Chapter 86:
“Since when did you start getting a bitter, sour taste in your mouth like a lemon when you hear the word ‘pity’?”
The turn of events was unexpected. To him, Elena’s words had suddenly become an incomprehensible alien language.
How was I… exposed?
“Was it when you decided to frame Andrew? Or when you made contact with the mastermind? In any case, it only started within the last year, right?”
Elena continued to repeat Yingli’s instructions. “What’s happening to you is a phenomenon called ‘synesthesia.’ And you’re not a natural synesthete.”
Synesthesia, also known as co-sensation, is a neurological condition where a stimulus from one sensory modality, or from a certain cognitive channel, causes the patient to automatically and involuntarily experience another sensory sensation. For example, some people will immediately see a corresponding color when they hear certain words, or a specific taste when they hear certain words.
Yingli knew Miller’s eating habits well. He particularly disliked the sour taste of fruit, especially the strong sourness of lemons and oranges, which would cause the twitching expression he had just shown.
Since he was not a natural synesthete, there was only one possibility for this phenomenon—he had accidentally developed “acquired synesthesia” through medication and inexplicable psychological pressure. And after the crime, the police had searched his luggage and had found a large amount of tranquilizers and sleeping pills.
Yingli had not paid much attention at first, but it was only during the last interrogation that she had finally realized this possibility. And now it was finally confirmed.
And what followed was her deduction based on criminal profiling.
‘Before you decided to go after your friend,’ Yingli stared at Miller’s expression through the screen and clearly stated through the microphone, ‘you met with a woman, right? That woman…’
Elena suppressed her inner shock and continued to repeat, “…the mastermind, and the person who controls the organization.”
Miller’s expression changed even more. He trembled and turned his head away as if in pain.
“She has Asian ancestry, long, flowing hair, and is between forty and sixty years old, with a graceful figure and deep, beautiful features. She knows how to handle men very well, and in her words, she found your inner weakness, that is, your inviolable moral code.”
He had once said that if he couldn’t find a place in the academic world, he would rather become a priest. The fact that he had never married also showed his high moral values.
However, this almost flawless moral standard had a crack.
A huge crack in himself.
Elena continued to state, “You fell in love with her, right? She reminded you of me, and in turn, broke your long-standing admiration for me.
‘But you couldn’t forgive yourself for that, just like the Andrew you looked down on.’ In that instant, Yingli and Elena seemed to merge into one. *‘To divert your attention, you decided to cooperate with her and planned to frame your friend who was suffering from a brain disease, in an attempt to erase his achievements in the academic world.
“You did it for yourself.” A tear rolled down Elena’s cheek, but her expression was incredibly firm. “This crime was entirely for yourself.”
“Enough.”
Miller covered his mouth, his whole body trembling violently. The police officer on guard immediately intervened to protect Elena, but she watched all of this calmly.
The violent reaction gradually subsided, and he was helped back to his seat. As if all his strength had been drained, his previous confident demeanor was gone.
After a long moment, he lowered his head and said, “Her eyes… are very similar to yours, Elena.”
This sentence confirmed Yingli’s guess.
“The brain… doesn’t lie.” She finally smiled, her hands on the table as she panted, and Fang Zijun and Chen Huomu had already high-fived in celebration.
Miller continued, “I first met her a long time ago. She was still very young at the time, and she had come to Dartmouth College with a group of other students from Taiwan to listen to a lecture, mainly Andrew’s class. You know, he was a genius, and he made a name for himself in the academic world earlier than I did.”
“How long ago?”
“Probably twenty years.”
“Do I know her?”
Miller shook his head definitively. “Andrew never mentioned her. And she was only there for a short three months. I thought she was just an exchange student. Although she left an impression, that was all… it wasn’t that I had special feelings for her at that time.”
However, many years later, about eight months ago, she had reappeared at Dartmouth College.
“At that time, this academic seminar in Taiwan had just been finalized. She came to see me and said she still remembered me. I was very surprised… after a deep conversation, she gradually revealed her plan.”
It was also at that time that Miller had learned her true identity.
She was not an exchange student at all, but worked for a government agency.
And now, many years later, her position had changed.
“At that time, the organization was just being formed. She said she needed Andrew’s research data and asked if I could help.”
