Monitoring room.

Nick and Dean brought the suspect Reynolds to the surveillance equipment and let him watch all the tapes with his own eyes to penetrate his psychological defenses.

"For God's sake, say something, you worked so hard to 'star' in these works, and you don't have any feelings? Are you obsessed with Catherine to the point of madness before breaking into her home? Nick said sarcastically,

"Why is there surveillance?" Reynolds muttered and rubbed his dry straw-like black hair, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Catherine has seen the tape too?" ”

Dean next to him pressed the table with his right hand and leaned over to look at him, "It's not much, but I've watched it five or six times." ”

"So she knows it all... She knew it all. Reynolds' handcuffed hands held his chin in pain, and a deep disappointment and reluctance appeared in his eyes.

But Dean didn't hear the slightest hint of horror or guilt at being exposed to his face, and the guy didn't seem to feel at all that his actions were wrong.

"What does it matter if Catherine knows? You did these dirty things, and you were still worried about being found out and disgusted by her? ”

Reynolds turned into a stuffy gourd again, his expression was changing, and Dean was so impatient that he could hardly help but use his telekinesis to strangle this guy and collect his soul and bring it back for torture.

However, it is then denied that this simple and crude approach may resolve the incident quickly, but it may also ruin the opportunity to further progress the incident.

And seven days is a lot of time, he can't afford to "flip the table" at the beginning.

"Please give me some time to think about it." Reynolds looked at the two with bloodshot eyes.

"How long will it take? We can detain you for forty-eight hours in Hawkins, and there is only one and a half days left, and if you don't tell us your motive before then, then we can only send you to a detention center for further interrogation. Nick was categorical, "Don't you recognize the situation?" With so much evidence in front of us, denial and silence are all invalid! ”

Reynolds sighed dejectedly,

"The next morning, I'll tell you everything as it is."

……

After Nick returned Reynolds to the detention cell, Catherine and Audrey, who were waiting in the hall, couldn't wait to surround him.

"What's the matter, has he confessed everything?"

When Dean heard this, he had to admire the super psychological quality of this female reporter, and she was able to maintain her sanity after seeing the video of her injuries with her own eyes.

"This guy has a hard mouth, and he promised to say it the day after tomorrow, but in my opinion, he is stalling for time." Nick said firmly, "We're going as planned, Catherine, and the bureau will arrange for someone to enter your home tomorrow to collect fingerprints and shoe print evidence." ”

"No problem, I'll take a leave of absence."

"I suggest you go to the hospital for a full physical examination," Dean added, "in case Reynolds has thrown other poisons at you." ”

Catherine nodded earnestly,

"Several, Tom is still investigating Reynolds's car and residence, and once it is clear, we will apply for a search warrant, and we will search again, and there will be new evidence to help us piece together the motive for this series of strange behaviors." Nick reiterates the process,

"Applying for a search warrant slowly is not in the good way of Director Hope," Dean said with a laugh.

"Well, the little country can occasionally be flexible and omit the search warrant, but don't make a big deal." Nick put his index finger to his mouth and looked at Flo who was packing his bag in the distance, "It's almost time to get off work, why don't you be here today?" ”

……

In the evening, the trio left the Hawkins Police Station side by side.

After today's episode, Catherine, who was physically and mentally exhausted, was going to borrow a night at a friend's house for safety.

But before that, in gratitude for Dean and Audrey's company, she specially invited the two to the mall for a hearty Mexican meal.

"Strong Catherine, she still has such a good appetite." Audrey looked at her friend who was eating a burrito across from her and said with relief, "If I encounter this kind of perversion, I have now begun to pack my luggage and prepare to move, and then find a psychiatrist to take a look, otherwise I will have a nightmare for a month." ”

"It's nothing." Cather took a sip of corn bisque and squinted her eyes comfortably, "I was involved in a shooting while I was covering a Las Vegas casino, when half of my hair was cut off by bullets, and I bent over to flee while crying out for my companions to hide. But I ducked near a phone booth only to find Jamie in a pool of blood after a stray bullet had exploded in the head. ”

"The photographer who followed me for two years is gone."

"So you're battle-hardened."

Dean wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and gave Catherine a reassuring look, who smiled,

"After attending Jamie's funeral, I suddenly realized that other accidents were not a big deal except for being inspired by God or Satan."

