Chapter 8 chapter eight

Five days after Ashley returned from Quebec City, her father called: "I just got back." "Back?" Ashley paused for a moment before remembering. "Oh, your patient in Argentina. How is he?" "He will survive." "I'm so happy." "Could you come to San Francisco and have dinner with me tomorrow?" She was terrified at the thought of facing him, but she couldn't think of any excuse. "Ok." "I'll meet you at 'Lulu's'. Eight o'clock." ※※※ Ashley was waiting for her father in the dining room when he walked in.Once again, she saw the expression of acquaintance with him and admiration for him on the face of the person.Her father is a celebrity.He's risking everything instead of having to...

He came to the table. "It's a pleasure to see you, dear, and it's a pity our Christmas dinner didn't go through." She forced herself to say, "Me too." She stared at the menu, turning a blind eye, trying to gather her thoughts. "What would you like to have?" "I... I'm not actually hungry," she said. "You've got to eat something. You're getting thinner and thinner." "I'll have a chicken." She watched her father as he ordered.She doubted whether she dared to bring up that topic. "How about Quebec City?"

"It's interesting," Ashley replied. "It's a beautiful place." "Sometime in the future, we must go there together." She made up her mind and kept it as casual as possible. "Okay, that's right... I went to Bedford for my 10th high school reunion last June." He nodded: "Are you playing well?" "No," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "I... I found out that the day you and I left for London, the body of Jim Cleary...was found. He was People were stabbed to death... and castrated." She sat there, watching him, waiting to see his reaction.

Dr. Paterson frowned: "Clieri? Oh, that's right. That boy who has been chasing you desperately, I saved you from him, didn't I?" What does it mean?Is this an admission?Did he save me from Jim Cleary by killing? Ashley took a deep breath and continued, "Dennis Tibble was murdered in the same way. He was stabbed and castrated." She watched her father pick up a roll and carefully Spread butter on top. Then he spoke.He said, "I'm not surprised at all, Ashley. Bad guys usually don't end well." This is a doctor, a man dedicated to saving lives.I'll never understand him, Ashley thought, and I don't want to understand him.

By the end of dinner, Ashley hadn't made the truth any clearer. ※※※ Toni said, "I had a great time in Quebec City, Elliott. I'd love to go back someday. Did you have a good time?" Elliott said shyly, "I love the museum there." "Have you called your San Francisco boyfriend yet?" "He's not my boyfriend." "I bet you want him to be your boyfriend, don't you?" "Maybe." "Why didn't you call him?" "I don't think it's appropriate..." "call him." ※※※ They arranged to meet at the de Young Museum.

"I really miss you," said Richard Melton. "How is Quebec?" "It's beautiful." "I wish I had gone there with you." Maybe someday, Aliette thought hopefully. "Is your painting selling well?" "Not bad. I just sold one of my paintings to a really famous collector." "Excellent!" she cheered.She couldn't help thinking: I feel so different when I'm with him.If it was anyone else, I would think: Who would be so tasteless to pay for your paintings?Or, don't give up your odd job, or a lot of other gossip.I wouldn't do that with Richard though.

This gave Aliette an incredible sense of freedom, as if she had found a cure for a disease that was debilitating her. ※※※ They had lunch at the museum. "What would you like?" asked Richard. "There's a pretty good roast beef here." "I'm a vegetarian. I just want a salad. Thank you." "Ok." A young, attractive waitress came to the table. "Hello, Richard." "Hello, Bernice." Unexpectedly, Aliette felt a twinge of jealousy.Her reaction surprised herself. "Are you ready to order?" "Yes. Miss Peters would like a salad, and I would like a roast beef sandwich."

The waitress was looking at Aliette.is she jealous of meElliot guessed.When the waitress left, Alette said, "She's beautiful. Do you know her well?" Her face flushed.I wish I hadn't asked this. Idea De smiled. "I've been here a lot. When I first came here, I didn't have much money, and I used to just ask for a sandwich, and she'd bring me a table. She was nice." "She looks sweet," Alette said, thinking: She has big buttocks. After they ordered their food, they talked about the painter. "One day in the future, I want to go to Giffelny," said Ai Lite, "Monet ① (Note: Monet [1840~1926], French painter, founder and main representative of Impressionism. He often paints outdoors, Explore the expressive effects of light, color and air. Representative works include "Water Lilies", "Rouen Cathedral", "Sailboat" and so on. - Annotation) once painted there."

"Did you know that Monet started out as a cartoonist?" "have no idea." "It was true. Then he met Boudin, who became his teacher, and persuaded him to start painting outdoors. There is a wonderful story about this. Monet was fascinated by painting outdoors, and when he decided When he painted a portrait of a woman in a garden on an eight-foot-high canvas, which now hangs at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, he had a trench dug in the garden so that he could use pulleys to raise and lower the canvas. " Time flies, and it's fun. After lunch, Aliette and Richard walked around, browsing the various exhibits.In all, there are more than 40,000 collections, ranging from ancient Egyptian artifacts to contemporary American paintings.

