Looking next door, Martin gave up the idea of robbing the little kid, went back inside to look around, and only found a 25-cent coin.

Martin remembered that Eleanor's old man, Scott, ran a grocery store that bought stolen goods and junk, so he sized up the wooden house.

There was only the most basic old sofa, a low wooden table, and a broken wooden bed. Any furniture or appliances worth anything had long been taken away and sold by the Carter family.

The few things left were not only broken but also heavy as hell.

Martin had an injured leg, so carrying the sofa or table to sell was unrealistic. He took a pair of pliers with damaged insulation from the drawer of the low table, went to the side of the yard facing the Carter house, and cut through the rusty wire fence, rolling it up.

The wire mesh had lots of sharp ends after being cut, making it hard to carry. Martin went back inside, rummaged around for a while, and finally pulled out a rope from under the bed.

“Selling the Carter family’s wire fence to Scott－Carter, will that work?” Martin figured it wouldn’t be a problem; lots of houses in the neighborhood had similar fences.

Suddenly, a scream came from next door. Judging by the voice, it sounded like Harris.

Martin hurried outside and quickly walked toward the Carter house.

In the Carter family’s yard, a bicycle lay on its side, and there was a dirt pit next to the front wheel. Loose soil was still falling into the pit along a collapsed piece of cardboard.

Harris was sitting on the ground, clutching his arm, tears streaming down his face from the pain.

Only ten-year-old Hall－Carter stood in front of him, mocking, “Loser, get up, don’t be such a wimp!”

Harris shouted angrily, “Shut up, idiot! There’s a ninety percent chance my left arm is broken!”

Hall’s tone softened a bit: “I was just joking around, made a little trap, you’re just too soft…”

Having seen people with forearm fractures while working as a stunt double, Martin took a closer look after arriving and said, “Tough luck, you hit the jackpot—your left arm’s broken.”

“Damn it!” Harris was sweating all over from the pain.

Hall, feeling guilty, backed up and plopped down on the ground.

Seeing that Harris had no other injuries, Martin said, “You need treatment. I’ll take you to see Dr. Bill. You said he’s really skilled.”

Harris looked terrified: “Bill can’t fix a fracture. If he treats me, there’s a one hundred percent chance I’ll end up disabled.”

“The Carter family will get another disability subsidy!” Martin added at just the right moment, then reminded, “Don’t move your left arm.”

Hurried footsteps sounded, the door creaked open, and fourteen-year-old Lily－Carter ran out, asking, “What did you two idiots do? Hall, where the hell did this pit come from?”

Martin cut her off: “Go tell your sister, Harris broke his arm.”

“I’ll go borrow a phone from Mrs. Wood.” Lily took off running toward the house diagonally across the street.

Martin deliberately tried to distract Harris: “Back so soon?”

Harris gritted his teeth and said, “The Cole sisters had something come up and aren’t home.”

A few minutes later, Lily came running back with a phone, saying, “Eleanor borrowed a car and is on her way back.”

When Hall heard Eleanor’s name, he pushed himself backward with his hands, scooting his butt away, trying to keep his distance.

Eleanor’s part-time job wasn’t far, so she drove back quickly.

She was in such a rush that she hadn’t even changed out of her teddy bear mascot pants.

Seeing Harris’s condition, Eleanor pulled out her wallet to check her money, took out a few $1 and $5 bills, and two $20 bills, then started pacing anxiously in circles: “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out, damn it, I can think of something! There has to be a way!”

Martin, who had just eaten a week’s worth of free meals, patted her on the shoulder: “Give me the car keys.”

Eleanor handed over the car keys instinctively.

“Wait here, I’m going to get some money.” Martin took the keys and walked toward the car.

Lily－Carter suddenly caught up, shoved the borrowed phone into Martin’s hand, and said, “Take this. If we can’t pay the money back, you can always contact Eleanor…”

She stuck out her longest finger, pulled it back, then stuck it out again.

Martin pressed his hand against Lily’s forehead and pushed her away.

Getting in the car, he familiarized himself with the gear shift, recalled the controls, started the engine, and sped out of the Clayton community, heading south.

Max’s office was on the edge of the Marietta business district. The road between there and Clayton’s neighborhood was old and full of potholes, so he couldn’t drive fast.

After half an hour, Martin arrived in front of a four-story office building, parked, went inside, and found the office with the Max Maintenance Company sign on the second floor.

He knocked on the door, and a burly Latino man asked, “What do you want?”

Martin replied, “I’m one of Mr. Max’s workers. I’m here to ask him about work.”

The blinds in the inner office opened, and someone spoke: “Martin, come in.”

Martin entered the inner office, quickly scanning the room. In the display case, on the shelves, and on the desk, there were teddy bears of all sizes.

Even the two family photos on the desk had a giant teddy bear as the background.

In the photos stood a family of four, all beaming with happiness.

A warm, harmonious, and joyful family—one that also loved teddy bears.

A shrewd person with keen observation skills, Martin also noticed a few other things.