In mid-February, at the end of winter, the weather began to warm up.

The sun is shining brightly this morning.

Dean, who woke up in meditation, temporarily suppressed the auditory hallucinations in his ears, said hello to Paqui and Rust, and drove to the LVPD alone.

Under the mask shed at the gate of the police station, police cars carrying heavily armed police officers drove onto the road, connected from end to end like a long black dragon.

……

"Rust isn't together?" Holden was about to go out with his briefcase, his eyes were bloodshot, his hair was greasy, and he had obviously not slept all night.

Dean shook his head and pretended to be ignorant and asked, "He was so worried about Grace's worry that he couldn't sleep, and he was in a bad state, so I let him rest at home today, what's going on in the bureau, what's going on?" ”

Holden was silent for a long time,

"I have bad news for you, we found Grace at the Red Dragons Club in the Lake District, but unfortunately..."Holden placed a photograph in front of Dean with the corpse in the center of the photograph as if she was sleeping peacefully, "she was out of breath at the time. ”

Dean closed his eyes, lowered his head, clenched his fists, and asked tremblingly,

"Grace didn't go to California, why did she end up in the Lake District?"

"It's not clear." Holden's eyes rolled, "Maybe the murderer deliberately created a cross-state case to confuse the LVPD's investigation." ”

"How did she die?"

"Based on the preliminary survey and investigation of the site, the bureau has come to a number of conclusions. Al Darys is the leader of a cult that often organizes some kind of killing ritual in the Red Dragon Club, and also incorporates a group of bosses, celebrities, and politicians of large companies to get involved. ”

"Grace is the victim they have chosen."

"But there was an even more fearful massacre in the club last night, where someone killed all the party participants and avenged Grace."

Holden's tone paused, and his eyes looked sharply at Dean,

"Where were you with Paqui and Rust?"

"Missing person notices posted everywhere, you doubt me?"

"Don't mind, I'm just analyzing all the possibilities," Holden said earnestly as he stared into his eyes, "after all, Rust's mother, your best friend, was killed by the club, and you have the motive to kill and the ability to kill a group of people." ”

"The identities of the deceased are not simple, and this incident has a great impact, and the director will be dismissed from class. If you did it, nod your head, and I'll find a way to cover it up for you. ”

"Unfortunately, it's not me."

A flash of red light flashed in Dean's eyes, and he gritted his teeth,

"If I had discovered their bestiality, I would never have let them die so happily."

Holden pulled on his tie and asked tentatively, "Then come with me into the club tonight for a psychic ceremony and ask Al Dalis's soul?" ”

"No problem." Dean decisively agreed, "But I'm going to take Rust with me." ”

……

Back home, Dean relayed the news to Paqui and Raste, who sighed and put on his apron to prepare lunch, while Rast just listened in silence with an empty expression, as if there was a missing piece in his heart that could never be filled.

Dean sighed, glanced at his uncle in the kitchen, and lowered his voice,

"Man, do you want to say goodbye to Grace? I don't mean the corpse, but her soul. ”

Rust's face changed, and his bloodshot eyes looked over,

"Don't worry, act tonight, you first need to know some rules of the psychic ritual..."

……

At night.

Paqui goes to a friend to discuss a plan for an escape in case of an accident.

Dean and Rust followed Holden into the Red Dragons Club, which was guarded by several police officers and surrounded by a cordoned off.

Last night's corpse and blood stains were cleaned up.

All that remained was the white circle of fixed lines in the empty hall, recording the shape and direction of the corpse falling to the ground, and the point where the bullet landed.

Dean walked to the kitchen, took out the divination suit from his handbag, and placed the soul divination board full of characters on the knees of the three people, forming a fixed triangle.

One last glance at the expectant Holden, and the restless Rust.

Light incense, candles.

Three fingers pressed and placed on the board on the board.

"Friends get together, sincerely."

"The soul is near, we call to you..."

Dean's calm voice echoed through the hall.

"The ghost hovering in the club, Al Dalis, you are murderous and unforgivable, but you don't deserve to die unexplained, now there is an opportunity in front of you, show up at once, and tell us the identity of the murderer."

"If you're nearby, please let us know!"

"Whew..."

A breeze blew the candlelight flickering.

The three of them looked in anticipation.

"Shadows of the Past" flew out of the board and pieced together the word "YES".

At the same time, under Dean's psychic voice, he squirmed like a mist, transforming into a man in a white chef's suit, with a body and face that resembled El Dalis.

Dean immediately handed the board to Holden, allowing the other party to see through the lenses the disguised face of the "Shadow of the Past".

