Chapter 97: Is Charlie the Murderer?

Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Is Charlie the Murderer?

Asher stood there helplessly, suppressing his emotions. He wanted to step forward but was afraid I’d get hurt.

It was probably because he’d used force on that pervert on the subway today, and my misunderstanding had scared him. He was afraid he wouldn’t know his own strength and make me unhappy again.

He seemed very scared, scared that I would really choose Julian Fletcher over him.

"Cece..." he called my name nervously. He clearly wanted me to choose him.

I looked at Asher, my gaze complicated.

Seeing that I wasn’t resisting, Julian Fletcher said coldly, "Looking like Cecilia Caldwell is your good fortune."

I gritted my teeth. ’I’ve wanted to beat him up for a long time...’

I threw my head back forcefully and slammed it into Julian Fletcher’s face, then spun around and started wailing on him.

’I’ve really wanted to beat him up for a long time.’

In my past life, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to beat him up, but that I didn’t dare. He could always threaten me with the people I cared about.

Threatening people was what this man did best.

I couldn’t afford to provoke him. Besides, I owed him a debt of gratitude, so all I could do was endure it.

But now... he’s already gotten me killed once. Why should I care about any debt of gratitude?

Asher stood frozen on the spot, staring at me, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

"What are you looking at? Get over here and help me beat him up," I shouted to Asher.

Asher looked excited and was about to charge in and start swinging when Zeke Shaw, who had just come out, grabbed him by the back of his collar. "Asher, come with me for a moment."

Asher looked resentfully at Zeke Shaw, then glanced back at me.

"Let’s go. We’ll go together." I ignored Julian Fletcher, who was still clutching his nose and trying to recover, and stepped forward to take Asher’s hand.

Asher looked overwhelmed by the gesture. "Cece... don’t choose him..."

"He’s not even an option for me," I said reassuringly, though my mind was in turmoil.

’Asher’s emotions were so unstable. I had to coax him along, but was this just my sympathy acting up? Sooner or later, I had to leave the Lancaster family. I couldn’t be tied to his side forever...’

’If he becomes too dependent on me, what am I supposed to do?’

Asher seemed to be in a good mood and proactively helped Zeke Shaw with the analysis. "Numbers. Every kid at the orphanage... had a number. It’s the death... order. But the director’s family... isn’t part of the sequence."

Apparently, even Asher hadn’t expected the killer to suddenly stop hunting the people from the orphanage and turn on the director’s family instead.

I looked at Asher. ’He knows the killer very well...’

"Before, when I asked you to cooperate, you wouldn’t say a single word. Why did you suddenly decide to talk today?" Zeke Shaw asked Asher curiously.

Asher lowered his head. After a long moment, he just glanced at me. "Cece..."

"Hm?" ’I had no idea why he was suddenly looking at me.’

"I only listen to Cece." He meant that he was only willing to cooperate because I had told him to come along.

If I hadn’t let him come and had left him at the Lancaster residence alone, he wouldn’t have said a thing.

"..." I didn’t know what to say.

"Will the next one to die be the director?" I asked. ’Will it be that woman?’

"No..." Asher shook his head. "Living is more painful than death."

My heart skipped a beat. ’He’s right.’

’Her husband was dead, her daughter was dead, and the students from the orphanage were dying one by one. That kind of terror would drive any survivor insane.’

’So, being left alive was her punishment.’

’What on earth did that orphanage director do to the killer all those years ago?’

"Back then, during the orphanage fire, did Charlie... really die?" I’d suspected this Charlie before. ’Did he really die in that fire?’ "The man I saw at home had a burned face, so I couldn’t make out his features. If that Charlie didn’t die, he’d have a motive, wouldn’t he?"

’It would certainly be difficult for the police to investigate someone who had faked their own death.’

"We suspected that a long time ago." Zeke Shaw lit a cigarette downstairs, looking exhausted. "Everything you can think of, we in the police department have already investigated. This guy, Charlie, is confirmed dead. My mentor was the one who led the investigation into the fire back then. The only survivor was Asher. There was another body at the scene, burned to a crisp."

I gaped in astonishment. ’Charlie was really dead...’

’If Charlie was dead, he couldn’t be the killer.’

’Then who could it be?’

I glanced at Asher. His expression was all wrong. "Charlie’s dead..."

"Charlie’s dead..." he kept muttering.

"That body... are you sure it was Charlie’s?" I didn’t know why, but considering the genius demonstrated by the killer, my suspicions could only fall on Charlie and Asher.

’If Charlie is dead...’

’...then what about Asher?’

I looked at Asher nervously. ’Even though we’ve been together this whole time and he had no opportunity to commit the crimes, still...’

"I called Asher down here because I wanted him to tell me the truth." Zeke Shaw took a deep drag from his cigarette, his eyes fixed on Asher. "What’s your relationship with the killer? And why did you go to confess, claiming you were the one who killed someone?"

Zeke Shaw’s gaze was sharp. "I didn’t take you to the station. I’m asking you here. That means I trust you, so you’d better tell me the truth."

Asher averted his gaze and said nothing.

I had asked Asher this question before, too, and his answer had been evasive.

"Asher... we can’t let anyone else die." I looked at him nervously, trying to coax him into talking.

"I couldn’t find Cece... The clues pointed to the orphanage... I went to save Cece, but I couldn’t find her." Asher suddenly became agitated, overcome with self-blame and guilt.

"I lost..." He tugged at his hair, losing control. "His game... I lost."

"What do you mean? What game?" Zeke Shaw watched Asher warily.

"The day Cece disappeared, someone left a letter outside my room. He said he wanted to play a game with me... a game to find Cece. If I could accurately calculate her exact coordinates within the time limit, he’d give her back to me." ’That lunatic... he made Asher calculate coordinates?’

’To pinpoint a person’s exact coordinates.’

"Lunatic..." I cursed.

"He lied to me. I figured it out. The problem he gave me... I calculated the coordinates..." Asher’s voice trembled. "I went there. I went to that little wooden cabin, but I couldn’t find Cece. It never occurred to me... that there was a basement underneath." Asher was blaming himself. He squatted on the ground, losing control, and yanked at his hair so hard his knuckles turned white.

He had clearly figured it out.

He had clearly rushed over there.

But he hadn’t found Cece.

"I lost. It’s my fault." Asher’s emotions were highly unstable. "I’m the one who got her killed."

I stepped forward and grabbed Asher’s hands, stopping him from hurting himself. "Don’t be afraid."

"I searched frantically for her, but all I found was the second letter he’d prepared. It told me to go to the crime scene the police suspected, pretend to be the killer, and then confess. If I confessed, he’d give Cece back to me."

’And that lunatic really did return Cecilia Caldwell to him...’

"No wonder someone deliberately led the police to discover that basement that day," Zeke Shaw said with a frown.

’As soon as Asher confessed, my body was discovered.’

"That basement wasn’t newly dug. Even Asher didn’t know it was there, which means very few people knew about it..." I murmured, looking up at Zeke Shaw. "What was that basement used for? The orphanage director definitely knew."

’I had a feeling the killer didn’t just place my body there randomly.’

’That basement must hold some secret, some darkness.’

"If the killer isn’t Asher, and it’s not Charlie..." I muttered under my breath, "then who on earth could it be that has these kinds of abilities?"

’Judging by the killer’s actions, he had to be some kind of genius.’

Asher fell silent, saying no more.

’His explanation certainly clarified why he was at the crime scene, but was that really the truth?’

’Asher... could he really be trusted?’

"Captain Zane! This is a diversion! We just got a call from the hospital—Erin Whittaker is missing!"