What's happening..?

Everything seems blurry... like a dream...
Before I know it, I'm standing in front of him, and he's smiling... This feeling... feeling empty empty... the feeling felt when time seems to be... interrupted...

2 days before

My name is Chloe Lavender, born and raised in the capital of England, London. As an only child, I was always pampered by my family. But because of that, my parents rarely let me go out, they even hired a maid to take care of me and observe me at all times, they can consider me a prestigious lady. As for studying, they don't really care, because I'm always at the top of my class, my grades are never low, and my teachers always praise me.
People always say that my life is perfect, that I don't have to worry about anything, that the future is open to me, and that people expect me to continue the family business. But For some reason, I decided to enroll in the police academy at the age of 19. Of course, with my parents' "permission", I was allowed to join the academy. And then as usual, I quickly surpassed my friends and graduated a year earlier. At the age of 23, I was transferred to the city of Madeiras - in the territory of an unnamed independent country between France and England - as a Foreign Affairs Inspector. Today was supposed to be a transfer day, but due to the unusual climate in London this year, they delayed my flight by 1 day. When I set foot in this Madeiras city, everything seemed to be a mixture of modern and classic, even though I am from England - which has its own classic character - but still I was amazed at the red-tiled brick houses. built in the eighteenth century. However, the strangest thing here is the sky, although it is noon in the city, the sky is dark, it seems like a storm, but... the rain never comes, instead it was a cold atmosphere like December winter. Fascinated by the atmosphere and surroundings, I didn't realize I was late, and so I rushed to the police headquarters. close. On the way there, I suddenly noticed the siren of a police car, as if something was going on. The sound of police sirens made people on the road whisper loudly. Out of curiosity, I stopped and looked around, I immediately noticed the newspaper hanging on the brick wall interspersed with job interview sheets.

The serial killer kidnapper has been caught

This morning at XX:XX , the police have found the address of the serial killer and are escorting him to the police headquarters,...

As soon as the words caught my eye, I rushed to the headquarters. When I arrived, I was amazed again, a different building from what I saw in this place, instead of classical architecture, it was a modern building with a blue signboard: " pillars " Madeiras Police Department" . When I walked in, I noticed everyone's faces now looking like they were excited about something, at the same time expressing a little anger and contempt. Ignoring that, I immediately went to the application counter and announced the registration of the transfer procedure, they told me to go into the meeting room to meet Chief Inspector William. As I was entering, in the middle of my voice, a man with an angry face was walking out of the room.

- It's Inspector Chester, don't worry about him, he's just upset because his best friend is a murderer.

Standing in front of me was a tall man, wearing a blue tie and suit, his deep voice clearly showing that he was very old, he seemed to be between 45 and 48 years old.

- I seem to be a bit impolite because I have not introduced myself, my name is William Desmans, chief inspector of this headquarters. You must be Chloe Lavender, the foreign affairs inspector sent by the police station in London, nice to meet you. . – His calm tone and cheerful expression make it seem like he belongs to aristocratic family because he was taught by his family how to hide his negative emotions.

- Yes... Yes, nice to meet you, even though I just moved in, I would like to get some guidance. – even though he was smiling happily, his expression and eyes showed worry and sadness, different from the people outside just now.

- So, what do you think? – The question was asked as soon as the cheerful expression disappeared from his face. "About what I said earlier, that Inspector Lecter's best friend is a murderer, a child killer.

I was very surprised in my heart, why didn't the newspaper talk about this? Could the police know something before the reporters? Or is he testing me? Questions kept popping up in my head, but few answers. – I ask permission to replace Inspector Chester to interrogate the suspect. – I answer as soon as I regain my composure, this can only be solved if I meet the suspect.

- Great! – he exclaimed – Although she has just moved here, she is still devoted to her work, it is commendable! – Although he tried to praise my hard work, in his heart, he only praised me to show common courtesy. Just then, Inspector Chester entered - this time with a calm expression unlike before - Mr. Desmans ordered Inspector Chester to give me the file. – First, read carefully what is written on the file, which includes the names of the missing children, the cause of death, the biography of the suspect and the weapon. – And so I skimmed through the file.

Indeed I was right, they only released information about the cause of death and the search for the main suspect in this case, not saying the victims were children, to avoid causing confusion and fear. The file also states:

The suspect is named Alexander Qezeb .