"Sure enough!" Holden looked shocked and asked,

"El Daris, who are your killers?"

"Three people, one of them is the club's security guard Dutton, and the other two don't know each other... Red hair, big nose, burly... A bit of Slavic origin. ”

The board was pieced together according to Dean's fabrication.

Holden asked questions and answers with the "Shadow of the Past" for a long time, and completely locked the identity of the murderer on the security guard and the accomplice of the three "vigilantes" who fled in a car, and at the same time dispelled the last trace of suspicion about Dean.

"Man, thanks to you this time, I will persuade the bureau to go all out to arrest the fugitive, which should calm the anger of the big guys."

Well, I wish you all the best in advance when you find the bodies in Lake Mead.

"It's your turn, Rust."

Dean looked at his friend, who was nervous and apprehensive, and recited another prayer.

Soon, a woman in a blue professional dress arrived as promised and fell in front of them.

The red-haired face was still delicate and beautiful, but it was illusory and sluggish, without the warm smile of the past, and the eyes stared blankly into the void, like a model dummy in a clothing store.

Rust, who was observing through the lens, was stupid, suppressed excitement and stammered,

"Is this true, Dean, is she really Grace?"

"That's right, but because it's a soul, it's different from a living person, and it's more rigid..."

"Grace!"

Before Dean could finish speaking, Rust got up and threw himself into the ghost's arms.

But after all, it was not a living person, and the illusory body was like a slightly cool mist, with nowhere to focus, and Rust's hands passed through it.

But he didn't give up, just like a treasure, he carefully opened his hands and hugged his mother, feeling the coolness in his arms, and kept apologizing in his mouth,

"I'm sorry, Grace, you've been taking care of me and giving everything for me, but I've never been considerate of you and helped you share a little bit of pressure."

"In the end, I didn't protect you, I didn't save you, I don't deserve to be your son."

"Woo... I'm sorry..."

"I'm sorry!"

Crying echoed throughout the hall.

Dean picked up the board on the ground and placed it in front of him, and he saw the woman standing in the air change her stiff position with difficulty, one misty arm back around Rust, holding him in his arms, and the other gently patting him on the back.

Grace's mechanical face became vivid and shimmering with maternal brilliance, and her mouth was still humming a song as if she were nothing, and tears in her eyes fell down her chin and fell on Rust's shoulder, and then disappeared into the air like steam in an instant.

Dean clearly felt that every tear was full of a mother's deep affection, reluctance, and love.

For...

Dean put down the board and took a cigarette handed over by Holden next to him, and for the first time in his life, he took a deep breath, and closed his eyes tightly in the faint stimulation of tobacco.

……

Everything went smoothly.

Dean misleads the police investigation and makes Rust say a final goodbye to his mother.

In the following days, he and a group of relatives and friends, including Paqui, Britney, and Gretchen, accompanied Rust home to sort out his belongings and go to the police station to retrieve Grace's body.

After a lot of tears, Rust prepared a coffin, a tombstone, and a grave for his mother.

It took seven or eight thousand dollars.

Everyone was always by his side, contributing money and efforts, and the dead face finally changed, and he also opened his mouth to express his gratitude to everyone.

……

The funeral came quietly.

Because the apartment where Rust lived was high-rise and cramped, it was not convenient to welcome guests, so the coffin was transported to a church in North Las Vegas.

According to custom, the vigil is kept for several days.

On the first night, Dean stayed with Rust.

The church was dimly lit, the rows of chairs were frighteningly empty, and the coffin was placed in front.

A cold wind blew through the door, the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling shook gently, the yellow lines swayed, the coffin creaked, and the reflections on the wall seemed to be dancing like demons.

"Man, do you know that people who are prone to mental problems have a characteristic, their minds are full of past or future things, and they don't pay attention to the present, and they don't feel sorry for the present."

Dean, who was sitting in the first row, patted the shoulder of his friend next to him, Rust's thin body was wearing a solemn black suit, his green face matured a lot after this blow, but there was a lingering melancholy between his eyebrows,

"You've said goodbye to Grace, it's time to let go after today, with her last wish, go to college hard, you don't have to worry about the tuition problem, I'll help you solve it."

In the past few days, Britney and Rust have received an offer of admission to the University of Arizona, but did not celebrate because of time constraints.

After saying this, Dean had expected Rust to remain silent as he had done in the past.

But Rust shook his head, and said in a hoarse and nasal voice like a heavy cold,

"I've told Grace that I'm not going to the University of Arizona, and being an astronomer can't protect my family."

