Bang dang.

The doors of the "Bridge Pier Antique Shop" open and close,

Dean, who went out, readjusted the sign to open and returned to Citroen with Sean.

"Master, this old lady has a lot of energy in her emotions, and she is definitely not human," said the shallow heart, "but her emotions are very unstable, arrogant, fearful, happy... It has changed several times, and it seems that there are some psychological problems. ”

"Is Camodi mentally ill?" Dean raised an eyebrow, it wasn't good news.

In fact, he considered giving the old lady a serpent edict ordering the other party to hand over the Celent rune.

But he always felt that the old lady had a pair of ancient eyes hidden behind her, some kind of powerful hole card, enough to resist the edict of the snakes.

In addition, Dean and Carmodi are not like each other, and they can't turn her into a slave as soon as they meet, so it's better to have a fair deal first.

"But she dared to deceive us." Dean said to the shoal, "She's going to experience the pain of hell." ”

At this time, Sean, who was looking at the file in his hand in the back row, raised a hill between his eyebrows, and muttered loudly,

"The corpse spots are light, there is mushroom-shaped foam between the mouth and nose, goosebump-like skin... There are no signs of trauma, poisoning, assault, abuse... The report clearly states that Martha Medina meets the characteristics of a drowning death. ”

"Kenny, is it possible that she died by accident and wasn't killed by an evil thing? Mrs. Carmody deliberately wasted our time by asking us to search for evil things that didn't exist. She had no intention of handing over the Celent Runes at all. ”

"The previous record is normal." Dean drove down the central road of the store towards Long Lake, "but pay attention to the time of death, December 15th, that is, more than a month ago at eleven o'clock in the evening. Why did a nine-year-old girl run alone to play in the water by the long lake on a cold night, and then accidentally drowned? This is clearly counterintuitive. ”

"The most likely is that someone took her out of the house, or something lured her to the lake, and Carmody's analysis was right."

"I don't think so, eight or nine-year-olds are the naughtiest time, sometimes they have a brain cramp, they have a nightmare, they watch some weird cartoons, they can do things that adults can't predict. So it's not surprising that Martha drowned herself. Sean looked at the record on the report and retorted, "And she only has a grandmother in her sixties, Fanny Medina, and it is normal for the elderly to go to bed early at night and not notice the child leaving." ”

"It's most likely just an ordinary drowning case, an excuse that Kamody used to get us away."

"You have a big opinion of Camody?" Dean looked at Sean's slightly angry face in the rearview mirror, as if he could see through his heart.

Sean's face stiffened, put down the information, and looked at the tip of his shoe, "She called me a wild dog, even the most vicious passenger on the train before had never insulted me so much, I couldn't swallow this breath, I thought of her contemptuous demeanor, I just... I want to destroy her with my own hands. ”

"That's what you want? Don't you find yourself more easily irritated? Dean asked with a slight warning, "Become more animalistic." ”

Sean's face changed drastically, a wry smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and a magic voice echoed in his mind - the nocturnal species is a beast, and the beast nature overwhelms human nature.

"It seems like yes, I can't control my temper. Kenny, teach me what to do? I don't want to be a beast dominated by instinct. ”

"Find a reasonable channel to vent negative emotions." As he spoke, Dean parked his car on a spectacular breakwater, walked to a nearby store to buy a bag of fish feed, and led Sean to the white expanse of Long Lake.

Shadow flew high into the air from behind him, scouting around a four-kilometer radius.

Looking down from the sky, the lake is like a long, straight ribbon embedded in the mountains, covering an area of hundreds of square kilometers and a maximum depth of more than 200 meters.

It is the depths of winter, and the temperature in the Changhu area is as low as minus 15 degrees, and it is full of crystal clear ice flowers.

After the lake is frozen, the bubbles at the bottom of the lake are frozen by the cold when they float up, and are frozen in the ice, forming a string of ice bubbles of different shapes and layers, with the surrounding crystallized branches and diffuse fresh water vapor, the whole lake surface is like a fairyland in a fairy tale.

It doesn't belong to a small town.

Qiaodun Town, Shiling Town, Harrison Town, Norway Town and other small towns together occupy this beautiful lake area, and holiday villas have been built around the lake.

