She was not exactly looking forward to his surprise. She would be thrilled if there weren’t any shock left for her in her life.
Stella Grace got on the train. Greg Miles had booked a first-class seat for her.
For some reason, she felt as if she would doze off anytime. it was like her body was trying to make up for the lost sleep from her previous bout of insomnia.
She took a nap as soon as she got onto the train. However, she was awakened by the sound of her ringtone.
She looked at the time. It was already 9:30 p. m. It was Bryan Fellow who was calling her.
“You’re about to arrive at the station, right? I’m already outside, waiting to pick you up. See you later,” he said politely.
The thought of being reunited with an old friend made her happy. “Have you been transferred to the police station of Yale City?”
“Yeah, a big case happened in Yale Cit as soon as I was transferred. It’s a bit of a hassle for us to attend to it directly, so it’s better if we ask an expert to help us. I reported it to my superior and didn’t expect that they would send you here. I think it’s a good fateful reunion,” Bryan said with a smile.
“It’s not fate, is it? It is only reasonable to have me come here. I mean, I used to work for Ryan as his personal psychologist, but I ended the contract with him preemptively because he interfered with my treatment. Let’s talk more about it when we meet up, okay?” Stella looked out of the window and realized that she was about to arrive.
“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit,” Bryan hung up.
Stella headed to the bathroom to wash her face and freshen up. She took her luggage off the rack and stood at the door.
The sky outside was already dark, and her appearance was reflected on the door’s smooth surface, but her mind was blank and she didn’t want to think about anything else.
The bullet train arrived at the station soon after. When she alighted from the train, she could see Bryan from a distance.
He was in a light blue suit, gentle and elegant. It gave him a scholarly look. Those who didn’t know him wouldn’t have known that he was the director of the police station.
Stella walked towards him. He took the suitcase in her hand and asked politely, “Have you had dinner?”
“No, not yet. I don’t usually have the appetite when I’m on a last-minute trip like this,” Stella said politely.
“It would not be good to keep your stomach empty. We can eat somewhere nearby. I’ll take you back to the hotel and explain the case to you on the way there.” Bryan put the luggage in the trunk of the car.
Stella nodded.
They went to a food stall nearby and got some hotdogs.
While waiting for the hotdogs to be prepared, he spoke, “This case is quite bizarre. One of the deceased is Mila Zachary, a high school student who had good academic results. She was also a social butterfly. Three months ago, she came to the police with her parents to report that she’d been forcibly r*ped by a classmate, Bobby Lameer, but that case was closed within a few days. We performed an audit and found that there was an extra one million dollars in their account, so it is highly likely that Bobby’s family had settled the matter with money.
At the murder scene, not only was Mila r*ped again, but the murderer was also extremely cruel. He poured 84 kinds of disinfectant into her body, completely damaging her DNA. The murderer also inserted a foaming agent into her private parts. Her tongue is missing too. It hasn’t been found as of now. The cause of death is excessive bleeding from an arterial rupture in her neck.”
Mila’s mother was stabbed by a knife 36 times. Her heart was stabbed fatally and one of her feet was amputated and shoved into her mouth. It was then sealed with a foaming agent.
Mila’s father’s eyes were dug out, and so was his testicles, but the cause of death was drowning.
“Why did you arrest Bobby for this?” Stella was surprised.
“Some people said that they saw Bobby sneaking out on the night of the crime. When we caught him, he refused to say anything at all. He also looked like he was in a daze.”
“Was the deceased’s home the first scene of the murder? Were there any kind of drug found on the victim’s body? Perhaps a coma-inducing one?” Stella asked.
“The strange thing about this case is that the deceased’s home is the first scene of the murder, but there is no medicine found in the victim’s body, so this case is very bizarre. We suspect that there are more than one murderer.” Bryan guessed.
“Is Mila’s home a private house or a commercial house? Are there no surveillance cameras around?” Stella asked.
“That part is strange too. They live in an old community, and the surveillance facilities are not good enough. However, the people who are living downstairs didn’t hear any movements from upstairs.”
“Who was the one who discovered the murder?”
“It was Mila’s classmate who came looking for her. No one answered the phone, and no one answered the door when she knocked on it. At this time, she noticed that the door was slightly ajar. She immediately called the police when she opened the door and saw the pool of blood.”
“What about the time of death? What about the stomach contents? Have you found the murder weapon?” she asked hurriedly.
“The time of death is between 9 p. m. to 4 a. m. The deceased was found at 7:35 a. m. The only thing in their stomachs was the previous night’s dinner, nothing special. The murder weapon was left at the scene.”
“Then… what about the weapon used for the amputation? There’s no way it could’ve been small, right?” Stella guessed.
“It’s an electric knife left at the scene. The problem is that Mila’s father was the one who bought it online, so it wasn’t brought by the murderer. The murderer used a knife from the kitchen for the murder. The foaming agent and disinfectants all belonged to the deceased family. It doesn’t look like it was planned beforehand, but it was done flawlessly. The murderer didn’t leave any fingerprints and traces at the scene. How did they do it?” Bryan was confused.
At that moment. their dishes were ready.
Bryan couldn’t help but feel a little abashed. His original intention was to treat her to a good dinner, but the topic of discussion had turned out to be rather gruesome.
Stella really didn’t have any appetite, so she opted not to eat. “Do they show signs of being tied up?”
“This wasn’t mentioned in the autopsy report. That’s why I feel that this case is so tough. I don’t believe that Bobby could have done it on his own. After all, he is still a child. How could he control three people by himself? After all, two of the deceased were adults. Still, he didn’t say anything when I questioned him.” Bryan sighed and looked at Stella. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about such a grisly topic in the middle of dinner,” he apologised.
“Could I see Bobby tonight?” Stella asked.
“It’s already late. Don’t you need to rest?”
“I’ve had a good few hours of sleep while I was on the train, so I’m not sleepy. I could pack up some food from here and give it to Bobby,” Stella said softly.
Bryan smiled and said, “You’re quite thoughtful.”
“The most important thing to do now is to get on his good side.” The corners of Stella’s mouth curled up meaningfully as she said these words.
They packed the food up, and Bryan informed his colleagues that they would be working overtime.
Stella took the rest of the hotdogs and went to the interrogation room to see Bobby.
Bobby’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw Stella. He then frowned and turned his head away.
Stella smiled slightly and said, “At least have something to eat if you’re going to be angry at me. You must be hungry after being here for so many days.”
“Weren’t you a tutor? Aren’t you with the police? I didn’t know that you were a psychologist,” he said faintly.