Che Linwan received an audio file, which was stored on a very private dark web.
The sender used a garbled disposable email address.
She was about to click delete, but a line of text aroused her suspicion: from a memory removing person.
Originally, she wanted to ask Bai Shoudao to help clear the channel, but the high privacy chosen by the sender made her hesitate.
So I found a local Internet cafe and turned on the audio on a public machine.
The same person's conversation came from inside.
It was Xia Mingzhi's voice, but the tone of speaking was that of two people.
One is Xia Mingzhi, whom she is familiar with, and the other...
There was a question from a deep and steady man in the middle.
Strange man: "Tell me about the forensic doctor Che Linwan."
Xia Mingzhi: "She is a woman who doesn't know how to live or die..."
There was a quiet pause.
Xia Mingzhi: "Can you still remember her?"
Strange man: "I'm afraid not."
Xia Mingzhi: "Isn't this the first time?"
Strange man: "It's definitely not the first time."
Xia Mingzhi: "Was it always this difficult before?"
Strange man: "Not as many times as you think. But this time it is really difficult. Because there is someone you refuse to give up no matter what."
A sigh.
Xia Mingzhi: "Is there any way to make me think of her alone?"
Strange man: "Your memory is not an electronic pulse storage. But if you can see her, you will always remember her."
Xia Mingzhi: "Will that person also remember it?"
Strange man: "It depends on whether Che Linwan is more important to you or to him."
ha…
The other audio clips are also similar conversation records. Che Linwan understood instantly that it was Xia Mingzhi's psychiatrist who secretly sent it to her.
Maybe I didn't know where I learned about Xia Mingzhi's current situation, so I hope to do my part. And in view of the confidentiality agreement with Ma Jiaxunyi, it cannot be blatantly sent to her.
A key word is mentioned: lock.
Che Linwan didn't know whether the so-called lock was a real lock, or an object or word with an extended meaning
There appears to be a safe word in hypnosis, also known as the wake word.
While Che Linwan was still studying the audio files, Ma Jiaxunyi received notification from the lawyer that Xia Mingzhi decided to meet with the family of the deceased to reconcile and plead guilty.
"No!" Ma Jiaxunyi screamed, "He has lost his mind! I can provide you with a certificate from an internationally certified psychiatrist that his mental state is abnormal."
The lawyer couldn't help but shake his head over the phone. This woman is so crazy...
"Madam. So you are planning to testify that your son is mentally unsound and suspected of being mentally ill, and you are not willing to plead guilty, right?"
"Mental illness?"
"According to relevant local laws, once identified as mentally ill, his behavior is a violent crime committed by a mentally ill person. He will also be detained and locked up in a local mental health organization. He will be supervised for life."
"Don't we have a bail agreement? If we are to be imprisoned... we don't need to be imprisoned locally, right?"
If it weren't for the money, the lawyer would have put down the phone on the spot.
"The mental evaluation needs to be made by the local department. It doesn't just require you to provide a few certificates..."
"I could drive him crazy."
“…???”
Che Linwan had just fallen asleep when he received the call from the lawyer.
"What happened? Something happened to Xia Mingzhi in prison."
After hesitating for a few seconds, the lawyer said, "Forensic Doctor Che, can you make an appointment for a meeting?"
The sophistication of the foreign legal profession is very different from that in China.
As a senior murder trial lawyer in the industry, Dr. Harvey has a godfather-like determination and calmness in his temperament.
"Forensic Doctor Che, please take a seat."
Although Ma Jiaxunyi initially proposed that the female forensic doctor should be involved in the autopsy and the investigation of the entire case, this made Harvey very dissatisfied. On the one hand, he felt that his employer did not trust him, so he wanted to send someone to keep an eye on him.
On the one hand, he felt that Che Linwan was too young and his behavior was direct and tactless, which would cause trouble for him.
However, since the contact, Che Linwan has not really caused any trouble for him. Instead, the employer has been making things difficult for him.
"I heard that the last chat with my client was very unpleasant?"
Harvey had his own internal channels, and Che Linwan never doubted his ability.
Moreover, he has his own ethics and uses words like "agent" and "client" in both his mouth and mouth, which makes him appear more objective and fair.
He would mention the names of people involved only if he felt it was necessary.
"During the period of contact with Mr. Xia Mingzhi, I admit that I didn't have a good impression of this Asian boy at first. He was too conceited and had a domineering look between his eyebrows. But after getting to know him in depth, I will believe him. He is not a bad person, he is a person who knows how to restrain himself. Although in a family like that - I mean his mother, his mother is really an unreasonable woman. I don't know if all Asian mothers are like that. Such a person is completely unwilling to accept reality, cannot suffer any grievances, and cannot suffer any unfair treatment, but she completely ignores the harm she causes to others! "
Che Linwan buried her head and took a sip of coffee. She was too sleepy. If she wanted to hear complaints, she would rather the other party sent her a voice message.