25 years old

Occupation : Psychiatrist

Address : 112b intersection of Heckler and Sholoms . Streets

The victim is a girl named Clara, 8 years old, suffering from a mental disorder, who was found in the suspect's office after the secretary opened the door to the room because she noticed that the victim entered the suspect's room past the scheduled time. treated but not found. The lethal weapon is Amatoxin, extracted from the Amantian mushroom family. This toxin inhibits cell protein synthesis by interacting with RNA polymerase. Victims are infected with toxins in the intestines, after being infected, the toxins in the intestines will cause intestinal cell death after 6 to 24 hours. The idea that the suspect gave the victim food, maybe candy or cake with Amatoxin....

This coincides with the missing victims found within a radius of 300m around. All victims were identified as infected with Amatoxin, and they were all on the suspect's treatment list for the past 2 years.

2 years to now? Does this mean, this case happened almost 2 years? If so, why is the suspect so careless now? The questions kept appearing, everything was almost missing a link... an important link to link these factors...

- Hey Inspector Lavender, do you think he's the culprit? ' Inspector Chester asked while I was lost in thought. – Although everything points to the suspect, I personally think... he is probably innocent.

Somehow that sentence jumped out of my mouth, maybe I'm new here, or maybe this is just one of the intuitions of a longtime inspector in the profession. anyway, only one person can answer these questions – And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll begin my first job, interrogating the prime suspect.

When I step outside, the first thing I notice is the people out there watching, watching me. Followed by whispers, loud and low, interspersed with laughter and disdain. As usual, I ignored those scornful attitudes and entered the interrogation room.

- Coffee or soft drink?

- Excuse me? - The first thing I heard as soon as I entered the room. Next to the table was the suspect, a boy with black hair. No, if you look back, it seems to be black with brown, he wears a classic suit with a long black coat, a light brown shawl around his neck, with a silver medallion imprinted with the symbol. a winged stick with two snakes coiled on its sides – a medical symbol? - However, the strangest thing here is that, normally when being interrogated as the main suspect, they often show negative emotions, worry, sweat a lot, stutter, .. But this person... showed a friendly smile.

I closed the door and sat down across from the person, the atmosphere in the room starting to grow tense.

"Hi, I'm Inspector Lavender," I began to introduce myself.

- Hello Inspector Lavender, nice to meet you - A basic trick that I have learned over the years in the London police force is that during interrogation, one should open up to the other person to win sympathy and gain information. If you believe it from them, it will be more effective if you are of the opposite sex. - Mr. Quezeb, did you know...

- Let me ask, have you become accustomed to the climate here? - Before I finished my words, the person asked me a question that surprised me, and a little curious.

- What do you mean by that? "Oh my, the curiosity has arisen again, a personality that is not suitable for interrogation at all. "Actually, when she entered, I noticed a plane ticket peeping in her pocket, which, if I'm not mistaken, was a flight from England to Madeiras. And while I was being led in, I noticed a list of information about a certain inspector from London being transferred here in the computer, I guess it was you? It seems her flight was delayed, because of the dark circles under her eyes from staying up late, from what I know the weather in London this year is very erratic, so flight delays are a regular occurrence. happen. I know you're bored there because the crime rate in London is so low this year, but you don't need to stay up late at the airport, dark circles aren't good for your health – he laughs. idea.

I was mostly silent about his deductions based on observing eyes, and in such a period of time to be able to deduce so much, it's really...

"Excellent..." I blurted out because I couldn't contain my surprise.

- Mr. Qezeb, do you know why you are here? – No, no matter what he does, I still must not allow myself to be distracted from the main purpose here, which is to find the answer.

He looked and smiled – Good thing he didn't seem to hear what I was saying – I thought to myself – Why? Not praised? What a pity? - He says.

- Mr. Qezeb, please cooperate, otherwise I cannot help you. – It's amazing that he can still make jokes when in such a situation.

- Yes yes, come on... I'll be happy to answer your questions... – And so the interrogation to find the answer has officially begun – Well, do you know why you're here? ? – Without hesitation, I asked.

- The fact that I am here is probably because I discovered Clara's body lying in the office with all of her belongings thrown everywhere. – He smiles, why can he smile like that?