Dean brushed the snowflakes on Sean's shoulders beside him and stuffed him with a dark gold bead as a positioning coordinate, "Half of your body belongs to wolves, and wolves have to gallop to their heart's content in order to grow, become sharp and rational, and control animal nature." Run on the ice with all your might to vent your anger, but note that it's daytime and stay in human form. ”

Sean's eyes flashed with eagerness, as if some instinct hidden deep in his genes had awakened, "Does this work?" ”

"Try it and you'll know."

"Good!" Sean half-bowed, rushed down the breakwater like lightning, and sprinted through the thick ice, leaving a remnant of the wind to disappear on the surface of the lake.

Dean fell into deep thought.

This lake area is too large, if the evil thing that killed Martha is hiding in it, you have to find it out and scan it from God's perspective, it will not be swept in ten days and half a month, and there are still many hidden corners that cannot be taken care of.

He had to resort to another trick to find the evil thing.

Dean walked towards the lake shore to the town of Oriental Bridge Pier villa area.

According to the archives, Martha Medina's body was found outside her family's house by the lake, floating face down in the water.

The lake had already been covered with broken ice that night, so the body did not float out too far.

Five minutes later, Dean arrived at his destination, squatting on the ice on the shore, pressing his fingers, his fingertips spewing out a beam of white-gold sharp and incomparable life energy like a welding torch, drawing a regular circle against the ice.

Bang dang.

The ice sank and floated in the water, shaking a few times

Dean grabbed the center with his hand, and a large round block of ice flew into the bushes next to it.

The ice splashed and revealed a sparkling ice cave inside.

Dean took the temperature of the water with his hand and pulled the shallows out of his coat pocket and put them in the water.

The latter dives to the bottom of the water like a fish.

Soon after, the water in the hole rolled up layers of waves, and a group of pike, trout, salmon slowly floated in the lake, huddling together for warmth... Suddenly recovering from his napping state, he swung his tail vigorously, turning into strips of black and white silk, spreading out in all directions of the lake, his mouth groping in the mud and sand of the lake and the bottom of the lake, as if looking for something.

Poof.

The surface of the water breaks a wave.

Half of the round, flat head of the shallows poked out of the ice cave,

"The fish are so brainless, they can't understand my specific requirements, they just know that they need to find a 'different' fish in the lake."

"Let's try it," Dean comforted himself, "what if the killer is a strange fish?" ”

"Then I've launched a total of five hundred fish this time, and you'll have to prepare thirty pounds of fish feed as a reward."

"It's ready, it's all up to you," Dean said, placing the bag of fish feed outside the ice hole, "You stay in the lake and let me know if you find anything." ”

The shallows hinted, "It's so cold inside." ”

"The energy supply is doubled today."

"Wait for the good news!"

……

After assigning the task, Dean turned and walked over a fence wall by the lake, a swing swaying in the wind between two pine trees, and a colorful reddish camellia flower bed, and came to a two-story brown villa.

That is, the home of the deceased Martha Medina.

God's perspective swept away, the interior of the villa was not lit, and a gray-haired old woman sat alone on the sofa in front of the fireplace in the living room, silently holding a petite white dress.

The firelight shone through the features of her crumpled face, and she could vaguely see the demeanor of her youth, but now all that was left was hollowness, numbness, and the crystallization of tears in her eyes.

Her whole body was like she had lost her soul.

Dean knocked softly on the door, and after the sound of heavy, slow footsteps, the door opened.

He showed the document that had not been used in a long time.

"Hello, Madame Medina?"

"Well, you're?" The old man's gloomy eyes glanced at Dean,

"I'm Kenny Fantesey, a reporter for the Portland Daily in Maine. I'm sorry to hear about the death of your granddaughter Martha, but I heard that you don't think Marsha died accidentally, and there is something else going on? I'd like to do an interview about this, do you think you're free? ”

Dean smiled kindly, "Maybe I can help you find out some truth." ”

"Martha... Whining... My Marsha. The old lady let out a few wailing sobs in her nose, and looked at Dean's inexplicable face that made her feel more kind, "Can you really help me find out the truth?" ”

"I do my best."

"I'd like to be interviewed by you, please come in, Mr. Fantesi."

"Just call me Kenny."

