Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Investigating

After breaking up with Simon, Andrew made a call to Officer Pileg.The call went to voicemail, and he hesitated whether to leave a message before hanging up. After returning to the newspaper office, he suddenly began to tremble and felt a sharp pain in his lower back. This time the pain was so severe that he had to lean on the handrail of the stairs to rest.Andrew had never felt such pain before, and this unnatural pain immediately reminded him of his impending tragedy.If the imminence of death must be presented in this way, he thought, then it would be best to get some painkillers as soon as possible.

His boss had just returned from lunch when he bumped into Andrew, curled up in pain at the foot of the steps, trying to catch his breath. "Are you all right, Andrew?" "Honestly, I feel better now." "You look alarmingly pale, should I call 911?" "No need, just a twist at the waist, and it will pass in a while." "You should ask for leave this afternoon, go back and rest." Andrew thanked Olivia.He was going to wash his face and get to work. Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, Andrew felt that he saw the god of death hovering on his back, and he heard himself mumbling:

"You're enjoying another round, my old friend, but if you don't use your head, I'm afraid this round will be over soon too. You don't think such a chance is within everyone's reach! You Enough with obituaries, you should know what it means when the timer stops. Stop wasting time, stop ignoring a single detail, the days go by and go faster." "Are you talking to yourself, Steelman?" Olsen asked, coming out of a cubicle. He zipped up his pants and approached Andrew by the sink. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you." Andrew said while dipping his face in the water.

"I can see it. I think you've been acting weird these days. I don't know what you're doing, but obviously what you're doing is not in line with what Catholics do." "Olson, you can just mind your own business and let me have a good time." "I didn't sue you!" said Olsen proudly, as if boasting of a heroic deed. "Well, Freddie, you're a man at last." Olsen walked to the dryer and pulled the towel roller as hard as he could. "This thing never seems to work well." He said and patted the shell of the machine. “You could write a story about it, I think a lot of people would like it, your best story of the quarter, On the Curse of the Dryer, by Freddie Olson.”

Olsen glared at Andrew angrily. "Okay, I'm kidding, don't get so nervous." "I don't like you, Steelman, and I'm not the only one in this paper who can't stand your arrogance, but at least, I, I won't put on a fake show. Lots of people are waiting for your luck. Sooner or later you're going to stumble. of." This time it was Andrew's turn to look at his colleague. "Who else is in this merry anti-Stillman club?" "You'd better see who appreciates you, and you'll find that the list won't be too long." Olsen gave Andrew a disgusted look and walked out of the bathroom.

Andrew followed him while enduring the pain.He caught up to Olsen in front of the elevator. "Olsen! It was my fault for hitting you. I'm calm now, and I ask your forgiveness." "Are you serious?" "Between colleagues, swords should not always be so tense." Freddy looked at Andrew. "Okay, Steelman, I accept your apology." Olsen held out his hand, and Andrew held his hand hard.Olsen's hands were covered with sweat. All afternoon, Andrew was too tired to write.He took the opportunity to reread the opening lines of the report he had written about the event that had rocked Argentina.

Andrew glanced again at the list filled with the names of the savages responsible.Region by region, district by district, camp by camp.Time passed as he sorted out the names of the murderers one by one, and then sorted out various evidence copies and court records.After the democratic system was established, these savages soon enjoyed the benefits of amnesty and escaped punishment. After completing this sorting work, Andrew continued to search for traces of a man named Ortiz.According to the information provided by his superiors, this man's history is typical, can represent the mental journey from ordinary soldier to silent accomplice of the most brutal murderer.

why is he special?Olivia Stern told him that this person's experience was quite mysterious.Whether it's happening in Argentina or elsewhere, the main question is the same, what kind of frenzied emotions power can inspire, turning ordinary people into sadists, after a father tortures and kills other women and children during the day , How can you kiss your wife and children after returning home? Andrew knew that he would meet this Mr. Ortiz soon.Was he one of the murderers, one of the men who had been chasing him down the Riverside Park trail? But according to this logical thinking, there is something that doesn't make sense.Andrew was killed two days before his report was published, so it is impossible for someone to retaliate against the killing.From now on, he thought, when he got back to Buenos Aires, he would be more alert than he had been in his last life.