- We detected Amantoxin on the baby's lips, and based on what the secretary told us, you do grow Amantian mushrooms in your office, don't you? – I took out the picture – This is the picture we took at the scene.

- Used to be, a more appropriate word, because the Amantian mushrooms I raised for research were lost 3 days ago, knowing that I would get in trouble, I decided not to bother the police. . - He took the picture of the baby's body and looked - Hey Inspector Lavender, do you think killing such a little girl is worth dying for? – After looking at it for a long time, he asked – In my opinion, whether the crime is worthy of death or not, we must always obey the law and punish it according to the regulations – I answered without hesitation. .

- So, if it was her, would that crime be forgiven or not? – His friendly smile suddenly disappeared, replaced by a look as sharp as a knife piercing my soul – ... If it was me, then I think such people should.. . Died. – By the time I realized it, it was too late, I was tricked by him to say what was deep in my mind.

"Why, I think you'd say otherwise, I don't like killing very much either." – He returned with his usual smile. – So, if you are not the culprit, do you also have some information about who the suspect is? – Actually, in the file there is very little information about him, I can hardly find any information other than what has been given so this is the last chance to get even a few clues.

"I don't know either," he said proudly.

- Thank you for the information, since there is no reason to keep you here, you can go, but someone will monitor you everywhere. In the end, I still couldn't get any information from him.

- So, coffee or soft drink? – He asked again. – Coffee in the morning, lemon soda at night – I pretended to finish answering and then went out.

Again the whispers, louder and louder. - Why didn't she catch that death god too? Maybe she's new to the profession? - Why didn't that autistic guy get caught? - Why didn't he die?

- Murderer.

Those whispers ended as soon as I turned my face to look directly into the faces of those people. "Seriously, I've lost patience with him, now with all these people," I complained. "How's it going, Inspector Lavender?" – Mr. William came out of the conference room to me, he seemed to have observed the interrogation earlier – I apologize for wasting your time in asking the suspect to be questioned – I bow my head apologetically knowing scolded anyway.

"Don't worry, it's your first day anyway, why don't you take the rest of the day off, tomorrow might feel better," replied Mr. William with a calm face. But, wouldn't losing a suspect like that be damaging? So why didn't he reprimand me?

"May I ask, Mr. William, do the people here have a grudge against Mr. Qezeb?" I raised my head and asked.

Suddenly he burst into laughter – It can be said that people like him are proof that our police force has not tried its best.

I followed his advice and took a day off to regain my strength, flying all night made me very tired, after checking in in an apartment, I lay on my bed and thought about his words .

Chapter 1 Part 2

I followed his advice and took a day off to regain my strength, flying all night made me very tired, after checking in in an apartment, I lay in bed and thought about the sentence. said by him. – "evidence that the police force has not tried its best"...?

- What does he mean by that...?

- Who is that person named Qezeb...?

- How can a person with such a smiling face be a murderer...?

Immersed in thought, my eyes gradually became heavy and I fell asleep without realizing it.

Everything was covered with darkness... feeling lonely, scared... I stepped forward, my footsteps heavier... like I was walking but still standing... What is before? And I still have to walk?... Suddenly, the sun's rays shine in my eyes.

I open my eyes...

In front of me is not the eternal darkness like before, but instead is a vast field, the blue sky stretches over the field, under my feet are weeds and sunflowers growing everywhere. ... what a beautiful sight...

But... Sunflowers are so called because they are always facing the sun, as if towards a shining faith and hope. So... why is one of those flowers.... facing the sun...? No, a baby?

I open my eyes...

Now the scene in front of me is the gray ceiling – Was it a dream? – I reach for the alarm clock – Is it noon already? I forgot to set the alarm clock...? – I quickly brush my teeth, wash my clothes and get ready to go to the office quickly. - Damn, it's only my second day of work and I'm late, I'll be reprimanded anyway.

And... I was right, standing in front of the headquarters was Mr. William with a scary look on his face looking at me. "My sincere apologies for being late, Mr. William." I bowed my head apologetically in front of him.

- OH! It's okay, it's just common sense in this place, Miss Lavender. But I'll be happy if you don't be late next time, anyway, the job won't let itself get done – Although his face looks scary, he seems to be very relaxed about things like So, or maybe I'm just exaggerating.

