Chapter 12

"Damn it! I'm the one who's sick. Why did Alan have to go before me? Oh God, I'm the one who's supposed to die. Why did you take Alan instead?" Frank cried out. He was in such bad shape that after just a few words, his voice got all raspy, and he looked pale as a ghost.

"Frank!" My boss called out, jumping up to grab a bottle of medicine from Frank and quickly giving him a few pills.

After a bit, Frank finally calmed down, slumping weakly in his chair, looking ashen and breathing shallowly, muttering something under his breath.

"Frank, calm down. You can't get too worked up with your condition," my boss said.

"Frank, you... need to take care of yourself," I said softly, my eyes red.

Frank waved his hand and said hoarsely, "Maybe it'd be better to die sooner. Living is just suffering."

He looked at me, his eyes filled with sadness and loneliness, like he was seeing Alan. Then he slowly closed his eyes and turned to look out the window.

It was late autumn, and the leaves were falling, making everything look so desolate.

At that moment, Frank seemed like a fallen leaf in the wind, lonely and drifting.

Frank's expression wasn't fake, but with such a good relationship, why hadn't they met in years? Did they know about Laura and Alan meeting at the Entertainment Club?

I started to doubt Alan's story about the class reunion, but now wasn't the time to ask.

Frank stared at the dead leaves outside the window for a long time, then said, "I have a tumor. The pain is unbearable, and it's incurable. Back then, I wanted to end it all, but Alan asked me why the leaves are golden?"

He smiled, lost in the memory, his eyes misty, with a hint of pride.

"He said it's because they love the sunlight and life, even in their final stage, and they want to shine with the color of the sun. So I kept going, and we became friends," Frank sighed, filled with endless loneliness. "I live in this world to compete, but winners are few. Most of the time, I end up failing. But Alan was different. He was passionate, brave, unyielding, like a hero. Nothing could defeat him. Now, he's gone, and I have to bear all the pain alone. It seems like the distance between me and failure, death is getting closer."

When Frank turned back, he was already in tears.

"Frank, even though Alan is gone, the case isn't solved yet. I need to investigate it, to give Alan an answer," I said solemnly, trying to change the subject.

On one hand, Frank's health looked very poor, and too much grief could worsen his condition. On the other hand, I wanted to steer the conversation towards the case. I didn't come here to cry with someone. I wanted to gather as much information as possible.

"Yes, Frank, you need to take care of yourself," my boss, Howard Martin, quickly agreed.

Frank nodded, suddenly glanced at my boss, then at me, and coughed a few times, saying, "Ask away. I want to know about Alan too."

It seemed he already knew my purpose. He had quickly regained composure and shifted emotions amidst great sorrow. He indeed wasn't an ordinary person to be a high executive in a foreign company.

"Frank, we came today mainly for the investment..." Howard started to explain quickly.

"It's okay, Mr. Martin. We've known each other for years, and Nancy isn't an outsider," Frank said, suddenly remembering something. "My secretary said a lady called the day before yesterday. Nancy, that was you, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Has Alan been in touch with you recently?"

Frank shook his head and sighed, "No, I've been abroad since graduation. I only came back in the past two years, traveling all over the country, rarely back in Silverlight City."

I asked, "What about the others?"

Frank replied, "None either. We were all centered around Alan. Mike and Bob contacted even less."

When he said this, Frank's eyes were a bit evasive. Alan once said they were all very close, and that back then Mike was the vice president of the student council, doing very well in college, seemingly their backbone. How did it become Alan according to Frank?

I just asked if he had been in contact with Alan recently, but he immediately stretched the timeline back to graduation. Wasn't this overly sensitive?

Was he deliberately hiding something?

"Nancy, tell me the truth, is there any progress in Alan's case? I just heard about it this morning, haven't had time to ask. Has the killer been caught?" Frank asked urgently, but to me, it seemed like he was deliberately changing the subject.

I looked at him deeply. He didn't mention one person's name when talking about their close relationship.

I said meaningfully, "Laura."

Frank said, "What's with Laura? You mean... it's Laura!"

He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood. His whole body seemed drained, and he looked up in disbelief, followed by anger and hatred filling his pale, sickly face. At this moment, his expression was almost hideous.

"She's really crazy." Frank's eyes widened, completely losing control. He struggled to stand up and look around, as if Laura was nearby.

A person in extreme anger couldn't fake it. His sickly body exuded a bloody smell, like a starving beast making a final deadly struggle.

"Where is she?" He stared at me and asked.

"Frank, calm down. The first trial has just ended. Due to some evidence issues, it's been postponed," I comforted him. It seemed he only knew Alan had been killed, but didn't know the suspect was Laura.

Frank calmed down and said directly, "No doubt. Alan must have shown you photos of the five of us. The reason I didn't mention her is that Alan didn't tell you about another layer of our relationship."

"What?"

"Laura and I had a brief relationship in college, then we broke up. The reason..." Frank sneered, a trace of resentment flashing in his eyes. "You must have heard a lot about Laura's scandals over the years. She's always self-centered, unscrupulous, a crazy woman. I regret what I did that night and regret knowing this woman. It's my fault. Why would I mention such a woman? I never thought this woman would go so far as to kill Alan! She deserves to die! She betrayed Alan's friendship and us!"

When Frank said this, he looked like a demon from hell.