"Poor Catherine," Audrey gently patted the back of her friend's hand, "I heard you say that journalism is still a high-risk profession, and any risk can be encountered. ”

"I'm used to it." Catherine pulled a handful of hair from her forehead behind her ear,

"Then have you ever thought about finding yourself a long-term bodyguard?" Audrey asked,

"What do you mean?"

"Boyfriend." Audrey leaned into Catherine's ear and lowered her voice, her dark eyes swept meaningfully over Dean who was munching on honey drumsticks, "Find a strong arm to shield you from the wind and rain, and the danger will naturally leave you." ”

Boyfriend?

Dean sped up to nibble on the drumsticks.

Catherine looked at the setting sun outside the dining room and furrowed her brow in anguish.

……

Shortly after the meal.

Dean drove the two ladies back to their home on Elm Street and said goodbye.

Audrey looked at his tall and muscular back under the black trench coat with moist eyes, and hooked his friend's shoulder, "You really don't think about considering this little handsome guy, although he is Asian, he is good-looking, muscular and can give people a sense of security, he is not annoying if he talks little, and the key is that he is willing to help you deal with this kind of trouble for free." ”

"If I hadn't been married, I would definitely take the initiative."

"Dean just graduated from high school a few months ago, and I'm almost twenty-nine, nearly ten years older than him, and I'm already an old and decrepit woman." Catherine touched her smooth cheeks and sighed at the corners of her eyes,

"Where is there such a sexy old woman? With your beauty and figure, you can hook your fingers casually, and no matter how old a man is, he can't resist. ”

"Don't make a fuss!"

"You don't like it?" Audrey deliberately stepped back to the guardrail and shrunk her shoulders, "Or do you don't like women, so you haven't had a boyfriend?" ”

Catherine stared faintly at the street lights, silent.

"Good sister, I helped you so much today, can't you get a word of truth?"

"Can you keep it secret for me?"

"Haha, here we go again. I swear to God that if I leak the next word you say, I will go to hell. ”

Catherine clenched her white and slender fingers, her snow-white face tightened, and her eyes flashed with dazedness and depression.

"To be honest, there's something wrong with my body, and I can't get close to anyone."

"What does it mean that you can't get up close and personal?"

"In addition to holding hands, even kissing, I will feel great pain, more painful than a stone attack, let alone submitting a boyfriend." Catherine said timidly,

Audrey's mouth opened wide in surprise, she had the inherent impression that the love between men and women should be sweet, why did it turn into torture when she came to her friend.

"How can there be such a strange illness in the world?"

"I also want to know the answer, but I have been to dozens of major hospitals for comprehensive examinations, and all the reports show that I am physically and mentally healthy."

Audrey took her sister's hand and walked to the stone bench in her yard and sat down, "When did this begin?" ”

"It's early, more than 10 years ago... We're still studying at Hawkins..."

……

On the other hand, after leaving the two ladies behind, Dean drove around the hotel in the center of town and Elm Street.

He is not a police officer, and he does not need a search warrant, but directly scans the streets from house to house with a 50-meter range of God's perspective, looking for a possible place for Reynolds.

Unfortunately, after more than two hours of searching, apart from finding a dozen empty houses, I couldn't find anything that left Reynolds's personal characteristics, or Catherine's replaced black suit skirt and high heels.

"Could it be that this guy doesn't live in town?"

After a long search to no avail, Dean looked up at the sky and saw that it was not early, so he returned to the ancestral house in the suburbs to prepare to continue the search the next day.

The car pulls into the yard and he bumps into Hope smoking a cigarette outside the hallway.

"Didn't you kid go to West Faraye City to look for Carly, why did you come back so soon?" The sheriff glared at him and shouted,

"A friend of mine is in some trouble and needs to wait a few days to help her solve it first," Dean leaned against the side of the hallway and recounted his experience during the day.

"Nick also reported the case to me on the phone." The sheriff dropped the cigarette butt and stomped on it with his foot on fire, lighting a second Marlboro. "Reynolds, where did the bastard come from, dare to go wild on my turf? When I send Jane to Becky's house tomorrow morning, I'll take care of him myself. ”

"Then I'll follow you to investigate by the way."

Hope turned his head to look at him,

"It's okay to follow me, but I have one condition. Tell me what you mentioned earlier about letting me meet Sarah? Sarah has been dead for years, what can you do to reunite us? Answer seriously, if you make fun of her, I will kill you with my own hands. ”

Dean shrugged his shoulders, a hint of philosopher's concern on his face, and asked rhetorically,

"Where do you think people go when they die?"