- Come on in, Miss Lavender, there are a lot of papers that need you to sign and confirm.

- Yes, Mr. William - I did not expect that a person with such an excellent record in Researching and Arresting Criminals could only sit at a desk. In fact, the Foreign Affairs Inspector only has the job of confirming documents from other places coming here.

Yes, it's like a bored office worker.

- But, even if I get bored, this is still my assigned job, it's my responsibility to complete these papers, let's do it! – Really, these are just words of self-consolation and encouragement for boredom, who can endure having to sit in the same office all day just to confirm documents!??

....

A gloomy gray... boring...

- Hey, Inspector Lavender - While I was working, Inspector Chester walked up to my desk - Do you have a minute? I want to talk to you out the back door – He looks like he's angry about something, and Mr. William says he's always known for being grumpy, little things are enough to make him angry. .

After getting out of this boring job, I went to see Inspector Chester at the back exit of the building.

he was smoking at the corner of the door, his feet were full of cigarette butts, he looked calmer than before

"You want to see me, Inspector Chester?" I leaned in the corner opposite him, my shoulders tired from having to sign papers all the time.

- ... Let me ask you again - He said immediately - Do you think the person yesterday was really guilty?

This surprised me, after thinking for a while to answer the question – I still think not – I answered

– ... So what? So can I ask you one more favor? – He took out the address paper from his pocket and handed it to me – Can you come over here? - On the note, the address of the person from yesterday was written: " 112b at the intersection of Heckler and Sholoms Roads ".

- Inspector Chester... I know this is important... but you don't have to be so sneaky, you can ask at my desk too? – because you are new, I don't want you to get a bad reputation with that person, yesterday you also saw what people here consider that person to be. – He spoke softly, his voice hoarse from smoking

.....

– After all, what did he do to be hated by the people in this headquarters? - I ask

- That's for later, if what I think is true, that person will know who the killer is, you should go now. "He immediately changed the subject, he didn't seem to want to talk about it." Inspector Chester, if I may advise you not to smoke too much, it could be harmful to your health.

- Thank you for your sincere advice, but after working here for a long time, you will understand. – He extinguished the cigarette and went out, I went back to work.

Now that it was getting dark, when I had done the paperwork, I listened to Inspector Chester and went to the address he gave me to meet the person. After taking the taxi to the place, it was already 11 o'clock at night, in front of me was a narrow house with an old architecture like other houses around here, the only difference was that on that black oak door there was a signboard. write: " Psychiatric treatment office / 112b ".

I was going to go in to look for some clues and information about the case. But now it's the middle of the night, it's really hard to choose the time.

...... Crrrak!

- ?

Chapter 1 Part 3

I suddenly heard the sound of a broken window - Above ? – Someone is breaking into the house, I quickly broke the door and ran in.

- Aaaaaah - A woman's scream resounded on the stairs, I pulled out my gun and ran up, preparing for the worst case scenario, in front of me is now a blonde woman around 25 years old, pale face meters away while holding a knife pointed at the room.

- You calm down and put down the knife, I'm a policeman, what happened? – I reassured the woman and looked around me to see the situation.

- Th... Just now... there was a commotion.... - She was so scared that she couldn't speak, her hands and feet were shaking. – Calm down, breathe, I'm here... now say it again, what happened.

- When... just now, I heard... noises upstairs, I grabbed.. grabbed the peeler knife from the fridge and went up.. the stairs. someone... someone broke into... here and... and rummaged through Mr. Qezeb's office, after spotting me... that guy pushed me away.. and broke the window to climb in and out...

- Why didn't you notify the security guard? - According to the information I read, there are 2 people working here, a female secretary and a male security guard.

- Mr. Michael took sick leave 2 days ago, it's just me and Mr. Qezeb here. - 2 days before? 1 day before the crime happened? This can't be a coincidence...

- Thank you, now take the phone and call the police, I will go in and look at the scene. – She nodded and went down to call the police.

I immediately searched the employee files in the office. Strangely, the intruder wasn't rummaging through this desk, instead just searching for something around the bookcases in the room.

- Here it is! staff file – I put that blue file on the desk and started looking for information about that security guard, maybe he knows something.