Cinephile hustle

"Yes. Especially when Dr. Megan is around, he can always guide me to remind me of some details that I have forgotten to ignore."

"Where is Dr. Megan now? Do you still have his contact information?"

Mr. Gordon shook his head, "Dr. Megan was transferred to a university in Boston five years ago, and we have hardly had any contact in the past few years."

Ian put away Mr. Gordon's notes and left Gordon's house with Haley.

When I walked to the door, I happened to see a young girl riding a bicycle to the door.She is Mr. Gordon's daughter.

"Brother, are they federal agents?"

Hunter nodded, and raised his chin towards his younger sister who was looking at Haili in a daze, "Okay, go back and do your homework! You're about to take the SAT, and you still act like you don't care about anything."

"So your classmate Xie Mo won't come today?"

"I didn't say that, don't think about Shemer every day. Take care of yourself first." Hunter frowned.

Hunter's sister pursed her lips.

And Haili came to her side and leaned down, "Your brother is right, don't expect that Shemer anymore."

"why?"

"Because he's interested in men."

After speaking, Haili smiled and opened the car door and stepped in.

Ian sat down beside him, "Why are you talking nonsense to Hunter's sister again?"

"I'm not talking nonsense. Hunter is interested in me, and I bet he's probably crooked. And if Shemer often goes to Gordon's house, and Hunter doesn't want his sister to pay too much attention to Shemer, what does that mean?"

"It means that Shemer is also likely to be bent."

For some reason, when Haley started talking to himself, Ian felt that the whole twisted world had finally returned to normal.

"Does it feel like life is finally back to normal when I start talking to you?"

Ian snorted softly.

Sometimes he really wondered if Hailey had installed something in his mind, otherwise why could this guy always guess so accurately what he was thinking?

"Ian, do you think my relationship with you is like Mr. Gordon and Hunter?"

"You mean our relationship is like father and son?"

Haley laughed, "So do you feel like a son or a father?"

His laugh is magnetic and melodious.

Ian listened to his laughter and remained silent.

"I think I am like Mr. Gordon, and you are like Hunter. No matter how much I give you, how much I sacrifice, and how much I bear, you always look at me with the most suspicious and worried eyes. You use your reason to Remind me that maybe all my thoughts about being a victim are just hallucinations. Just like the person Hunter really wants to blame is yourself, and the person you really want to remind and doubt is yourself.”

"What do I remind myself of?"

"Don't be tempted by Hayley Russell, don't have expectations for him, don't be confused by his truth, don't let him disintegrate your persistence bit by bit, don't be swallowed up by him all your life. Because you don't Family, no comrades-in-arms, no sense of belonging. Once you give everything you have to Hayley Russell, you fear that this man will suddenly become the monster you imagined for the past eight years, and you will have nothing at that time. "

Hailey looked ahead with a faint smile on his lips.

And his smile always has an invincible power, which makes Ian involuntarily have the illusion that he is about to be smashed to pieces.

"Ian, is there anything you need to tell me?"

"...Not yet."

At this moment, Ian remembered the first case he worked with Haley.On the way to W town, he also asked Haley similar questions.

He knew that Haley would want him to explain something about Evan to him.

But Ian didn't know how to explain to Haley at all.

Because, in his view, this is not a thing that needs to be explained at all.

"Okay. I think we should investigate this Dr. Megan."

Haili's voice became cold, and the sunlight fell on his side face, shattering it.

On the way back to the office, Haley fell asleep.He tilted his head slightly, his eyelashes drooping quietly, occasionally shaking slightly as the car turned.

When Ian stopped at the traffic lights, he could even hear Haley snoring through his nose.

The car drove into the sub-bureau's underground parking lot.Only dim lights shone into the car.

Ian stopped the car and was about to wake Hailey up, but when his palm was about to slap Hailey on the shoulder, it stopped in mid-air.

How long had it been since he had been quietly with another person like this?

Ian suddenly didn't want to wake Hailey up.

The quieter it was, the more clearly Ian heard the shouts in Hailey's mind.It was the painful struggle of the dead.Some things cannot be reversed.