But facing the German lawyer who could save Xia Mingzhi, she had no idea of shirk.
I thought he must have been dissed by Ma Jiaxun. Ma Jiaxun disses people regardless of the occasion or status, and only depends on their mood.
"I thought the child was pretty good, so I sincerely wanted to help him. It's not scary when people make mistakes. What's scary is that they can't bear the impact of their mistakes."
Che Linwan suddenly raised his head, "Lawyer Harvey, have you met the other suspect?"
"That second-generation immigrant girl? No. According to the procedure, I can't meet with the suspect. I can only meet with the other party's lawyer. But the lawyer hired by the other party is not a serious person. I don't think it will be useful to get it from the other party. clues.”
"Then can I go see her?"
Harvey thought seriously, "Strictly speaking, it's not possible. But you can meet both of them as a witness at the same time. What are you going to do? Forensic Che, let me remind you first that my employer has already made a decision A very terrible decision that neither I nor my client can agree with if you are speaking for her... "
"No, I just... found something strange on the body."
"What!"
"That's based on empirical analysis, I'm not sure."
"If you really want to help that child, please believe me. If you find any clues that the local forensic doctor has not found, please tell me first, and don't let me be the last person to know! I am in your favor. , I don’t know why I think you never understand this.”
Che Linwan raised his hand to indicate that he understood.
Harvey also stopped his tongue in time. He didn't speak quickly, but he spoke continuously and in measured tones. It's hard to interrupt.
This is the most basic quality as a trial lawyer.
Normally, his voice is not high, but Che Linwan found that he would deliberately raise his voice several times when talking to Ma Jiaxunyi. Perhaps he found that to deal with this woman, he had to overwhelm the other party with his voice and just use logical language. The words may not be useful because the other party is an employer who does not listen carefully to what people say.
When Che Linwan had no way to vocally remind the other party that he understood what he meant, he could only express his feelings with body movements.
Fortunately, Harvey accepted it and quickly stopped his overwhelming verbal attack.
He spread his palms, showing openness to the topic.
"So tell me, what did you find?"
"The body's true time of death."
"What's the meaning."
"That man was probably dead before Xia Mingzhi and I returned to Anya's house."
"According to the local medical examiner's report, the minimum time of death can only be controlled to more than 2 hours. But it cannot be determined that it was before you arrived at the scene."
"No, no, no, there's something wrong with that body. There are signs of it being thawed."
"Thawed? You mean... the body was frozen?"
"I just doubt it. But the method of freezing is very rare. I even doubt that he died at least the day before."
"What!!!"
"Usually forensic doctors will not ignore this, but the muscles of the corpse were injected with an explanatory agent, and it was injected while they were alive. Therefore, after being dissolved by the blood, it is easy to think that some drugs have been taken."
"Are you sure?"
"uncertain."
"...Can you express some useful information?"
"When I returned to that house, they were all covered in blood. Anya said that she had the idea of dismembering the corpse. The corpse that had just started to cool down was very scary. Even Anya would not have such thoughts immediately."
"Maybe she just has an antisocial personality."
"She is not antisocial." Che Linwan has seen a real antisocial personality. "She just likes to be unique. She likes girls who appear to be special. Those who pretend to like autopsies are different from those who really love necropsy. . Mr. Harvey, please also believe in my qualifications as a forensic scientist."
Harvey took a sip of coffee to hide the fact that he was struggling fiercely in his heart.
When he finally put down the coffee cup, he nodded, "You can go visit Anya. I will make arrangements. I can't let you go in with a voice recorder, but you have to make sure to remember every word you said between you. Tell me immediately after you come out. You must always remember one sentence in your mind, I am on the same side as you. Don’t make any promises or guarantees to that girl, unless she asks any questions. There is no need to answer the part you need.”
"She won't ask or anything."
"Maybe. But her lawyers won't let you go."
When he met Lawyer Anya, Che Linwan finally understood what Harvey meant.
Although that man was wearing a straight suit and a white shirt. But at first glance he looks like a gangster.
His suit jacket is never buttoned. His body smelled strongly of tobacco and alcohol, and when combined with the cologne, it was extremely stimulating.
When he looked at Che Linwan, his eyes seemed to pierce her.
"Harvey asked you to come?"
"No. But I have Mr. Harvey's permission."
"Mr. Harvey? Ha! It seems that you are cooperating very well. Old Harvey is a well-known disloyalty in our industry. As long as it does not delay his winning rate, he doesn't care how much money his clients pay."
