Chapter 36: They Know I Was Murdered

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: They Know I Was Murdered

"Captain Lowell, do you suspect this is the primary crime scene?" a colleague asked.

Zeke Shaw nodded.

Asher stared intently at the door, then turned and began to search.

The orphanage was huge and had been abandoned for years. The police had investigated it several times but never found any clues.

Asher picked up a stick and started poking around for something.

I followed nervously behind Zeke Shaw.

’Are they about to find it? The arm of the law is long. If the police are determined, they’ll definitely find the primary crime scene.’

Julian Fletcher’s expression was grim as well. He followed behind the police without a word.

"Julian..." Jake Abbott’s voice trembled. He started to speak, then stopped.

"Spit it out," Julian Fletcher said with a frown, giving Jake Abbott a warning look.

"The listening devices in my garage... Yesterday, I turned on the computer to check... and there was a... recording... from the night of the 15th." Jake Abbott’s voice wasn’t just trembling anymore; his legs were shaking too.

He had been hesitating, wondering if he should say anything.

Seeing Julian Fletcher skip his own wedding today and rush over to find Cecilia Caldwell, he had suddenly panicked.

I could tell Jake Abbott was genuinely terrified. He was afraid the police would trace it back to him.

"I’m sorry, Julian... I’m sorry. I really didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know anything..." Jake Abbott placed a USB drive in Julian Fletcher’s hand and stumbled back in alarm.

Julian Fletcher’s face darkened, and he glanced back at Zeke Shaw.

The police were still searching the orphanage, and everyone was holding their breath.

Even the K-9 unit had arrived.

"What exactly happened on the night of the 15th," Zeke Shaw murmured, plugging the USB drive into a police laptop.

"Julian... Julian, where are you? I’m a little scared..."

"Julian, Julian Fletcher... I’m scared of the dark. Can you just say something, please?"

"Julian Fletcher, this time... this time, if you catch the killer, will you let me go... please? Let me leave."

"Julian Fletcher... Just how long... how long do I have to keep repaying my debt to you? Just name a price. I’ll pay you back in the future."

"Julian Fletcher, please, just say something."

The recording was of me, shivering in the alley, terrified out of my mind, muttering to myself.

I was begging Julian Fletcher to say something. At least if I knew he was there in the shadows, I would have felt a little safer.

Julian Fletcher’s face had turned visibly pale, and his breathing was shaky.

Madeline Quinn’s eyes welled with tears as she glared at Julian Fletcher with hatred. "You’re a son of a bitch! You sent Cece to the Street Alley all by herself! You sent her there to die, Julian Fletcher!"

"I... I didn’t." His hands hung limply at his sides, as if trying to offer an explanation.

I cried until I started to laugh. ’See, Julian Fletcher? It’s painful when you can’t explain yourself, isn’t it?’

"Julian Fletcher, I want to leave. I’m so scared..."

In the recording, I was telling Julian Fletcher that I wanted to leave.

But as I turned, someone clamped a hand over my mouth and nose.

"Mmph... Help... Help..."

"Julian..."

"Save me..."

I was struggling, crying for help, but my voice slowly grew faint, and the noise in the recording gradually faded away.

Everyone’s nerves were stretched taut, including mine.

Hearing this recording was basically enough to confirm that I had been murdered...

Julian Fletcher’s fingers trembled nonstop, and his eyes gradually reddened.

He whirled around to face Jake Abbott, his eyes bloodshot. "When did you find this recording? I fucking asked you, when did you find it!"

Jake Abbott was terrified, his legs weak. "Yes... yesterday..."

"Tell me the fucking truth!" Julian Fletcher roared at Jake Abbott like a crazed animal.

Jake Abbott collapsed to the ground in fear, his face ashen as he spoke. "The day the police... the police came to see us, they said... that on the 15th... Cecilia Caldwell was also at the Street Alley. So I went back... went back and checked the computer. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Julian. I was too scared."

Jake Abbott was crying, saying he was scared, which was why he hadn’t dared to hand it over to the police.

I watched them powerlessly, these conspirators, these murderers who had caused my death...

Not a single one of them was innocent.

"You bastard! If anything happened to Cecilia, I’ll kill you!" Julian Fletcher went berserk, raining punch after punch on Jake Abbott’s face.

I laughed numbly, sitting off to the side. ’What are you pretending for, Julian Fletcher... acting like you’re some kind of good person?’

’You’re the one who got me killed.’

’Julian Fletcher, what kind of expression will you have when you see my body?’

The police pulled Julian Fletcher away, but he lost control and slammed a fist into the wall. "The 15th... Is she an idiot? I didn’t tell her to go! What was she doing running over there by herself!"

I looked up at Julian Fletcher, stood up, and slapped him across the face. I knew it wouldn’t connect, but I did it anyway.

’Didn’t you tell me to go? Erin Whittaker said you told me to go!’

But Julian Fletcher couldn’t hear me at all.

"Captain Lowell! We’ve found something over here!"

Zeke Shaw ran over warily.

I stood where I was, waiting for the moment my body would be discovered.

Maybe then, I would finally be free.