……

On the sofa in the living room, the old woman brought Dean a cup of hot water and said guiltily, "I'm sorry, but there's no coffee at home." ”

"Hot water is good, I can understand your feelings." Dean swept around, the living room was empty, except for the necessary sofa and fireplace, not even a television, and all the furniture was very old, and in some places the walls and the wooden staircase leading to the second floor were soaked and cracked by the moisture blowing from the lake, and it was clear that they were not having a good time.

Dean looked at the old woman sincerely, "Such a beautiful and lovely girl is gone so suddenly, and if this happens to my daughter, I can't imagine the pain." ”

"But please mourn and take care of your health, Martha in heaven cannot bear to see your beloved relative so haggard."

Listening to Dean's soft voice of comfort, the sadness on the old woman's face eased slightly, and she sat down opposite him and picked up a picture frame.

There are three people in the photo, an old woman on the left, and an old man with a tall and thin figure with a straight back and a righteous face standing on the right, who should be her husband. The little girl with red hair in a light red shawl and big dark brown eyes, wearing a simple white dress, and smiling shyly was hugged by the two of them.

Her skin was white and delicate, with a hint of timidity and shyness in her eyes, and she looked like a frightened fawn, unusually pure and lovable.

Well, she is the victim of this case, Martha Medina.

"Let's get started, ma'am." Dean pulled out his pen and poked it in his notebook, "It's been you and your husband taking care of Martha for the past years?" ”

The woman stared at the frame and nodded, "Martha's parents left Pier Town to work in Portland when she was two years old, only to die in a car accident. ”

"For the years since, I have taken care of Jack and I, but just last year, Jack fell ill and died," the woman choked up, "and Martha and I were the only ones left in the villa. And in order to cure Jack, we sold out all we could, and all the houses in the town were sold, except for this lake house and each other. ”

This is called bad luck and picks on the miserable.

Dean recorded his hand for a moment, comfortingly stroking the old lady's trembling shoulders,

"And what's Martha's personality?"

"She is a bit introverted and afraid of life, but no other child is more sensible than her, she never causes any trouble for the family, studies hard in school and gets excellent grades, and rushes to help me with housework at home." The old woman wiped her tears and said sadly, "She knows that the family has no money, and the clothes she wears have been sewn and mended several times, and she has never complained, nor has she pestered us to buy expensive toys like other children..."

"Why is such a lovely child gone?" The old lady sobbed as she pressed her cheeks against the frame. "Marsha, my Marsha, how can grandma live without you..."

Dean hurriedly comforted and hinted softly, and didn't speak until the old lady's crying weakened,

"Did Martha behave anything unusual before the accident? Did she ever go out alone late at night before? ”

"I'm sorry, I can't answer." The old woman's face was full of guilt when she heard this, "I did odd jobs in the federal supermarket during the day, and in the evening I came home to prepare dinner for Marsha, and at eight o'clock I couldn't help but feel sleepy, and I went to sleep." Martha is alone in her bedroom reading books and doing her homework. So I never knew what was going on at home after eight o'clock. ”

"But Martha is a sensible and obedient child, and she would never have recklessly run to the lake to worry me, let alone the fact that the temperature was only minus five or six degrees that night."

Dean looked at the progress of the investigation, which was slowly rising to ten percent, and asked,

"Do you usually communicate with Marsha a lot?"

"Woo... Not much, I was busy with work and ignored her, most of her words were hidden in my heart, and I was responsible for her accident. ”

"Relax, old lady, it's all over. But do you have any special opinions, how did she get into trouble? ”

The old woman hesitated and said, "Jesus Christ, forgive me for my lies." I can't tell, but I can only guess that someone sneaked into the house and took Martha to the lake, but the officers at the town police station checked it several times, and there was no sign of any invasion in the house that night. And the neighbors, the big guys in town, like Martha very much, and no one has the motivation to do it. ”

"There hasn't been a man-made murder in Pier Town for several years."

"These are the things that puzzle me the most, Martha is unlikely to run to the lake by herself, even if she accidentally fell into the lake, she can swim, she should be able to climb ashore. But it's not like someone came in and took her and drowned in the lake. The old woman looked at Dean with a deep pleading in her eyes, "Kenny, please help find out the truth, otherwise, even if I die right now, I won't be able to take my last breath." ”

Dean nodded heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose in deep thought.

If the old woman's feelings are right, coupled with the claim that there is evil hidden in Mrs. Carmody's lake, then there is a possibility that some inhuman creature brought Martha to the lake.