"Isn't that the case for you, Mr. Lawyer?"
"Me? Hahaha... My client told me that you are the girlfriend of another suspect? You are living together. So your testimony will be biased towards the other suspect, right."
"I don't have any preference."
"Your boyfriend, he is mentally ill. You know that, right?"
Che Linwan fell silent, thinking of Harvey's words. Crucial questions cannot be answered.
"He has a personality disorder." The gangster lawyer had no intention of stopping, and his words were not as rigorous as Harvey's. However, Che Linwan seriously suspected that he was fishing for law enforcement. Because he is a professional, he knows what he can and cannot say, but he deliberately says it casually to lower the guard of Che Linwan, a layman. When Che Linwan starts speaking as he pleases, he will You can extract the information he wants.
Seeing that Che Linwan was tight-lipped, the lawyer became dissatisfied and cursed and loosened his collar.
"Can I go in and see Anya now?"
So the two handed over their documents at the door of the women's detention center. After strict inspection, their shoes had to be taken off and placed in a basket before passing through an automatic inspection gate.
Anya immediately shouted when she saw her, "Is Xia Mingzhi okay?! You tell him never to plead guilty. As long as we don't speak, they can't do anything, right?" She glanced at the underworld lawyer and seemed to be Want to gain recognition.
Although there are no traces of two people's hands on the body, this case does not apply to the existence of two suspects who blame each other. In other words, it is entirely possible to explain that one party takes action while the other party instructs or watches.
Due to motivation, the bystander may receive a lighter sentence. If it is determined that excessive defense caused the death of the victim, bystanders will conclude that he is not guilty.
Che Linwan sat opposite Anya and turned to look at the mafia lawyer, "Can I talk to her alone?"
The underworld lawyer immediately shook his head. Although Anya wanted to object, it was obvious that the underworld lawyer had the upper hand.
So he just stood leaning against the wall.
The caretaker was still sitting in the small observation room. This time the caretaker was a woman, but she was still tall.
"Anya, I... want to ask you something."
"What's up?"
"How did that man die?"
Anya paused, not understanding what Che Linwan meant at first.
"You mean, I killed that man? Me alone? And then deliberately put the blame on Xia Mingzhi? Forced him to bear the responsibility with me? Are you crazy! Even if I wanted to do that, why should he agree? Why doesn't he remember? You really think he is a fool!"
"Latch."
Anya didn't speak, but stared at her blankly.
But Che Linwan saw the subtle struggle in the corners of her eyes.
"Anya, you know that, right?"
"what?"
"Perhaps you came across the word in conversation. You know how to control him."
"Maybe you're crazy?"
"You didn't kill the person, right?"
Anya continued to say nothing.
Xia Mingzhi lost part of his memory due to mental reasons. The first thought of the mafia lawyer was of course to blame everything on the scapegoat.
But Anya refused to say anything.
At this time, the gangster lawyer walked over from the wall behind them and approached the small table between the two of them.
Putting one hand on it, blocking the view of the camera and the guard with his back, he faced Che Linwan, "Did you find any other new evidence? Although we are in an adversarial relationship, if the suspicion of murder can be cleared, When it comes to the other third person, we have a cooperative relationship. "
Che Linwan's expression was calm and determined, making the underworld lawyer couldn't help but believe what she said.
"What damn evidence do you have!" The lawyer suddenly kicked the chair Che Linwan was sitting on and kicked him away from the chair.
The female guard in the observation room immediately stood up, but sat down again when she saw clearly that the person kicking the chair was the defense lawyer and not the suspect. Her job here is to ensure that the suspects she guards cannot use violence against visitors, but there is no need to ensure violent conflicts between visitors.
Che Linwan knew that no one would help him here.
If she is targeted by the other party's lawyer, Harvey will never come forward to defend her, because Harvey is the lawyer hired by Ma Jiaxunyi. rather than hers.
To be precise, she is the independent third party.
Although he is emotionally biased towards Xia Mingzhi, he is indeed an independent third party.
Once the words are spoken, there is no room for holding back the gun.
Che Linwan knew that Anya's lawyer would not give him a second chance.
She had to ask for an answer today, now, right now.
Although the mafia-like lawyer in front of her gave her a great sense of oppression, Che Linwan still leaned over the table, approached Anya, and said word by word, "You know who killed the deceased. It was not you, nor It's not Xia Mingzhi, right? If you are deliberately concealing this fact, then your purpose must be to cover up... protect... "
correct!
What's wrong!
Anya's expression changed.
Her eyes moved slightly, but Che Linwan noticed it.
She stood up.
The dust has settled.
