Dawn breaks through the gloom, and a bright fish-belly white appears on the skyline.
Still wearing the same professional suit, Bud Burton dragged his tired body back to 130 West Ninth Street.
Crunch——
The door opens.
"I'm back, baby!"
Bud had a bright smile on his fair and handsome face, stood at the door and opened his arms.
But after he waited for half a minute, his soft-spoken wife came out and hugged him warmly, pressing her face against his chest to feel his body temperature and heartbeat.
He was greeted only by darkness and the silence of the hall.
Bud was at the door, looking at the horrifyingly empty hall, his lips trembling and his face frighteningly white.
"No more."
He untied the tie that was suffocating him, walked to the sofa in the living room in despair, sat down, covered his face, shrugged his shoulders, and sobbed silently twice.
Jingle Bell.
The phone next to the TV suddenly rang.
Bud wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, suppressed his heartbreak, walked over and answered the phone.
"Good morning, Mr. Bud Burton?"
"Yes, who are you?"
"I am Karl from the LVPD. We have found some suspects. I hope you can come to the LVPD to identify them."
"Thank you, Officer Carl. I'll be there soon."
Bud hung up the phone and was about to go to the bathroom to wash up.
Bang bang.
There was another knock on the door.
"Who are you?" Bud looked at the young Asian face outside the cat's eye, feeling a little confused for a moment.
"I'm Dean Lu, I was here last night with Officers Thomas and Carl."
"Oh, I have an impression."
"It's like this. I have found a very important clue. I think it is necessary to discuss it with you in advance. Is it convenient for you to see?"
"But Carl from LVPD called me just now and asked me to go to the station to identify the suspect."
"Let's talk first, soon."
Dean entered the room and sat down in front of the sofa, looking into the bloodshot eyes of the man who was preparing hot coffee.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?"
"I stayed in a hotel in the city for one night," Bud handed Dean the coffee, sat down next to him, looked at the dark TV, and said sadly, "To be honest, I changed the bed. , and I really can’t sleep without Carter by my side.”
"But you will have to endure this discomfort for a long time." Dean picked up the coffee and blew on the hot air. He looked at Bud with sharp eyes and observed his posture: his sitting posture was not like that of most men. The legs are spread apart as usual, but the knees are very close together; his upper arms are very close to his ribs, and his forearms are turned out, which is different from ordinary men's open forearms and forearms clasped outwards...
"You love your wife very much."
"Carter is the center of my life and the driving force of my struggle. I work hard to let her and our future love child live a good life, but now that she is gone, all of this is meaningless."
Bud had a despairing look on his face, with no trace of acting at all.
Dean took a sip of coffee, the steaming smoke brushed his cheeks, his eyes shrank into a line, emitting light as sharp as a blade,
"Mr. Bud Burton, since you love Carter so much, why did you neglect her and hurt her by cheating on her?"
After the words fell, there was a moment of silence in the hall, and the harmonious atmosphere around the sofa suddenly became sharp and biting.
"Cheating? Mr. Dean, this joke is not funny at all."
Bud's cheeks twitched, and he stiffened his neck to reveal a fake and stiff smile.
Dean calmly examined the man's awkward expression and shook his head.
"I don't like to beat around the bush, so I'll tell you straight. I already have sufficient evidence. Your marriage to Carter is in name only. You have been married to her for three years, but you often use overtime as an excuse to abandon her. I was alone, fooling around outside until late at night before going home."
"Where did you hear these lies? This is slander. Be careful, I will sue you!" A trace of blood appeared on Bud's face. He stood up as if he was offended. His right hand was curled up in front of his chest, and his palm was like a chicken claw towards Dean. Throw it out hard.
Dean didn't give him any chance to refute, and took a step closer to him, forcing him to retreat towards the corner.
"Where did the lies come from? Carter told me himself."
"This is impossible. Carter is gone. Stop pretending!" Bud blushed and shook his hands. The coffee in the cup spilled to the ground, and the steam stained the carpet black. "Get out of my house immediately. I Call the police!"
"After entering this house last night, I had a dream," Dean ignored the man's rebuttal and kept scolding her like a machine gun. "In the dream, Carter tearfully accused you of neglecting her and your betrayal. Behavior."
