Chapter 2

My heart sank. I snatched the contract back.

Sure enough, my name was clearly visible in the buyer's section.

But the seller's section was a total blank!

"That's impossible!"

The words escaped me before I could stop them. I distinctly remembered watching the salesman sign it.

The salesman suddenly found his confidence again.

"See, Officer? I told you we never signed! This contract was never finalized!"

"He's just trying to pull a fast one on us!"

"It's right there in black and white. What else is there to say? You picked the wrong place for a scam!"

Other customers and staff in the showroom were starting to stare.

"He looks so professional, yet he's doing something like this..."

"People will try anything these days to get a deal."

"Exactly. He probably thought he could trick the new guy since the old salesman left. Looks like his plan backfired."

The salesman threw his hands up, acting like the victim.

"Officer, you have to help us out here. Isn't this some kind of harassment or disorderly conduct?"

"At the very least, he's disrupting our business, right?"

Officer Miller looked at me sternly. "Mr. Sterling, how do you explain this?"

"You insist they signed, but the document clearly shows otherwise."

I stared at the glaring white space on the paper, then caught the salesman's smug grin.

Like a bolt of lightning, a thought flashed through my mind.

Did they use one of those pens with disappearing ink?

I met the salesman's triumphant gaze and tapped my finger on the blank space.

"Fine. Let's pretend for a moment that you didn't sign it."

"In that case, please explain something to me..."

"Following standard procedure, a contract is signed in duplicate. Both parties sign and stamp it right there, and each keeps a copy."

"If you really didn't sign it, why would you let a customer walk away with a copy of the contract?"

The smile on the salesman's face froze instantly.

Officer Miller's eyes sharpened. He looked at the contract again. "Answer the question."

"Well..." The salesman's eyes darted around nervously. He stuttered for a few seconds. "It was probably just a clerical error! The process was a bit messy that day!"

"Yeah, it was the old salesman's fault. He was sloppy!"

I didn't let him keep digging his hole. I turned directly to Officer Miller.

"Officer, I'd like to request the surveillance footage from the signing room from one month ago."

"No way!" The salesman turned pale. "That footage contains trade secrets and customer privacy! We can't just show it to an outsider!"

Officer Miller thought for a moment. "How about this? I will review the footage with Mr. Sterling. We will only look at the specific events of the signing day."

"It won't affect your business, and it will clear up the facts. That doesn't violate any rules, does it?"

Cold sweat began to bead on the salesman's forehead.

But just then, a cheerful voice echoed from the back of the showroom.

"Officer Miller is absolutely right. Our management has been a bit lax lately. Sorry for the trouble!"

Everyone turned to see a middle-aged man with a flushed face walking toward us.

He shook hands warmly with the officer and nodded at me, playing the role of the peacemaker.

"I'm the owner of this dealership. I just got back and heard about this little hiccup. Sorry to bother you over such a small thing, Officer."

Mr. Thorne was all smiles and sounded incredibly sincere.

The salesman acted like he'd found his savior and scurried behind his boss.

Officer Miller briefly explained the situation and our request.

Mr. Thorne kept his smile as he listened.

"Officer, look. At the end of the day, this is just a civil contract dispute between us and Mr. Sterling, right?"