Joe didn't know that his casual guess was actually correct.
What Tony Wendis wanted him to do was nothing other than murder.
And the targets were none other than Tony Wendis's wife, Margot, and Josh—Margot's "lover."
Of course, the main target was still Margot.
Didn't Margot want a divorce? Didn't she want to kick him out of the house with nothing?
Then let her go to hell.
As long as Margot was dead, and with no other surviving relatives, the large fortune that originally belonged to her would naturally fall into his hands.
However, this wasn't as simple as just hiring someone to kill her.
The usual mob revenge style didn't work among the truly upper-class elites.
After all, in a free country, it's the capitalists who are the real rulers.
So-called gangs were, most of the time, just lapdogs that picked up scraps from them.
A similar example: during the peak arrogance of the gangs in Hong Kong, they dared to confront the military and police, but unless it was someone like Cheung Tze-keung—a bold criminal from across the border—have you ever heard of any local-born gang going head-to-head with the old-money elite?
If Tony Wendis really dared to tell Joe to just go kill Margot directly, and if one day Joe was caught and gave him up, even if the police didn't come for him, Margot's father's influential friends definitely wouldn't let him go.
So Tony Wendis needed a flawless plan, one that completely distanced himself—so even if Joe gave him up, no one would believe it.
And before calling Joe over, this plan had already basically taken shape in Tony's mind.
But Tony Wendis wasn't about to tell Joe the whole plan from the start.
"What I need you to do isn't just one thing, but a few. Don't worry, none of it is hard," Tony Wendis said slowly. "For example, the first task is for you to follow my wife, take photos of her with her lover, then find a chance to steal her handbag. This $1,000 is your pay for step one. As for what's next, I'll let you know once this part is done."
"I understand," Joe nodded.
…
Neither Josh nor Margot had any idea about Tony Wendis' plot.
For Josh, Margot's husband was just a name—he hadn't even seen him in person.
And for Margot, the rather innocent wealthy young wife, she never imagined that her husband would become so deranged as to want her dead just because of one argument and her mention of divorce.
The next day, not wanting to see Tony Wendis, Margot left early in the morning to find Josh—she didn't even want to face him.
When she arrived at Josh's house, Josh was chatting in the yard with his middle-aged neighbor Tommy through the picket fence.
"You're here early today? Let me introduce you—this is Mr. Thomas 'Tommy' Angelo, my neighbor. A very kind gentleman. We get along well," Josh greeted Margot while introducing his neighbor.
"Hello, Mr. Angelo, nice to meet you. I'm Margot," Margot said politely, giving Josh face and greeting the man with a refined demeanor. Though for some reason, she didn't mention her last name.
Perhaps in her heart, she felt that she wouldn't be using the surname "Wendis" for much longer.
"Hello, beautiful lady, just call me Tommy. Well, I won't interrupt you young folks now. Besides, I haven't finished watering my flowers," Tommy smiled at Margot and then shook his watering can, using it as an excuse to end the conversation and leave.
Seeing Margot's expression, it was clear she had a lot to say to Josh—so this old man naturally wouldn't hang around awkwardly.
"What's wrong? You look in a terrible mood. And a bit worn out too," Josh said to Margot after Tommy left. Not just Tommy—Josh had also noticed that something seemed off with Margot.
"Huh? Is it that obvious?" Hearing this, Margot instinctively touched her face. After arguing with Tony Wendis, she hadn't slept well the night before.
"Of course. Come on in—the weather's still pretty cold. By the way, have you had breakfast yet?" Josh asked casually.
"Uh, not yet," Margot shook her head. Her housekeeper usually prepared breakfast early, but not wanting to see her husband, she just ignored it.
"Perfect—I made some buns this morning. I'll heat some up for you. We can talk after you've eaten," Josh immediately said when he heard she hadn't eaten.
Then the two of them went inside.
The buns were made by Josh that morning. He'd gone to the farmer's market early to get flour, and the filling was fresh onion and beef—it actually tasted pretty good.
He even sent some to Tommy's wife, Sarah, who happened to also be making breakfast. That was why he'd been chatting with Tommy earlier.
Since arriving in this era, Josh rarely slept in. And his so-called "sleeping in" never went past 8 a.m.
The main reason was the lack of entertainment in this era.
No phones, no computers, no internet, no video game consoles.
There were TVs, but since TV was still just starting out, programming was extremely limited. The three major U.S. broadcast networks were still mainly radio-focused. ABC hadn't even officially formed yet and was still just part of NBC—known then as the Blue Network.
And the low-quality programming of the time was also something Josh couldn't really get into.
With all this, Josh naturally adopted an early-to-bed, early-to-rise lifestyle.
Of course, nights in the city still had plenty of entertainment—like the poultry clubs and other venues. The nightlife wasn't actually dull.
But previously Josh's finances didn't allow for that, so he never had the chance to explore the decadent and corrupt side of capitalism.
And perhaps because he was in a new home today, he woke up even earlier—before 6 a.m. when it was still dark. So he drove to the farmer's market to see what was good. Yesterday he went in the afternoon and there weren't many stalls left. Back then, he had asked and learned the market opened at 6 a.m.
To this, Josh could only say—working people in every country are quite hardworking.
He reheated the buns and warmed a glass of milk.
Margot really was hungry—she ate three large meat buns and still seemed to want more.
"So, what happened?" Josh finally asked after seeing she was full.
"My husband came back," Margot said. "I want a divorce."
Meanwhile, after Josh and Margot had gone inside, Tommy, who was watering his flowers, seemed to sense something.
He looked around and noticed that at some point, a black car had parked across the street, and someone inside appeared to be watching the house.
Seeing this, Tommy furrowed his brow.