“And you had long been fed up with Andrew’s affair, and you had gradually fallen in love with her, so you agreed.”
Faced with the pressure, he, who had confessed everything, actually smiled with relief. “So what? But in the end, I was caught by my own student, and they didn’t get the data. I lost on both ends.”
Yingli turned on the microphone again. ‘Madam, ask him what the mastermind’s name is.’
Elena relayed. “I don’t know her Chinese name. I only know she’s called Lisa. She used that name both twenty years ago and later.”
“Lisa?” Fang Zijun and Yingli looked at each other. “Could it be the same…”
If you thought about it, if the “Lisa” Miller was talking about was really Li Yuejiao, then the “missing body” had a whole new explanation.
Could it be that everything, including Zhou Jinglin’s arrival at the scene, Qian Hanliang’s insistence that he had killed her, and so on, was all part of her plan…
“It’s not clear yet. But if it is, the problem will be complicated.”
Just as the monitoring room was in a dead silence, the radio on Chen Huomu’s waist broke the silence. ‘Chief, calling… there’s an emergency.’
Fang Zijun immediately turned on his radio to respond. “Is that Ah Wei? What’s wrong?”
‘The culprit…’ Cai Yuwei’s voice on the other end was very noisy, and it was mixed with his sobs. ‘The culprit was in the crowd… Xiao Xun… was injured… Jinglin was also stabbed…’
“Hey, damn it, speak clearly. Who was injured?” Fang Zijun cursed in frustration.
‘The assistant… the one from Korea… and Jinglin…’
The one who was stabbed was… Zhou Jinglin?
As if she had been hit hard in the chest, she quickly snatched the radio from Chen Huomu’s hand. “Officer Cai, how is Officer Zhou? Hey, can you hear me?”
‘Jinglin… she’s bleeding a lot… the ambulance is coming soon.’
“Which hospital are they going to?” Cai Yuwei’s voice was mixed in with the noise. Yingli gritted her teeth and pressed the microphone again. “Madam, the interrogation is over. You’ve worked hard.” She turned. “Chief Fang, please have someone take Mrs. Chomsky back to the hotel. She’s exhausted.”
“But the recording…” someone needs to help translate it.
“Find Dr. Tao.”
Putting on her coat, Yingli rushed out the door like a gust of wind.
**
When Zhou Jinglin fell, she happened to land on Zhou Jingxun. And with Cai Yuwei and Xiangrong’s quick intervention, the damage was not further exacerbated.
Even though the stall owner was in a panic, he still cleared a space for her to lie down. The ambulance arrived soon after and took both of the injured to the hospital.
The paramedics cut open her shirt to give her emergency treatment. Cai Yuwei’s hands were covered in the blood he had gotten on them while applying pressure, and Zhou Jingxun, who couldn’t help, could only call her parents first to let them know she was safe.
“Jinglin, hang in there.” He held her hand, trembling.
She was actually still conscious, but she was in too much pain to make a sound. It wasn’t until she arrived at the hospital and was given anesthesia that she fell asleep.
Shi Changyun was also sent to the emergency room, but fortunately, when the knife had been aimed at her, she had used her handbag to block it, so her injuries were much lighter than Zhou Jinglin’s.
Outside the operating room, the four of them waited anxiously, and the atmosphere was at an all-time low.
“It’s all my fault…”
Sitting next to Vicky, Zhou Jingxun took off her mask and held her phone tightly. “If Officer Zhou hadn’t stood in front of me, she wouldn’t have been hurt…”
“It wouldn’t have been any better if it had been you.” Xiangrong held his head and sighed. “But the senior blocked it a little with her hand, so I don’t think it’s too serious.”
“Should I not have asked to go to the night market?” Zhou Jingxun wiped her tears, her hands clutching the clothes she and Zhou Jinglin had bought. Vicky was comforting her on the side. “She said it was very dangerous there. And in the end, not only did Officer Zhou block it for me… but Changyun also fell…”
“Don’t say any more.”
With a hoarse voice, Cai Yuwei, who was sitting across from her, had not yet washed the blood from his hands. He looked up. “We’re with you to protect you. Jinglin did what she was supposed to do. It’s already happened. Whether you blame yourself or whatever, it’s useless to say any more. Be quiet.”