Then he got up and knocked on the door, ready to go out.
"Hey, forensic doctor. What are you going to do?" The gangster lawyer stopped her, but Che Linwan was already ready to leave.
She got her answer.
People died in that house. It was also kept in that house, so there are traces of corpse dragging everywhere in the house.
But the murderers were not Anya and Xia Mingzhi, they were both innocent.
The police only want a murderer and don't care who the murderer is, so as long as she finds the real murderer, she can exchange her Xia Mingzhi.
Anya stood silently, her shoulders shaking almost unnoticeably.
But she pursed her lips tightly and didn't say a word.
Her lawyer glanced at her, turned around, knocked on the door, and chased her out.
"That forensic doctor—" Anya's lawyer blocked Che Linwan at the door of the detention center.
"I'll go back by myself, no need to send it off. Thank you."
"stop."
"I promised Harvey that I would meet with him after the interview."
"But I'm in front of you now."
Che Linwan looked at him. so what? He's not the police. She is not a prisoner, she is just a little forensic doctor.
"What you swore on the witness stand was to be fair and impartial."
"I'm not taking sides."
"What's the difference between telling me first and telling Harvey first?"
"It's my personal choice."
The mafia lawyer smiled and said, "You have already planned to blame the murder on my client. And then use the defense of inaction on the grounds that the man is insane? Have you ever thought about my client?" , that little girl, so small, how could one person kill the deceased man and move him. "
If she wasn't alone, she could have done it.
But Che Linwan tilted his head and said nothing.
Unsure of whom this hidden fact would benefit at the moment, she followed Harvey's advice and said nothing.
Glancing at the door of the detention center behind the lawyer, she also wanted to make sure that no one else came to visit Anya before she took steps.
Once she tells the real killer, maybe they'll take action.
She didn't know what evidence and traces they could eliminate, but there was a voice in her heart saying that they must not be prepared in advance!
"It seems that you are not ready to speak for some reason, right?"
Che Linwan shrugged noncommittally.
Che Linwan never expected this tall, burly man to cover her mouth and nose.
Her eyes widened in horror. Staring at each other in disbelief.
They are not far outside the gate of the detention center!
Although there are no pedestrians on the street, there are surveillance cameras.
The man grabbed her by the throat and pushed her shoulders into the back seat of the jeep.
Just when she was about to kick her legs and struggle, she received a hard blow on her temple.
Consciousness abandoned her in an instant...
Ten thousand thoughts flashed through my mind before I fell into coma.
The scariest thing is that he knows this lawyer!
Harvey said that lawyers and clients are a team, a real team.
Sometimes they are closer than family, friends, relatives, and lovers, and we are in the same group.
Maybe, Anya had already said it.
I had told this lawyer a long time ago, so I didn’t know.
They deliberately found Xia Mingzhi as a scapegoat.
Because according to the current trial situation of the case, Xia Mingzhi is likely to be judged as the person who took action.
If the defense is deemed excessive, only Xia Mingzhi will be imprisoned.
This is their purpose!
…
Mother
She saw her mother in the white room.
Although he knew it was his mother, what he saw was still the face of his aunt Bai Xiaofei.
I desperately searched for files in the memory bank, but I still couldn't think of Bai Xiaohui's face.
Her mother, her real mother.
Then she heard what Xia Mingzhi said in the audio.
"I don't want to forget her, not at all..."
"If I must forget, the person I would rather forget is her. At least, I can still watch her from a distance..."
"Can you let me keep one word, just one word, so that I can remember her at a certain time?"
"Just say "lock" and I can remember everything. However, that personality will come back. He will go back to find her. What I know is that he told me that he will definitely find her and use my hands to hurt her... He will destroy everything, everything I have and cherish, because he believes that I took it away. changed his life. "
"So I need another word to lock him back, right? Lock him back together with my memory, that person, and her."
"Yes. I need a voice, a person, someone who has nothing to do with me, to help me lock that guy into the bottomless abyss that I can't even see. I need a word that even I don't know. "
"That word... Che Linwan."
ah.
My whole body hurts from my temples, back of my head, neck, shoulders, wrists...
My body curled up into a very uncomfortable position. When I wanted to unfold it, I found that I was still in the back seat of the car.
She looked through the gap and saw that the mafia lawyer was not in the car.
Then the phone rang, urging the lawyer back.
From the rough German that sounded like a low curse, Che Linwan vaguely heard Harvey's name.
Maybe Harvey called him to ask why she hadn't gone back yet.
Usually in front of her, they all speak English, and the same is true in front of Anya. But they all spoke to each other in damn incomprehensible German.
How could she let Harvey know that she had been kidnapped by this crooked lawyer? !
(End of chapter)