"You kept saying that you loved her more than life, but at the last moment of her life, you were not willing to confess to her honestly."
"Bud Burton, you are a cheating liar."
Plop!
Unable to retreat, Bud slid to the ground against the corner, his whole body as weak as a squid with its bones removed. Tears slid down his pale cheeks and wet the collar of his shirt.
Heavy breathing in the hall.
After a long time, he suddenly opened his red eyes and looked at Dean with fear on his face, as if looking at an evil ghost emerging from hell, "You, where did you know that?"
"I said that Carter told me herself in the dream, don't you believe it? She also told me many little secrets between you and your husband, listen carefully -"
"You made a five-year time deposit in the bank in Carter's name..."
"You absolutely hate apples."
"You should read for half an hour every day before going to bed."
…
Dean spoke for two minutes at a stretch.
Bud opened his mouth wide, his expression as wonderful as a grand firework, and the suspicion at the beginning turned into uncertainty,
"But why you? Why didn't Carter tell me himself?"
"Do you think everyone can communicate in their dreams?" Dean's expression and tone became calm again, and he looked down at the man, "I can do it, but you are just an ordinary person, you can only listen to me."
"Do you still want to refute now?"
Dreams, his departed wife, and a series of incredible topics turned Dibad's mind into a ball of mush.
He took a deep breath and ruffled his short hair frantically.
"You're right. I'm a shameless bastard. I shouldn't have hidden Carter's secrets about dating other women. But I never played with her feelings. Until now, she is still my favorite person."
"It's just that our relationship is no longer a simple relationship between a man and a woman." Bud looked up and stared at the empty kitchen in the distance, his tone suddenly became gentle and guilty, "I can't leave her, and she can't leave me... We are dependent on each other. family."
"Don't change the subject, why don't you want to give Carter daily comfort?" Dean asked,
Bud looked up at him and said,
"But I did everything else! And you know what? There are five different ways to express love. My love for Carter is just missing one of them."
"Five ways to express love?" Dean cracked his knuckles and squatted down with a strange expression on his face, "Let me hear your opinion."
"The first is words of praise, positive words and expressions of love."
Bud's voice was steady and strong, eager to prove himself.
"The second is an act of devotion, which expresses love through actions and completing certain things, such as caring, liking, and effort..."
“The third is material expression, giving the other person a variety of gifts that can make her feel loved;
"The fourth is effective time, spending your own time to focus on the person you love, or the other person spending time focusing on you without being disturbed;"
"The fifth type is physical contact, which means literally."
"I have been with Carter for seven years and been married for three years. I am so familiar with her that I have lost all passion and impulse for intimacy. It's also my fault that I don't know how to cherish it. I always avoid using the fifth way to express love to her. Show love.”
"But the first four: hugs, kisses, words of care and consideration, gifts, companionship... For so many years, day after day, year after year, I have expressed this to Carter without stopping."
Bud muttered,
"The love between Carter and I is not a lover's love, it is a spiritual and soul-level love."
A gentle but firm voice echoed in the room.
For the first time, Dean felt that this sissy had a little manliness.
"Okay, five ways of expressing love, a very interesting theory." Dean clapped his hands and stood up again, "But don't you think this is just an excuse to be moved? Don't you know that the love Carter wants most is the first love? How many kinds?”
Bud gritted his teeth when he heard this, with a hint of hope in his eyes, "I was wrong, and I realized I was wrong when I lost her. So can you help me get in touch with her again? I'll pay, I'm willing to pay any amount!"
Dean's eyelids twitched, and he felt excited for a moment, but thinking of Carter's final attitude of leaving decisively, he shook his head,
"Sorry, there's nothing I can do. And Carter doesn't want to meet you, the liar."
Bud lowered his head in silence.
"But Carter has a wish. She wants the murderer to be punished! If you feel guilty, then help her catch the real murderer."
Bud looked up and his expression brightened.
"I swear to God! I will do everything I can to get justice for her."
Dean felt that his expression didn't seem to be fake, so he nodded.
