Manley let out a yell, hastily reaching for the car door, ready to jump out. But he froze the moment his hand touched the handle.
Turns out, Estelle had come to Kulha Mountain. What was she doing here all by herself?
If he charged out now and hailed her, he'd spook her for sure, and she'd give him the slip again!
Manley quickly racked his brain, sat tight, and kept his eyes on the bus pulling up in front of him.
*
Estelle boarded the bus, which was already occupied by a handful of locals. The curious gazes were sizing her up.
She paid her fare and settled into a window seat.
The bus hadn't pulled away yet when a young couple rushed on board. As they spotted Estelle, the girl swiftly turned her head, and the boy didn't dare strike up a conversation with Estelle.
As the bus started to move, Estelle pulled her baseball cap down a bit, staring out of the window.
*
Only after the rickety bus had driven away did Manley step out of his car. He remembered seeing Estelle coming out of a nearby inn.
He started making his way towards the inn.
The innkeeper was busy weaving baskets. She looked up as Manley entered, greeting him warmly, "Hello, are you looking for a room?"
Manley scanned the place, taking out a wad of money and placing it on the table. He asked, "The girl who just left on the bus, does she stay here?"
"Which girl?" The innkeeper's eyes lit up at the sight of the money, not quite catching what Manley had asked.
"The beautiful one in a dark green T-shirt!"
"Oh, you're talking about her. Yes, she's been staying here for several days."
"Where's she going?"
The innkeeper finally took a good look at Manley, "And who might you be?"
"Mr. Scott, the boss has time now, you can bring the contract over!"
Manley frowned, but quickly made a decision, "Tell him to wait, I've got something more important to deal with!"
"Mr. Scott, what could possibly be so important? We've been waiting for so long, and the boss finally agreed to meet. How do you have something else come up all of a sudden?"
Manley hung up the phone impatiently.
At this point, Manley seemed to have calmed down a bit. He got out of the car and returned to the inn again.
Seeing him return, the innkeeper stood up excitedly, "What else do you want to ask?"
Manley inquired: "Where can I buy a stun baton?"
......
The car slowly pulled away from Kulha Mountain, heading south along the winding mountain road.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Thank you for bringing in all the past elements to bring continuity to Jonathan and Stella love journey. I loved it....
Just smiling and smiling and smiling reading the proceedings of this story. Loving it to the max...
Excited for all the events leading up to Jonathan getting his bride. Thank you for the updates....
Beautiful how everything is flowing together. Thank you for the updates....
Appreciate the storyline and direction.. Nothing seems rushed and patiently focusing on each and every character of the story, leaving no stone unturned. Even more intresting to read by the day...
And the plot thickens…thank you for the updates....
Ooooo, thank you thank you thank you for continuing to update the novel 🤩...
Ooooo, thank you thank you thank you for continuing to update the novel 🤩...
No updates??...
Now Xavier needs to get with Nora and Gabriel needs to get with Sylvia....