Chapter 78: The Axeman’s Family Annihilation Case

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Axeman’s Family Annihilation Case

Heath Hale waved Zoe Sawyer over, gesturing for her to follow him.

’Go see Lily?’

A look of resistance appeared on Zoe Sawyer’s face. She wasn’t a fool. With so much evidence laid out before her, plus Big Girl Monroe’s testimony, things she hadn’t understood before were now more or less clear.

Lily Golding had used her from start to finish.

The smell in the dorm room, the discovery of something strange under the bed, even learning about Shannon Shelby’s excessive possessiveness—Lily Golding had arranged for her to find out about all of it.

That way, when something actually happened to Shannon Shelby down the line, Lily, with a witness to back her up, could have easily gotten away with it.

Seeing the resistant look on Zoe Sawyer’s face, Heath Hale didn’t force the issue. He just told her to take the interrogation report back to the office and leave the rest for him to handle.

Lily Golding was gazing expectantly toward the door. When she saw only Heath Hale walk in, and not Zoe Sawyer, she looked away in disappointment.

Heath Hale didn’t waste any time with her, either. He went over the information he’d gotten from Big Girl Monroe with Lily Golding.

After hearing Heath Hale’s account, Lily Golding knew that Zoe Sawyer was angry with her.

She wanted to defend herself, but when she met Heath Hale’s sharp gaze, which seemed to see through everything, she sullenly shut her mouth.

’Forget it. Zoe won’t listen to anything I say now.’

Lily Golding understood that she had well and truly lost Zoe Sawyer as a friend.

But if she were given another chance, Lily Golding felt she would do it all over again. She would just plan it more meticulously so as not to leave so much incriminating evidence.

And so, Lily Golding stayed at the police station for three days. After the case was fully processed, her role in the affair was taken into consideration.

The final decision was fifteen days of administrative detention, a fine plus a verbal warning, and a criminal record.

The other three were charged with intentional homicide, with their specific punishments to be determined based on the crimes they committed.

When Lily Golding returned to school, she found that the way people looked at her had changed.

Although the university didn’t expel her, they made it clear that she was no longer eligible for any scholarship-related activities.

As for graduate school recommendations or a position at the university, those were completely out of the question.

Everything she had schemed for was gone. The WeChat friends she had still been in contact with unilaterally deleted her. Besides her parents, barely one in ten of her WeChat contacts remained. Lily Golding was now utterly alone.

With these cases no longer bothering her, Zoe Sawyer returned to her routine of exercising during the day and studying at night.

A full week of peace and quiet left Zoe Sawyer feeling content. ’Yep, a life without homicide cases is definitely the best for me.’

With that thought, Zoe Sawyer picked up her pen and got to work, determined to finish reading the detailed analysis of criminal cases Heath Hale had assigned and write a report on it before bed.

Meanwhile, somewhere else, a bloody massacre was unfolding.

Outside, a storm raged. Flashes of lightning periodically split the sky, illuminating a room full of bloody footprints.

"My little wabbit~ open the door~ I’ve come to play a game with you~"

The scraping sound of an axe dragging on the floor echoed in the hallway. The girl was curled up, hiding in the small cabinet of a desk. In the stuffy, cramped space, the sound of her own heartbeat was unnervingly clear, feeling as if it might burst from her chest.

The girl bit down hard on her arm, terrified that she might cry out in fear and attract the man’s attention.

Her eyes were red, on the verge of tears but holding them back.

As the sound of the dragging axe grew closer, the girl dared not make a sound.

She held her breath instinctively, afraid of alerting the killer outside.

"Where has our good little rabbit gone? Don’t you want to come out and be with Mommy and Daddy?" The Axeman raised his weapon, standing at the bedroom door and scanning the room.

’How can there be no one here?’

’I’ve already searched everywhere else and I’m sure I didn’t miss anything. This is the only place left.’

Soon, the Axeman’s eyes fixed on the few possible hiding spots.

Remembering that the only one left was a small child, a smile spread across the Axeman’s face.

He swung his axe, smashing everything around him to pieces, until only the cabinet where the girl was hiding remained.

"Good girl, Uncle’s here to find you." The Axeman yanked open the cabinet door.

It revealed the girl’s face, drenched in sweat and utterly terrified. She was staring at him, her jaw clenched tightly.

Her terror gave the Axeman an immense sense of satisfaction.

It was a feeling he hadn’t gotten even when her parents had desperately begged for their lives.

A pair of large hands reached in, grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her out of the cabinet.

Whether she scratched, bit, or kicked, her struggles had no more effect on the Axeman than a tickle.

The Axeman seemed to tire of this game of being clawed at. With a flick of his hand, he threw the girl to the ground.

She looked at the axe raised high above her, its wooden handle stained red, then at the hooded man standing before her.

Intense terror left the girl speechless. She couldn’t make a sound, able only to watch helplessly as the axe fell upon her.

...

When he was satisfied, the Axeman stopped.

...

Only after arranging the scene to leave the traces he wanted did the Axeman cease his movements.

He placed the girl’s head on the windowsill alongside those of her parents and her older brother.

He made sure that the surrounding neighbors would see them first thing in the morning, as soon as the rain stopped.

After finishing all this, the Axeman put away his weapon and stood at the door, gazing at the scene inside with satisfaction.

On a night of wind and rain, all sounds were masked by the downpour.

Even the tracks outside were washed clean by the rain.

The next morning was bright and sunny. The neighbor, an older woman, came out to hang her freshly washed clothes. Her eyes casually glanced to the side, and then she let out a scream.

The clothes in her arms fell to the ground as she stumbled back a few steps, bumping into her iron gate.

"AHH!!"

"What’s wrong? What’s wrong?"

The woman’s son was brushing his teeth when he heard his mother’s scream. Not daring to delay, he rushed out to see what was happening.

’Don’t tell me she fell!’

He had just reached the door when he saw his mother’s terrified expression, her outstretched hand trembling uncontrollably.

"Son, quick, call the police! Don’t look back, whatever you do, don’t look back," the woman swallowed hard, her expression one of pure terror.

Forgetting everything else, she shoved her son, urging him to call the police immediately.

Her son was confused. He instinctively turned his head, wanting to see what had happened, what his mother had seen that could frighten her so badly.

He looked in the direction she had been facing. On the windowsill next door, the heads of the family of four were arranged in a neat row, their terrified expressions staring right at him.

"Holy shit!"