Abandoned by All I Took It All Back novel Chapter 615

Queenie quickly waved her hands. "I'm happy as a bodyguard. It requires a lot less thinking."

She wasn't about to joke her way out of a job she had just managed to get back. A few nice words weren't worth the risk.

Janina shot Kenneth a playful glare. "Trying to poach my staff right in front of me? You've got a death wish!"

Kenneth chuckled. "I just think Queenie has potential as a detective! I wouldn't dare touch anyone on Janina's team."

Maggie playfully swatted at him. "Leave the poor girl alone. She's only twenty-two, just a kid."

Maggie's comment hit a nerve with Kenneth. "Hey, I'm still young too! I'm only twenty-four, not that much older. If anything, Queenie and I are the ones in the same age group."

He muttered the last part so quietly that no one heard him, saving himself from a group lecture.

"Merrick, let's get back on track," Janina said, her tone serious again. "Over the past two weeks, besides grocery shopping, where else did Farmer go?"

Kenneth's expression immediately hardened. "Nowhere but the market. Are you suggesting he might have met his accomplice there?"

Janina nodded. "It's possible. How else would Damaris have been dosed? By the way, which stalls does Farmer usually buy from?"

Understanding her line of thought, Kenneth pulled out his phone and sent her the surveillance footage of Farmer his apprentice had taken.

"My apprentice shot some of this," he explained. His apprentice had told him he hadn't noticed anything unusual about Farmer's routine—he always went to the same market, occasionally stopping at a nearby supermarket for household items, and never spoke to anyone. So, Kenneth had assumed there was nothing to see. But the abnormality was right there, hidden in the videos his apprentice had dismissed.

The video continued to play, and Janina noticed something particularly strange.

Madden bought some greens, carrots, and an eggplant from a stall. After paying, he walked out of the camera's view.

Shortly after he left, Farmer went to the very same stall and bought the exact same items: greens, carrots, and an eggplant. After paying, he also left.

The camera cut to Farmer walking out of the market. At the entrance, he suddenly put down his groceries and bent over to tie his shoelace.

In that exact moment, Madden walked past him and, with a subtle, fluid motion, swapped their shopping bags. Madden's movement was as swift as a magic trick, almost impossible to detect under normal circumstances.

Janina had to slow the video down to clearly see the moment Madden and Farmer exchanged the bags.