[Zhongyingmei] The clown is actually me

A few stars fell into the sky like broken diamonds, and the sound of rain came from afar.

The green plants on both sides of the road have not been pruned for too long, the thick green leaves are covered with a layer of dust, and the light-colored wild flowers poke out from the gaps in the stone slabs, provoking the dewy footsteps of pedestrians.

The creeper is a dark mass of green, the green radish stretches its green vines long and wraps around the beautiful dusty carvings, and the turtledove makes a nest in the stacked leaves.A few subtle chirping birdsong,? The whole town was shrouded in mist, and the rain fell drop by drop. The moist wind passed through the net woven by the treetops. The iron-gray sky was dripping with water, and the ground was heavy Above the head, a few strands of velvet-like white clouds hang in the sky, the mountains are fading away, and the distance is long.

Jason turned his head and saw a small town that was as silent as a mystery. Small families lived together lively and lively. People were sleeping peacefully in the precarious wind and rain. Occasionally, there were only a few sounds of chickens and dogs.The sound of rain filled the mountains and fields, and the wind hummed and blew in the mountain stream.

The police quietly crossed Cebu in the early morning and rushed into Dr. Milton's home. Surprisingly, Dr. Milton was not asleep or sitting in a wheelchair.He stood in front of the portraits of the family ancestors,? This time,? There were no vacant walls,? All the oil paintings were hung on the walls.But Dr. Milton didn't look at them, he gazed intently at this old Flemish tapestry, in which the loving Madonna holds the infant Jesus in her arms.

Jason walked into the mansion on crutches, saw Dr. Milton surrounded by police, and gestured to indicate that he had something to say. The policemen looked at each other and then at the bat standing behind Jason. Xia, each took a step back.Jason stepped forward and said, "Why didn't you run away when you knew the matter had been exposed?"

It has been a week since the air-raid shelter collapsed.

Dr. Milton looked out of the window. Instead of showing any sadness, he showed a dreamy look: "Escape? Where can I escape?"

Jason followed his gaze and looked out. The town of Yankee, shrouded in fog, was extremely quiet. The outlines of buildings in the 50s were faintly visible. The church spires fluttered with long white sails. The whole town was Huge cemetery. Twenty years ago, countless children buried their souls here, leaving only a body to rot slowly in the dust of the past.No one can tell whether Milton's love or hate for it, maybe both, and both are too hot, but it seems to be blank.

"I thought I could escape, but I came back to Yonkerstown. Before, this town was my nightmare, but not anymore. I was born here, raised here, my grandfather, grandmother, mother My father, my father, are all buried here, whether I love it or hate it, it is my life." Dr. Milton said and shed two lines of tears, as if a hard mask had been cracked, and a child's face appeared in the gap. Face.

Jason didn't ask any more questions. The police stepped forward and handcuffed Dr. Milton.Only then did he turn his head and look at the tall man beside him: "You knew that Dr. Milton's parents were dead?"

"Well, it's not difficult to guess." Jack nodded and shook his handcuffed hands.The metal handcuff chains rubbed against each other, making a rattling sound.

As usual, he should be thrown back to Arkham. This time, Batman made an exception and brought him here, seeing his meritorious assistance. However, his actions were still restricted.

"Do you want me to set toys?" Jason shrugged.

"No, you saved me, so I'll give you free this time." Jack glanced at Batman next to him, "When we came, there were two narrow gaps on the wall that could hang two paintings. If it is The words of the parents should be hung together, and there will be a long gap when they are removed. Therefore, Dr. Milton did not leave a place for his parents. He just saw us coming and quickly took down the two portraits of our ancestors. .”

"He killed his parents?"

"I don't know, but it probably is." Jack glanced pointedly at the garden full of flowers, and lit a cigarette for himself, "Sometimes it is harder for us to let go of the love of those close to us than outsiders." harm."

Jason lowered his head: "Even if the road killer case is such a big deal, if there were no witnesses from back then to testify in court, the sex / child / case 20 years ago would still not be pronounced."

Jack blew out a smoke ring and said with a firm smile, "No, this time, there will definitely be many witnesses present."

Just as Jason was about to ask why, he saw the police escorting Father Johnson past them. Father Johnson also had a dreamy look, just like Dr. Milton.Just as he passed by Jason and the others, Jason heard his low voice that only the three of them could hear:

"elder sister……"

Two and a half months later.

Due to the pressure of public opinion and the financial support of Wayne Group's charities, the Yang Kezhen Love/Children/Case went to court at an unprecedented speed.

Sitting in the jury's gallery, Jason looked at the shivering elderly people in the defendant's seat and the few witnesses in the witness stand, and sighed, "Where are the witnesses you mentioned?"

Jack didn't wear his purple suit, nor did he look like a crown prince attending an investiture ceremony, he simply wore a white suit, and the color of his hair and skin was hidden, making him look like An ordinary painter or scholar.Sitting here are Bruce, Jason and him, not Batman, Robin and the Joker, but entrepreneurs with humanistic care, students who came to observe, and young and promising university professors.Jack ate strawberry pudding and said, "Aren't I?"