The more he thought in this way, the more Andrew felt the need to seek help.So he called Officer Pileg. The retired police officer thought there was nothing good about the call, and after being bumped, Andrew finally decided to hold him accountable. "My back does hurt, but it's not your fault." Andrew said hastily to reassure him, "I'm calling you this time, it has nothing to do with the speed you drove out of the parking lot last time." "Huh?" Pileg breathed a sigh of relief. "That's why I have the honor to see you again?" "I have to meet you, it's urgent."

"I'd love to buy you a cup of coffee, but I live in San Francisco, which is a bit far from where you live." "I understand." Andrew sighed. "What urgent matter are you talking about?" Pileg asked hesitantly. "The life-threatening kind." "If it's anything to do with crime, I'm retired. But I can introduce you to a colleague of mine in New York. Sergeant Lucas in the Sixth Precinct is trustworthy." "I know you're retired, but I was looking for you, just out of gut feeling." "I see……" "I think you probably didn't guess it. The situation I'm in now is completely unimaginable."

"Go ahead. I'm used to the unimaginable, trust me," said the officer. "It's a bit complicated on the phone, you won't believe me... Please forgive me for making this call, I hope you have a good night." "In San Francisco, we're still in the afternoon." "Then I wish you a pleasant afternoon, Inspector." Andrew hung up the phone.He buried his head in his hands, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. He had an appointment with Valerie in an hour, and he'd better change his mind now if he didn't want to mess up tonight's date.The quota of selfishness had been exhausted in his previous life. He proposed to Valerie as if it was the first time.Valerie loved the ring Andrew had put on her and passionately assured that she would not have chosen another style if she had chosen for herself. After dinner, Andrew called Simon, who then handed the phone to Valerie, asking her to announce the good news to Simon; and then to Colette. Back downstairs at his East Village apartment, Andrew felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.He picked up the phone, taken aback. "I thought about the conversation we had. If I could leave my wife alone for a few days, she would be happy. Since I retired, it never seems to let up... It shouldn't be too much for me to relax. Oops. I'm telling you this because I'm flying over tomorrow morning. I'm going to use my free time for a few days to revisit my old friends in New York. See you at the same place where we ate last time at 9pm Come on. Don't be late, you've piqued my curiosity, Mr. Steelman." "Okay, Mr. Police Officer, tomorrow at Frank's Restaurant at 9 o'clock in the evening." Andrew replied confidently. "Who's calling?" Valerie asked. "nobody." "Are you having dinner with no one tomorrow night?" The dining room was bathed in dim light, and Sergeant Pileg waited at the innermost table.Andrew sat down and looked at his watch. "I was here first," said the police officer, shaking hands with him. The waiter brought them menus, and the officer frowned. "The way restaurants like to dim the lights is really annoying. I can't read a word of this menu." He took a pair of glasses from his pocket. Andrew glanced at the menu quickly, then put it down. "This restaurant does a good job of meat." Pileg also didn't want to look at the menu. "Then let's order some meat," said Andrew. "Is everything going well with the trip?" "What a question! Can you expect a pleasant journey by air in our time? Well, let's talk about you, and what can I do for you?" "Help me stop something that's taking me..." Andrew hesitated. "... some people who tried to murder me," he replied, dropping his previous expression. Pileg put down the beer bottle. "Have you called the police?" "No." "If someone is really trying to kill you, then you should probably go to the police first, shouldn't you?" "Things are more complicated than that... It should be said that none of this has happened yet." "I don't understand what you mean. Is someone trying to murder you, or is someone going to try to murder you?" "If I answer this question truthfully, I'm afraid you'll think I'm a madman." "Tell me first." "Well, it's actually both, officer." "I see. You are the victim of a deliberate murder, and you suspect the murderer will be at it again soon, don't you?" "To a certain extent it can be said that." Pileg motioned for the waiter to come and take his order.After the waiter left, he stared intently at Andrew who was sitting opposite. "I just spent six hours in a 3,000-foot sardine can because you asked me to come over and help you. You've been so kind to me, I feel like I should do something about you after bumping into you force." "You just touched me a little bit, and I didn't hurt at all." "In a city where people are sued for the most trivial things, you could have demanded a large sum of money from my insurance company. But you didn't, so it can be inferred that you are a gentleman. I can feel you Anxiety, real anxiety. In my forty-year career, my intuition has rarely been wrong, and believe me, I've been through far more bizarre events than yours. If I were to tell you some of them, You're probably going to think I'm crazier than you. Well, tell me what happened, or I'll just eat this steak and go home and sleep. Do you understand me?" "I can't understand better." Andrew lowered his eyes as