This is just preliminary speculation and there is no evidence.

But if you think deeply along this line.

The presence of non-human creatures may leave some unusual traces.

"Did the police find any suspicious traces on the day Martha was found, or did there any strange phenomena around the Lake District, such as unusual footprints, drastic temperature changes?"

"Suspicious traces."

The old woman hung her head tiredly and pinched her knees violently,

"I remember, other townspeople who live near the lake have mentioned that on the night of Martha's accident, there was fog on the long lake, as big as dark clouds, rolling on the half-frozen lake, covering most of the lake area, so thick that it was impossible to see the scene inside the lake at a distance of ten meters."

"And the time when the fog formed was exactly the time of Marsha's accident. So some people say that Martha was blinded by the fog and lost her direction, so that an accident would happen. ”

This passage landed.

The progress of the event skyrocketed from 10 percent to 20 percent.

Dean was stunned.

There is no doubt that fog played an extremely important role in this incident.

Dean came up with two speculations based on the fog.

One is like the townsfolk say, Martha left her house alone for some unknown reason to come to the lake, only to be unlucky enough to encounter heavy fog, lose her way, and accidentally drown.

Another possibility is that the mist is a sign of some supernatural evil being that lured and took Marsha away.

But Martha's image in Dean's mind is not yet completely clear, and he needs more details to judge the other party's actions that night.

Grandpa has passed away.

The only remaining old woman did not communicate much with her granddaughter, and she went to bed early and went to bed early, causing her to miss the most important time period of the crime.

Dean could only know Martha from other things.

"Does Martha have a habit of keeping a diary?"

"Nope."

"Does she have any particularly good friends of the same age?"

Often, children like to confide in their peers.

"Yes," the old woman nodded heavily, picked up her reading glasses from the table next to her, put them on, took out a small notebook, and read the above lines, "Billy, the son of David and Stephen at 102 Lakeside Road, and Wanda, the daughter of Lucia at 260 shopping street in town, are best friends with her. ”

Lucia?

Dean thought for a moment of the blonde, hot waiter at the restaurant where he had eaten when he arrived at Bridge Pier Town at noon.

"Lucia is a waitress at the Pier Restaurant?"

"Yes, it's her, she's also a poor widow, raising two children alone, Wanda is her eldest daughter, in the same grade as Marsha, sensible and obedient, and she doesn't have a father, so she gets along well with Marsha."

There was a hint of love on the old lady's face, "Billy of the David family is a naughty little boy, but he is sincere, he never cares about Wanda and Marsha's parents, and he has become good friends with them. ”

"From time to time, Martha would go to the children's house to watch TV and play with toys."

The progress of the event jumped to twenty-five percent.

Dean nodded, so important clues found so far include the fog on the lake on the night of Martha's murder, and the two children of Billy and Wanda.

The old woman sighed heavily, and said,

"Every time Martha came back from a visit to a friend's house, she would sadly ask me and Jack why she didn't have mom and dad."

"We didn't dare tell her the truth, we only said that they went to work in a distant place."

"This hard-working child has finally been reunited with his parents in heaven as he wished."

The old man's eyes squeezed out bean-sized tears, and the corners of his mouth grinned sadly.

"Little Martha... Whining... Don't worry, grandma is coming to accompany you. ”

"Old lady, take care of your body, God does not welcome those who have committed their lives to heaven." Dean retracted the God's perspective that scanned the entire villa,

"Last question, Martha's remains?"

"It's been more than a month, and I've been cremated and buried in accordance with local rules."

There's no way to lick the memory.

Dean took out a piece of brown paper from his bosom and stuffed it into the old woman's hand, "Today's interview is almost over, it's time for me to take my leave." Wait for the good news, and I'll find out the truth about Martha's death for you. ”

"Wait, Kenny," the old woman opened the brown paper bag and glanced at it, stunned by the green bills in it, and quickly got up and stuffed the money back, "I can't take this money." ”

"It's not a lot of money, it's just a little bit of my mind, please accept it, buy a color TV, and buy a few clothes for the winter." Dean said, "If you don't accept it, I can't go all out to help you investigate." ”

After saying that, without waiting for the old man with red eyes to refuse, Dean strode out of the house.

Looking at the gray sky, his eyes turned to the east of the lakeshore,

"Let's go visit Billy from David's house first."

(End of chapter)