Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Do it all over again

A blast of icy air rushed into his lungs, and an equally icy liquid ran through his veins.The blinding light blinded him, and of course the fear.Andrew Steelman wondered if he was in purgatory or hell when he woke up.Given his recent performance, heaven should be far from him. He didn't feel his own heartbeat, he felt cold, extremely cold. Death is often thought of as a continuation of eternity, but Andrew Steelman didn't want to stay in the dark forever.Summoning the last of his courage, he finally managed to open his eyes. What struck him most strangely was that he was leaning against the traffic lights on Charles Street and the west exit of the highway.

If this intersection is the entrance to hell, then hell is nothing like the teachings of the Catholic school in Poughkeepsie.But because Andrew had crossed this intersection countless times before going for his morning jog, he recognized the place quickly. His body was trembling like a fallen leaf in the wind, his back was wet, and Andrew mechanically looked at his watch.It was just seven o'clock, fifteen minutes before someone murdered him. The sentence he had just formed in his mind didn't make any sense to him.Andrew didn't believe in miracles, let alone a method of rebirth that would bring him back to the quarter of an hour before he died.He looked around him and saw nothing different from what he was used to seeing every morning.Vehicles drove in file to the west of the city. On the other side of the expressway, vehicles drove through one after another speed bumps and headed towards Financial Street. Runners along the river line strode across the riverside park trail.

Andrew tried his best to concentrate on himself.Facing death, he could only hope that it would help him free himself from the pain as soon as possible.If he felt that pain in his back again, if he saw the little gold stars again, it was proof that in him body and soul had always been one. He was short of breath, and despite trying to gulp for air, he was coughing at the same time.Feeling sick, he leaned over and spat out the breakfast he had just eaten into the gutter. There was no way to go for a run this morning, and he would never drink a drop, not even Fernet-Coke, in his life.The bills life had set him to pay were too bad, and he couldn't do it all over again.

Andrew suddenly felt a little more strength in his body, and he turned around.As soon as he gets home, he can take a hot shower, rest for a while, and everything will be back to normal. As he continued walking, however, the pain in his back returned.Andrew believed he lost consciousness for a few seconds.These few seconds made him confused. But he could have sworn he was standing on Breakwater 4 when he felt the pain, not at the end of Charles Street.He knew he had to go to the doctor, he had to have this mental mess checked out.The various symptoms were quite troublesome, and he had to worry about himself.

His feelings for Valerie were less complex and changeable.On the contrary, the fear of death further deepened his love for Valerie. When things were back on track, he would call the paper to say he was going to be late for the day, hop in a cab, and head straight for the NYPD stable, where his wife worked.He couldn't wait any longer and wanted to tell Valerie right away how sorry he was and how much he wished Valerie would forgive him. Andrew pushed open the door of the apartment building, ran up to the third floor, inserted the key into the door lock, and entered the door.His keys slipped from his hand when he saw Valerie sitting in the living room.Valerie asked him if he had seen the blouse she had brought back from the tailor the day before.Since Andrew left, she couldn't find that dress anymore.

She stopped rummaging, looked at Andrew, and asked why he was looking at her with such a hesitant expression. Andrew didn't know how to answer. "Don't stand there, come and help me. I'm really going to be late. Today is not a day to be late. We have a sanitation inspection this morning." Andrew stood motionless, his mouth was dry, and he felt as if his mouth was blocked by something. "I made coffee for you. I'm in the kitchen. You'd better eat something. Your face looks as white as wallpaper. You've been running too long today, and too fast." Valerie said He continued to flip and said, "But first I ask you, please help me find that shirt. You should really make room for me in the closet. There is not enough space. I can only put my own things in our Move between the two apartments and see the result!"

Andrew took a step closer to Valerie and grabbed her arm, trying to draw her attention to him. "I don't know what you're doing here, but seeing you here is the most wonderful surprise of my life. You won't believe me, I'll be in your office to see you in a minute. I have to talk to you Have a good talk." "Great, me too. We haven't decided where to go in Connecticut for the holidays. When are you going to leave for Argentina again? You told me about this yesterday, but since I don't want to hear it, I Already forgotten." "Why should I start again for Argentina?"

Valerie turned around and looked at Andrew carefully. "Why should I leave for Argentina again?" Andrew repeated his question. "Because your newspaper sent you on a 'pivotal investigation that will help your career peak'. I'm just repeating what you told me this weekend when we were so excited that we looked ridiculous. Because Your supervisor called you last Friday and she suggested that you go again even though you just got back from there. But since she's stubborn and takes this investigation seriously..." Andrew remembered this conversation with Olivia Stein well, except for this detail of his first trip back from Buenos Aires.This was at the beginning of May, and now it is the beginning of July.

"She called me last Friday?" Andrew asked stammeringly. "Go get something to eat, you look very out of spirits." Andrew didn't answer.He walked into the room quickly, picked up the remote control on the bedside table and turned on the TV.One in New York was broadcasting the morning news. Andrew was horrified to discover that he knew every piece of news that the announcer read.Twenty-two people died when a tragic fire engulfed a warehouse in Queens...the same day that the bridge tax for vehicles entering the city also increased significantly.But the problem is that the news involved is more than two months ago.

Andrew looked at the news scrolling at the bottom of the screen. The date of May 7 came up, and he sat up on the bed, trying to figure out what had happened. Weathercasters announced the arrival of the first tropical storm of the year, which was weakening before reaching the Florida coast.Andrew Steelman knew that the weather forecast for the day was wrong and that the storm would intensify later in the day, and he also remembered the number of people who had died due to the storm. His tailor once told him that life is not a modern machine, just press a button to repeat the selected part again, and there is no possibility of life going back to the past.Clearly Mr. Zanetti was wrong.Someone, somewhere, must have pushed a strange button, because Andrew Steelman's life had just been thrown back sixty-two days ago.

Andrew went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door under his breath, and found exactly what he dreaded to see: a plastic bag containing his wife's shirt - not yet his wife - which she had carelessly picked up the night before. It came in with yogurt from the corner grocery store. Andrew helped her take out the shirt.Valerie asked him why her clothes were frozen, and Andrew told her why.Valerie assured him that she would never accuse him of being absent-minded again.It was the second time he had heard the assurance; the first time it had happened under exactly the same circumstances, only it had been two months earlier. "By the way, why did you want to visit me in my office this morning?" Valerie said, picking up her handbag. "It's nothing, because I miss you." She kissed Andrew’s forehead and hurried out.She remembered to wish him good luck, and told Andrew in passing that she might be back late tonight. Andrew knew that their health inspection today could not proceed as expected, because the inspector had just suffered a car accident on the Queenstown Bridge. Valerie would call him from the office at 18:30 and suggest that the two of them go to the movies.Andrew was delayed by some work at the newspaper, and the two missed the movie because of him.To ask Valerie's forgiveness, Andrew invited her to dinner at a restaurant in the city. Andrew has a good memory.He had always been proud of it, but he never imagined that one day he would end up in such a miserable situation because of this advantage. Staying alone in the room, facing this unimaginable situation, Andrew knew that he still had sixty-two days for him to find out who murdered him and the other party's motives. And it must be before the other party achieves his goal...