he said. "Then please tell me, I'm afraid of eating cold things." The officer said as he began to slice his steak. "I was murdered on July 9th." The officer counted on his fingers. "That was ten months ago. Tell me in a moment about the circumstances under which the murder took place, but first please tell me why you feel someone is threatening your life again?" "You didn't understand me, someone killed me this summer." "But it's only May 11th, and you seem to be alive and well..." "I already told you." "As a reporter, your expression is not easy to understand. If I'm not mistaken, you believe that someone will kill you on July 9th. Why do you think so?" Andrew told the truth about what happened to him on the Riverside Park trail on July 9 and his incredible experience afterward. When he had finished, the officer drank his beer in one gulp and asked for another. "I should have a talent to attract all kinds of weird cases, or a curse has fallen on me." "Why do you say that?" "You won't understand..." "Until now, I understand." "I'll tell you later. Well, to sum it up, you mean you were murdered, but at the moment of death, you jumped back to two months ago. Did you go to the hospital for a brain test , Is your brain all right?" the police officer said in a mocking tone. "No." “Maybe we can start here. Maybe you have a blood clot somewhere in your brain, and you get crazy. I have a good female friend in San Francisco who is an expert on this, a charming She is a woman who has experienced many unusual events herself. I can give her a call for you, she must know colleagues here in New York who can help you." "What if I told you I could name everything that happened between now and July?" "It's coming again, then you are the one who can predict the future!" "No, I just have a good memory, I remember the last two months of my life bit by bit." "Great, at least it means you won't get Alzheimer's early. Seriously, Steelman, do you really believe what you just said?" Andrew was silent, and Pileg patted his hand friendly. "Of course you do! What can I do if it happens to me?" "It's okay," Andrew said, "I've thought for a long time that I might not be able to convince you. If it were me, in your position..." "Do you like sports?" Pileg interrupted Andrew, glancing at the TV set hanging on the bar. "Yes, just like everyone else." "Don't look back, now the New York Yankees are playing the Seattle Mariners, the game time is almost up, can you tell me what the final score is?" "I can't remember the exact score, but what I can tell you is that, against everyone's expectations, the Mariners have had a great season, and the New York Yankees have had to stand aside." "Well," Pileg sighed, "but that's what any Mariners fan would say." "Marineres and Yankees fans... you kidding! The Yankees will turn things around in the final minutes of the game and end up winning the game." "They don't do that." Pilleg sighed. "Then go buy a copy of The New York Times tomorrow morning. On the front page you'll read about the U.S. Navy firing on an Iranian naval fleet parked in the Strait of Hormuz." "Well, Steelman! You're a reporter for The New York Times yourself, and you're not trying to surprise me by trying to convince me that you can guess tomorrow's headline at the paper you work for?" "The Pentagon will make an announcement at 23:30; press blackouts are usually at midnight, and it's still some time before midnight. But if you won't believe me, tomorrow, just before noon, a tornado will sweep through Florida The town of Gardiner in the state. It can be said that almost the entire downtown will be completely wiped off the map." "You remember these because you were obsessed with weather forecasts?" "I remember this because my future father-in-law lived in Arcadia, a small town just over thirty kilometers from where it happened. I clearly remember how worried my fiancée was, and because it all happened when I was proposing In the next two days, so I remember the date very clearly." "Allow me to congratulate you. Anything else?" "A fellow mounted police officer on your force will be run over by an ambulance this afternoon. Not life threatening, but with a broken collarbone. Unfortunately his mount will be euthanized. My fiancée is a veterinarian and all New York riding She's in charge of the police horses. I'm worried about Valerie when she comes home with extreme anxiety because of the tornado and the euthanasia. Well, I've wasted enough of your time tonight, it's time to stop this nonsense It's a fun game. You are invited by me, please tell me how much your air ticket is, and I will pay for it." "I can let you buy this meal. As for my travel expenses, I am still a big kid myself. I have my insistence, but I still want to thank you." Andrew settled the bill and stood up. "One little thing just occurred to me, Steelman. If you can predict what's going to happen in the next few months, why not try to avoid it?" "Because I can't change the course of things. I've tried to make small changes in the last two days, but I can only delay what is going to happen for a few hours." "Then why, in the present circumstances, do you believe that you can stop your murderer?" "Hope, or despair, depends entirely on my current state of mind." Andrew said goodbye to the police officer and walked out of the restaurant. Pileg stood alone at the table, lost in deep thought.He saw the end of the game, and the Yankees won the game with a home run in the last few minutes.