When Ian realized it, his fingers were already in between Haili's hair.

Combing slowly over and over again.

He should stop, but he found that he couldn't stop.

The soft hair slid across the lines of his thumb, as if he wanted to embed it with great nostalgia but was afraid of strangling him.Ian sighed in his heart, why even every strand of Hailey's hair seemed to have feelings.

Until the sleeping person finally spoke.

"Do you like my hair?"

"I just saw that you were fast asleep."

"I also just asked if you liked my hair, not if you liked me."

Hailey gently held Ian's hand that was about to withdraw.

"Since you have decided to be gentle with me, then simply be gentle to the end. Half-hearted gentleness will make me want more."

"I like your hair," Ian replied, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"why do you like it?"

"Because your hair is soft but not as thoughtful as you are."

"What an honest answer, as expected of Uncle Ian. So besides my thoughtless hair, do I have nothing else to attract you?"

Ian completely retracted his hand.

Your curiosity about the abyss and the danger of falling at any moment attracts me.

Haley knew the answer all along.

"Get out of the car." Ian opened the door and walked out.

Hailey stretched his waist, lowered his head, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Back in the office, Ian began to investigate everything about Dr. Megan.Dr. Megan's major is social behavior, and Mr. Gordon's wife was indeed a student of Dr. Megan when she was in college.But Mrs. Gordon's grades are not as outstanding as Dr. Megan said.Of course, it is understandable for Dr. Meghan to glorify the dead in front of Mr. Gordon.It's just that Mrs. Gordon's grades in college are not so conspicuous, and after her graduation, it is obvious that the connection with her alma mater is not very close.Ian didn't think that even if Dr. Megan saw the news, Mrs. Gordon would be heard.

Ian contacted Columbia University and found another professor who was closest to Dr. Megan.The other party told Ian that Dr. Megan had never mentioned Mrs. Gordon, and he would patiently answer the questions for the students, but he was not the kind of person to establish friendship and long-term relationship with the student union.And Dr. Megan is indeed an excellent scholar in the field of social behavior.He became a professor the year after he went to Boston.Unfortunately, he passed away a year ago.

Ian finally found out why Dr. Megan died of lung cancer.

Closing his eyes and leaning against the back of the chair, Ian let out a breath.

Originally, he suspected Dr. Megan.His approach to the Gordons was suspicious, but it was clear that he was not responsible for the murders of the Daltons and the Carls.

Not giving up entirely, Ian made a call to Dr. Megan's colleagues in Boston.

"I would like to ask, who handles Dr. Meghan's personal belongings?"

"Oh, it must be his wife. They have no children."

"Thank you."

After Ian hung up the phone, he decided that he needed to find time to visit Dr. Megan's wife.

When it was time to get off work, he bought some ingredients from the supermarket and returned home.

Cliff sat on the sofa and waited for a long time.

"Thank you very much, Cliff. Evan didn't cause any trouble, did he?"

"He was very quiet and kept making patterns with chocolate jelly beans."

Ian nodded.After he sent Cliff away, he came to sit next to Evan.

He is still concentrating on arranging the chocolate beans.

Ian looked at it, his eyes narrowed.

When they finished dinner, Evan continued to lay out the chocolate chips.Ian sat across from him, quietly accompanying him.

An hour, two hours later, Ian suddenly realized that Evan was not playing a childish game of patterning with chocolate beans.He is playing some kind of chess with special rules.

Ian wasn't quite sure he'd figured out Evan's rules.He tried to move the black chocolate bean, Evan paused, and then he moved the red chocolate bean.In the process of playing chess, Ian must remember the position of each chocolate bean and the special meaning it represents.Some chocolate chips can move in parallel, while others can only move diagonally.As time goes on, Ian needs to remember more and more chocolate beans, and he finally has to surrender.

"Evan, I really can't remember. It's late too, time to go to bed."

Evan put down the chocolate bean and grabbed Ian's hand.

Ian was slightly taken aback, this was the first time Evan took the initiative to hold him.

Looking down at the top of Evan's tiny head, Ian felt a strong sense of being a father for the first time.He picked up Evan, held the shower, and took a shower for him.

