Chapter 18: They Really Deserve to Die

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: They Really Deserve to Die

Zeke Shaw couldn’t hear my voice. He was just trying to solve the case quickly and prevent more women from getting hurt.

Perhaps it was a police officer’s intuition, but right now, Zeke Shaw was probably the only person who believed something had actually happened to me.

"You guys have to investigate so many people and so many cases every day. Doesn’t it get exhausting?" I muttered to myself. I must have been truly desperate.

"Zeke! Here’s all the information on Cecilia Caldwell. Her phone was severely damaged, so it’s been sent to the forensics lab for data recovery. It’ll take some time."

Zeke Shaw had ordered a detailed investigation on me.

’To be honest, I was also curious what kind of person I appeared to be in someone else’s investigation.’

"All the data from Cecilia Caldwell’s phone will be extracted once the repairs are done."

’I cringed. So they’d be able to see everything? My search history, the diary entries I kept in my notes app... all of it.’

Zeke Shaw took my file and glanced at it. Parents deceased at eighteen. Watched them die right before her eyes.

The first image was a photo from the scene of the car crash.

I instinctively shut my eyes, not daring to remember.

"The Fletcher family adopted Cecilia Caldwell, so you’d think they’d have a good relationship. But from the way Julian Fletcher talks about her, you’d think she was his mortal enemy," the young officer muttered under his breath.

Zeke Shaw said nothing, studying my file intently.

I liked quiet and I loved to draw. They could find all my paintings.

My excellent grades, my photos on the campus forum, my awards, my application to study abroad.

"If nothing had happened to her, she’d be on a plane to the Republic of M to study abroad right now." Zeke Shaw glanced at the time and spoke, a thoughtful look on his face.

I froze, a sharp pain seizing my heart.

’That’s right. If I hadn’t died, by now... I would have already escaped Meridia.’

"We’ve got something. Morgan talked to a waiter at Nocturne Club. He said he remembered Cecilia Caldwell because she had a great figure, so she left an impression. He also said that Cecilia and Julian Fletcher hooked up at the club two months ago."

An officer ran over and reported his findings to Zeke Shaw.

I numbly covered my ears, but I couldn’t stop myself from hearing all the private details of my life.

"There were a lot of people in the private room at the hotel that day. Julian Fletcher’s posse of degenerate friends left first. Whether Cecilia was a willing participant... we don’t know."

"Bastards," Zeke Shaw cursed. "A bunch of scumbags!"

’It seemed that, deep down, he was on my side.’

I was so grateful. I never expected a stranger I’d only met once would be willing to believe in me.

I could feel Zeke Shaw’s anger. It was like he was empathizing with me.

I followed Zeke Shaw to the police station.

The warrant came through quickly. After all, the impact of the Meridia serial killer case was just too severe.

Before long, Julian Fletcher and his buddies were all summoned by the police. Even Brian Morgan, his face a swollen mess, was hauled in for questioning.

"Are you people insane? Can’t you see I’m the victim here? Go catch that lunatic! What are you grabbing me for?" Brian Morgan was still cursing.

"Your attacker has a mental illness. If he’d killed you, he’d get away with it," Zeke Shaw warned coldly before continuing. "You’re a suspect in a case of indecent assault and sexual harassment, so shut the hell up."

Brian Morgan froze. "What? Who the hell did I assault?"

"Cecilia Caldwell!" Zeke Shaw grabbed Brian Morgan by the collar and hauled him into the interrogation room.

In his hand, Zeke Shaw was holding my diary.

I had a habit of keeping a diary. I was afraid I’d forget the hurt these people caused me, so I wrote it all down, entry by entry.

"That bitch should take a good look at herself in the mirror. Me touching her was doing her a favor." Brian Morgan wasn’t very smart and was used to throwing his weight around, thinking his family’s money could solve anything.

But Zeke Shaw wasn’t about to indulge him. On the official record, he wrote that the suspect had confessed to the assault of Cecilia Caldwell.

’Standing behind Zeke Shaw, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction.’

’This way, Brian Morgan would get the punishment he deserved.’

"On the night of the thirteenth, you and your friends forced Cecilia Caldwell to act as bait for the killer. Is that true?" Zeke Shaw’s voice was dangerously low as he questioned him.

"We were just trying our luck, seeing what would happen," Brian Morgan said flippantly, as if they had just been playing some fun game.

But they didn’t know that this "game" had cost me my life.

My vision reddened with fury, enraged by Brian Morgan’s casual attitude.

I surged forward, screaming at Brian Morgan. I frantically tried to grab a nearby chair to swing at him, but I couldn’t touch anything. All I could do was watch him act so smug.

"Do you have any idea that your ignorance and stupidity could get Cecilia Caldwell killed?" The veins on the hand Zeke Shaw used to grip his pen were bulging. He was furious.

"No way. The killer wouldn’t even give her a second look!" Brian Morgan said dismissively.

"The thirteenth, the fourteenth, the fifteenth. For three straight days, you made Cecilia Caldwell go into that alley to lure the killer. She disappeared on the night of the fifteenth, and not only did you fail to report it immediately, you actively delayed the police investigation!" Zeke Shaw slammed his hand on the table, so furious he looked like he wanted to lunge across it and throttle him.

But he was a cop, so he restrained himself.

"That’s not—" Brian Morgan was suddenly on guard. "She only went on the thirteenth and fourteenth. Just two nights. The killer wasn’t interested in her, so we gave up. We didn’t make her go on the fifteenth. Don’t you dare try to pin this on me."

’I laughed sardonically. So they didn’t know. They didn’t know that on the fifteenth, Erin Whittaker had tricked me into going to the alley at the end of the street.’

’Did Julian Fletcher not know either?’