"Carter has told me the information about the murderer. She is a female, six feet three (1.9 meters) tall, weighing nearly two hundred pounds, with a strong build and a deep voice. The most important point is that the murderer said something before killing Carter. 'You only belong to her', she killed Carter because of you..."
"The murderer knows you."
Bud, who was sitting in the corner, frowned and thought for two seconds, then his face turned white like a sudden illness.
"So the murderer is your cheating partner?" Dean asked,
Bud's facial features were twisted into a ball, and he hit the floor with his fist as if he collapsed. His face turned blue and white, showing an expression of struggle.
"Even if you don't say it now, the cops can find the murderer if they take some time." Dean's face turned cold and his tone was full of sarcasm, "But your promise is bullshit, what are the five ways of expressing love, what do you love Carter?"
"Stop talking! I'm telling you!"
Bud leaned against the wall slumped,
"The murderer is Roseanne Tunney, a bartender at a bar on West 12th Street that I know. She and I have been dating for a year."
Dean glanced at the soaring investigation progress and nodded.
"Why did she kill Carter and say that?"
"She always wanted me to divorce and stay with her," Bud recalled, "but I couldn't do that. I have a beautiful family and will raise children with Carter in the future."
"Why didn't Rosie go directly to Carter to show her off? Jealousy would lead to murder?"
"She knows that I can't agree. Moreover, she has that kind of character, possessive and amazingly powerful." Bud paused and shouted with grief, "Although I like her, she must kill Carter." Pay the price."
"Are you ready to kill your relatives out of justice?" Dean glanced at the system. After some frank negotiations with Bud, the investigation progress has reached 80%. Now everything is ready. "Wipe away your tears. , come with me to the LVPD to tell everyone about the suspect."
"But remember, if you don't want to be thought of as crazy, don't mention anything about dreams."
"Can you let me see Carter?"
"I said I can't help you, but if you keep your promise, maybe she will contact you one day in the future."
…
Dean drove Bud Burton to the LVPD in the Bronco.
"Hi, Dean."
"Hi Karen."
Dean kept greeting acquaintances all the way to the office of Group 5 on the second floor.
Holden Ford in a shirt, Carl Rand in a towel, and several other police officers were enjoying steaming breakfast and coffee around a conference table.
Everyone looked depressed, their hair was greasy and split, and the whites of their eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that they had not slept all night.
Holden pointed to a series of photos of criminals holding placards on the whiteboard.
"Mr. Budd, you came at the right time. We have found photos of thirty-five suspects from the files. Come and help see if any of them look familiar."
"No need, gentlemen police officers."
Bud shook his head and glanced at everyone. A trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes, but when he turned around and saw Dean's eyes, he swallowed.
"I already know who the murderer is? I'll take you to catch her right away. She should be in the bar now."
"What?"
The originally depressed police officers cheered up and their faces turned red as if they had been given chicken blood.
"Pfft——"
Karl, who was taking a sip of coffee, was so surprised that he instantly transformed into a jet and sprayed a mouthful of coffee onto the office wall, forming a large, ugly brown streak.
"Ahem, cough!"
"Hey, team leader, when did you get throat cancer?" A police officer with a big nose pointed at his back and slapped him, "You can choke on the water you drink!"
Karl glared at him angrily, his red face finally returned to normal, and he took a long breath,
"Mr. Bud Burton, don't be ridiculous. I don't remember us telling you any information about the criminal. Our investigation has just begun to make some progress. How could you know the identity of the murderer in advance?"
"Dean came to talk to me in the morning, and then we discovered several important details that had been overlooked before."
Bud introduced the relationship between the suspect and himself.
The group of people immediately turned their surprised eyes to the young and inexperienced Dean. How could a complete rookie convince this man to reveal the news about his cheating girlfriend?
Dean faced a group of questioning looks with a calm expression.
"What are you waiting for?!"
Holden put his suit on his shoulders coolly,
"Let's start arresting people immediately. Bud will get in a car with me and explain the situation."
"Call the lazy guys sleeping in the toilet. We must not let the suspect escape!"
After a brief discussion of arrangements.
The group of people left the police station building resolutely, got into five police SUVs, and set off towards the colorful bar on West 12th Street.
(End of chapter)