"Hey boy, give your arm a lift, you've got bubbles on the back of your head!"

Although Evan didn't speak all the time, he cooperated with Ian very much. When Ian raised the shower head, he raised his chin and turned a few times underwater by himself.

Ian couldn't help laughing, he looked like a little dolphin in the aquarium with a ball in circles.

Carefully wiped the water off Evan's face, led him into the bedroom, and dried his hair.

While rubbing the little guy's head, Ian became worried in his heart.

This child is so special, does he have the ability to raise him?How can he communicate with the world instead of being immersed in his own world?

When the case was over, Ian felt that he had to ask Maddy Ron for a leave of absence to make good plans for Evan's future education.

After Evan fell asleep, Ian turned off the light and sat on the bedside to meditate.

Ian felt that he should go to Boston to learn about Dr. Megan.How were his personal belongings disposed of after his death? Is there anything suspicious or related to the murder that year?

But the next morning, Ian received a very unpleasant news.

Someone found another truck compartment beside the road, and inside the compartment was a woman about 30 years old. The medical examiner initially determined that the cause of death was a [-]mm bullet piercing the heart.

Hayley has been to the scene.

Ian drove along the road, and when he saw the yellow isolation belt in the distance, he saw a car parked not far away, which looked like obsidian in the sunlight.Haili, on the other hand, was still sitting on the front hood, with his head down, wondering what he was playing with.

Ian got out of the car and walked to the compartment with the door open, where Dr. Byrne had already conducted a preliminary autopsy on the spot.When Ian came to him with gloves on, Dr Byrne said to him: "If it were me, I would have shot the victim in the head. At least she would have gone faster. But the victim was shot It took about 20 minute and 20 seconds to get this over. Don't underestimate [-] minute and [-] seconds, this is a great torture for a dying person."

"I understand." Ian's expression was calm, "It stands to reason that there should be two victims. The murder would imply that the victims used the only pistol to kill each other to fight for a chance of survival. So... what about the other victim? ?”

"She's the only one around here." Dr. Bourne lifted the neck of the dead woman who was lying on one side.

Ian just saw the other person's eyes widen with surprise and fear.

"Jie Yin?" Ian was stunned.

The deceased was the person who met him in the supermarket two days ago and taught him how to choose a cookbook.

"You know her?"

"It's not considered acquaintance, it's just a conversation." Ian felt emotional in his heart.

At some point, Haili came in and knelt down beside Ian. His fingers wearing plastic gloves slowly lifted the dead woman's chin, "She's beautiful, isn't Ian?"

"What do you want to imply?" Ian raised his eyebrows.

Hailey closed her eyes, and a smile appeared on her lips, "I was just thinking, what would you say if you met in the supermarket, how would she feel about you?"

Dr. Bourne raised his head amusedly, "Do you have family conflicts?"

Ian didn't speak.

When Haili opened his eyes again, his eyes met Ian's, as if he wanted to forcibly open the closed shell of Ian's mind and present the most original things.

"The female deceased, Jie Yin, was married but had no children. According to her medical records, she has been preparing for pregnancy. You can attract her attention in the supermarket because you have Evan with you, right? With children Single fathers are most likely to attract women like Jie Yin who long for children and family warmth. You put Evan in the trolley, and then take him to shop for ingredients. Although you buy the simplest and least skillful ingredients, but Pay attention to the combination of nutrition. After buying the ingredients, you push Evan to go shopping for snacks. Because Evan has a communication barrier, he will not open his mouth to say anything to you. You only have the same snacks to ask him and observe his reaction You know what he wants. Maybe you are unsmiling and don’t show a doting expression to your child, but you are very patient. In fact, Jieyin has been following you and observing you, Ian, do you know why? "

He wasn't surprised that Haley had figured out what he was doing in the supermarket.It's all based on Haley's knowledge of his own behavioral patterns.But Haley could guess what Jie Yin was thinking without entering the victim mode, and this was the part that surprised Ian a little.

"Oh, why is she watching me?"