"Can you have some common sense? You have a mental problem, and you don't have to bear criminal responsibility for committing a crime, but at the same time your testimony has no legal effect!" Jason bared his teeth at him, "Don't tell me that the 'many witnesses' you mentioned are you, Also, no food is allowed in court."

"Then call the police to arrest me. Let me see which policeman dares to let me eat pudding." Jack shrugged nonchalantly.

The Gotham vigilante sitting next to Jack: "..."

Forget it, let him be, eating pudding in court is nothing compared to dropping a bomb in a mall.

Not only Jason, but several parties in the dock were relieved when they saw the almost empty witness stand, with a look of surprise and "that's it" on their faces.The judge's face was as hard as an iron mask, and the gavel was raised high and then lowered, making a crisp sound, accompanied by the sound of "invite witnesses to appear in court", under the eyes of countless people, the auditorium was full of darkness The crowd stood up one by one, and the afternoon sun fell on these people, like countless children's tombstones, and each tombstone was covered with dried blood.

Countless people who stood up formed an unbreakable human wall, each of them's face was as cold as iron stone, as if countless silent adults joined hands to form a dam, protecting those young children back then.

No one maintains court discipline anymore, and people watch the parties in silence, making way for their age-old pain.Among those who stood up, a voice suddenly came: "I testify."

More and more voices echoed him, and finally turned into a voice like a torrent and tsunami: "I testify——"

Jason froze for a moment. He looked at the standing crowd and suddenly saw ten thousand people holding torches high in the darkness.

Behind the crowd he saw Valentina's face, still as beautiful as the camellia.After all, Stephen did not wait until the day when his daughter said "I forgive you" to him. He was buried under the ruins of the collapsed air-raid shelter, and the police found his suicide note in the house where he lived.He took all the blame on himself, and Dr. Milton and Father Johnson were sentenced to eight and six years in prison, respectively.Jason didn't know if Valentina was willing to forgive her father, he only saw her standing in the crowd, as the crowd shouted loudly, her fair face was flushed with passion, but her eyes were full of tears.

He looked back and asked Jack with his eyes: How do you know?

"A lot of pedophiles lived in Yangktown back then. They disappeared, but no one in Yangktown reported the case, and no one provided evidence to the police. Stephen even stole a police car to transport the body, but no case was filed. So I was suspicious at that time." Jack yawned lazily, "Then, the corpse we saw in the air-raid shelter, the trousers were soaked before being thrown into the freezer, and there was a stone on the forehead According to the examination of the traces at the mouth of the well, I guess that the pedophile once escaped. He fled to the bottom of the well, which is a well that is quite close to the residential area. He stood at the bottom of the well to ask for help, so his pants were hit by well water. Wet, and there are a lot of water plants on his body. However, no one in the residential area extended a helping hand to him."

Jason could easily understand his unfinished words: "They saw that the person at the bottom of the well was the pedophile/pedophile back then, so they threw stones down and killed him."

"Yes." Jack nodded with satisfaction.

"So the road killer is not those three people, nor is it Valentina, but the whole of Yankee Town..."

"Jason, the anger of the people can be suppressed, but never extinguished. It's like a wildfire that travels through the ground and will one day erupt. So there's never 'this city isn't worth saving', the people are always Yes." Jack patted Jason on the shoulder while talking, then stood up and prepared to leave with Bruce and the others, the next sentence was no accident, these pedophiles/pedophiles will be imprisoned for life, considering their They are all older, and there is a good chance they will die in prison.

Jason stepped out of the courtroom and looked into the depths of the velvety sky, where the snow-white clouds had a shiny silver edge.Not far from the courthouse is a newly opened bookstore, and there are display racks outside the bookstore. He saw the newly published "Locked Town" there. The case came to light, and "The Locked-Up Town" written by Father Johnson became the best-selling book in Gotham this year. children.Everything is changing for the better.

Jason bought a copy of "The Locked-up Town", he turned to the first page, the bright sun shone on the blank paper, and skipped the line of lonely cursive English:

dedicated to my sister

Jason returned to the small town shrouded in fog again.

The mist floated, and there was silence.In the mist, the blades of grass rubbed against each other, like waves of wheat, and the chirping of cranes gradually drifted into the distance. Occasionally, there were a few larks' cries, and the night was like a soft, thick blue curtain, scattered with a few fragments. Diamond-like morning star.

The fence in the town is covered with wet moss, and the abundant rain waters the low shrubs, clusters protruding from the gaps in the marble floor, clusters of white wildflowers bloom like falling snow.The rain stops, the bright and quiet moonlight shines down, and the lines of the dense forest are like the ebbing coast.The smell of rain-damp soil mixed with rosin, like a watery cold wind blowing from afar.

Yangke Town is always foggy and isolated from the world.

However, when he looked up, the brilliant sunlight penetrated the thick clouds, the thick fog gradually dissipated under the direct sunlight, and the brilliant sunlight finally shone into the small town that had not seen the sun for 20 years.