed him away.
"We agreed to wait until I get back from Quantico. Are you going to break that promise?"
Jack let out a frustrated growl, smacking her firm rear as punishment for teasing him.
He hated promises, whether with Hannah or Zoe. They were too annoying.
In the following days, good things kept happening. First, the two transmigration books added a series of beginner-level life skills to Jack, such as farming, carpentry, machining, photography, and more. Some skills even fused and branched into new ones.
For example, farming combined with his existing gardening skills to form planting. New skills like bomb disposal fused with existing chemistry and handiwork skills to form demolition and disarmament skills.
This sudden wealth of skills was dazzling, making Jack happy but also deeply aware of the scarcity of system coins. He had previously received five coins as a confirmation reward, plus the three he had recently saved, totaling only eight coins, still not enough to upgrade a master-level skill.
He was still debating whether to upgrade his rifle shooting to proficient first or wait until he had ten coins to upgrade his handgun to master-level, giving him the unbeatable skill within ten steps.
Each skill had its strengths. Considering he would be with the LAPD for a long time and that there would be many situations requiring a rifle, Jack decided that even when he had ten coins, he would hold onto them and play it by ear.
Additionally, in recent months, he had acquired some skills through other means, such as lockpicking from Angela and beginner-level Spanish and French through self-study and conversations with colleagues.
However, due to limited time, these skills remained at the beginner level. Jack didn't plan to waste system coins on them, as beginner-level skills were usually sufficient for most situations.
With continuous learning and exercise, his basic attributes were still improving. These skills would gradually upgrade with use.
Another piece of good news was that Jack finally had his own house in this world. After a series of complicated procedures, the white two-story house at 7765 Genesee Street was finally transferred to his name.
For this, he paid nearly $3000 a month on a loan that would last 20 years. Despite not wanting to end up like Americans who receive a stack of bills at the end of each month, Jack had unconsciously begun to resemble this world's inhabitants.
Just like people in his previous life who, after entering the 21st century, took out loans that required a lifetime of hard work to repay, to buy a house of their own.
After sending Daniel Lawson and his son on a plane to Salt Lake City, Jack used three days of his spare time to clean up the house inside and out, moving his things in over a weekend.
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