"Paradise? Hell? Hope instinctively replied, "My Sarah is so kind and lovely, she will definitely go to heaven." ”

"Maybe not as hell as heaven, but not as horrible as hell," Dean said, "have you ever heard of the Hell?" ”

Hope raised an eyebrow and took a puff of cigarette, the smoke obscuring his unshaven beard and big rugged face,

"I have read in the Bible that souls who are not punished for their sins go to hell and are not blessed to coexist with God in heaven."

"That's right, so the 'Soul Prison' is where most people will stay when they leave, including Sarah."

"Are you so superstitious?"

"This is not superstition, this can be explained by scientific principles, the so-called hell, heaven, and hell are nothing more than other planes and spaces near the earth." Dean stared into the sheriff's eyes and raised his voice,

"Ordinary people, flesh and blood, can't detect their existence, let alone enter them, but once they become a soul state, they can feel their gravity and go to these places." Dean thought of the picture he had seen countless times of the normal dissipation of the soul, and he made a loud noise,

"Because each person's soul is unique and has different phases, their final destination is also different. Heaven and hell are only the destination of a few extremes, equivalent to high-end hotels, and Lingbo Prison is the motel where most people live. ”

"Interesting analogy, so you think Sarah also went to Hell. What is that place like? Hope stared at the dark woods outside the courtyard, "like hell full of pain and torment, or like heaven, where the occupants can enjoy eternal joy and happiness." ”

"I think it's somewhere in between, but closer to the latter."

"Why do you dare to say that?" Hope asked expectantly and with a hint of nervousness,

A flash of memory flashed across Dean's face, "I had a friend in Las Vegas who was almost burned to death in a terrible fire, but survived the NDE. ”

"When I woke up, he told me something like that, and I still remember it vividly. When he was about to be burned to death, he felt that there was another place under the flames. ”

"Another place?" Hope slowed down and listened,

"Surrounded by green vines, surrounded by green trees, the air is very fresh, the environment is beautiful and comfortable, and most importantly, his deceased relatives and loved ones are waiting for him."

"I think that under the flames, this forest surrounded by the love of relatives should be the spiritual prison..."

Hope's eyes lit up, revealing a faint hint of joy,

"The reunion of loved ones, the prison of the soul, unbelievable..."

"But what if her relatives are still alive?" Hope's face darkened, "Wouldn't she go there and be left alone in the forest?" ”

"No!" Dean was taken aback and quickly corrected his dangerous thoughts, "There are countless people of the same kind in that place, they can accompany and communicate with each other, and they don't have to endure the pain anymore, it's not difficult for her." ”

"And my friend is still alive and well, getting married, having children, and starting a family again. He told me that under the flames, when he was about to merge with his relatives, he was pushed away. ”

Dean looked at Hope and said seriously,

"Do you understand? Those who loved him, who have passed away, hope that he will live well and start a new life with optimism, instead of giving up on himself and indulging in the despair, pain, boredom of the past, alcohol, addictive drugs. ”

"In this way, when he goes to the reunion again, what he shares with his relatives is happiness."

Dean's gentle words echoed through the courtyard.

Hope came back to his senses, the melancholy on his face eased slightly, and he breathed a sigh of relief,

"Thanks, man, I'm feeling better. But I don't understand, what do these legends have to do with your approach? ”

"What if I said I could take you into the Thin Prison to see Sarah?"

"What a joke!" Hope's fingers shook, and Marlboro fell uncontrollably to the floor.

As soon as Dean raised his hand, an apple on the table in the room automatically flew to his palm, and he opened his mouth to bite down the mouthful full of juice,

"Since I have the superpower of telekinesis, why can't I open the superpower of other dimensional passages?"

Dean rolled his eyes, he needed a volunteer, a test subject, and Hope was a good choice,

"If you agree, I'll open the passage to the Hellroom for you right away and let you go in and reunite with Sarah. But to say that I had never been to that place, and I didn't know how to find someone inside. ”

"But there are great dangers inside, such as other terrible supernatural creatures, and if you are not careful, you may be wiped out completely, and you will not even have the opportunity to be a ghost."

"So, would you still like to go?"

There was a rare hint of struggle on Hope's face,

"I've got to think about it, I've got to take my time."

"Think about it slowly, don't rush, let's solve Reynolds's case first."

(End of chapter)