"Don't blame yourself for Grace's accident and punish yourself," Dean shook his head, "Even if it were someone else, well, even if this tragedy happened to someone else, the outcome wouldn't change." ”

"No, it wouldn't be a tragedy if it were you." Rust suddenly turned to look at Dean, and the flickering light hit half of his face, revealing deep envy, "In recent months, I have often had some unrealistic fantasies, if I'm like you, and I'm reborn in most of the year, then I'll have your insight." ”

He retracted his gaze, lowered his head, and clenched his fists unwillingly, "Then I will definitely be able to detect Grace falling into the trap of the casino in advance, and I will be able to prevent this tragedy in advance." ”

"If I had your skills and superpowers, even if the perverts of that club tried to forcibly capture Grace, I would be able to deal with them cleanly as you had done."

Dean rubbed his face with both hands, standing in the position of being envied, he had nothing to say.

"But what if—" Rust shook his head self-deprecatingly, "I, Cole Rust Spencer, am still that useless little man, a nobody, and I can only cry and not do anything." This was true when my dad was torn apart in a coffin by those grass sellers, and it was the same when my mom was killed by those perverts. ”

Dean was silent.

"Your uncle Paqui has a good suggestion for me."

"What advice?"

"I have to make a change." Rust got up suddenly, his originally rickety back straightened, "If I don't want to experience similar tragedies in the future, I have to change myself from now on." ”

"I also discussed it with Grace when I said goodbye, and she agreed with me."

He walked slowly out of the open door of the church,

Dean followed him into a winding path outside in the shade of the burial.

The air at night is exceptionally fresh.

The cold wind howled, and both of them pulled their necklines.

Rust said slowly,

"Paqui hates the police, but he still suggested that I go to the police academy to hone my skills and marksmanship, understand the basic laws, have the power to protect myself, and also protect the people I love in the future..."

He paused in his tone, staring at the garden with bitter hatred in his eyes, and said in a solemn tone like swearing to the sky,

"Then, I'm going to deal with all the criminals in the world like Al Dalis."

"These crazy and inhumane beasts all deserve to die!"

He let out a loud roar, and the sound of anger could be heard far away in the night.

Dean's face was stunned, what a naïve and simple idea, but how could it be possible to eliminate all criminals?

Black and white in this world will never go away.

Dean's lips moved to dispel him by saying something to dispel him, so that he could stick to the ideals of astronomy and enjoy a wonderful college career with Britney.

Then he swallowed the words into his stomach again.

If you are replaced by yourself, you will suffer the same bad luck as Rust, and the most precious person will be killed, and you may take a more extreme path.

"Rust, you want revenge and destroy these bastards, I can understand and support it. But you don't have to risk yourself to be a police officer. Well, you can continue your dreams, study astronomy, later study spaceships, manned rockets ... Become a big scientist, a big businessman, and when the time comes, you can pay people to help you realize this wish. ”

Dean stared into Rust's eyes and said seriously, "When you graduate from college and succeed in your studies, I will give you an investment to help you get your career off the ground." ”

"Thanks, buddy," Rust said gratefully at him, shaking his head suddenly, recalling,

"Do you remember? I said I used to live in the countryside of Alaska..."

"Yes, once at dinner at your house, you said that you would make up some stories about the stars at that time."

"Well, I didn't watch TV at that time, so I didn't have much to do every day but look around, and lie by the window and look up. At that time, I only felt that the black starry sky was full of deep and unknown charm and attraction that made me want to explore. ”

"But now that I'm older, I've finally discovered a truth about the starry sky of the universe." Rust suddenly looked up at the night sky, the stars and moon were dim tonight, "Those blacks are not a beautiful existence, it is full of pain and evil, like the abyss crushes everything and destroys my life." ”

Rust suddenly covered his mouth and choked twice, the night wind blew his vision blurred, and tears glistened in the corners of his eyes,

"I don't want to look up at the stars anymore and study astronomy, I need to find something shiny, or I'll get lost, or I won't know what's the point of living."

The pessimism that came to his face made Dean want to stop talking, and he couldn't help but think of the auditory hallucinations that had tormented him so badly during this time.

He also slowed down and looked up at the night sky, but perhaps because of his outstanding eyesight, he could still see the edge of the black sky, dotted with a few bright stars.

He stood side by side with Rust and put his arm around Rust's shoulders and dragged him towards the open lawn beyond the shade of the trees.

"Listen, man, though it seems like the darkness is overpowering. But did you know that before there was only darkness in the world... But now," he said, pointing to the twinkling stars, "the light is slowly gaining the upper hand." ”

(End of chapter)