"Because she hopes that if she has a child, the father of the child will be like you. The supermarket you often go to besides the 7-11 convenience store is Westlife. And that supermarket has a shelf of cookbooks near the cash register. You Picked out a few cookbooks and wanted to make something for Evan that kids would love, right? And then Jayne finally got a chance to talk to you and she suggested a better cookbook for you, right? ?”

"Why do you think she recommends cookbooks to me instead of continuing to watch me?"

Ian looked into Haili's eyes, he knew that his eyes were deep, and he must not let himself fall, because it was an endless abyss.But Ian was never afraid to face the abyss.

"Because she wants to communicate with you, and wants to know if you are the father she imagined."

"And why does Jie Yin hope that the father of the child can be like me?"

Hailey smiled, and his slender and elegant fingers tapped between Ian's brows through the air, "You don't need to enter the 'psychopathic state' you said to be able to tell about this."

After speaking, Haili walked out slowly with his pocket in his pocket.

Dr. Bourne, who had been pretending to examine the corpse, asked curiously, "How did you find out?"

"The female deceased, Jie Yin, was obviously married, but she didn't wear a ring on her finger. She probably lacked belief and expectation in her marriage. She was wearing a well-tailored and expensive suit, which showed that she was a very outstanding professional woman. In this way of women usually do not have much time to be with their husbands, and the pressure of work prompts them to be aggressive in their married life. If her husband also wants to control or take the lead in the marriage, then this marriage There will be no reconciliation. Her medical records indicate that she is trying to conceive, but her husband's continued indifference disturbs her."

"That's why she is interested in the good father Ian with the baby in the supermarket?" Dr. Bourne said 'interested' in a very special tone, and then a smile appeared in his narrow eyes, leaning towards Ian En said in a slower voice, "Did you really understand what Agent Russell said just now?"

"What do you mean?"

"He means that what our victim, Jie Yin, really hopes is that you can become the father of the child."

"Assuming that all of Haili's inferences are correct, it just means that Jie Yin hopes that the father of the child is someone like me instead of me. Doctor Bourne, please don't change the concept." Ian got up indifferently and walked out of the car.

Haili, who was sitting on the front hood, shook his mobile phone at Ian, "Let's go, go to the police station. They found Jieyin's husband Johnson, and his hands were tested for gunpowder smoke reaction. And according to The fingerprints taken by 'Dermigo' on the gun matched Johnson's."

"Where did you find it?"

"Guess what, I'll give you a hint, this guy killed his wife and is about to run away." Haili smiled while crossing his arms.

Ian saw a gloomy fire in his smile, burning silently, and in an inadvertent moment, it burned the world Ian knew well.

"Then there are only three possible places. First, at home, where he is packing his things. Second, in the car. Third, the bank, where he is preparing to transfer the assets under his wife's name to himself."

"The answer is the third one." Haili patted the front car cover, "Let's go."

"I won't ride in your car." Ian returned to his car, opened the door and sat in the driver's seat.

Haley could predict exactly what he was thinking.But he couldn't predict when Haili would lose his temper.So it's not safe to ride in Hailey's car.In order to live longer, Ian decided to sit in the car he drove.

Not long after the car drove, Ian's cell phone rang.He put on a bluetooth headset, and Hailey's voice came from inside.

"Dear Uncle Ian, your refusal to ride in my car hurts my heart deeply."

It's a pity that the heartbreaking tone is like air in Ian's ears.

Ian was about to hang up the phone, but Haili spoke again, "If Jie Yin dies, his husband will be the first heir to her property. Guess what, if I die, the property of the Russell family What will happen? This family has no other heirs besides me."

"Donate to charity." Ian didn't understand why he answered him.

"Are you sure charities will use the money for charity?"

"Then you should hurry up and have a baby." After saying this, Ian regretted it.He knew what Haley was going to say next.

"You can't have kids, but...Evan is pretty good, isn't he?"

"Don't make Evan's idea."

"Actually, I suddenly became grateful to that little thing's mother. At least she left behind your blood. It is precisely because human beings realize that they cannot live forever that they have different expectations and feelings for their own blood." .”