And just like that, it was all over town. In 1994, most households in Crestfall had a small, fourteen-inch black-and-white television, so it didn’t take any effort to spread the word. The entire city saw the footage of Wesley Kane being arrested for soliciting a prostitute. He tried to cover his face, but most of it was still visible. The cara even panned down to his bare buttocks...
Although his rear end was blurred out, that only drew more attention to it; without the blur, it might have gone unnoticed. The news report also made a point to ntion: "a Mr. Kane..."
In Crestfall, Kane wasn’t a very common surna.
When the segnt aired, Vera Xavier had just gotten tired of her studies and co downstairs for a drink of water. The mont she saw the screen, she spat it all out.
’So that’s why Rona Langdon was so relaxed when she ca back from the Kane residence today,’ she thought. Rona had even calmly told Zachary Preston that no one from the Kane family was ho!
’Jeremy Kane was out on business, Wesley Kane was locked up, and Daisy Archer had gone to bail him out. Of course no one was ho!’
Zachary Preston made a point to watch the national and local news every day. Seeing this report, his face darkened, but he just said to Vera Xavier, "This is too filthy. Don’t watch. Go back to your studies."
Vera Xavier knew what he was thinking and nodded.
Sure enough, after she went upstairs, she heard Zachary Preston say to Rona Langdon, "It’s a good thing we didn’t marry Vera to Wesley Kane. Otherwise, her life would have been ruined!"
Rona Langdon agreed casually, but inwardly she was filled with regret. ’If only I had kept a closer eye on Vera back then,’ she fud. ’If she hadn’t run away from the wedding and had married Wesley Kane, I could have collected a hefty bride price *and* ruined her life!’
What a sha! A real sha!
Thanks to the broadcast, the story of Wesley Kane soliciting a prostitute spread like wildfire to every single resident of Crestfall. In an era before the information explosion, this was a major event—enough for the people of Crestfall to gossip about for the next year.
With this incident, Wesley Kane’s reputation was utterly destroyed. In turn, word of the conflict that had erupted between Vera Xavier and Wesley Kane in front of No. 1 High School a few days ago also began to circulate.
Originally, Daisy Archer’s deliberate slanders had slightly damaged Vera’s reputation. But after these events ca to light, Vera’s actions gained the approval of most residents. After all, what decent girl from a good family would want to marry such a filthy man?
The tide of public opinion had turned completely in Vera Xavier’s favor.
Vera found it a little strange. ’Wesley Kane had been to South Street plenty of tis before, and there had never been any raids. Why did this happen right after my public conflict with him?’
’Moreover, all the public sentint is on my side. Given the gossipy nature of Crestfall’s residents and the Kane family’s usual way of doing things, this isn’t how this kind of incident should have played out.’
A certain person ca to Vera’s mind, but she quickly dismissed the idea as unlikely.
The next day was Sunday, so there were no classes. When she went to the corner store to buy salt, she overheard so neighborhood ladies discussing the matter:
"I heard this crackdown on smut and vice on South Street was arranged by soone from up high. That Wesley Kane is really unlucky, getting caught right in the line of fire."
"How is he unlucky? I heard he’s a regular there. Soone saw him heading that way before."
"True, he’s no good. That girl from the Preston Family was lucky she ran away from the wedding and didn’t marry him. What do you all think? You think she knew sothing beforehand?"
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