The two people and their dog entered the cafe. Isaac chose a seat towards the back, with a wall behind him and a wide view. He could see the street through the window and keep an eye on the situation at the entrance.
A waiter came and handed him the menu, Isaac said to the waiter, "We'll look at it for a while."
The waiter understood and stepped aside.
Seeing that the waiter made no attempt to stop Fenri, Li Jiehao muttered, "How did Dog Brother manage to get in so easily?"
"Why not?" Isaac asked.
"Uh, environmental sanitation issues?"
As Li Jiehao spoke, he realized that in this era, people don't seem to care much about the cleanliness of the store environment, and those who have the leisure to bring their pets into the coffee shop are probably not low-income earners, so the shop owners wouldn't be so inconsiderate as to let people leave their pets outside.
Isaac gestured for Li Jiehao to order, and Li Jiehao forced himself to focus on the names of the dishes. "A black coffee, and another... this, a buttered bread? What would you like?"
"Same."
"Okay." Li Jiehao put down the menu and pushed it in front of Isaac, pretending to discuss what to order. "So, have you seen him?"
"They didn't follow us in; they must have stopped on the street." Isaac pretended to be studying the menu as well. "If I were a stalker, I wouldn't follow them directly into the store; that would be too easy to spot. I'd most likely find a spot on the street where I could observe the entrance and wait."
"Should we try to escape through some back door or something? I've seen that's how it's portrayed in movies and TV shows..."
"Let's wait and see." Isaac glanced at Fenri.
Fenri, who was lying on the table, noticed Isaac's gaze and turned her head towards the window again, indicating that the person following them was still there.
Isaac looked around, trying to spot the most suspicious person among the people walking or stopping on the street, but unfortunately he found nothing.
He calmed himself down and called over a waiter to order.
A moment later, the waiter brought two cups of black coffee and two slices of buttered bread.
"I never thought I'd be enjoying afternoon tea like this," Li Jiehao smacked his lips, trying to distract himself from the tension of being followed.
He picked up the cup, took a sip, his expectant expression twitched, and he swallowed with difficulty. "It's so bitter... Is there any sugar?"
Isaac glanced at the menu. "Yes, but you'll have to pay for it yourself. Three pence a plate, five candies in total."
"Selling by the piece? This store is so stingy! Even though it says it's imported high-end sugar cubes from the Southern Territory..." Li Jiehao broke off a small piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth, his expression finally relaxing a bit.
Isaac sipped his coffee, continuing to gaze out the window.
People were coming and going on the street. A figure walked past the window, and Isaac's gaze followed the figure for a moment.
The figure looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen him before. Isaac kept a close eye on it and memorized the man's physical characteristics: slightly overweight, wearing a baseball cap and a dark coat.
About two or three minutes later, the figure "passed by" again from the opposite side of the street in the direction it had just walked.
This time, the man deliberately followed a couple, and the three of them walked together as if they were traveling together, but at a distance from each other. If Isaac hadn't been paying special attention, it would have been easy to mistake them for ordinary pedestrians and overlook them.
Isaac had a general idea of what was going on: the other person wasn't in a position visible from the window, but had chosen a blind spot, focusing only on the doorway.
However, since he was in a blind spot, he probably couldn't see the situation inside the store. If he couldn't see the store, he couldn't confirm whether Isaac and Li Jiehao were still in their seats. So he would "pass by" every now and then to quickly check if the targets were still in their seats.
This technique isn't particularly sophisticated, but if you don't pay close attention to what's outside the window, it's hard to notice a passerby walking back and forth.
The man has been spotted; should we lure him out directly...? Isaac lowered his gaze.
If we don't seize this opportunity to lure out the stalker, it might be difficult to catch up with this lead later, and we'll have missed the chance.
However, taking direct action also carries risks. First, it might alert the organization behind the other party, and second, it's uncertain whether they can be apprehended on the spot.
The worst outcome would be to alert the other party but fail to capture them, ending up with nothing – that would be very awkward.
Isaac glanced around the café, made up his mind, and gestured to the waiter, "Excuse me, may I ask...?"
The man took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. The summer in Vista wasn't particularly hot, but walking around on the street for a long time and having to keep a close eye on his target had made him sweat quite a bit.
He cursed inwardly; those two were enjoying themselves in the coffee shop, but he wondered how long they were going to stay there.
Seeing a passerby brush past him out of the corner of his eye, the man took a step forward, preparing to "pass by" again.
He glanced out the window of the coffee shop, froze, and rubbed his eyes.
The person in the seat is gone.
The man's heart tightened, and he looked again to confirm.
I didn't see those two people come out. Could it be that they spotted him and left through the back door or something?
The man gritted his teeth, hesitated for a moment, and walked towards the coffee shop.
Pushing open the door, the man glanced at the table again; the plates and cups were gone, and a waiter was clearing the tablecloth.
The man strode towards the waiter, who turned around and asked, "Sir, what would you like?"
"Where are the two people who were just sitting here?" the man asked, pointing to the empty table.
The waiter, bewildered, said, "Excuse me, sir, I don't understand..."
The man lowered his voice. " The Joint Investigation Bureau cases, you'd better know your place."
The waiter was still confused. "This..."
"I'm asking you a question, did those two leave through the back door?"
"Well, if you're looking for those two gentlemen... aren't they right there?"
The waiter pointed behind the man, who was startled and immediately turned around.
The person closest to the cafe entrance, Isaac, Li Jiehao, and the black dog at the table were all staring at him.
Oops... Oh no!
The man realized something was wrong; he'd been ambushed!
Isaac thought to himself that this tactic seemed to be working quite well.
He had just made up his mind when he called over a waiter, "Excuse me, could you please change our seats?"
Although the request was a bit strange, the waiter noticed that Isaac's demeanor and attire were not those of an ordinary person, and the other person, looking tired, didn't seem like a regular customer of the café. He figured they must have some special business, so he simply agreed to avoid any unnecessary disputes.
So, as Isaac requested, he moved their meal to a table near the door, a "blind spot."
In response, Isaac considered two aspects: he used the "disappearance" test to gauge the stalker's reaction.
If the person sees they've disappeared and immediately runs away, it means they're a stalker with a guilty conscience, prioritizing stealth. In that case, you can try chasing after them and see if you can catch them.
If that person sees they're gone and chooses to go into the store to question them, it means they're the type who's "confident and fearless." Since they've come to us willingly, there are more measures we can take, such as closing the store and leaving some Fenri.