Chapter 125

Bob replied, "What do you want to hear?"

Bob leaned against the corner of the wall, staring blankly at the ceiling with empty, despairing eyes. He chuckled a few times and murmured, "My life is full of failures, or even calling it a failure is a huge compliment. How should I put it? I thought that over twenty years ago the leash around my neck had been taken off. But it turns out, the leash has always been around my neck."

He continued, "I have two selves, like night and day. During the day, the sun is scorching, passionate, and full of endless energy. That optimism and passion make others think I'm a fool, but that version of me doesn't care about others' opinions at all. Dance is me, and I am dance. Following the rhythm of the music, like the lines of a painting. I am showcasing, I am flaunting, I am rebelling against the mundane life and the mediocre people."

"If my daytime self sees the whole world as a stage, then my nighttime self is like a lonely ghost crawling out of a grave in the wilderness. I fear the light. My heart is so small, like the size of a pigeon egg, unable to bear anything. I am sensitive and fragile. Even the slightest thing can depress me for a long time. On the bustling streets, I feel terrified. I am like a bug trampled by wild beasts in the forest. They don't care about me at all, but I desperately build a ridiculous nest, hiding in fear..."

Two such split personalities, like two completely opposite people forcibly pieced together into one, pulling back and forth between excitement and despair. It was already lucky that he hadn't gone mad.

I had researched schizophrenia, and it was very likely to continue splitting until the patient can no longer distinguish between reality and dreams, unable to tell who they really were, and eventually choosing suicide under the mental collapse.

"Mrs. Smith... Mr. Moore."

Zoey pursed her lips, glanced at me, and softly said, "My mom knows a famous psychiatrist abroad. After this is over, I'll help you get in touch. You will definitely get better..."

Bob was about to say something, but I stopped him.

"It's settled then, Bob. This is also Zoey's kind gesture, so just accept it."

I looked at Zoey and nodded.

Bob smiled bitterly. "We'll talk about it later. As for the details of the Entertainment Club murder case, to be honest, I can't remember. I might even end up in jail."

I said slowly. "No, I always feel that the person who did it shouldn't be you."

The victim of the True Love Entertainment Club arson and murder case had been confirmed as Douglas. Frank wanted to kill Douglas, and Tony, Tammy, Lally, and Tom were targeting Laura, while Frank was also trying to protect Laura. The motive was very clear.

Frank, Laura, Bob, Mike, Tom, and Joseph wanted to kill Douglas for revenge. The plan was carried out in an orderly manner, and after the Entertainment Club fire, Douglas was killed, and his organs were dissected and hung in a private room for a short time.

The killer had to kill Douglas in a short time and needed to be extremely skilled in dissection, extracting all the organs within minutes and hanging them in the room. From the dissection of the body, the wounds were smooth, without mistakes, indicating that the killer was likely someone proficient in anatomy.

The most reasonable guess for this person was Joseph.

Moreover, there was another doubt. Joseph was a forensic pathologist for the court. On a day when all police forensic pathologists were on duty and had no work arrangements, it was unreasonable to temporarily assign a court forensic pathologist to the police station for an autopsy.

More importantly, why did Joseph, knowing the deceased was not Alan, still conclude in the autopsy report that it was Alan, hiding Douglas's identity?

Now that I thought about it, there were two reasons.

First, Alan was already detained by Frank at that time. He came to hint to me that there was a problem with the case, leading me to gradually uncover the truth of the past;

Second, declaring Alan dead was also to confuse Ronald, in a sense, protecting Alan.

This fully indicated that Joseph and Ronald were definitely not on the same side. At least in this matter, Joseph had his ideas.

So, this reduced the likelihood of Joseph being the one who acted. Then who could be the one who killed Douglas?

Could it be someone else present?

It's unlikely. Tammy and Tony had no direct conflict with Douglas. Tom was the adopted son of Tammy and George. Douglas harmed Tom back then, locking him in a dark room and gouging out one of his eyes, causing Tom to fear the dark even now.

But... this didn't seem enough for Tammy and Lally to kill Douglas.

I couldn't figure it out. I didn't know what happened, but one thing was certain. These people did not follow Frank's plan. Instead, after Douglas's death, they all turned their attention to Laura.

So what was Frank's real purpose? Tony's text said Frank went mad, and the revenge was not over. At that time, I guessed Frank might be launching a counterattack against the old forces of the old steel mill. Later, I gradually found out that the people from the old steel mill had long been killed by Ronald, and Ronald continued to control these children in Shadow City.

From the moment I saw Ronald today, I suddenly understood that Frank's real target might be Ronald.

Ronald was still setting up a stall near the Entertainment Club that day if nothing went wrong.

But Frank had an alibi because I asked Howard to check on Frank at that time, and he said Frank was still abroad that day and only returned to Silverlight City the day after Alan's incident.

Howard and Frank had a very good relationship. At the same time, Howard and Ronald were very close, while Frank and Ronald had an unresolvable hatred.

I subconsciously glanced at Zoey, and a very terrifying thought emerged in my mind.

The news that Frank was not in Silverlight City might be false. Howard intentionally hid it. This matter might also had an unclear relationship with Howard.

Because with such a big plan, Frank couldn't possibly control it remotely.

With his character and hatred for Ronald, if he didn't kill Ronald himself, what would be the point of dragging his half-dead body?

"Bob, you forgot whether you acted or not. Do you still remember where Frank was at that time?" I asked suddenly.

Bob nodded and said in a deep voice, "He was always there. He was the one who led this matter and notified each of us."

"What did he mainly do that day?" I asked.

Bob replied, "Persuading Alan, stalling him, not letting him intervene."