Aliette was filled with the surprise of being with Richard without the usual hostile thoughts.Is this a meaningful thing to do? A uniformed guard walked towards them. "Good afternoon, Richard." "Good afternoon, Brian. This is my friend, Aliette Peters. This is Blythe Hill." Brian to Elliott: "Do you like museums?" "Oh, yes. It's wonderful." "Richard is teaching me to draw," Brian said. Aliette looked at Richard. "yes?" Richard said modestly: "Oh, I just gave him a little advice." "He did a lot more than that, miss. I've always wanted to be a painter. That's why I do this job at the museum, because I love art. Anyway, Richard comes here a lot to paint. When I look When I saw his paintings, I thought: 'I'm going to be like him.' So I asked him if he would teach me, and he has been a great help. See his paintings?"

"I've seen them," said Elliott, "and they're very nice." When they left him, Alette said, "It's very kind of you to do that, Richard." "I like doing things for people." He was staring at Elliott as he spoke. As they walked out of the museum, Richard said, "My roommate is going to a party tonight. Why don't we stop by my place?" He smiled. "I want to show Yi some paintings." Elliott squeezed his hand. "Not yet, Richard." "Listen to you. See you next week?" "OK." In fact, he didn't know at all how much she was looking forward to this day. Richard walked Aliette to her car.As she drove away, he waved goodbye. ※※※ As Aliette was getting ready for bed that night, she thought: It was like a miracle.Richard set me free.She fell asleep, dreaming about him. ※※※ At two o'clock in the morning, Richard Melton's roommate Gary returned from a birthday party.The apartment was dark.He turned on the living room light. "Richard?" He walked towards the bedroom.At the door, he looked inside, feeling sick all of a sudden. ※※※ "Calm down, kid." Detective Wittier looked at the trembling man in the chair. "Okay, let's think again. Does he have any enemies, people who hate him enough to do this?" Gary stammered, "No. Everyone...everyone likes Richard." "No one. How long have you lived with Richard?" "Two years." "Are you lovers?" "For God's sake," Gary said angrily, "no. We're friends. We live together for financial reasons." Detective Whittier looked around the small apartment. "Certainly not a burglary," he said. "There's nothing to steal here. Is your roommate dating someone?" "No...well, yes. There's a girl he's interested in. I think he's really starting to like her." "Do you know her name?" "Yes. Aliette. Aliette Peters. She works in Cupertino." Detectives Vertil and Reynolds exchanged glances. "Cupertino?" "My God!" Reynolds said. ※※※ Ten minutes later, Detective Whittier spoke to Sheriff Dorian. "Sheriff, I thought it might be of interest to you to know that we have had a homicide here in exactly the same manner as yours in Cupertino—multiple stab wounds and castration." "my God!" "I just spoke to the FBI. Their computers show that there have been three previous castration homicides similar to this one. The first was in Bedford, Pennsylvania, about ten years ago. The next is A man named Vannes Tibbert—that was your case, then Quebec City's case in the same way, and now this." "That doesn't make sense. Pennsylvania...Cupertino...Quebec City...San Francisco...any connection?" "We're trying to find some kind of connection. Quebec needs a passport. The FBI is doing a cross-check to see if anyone who was in Quebec City over Christmas was in the same city where the other homicides happened. ..." When the media got a little wind of what was going on, their coverage flooded the headlines around the world: Online, self-righteous psychologists analyze the murders. "...and all the victims were men. Given the way they were stabbed and castrated, there is no doubt that it was done by some homosexual who..." "...so if the police were able to find a connection between these victims, they would likely find that it was some lover that the men had taunted..." "...but I will say that they were aimless murders with a domineering mother..." ※※※ On Saturday morning, Detective Weatherill called Adjutant Blake from San Francisco. "Magistrate, I have a little update for you." "Say it." "I just got a call from the FBI. Cupertino, on record, is the residence of an American who was in Quebec on the day of the Parente murder." "That would be interesting. What's his name?" "Her name. Paterson. Ashley Paterson." ※※※ At six o'clock that night, Adjutant Sam Blake rang the bell at Ashley Paterson's apartment.Through the closed door he heard her call very cautiously, "Who is it?" "Magistrate Blake. I want to speak to you, Miss Paterson." After a long silence, the door opened.Ashley was standing there, looking cautious. "May I come inside?" "Yes, of course." Is it about the father?I have to be careful.Ashley led the adjutant to the sofa. "Is there anything I can do for you, Adjutant of Peace?" "Would you mind answering a few questions?" Ashley shifted uncomfortably. "I... I don't know. Am I under suspicion for something?" He smiled reassuringly. "That's not the case, Miss Paterson. It's just a matter of routine. We're investigating a couple of homicides." "I don't know anything about any murders," she said quickly.too fast? "You've been to Quebec City recently, haven't you?" "yes." "Did you know Jean-Claude Parente?" "Jean-Claude Parente?" she thought for a moment. "No. I've never heard of him. Who is he?" "He owned a jewelry store in Quebec City." Ashley shook her head. "I didn't buy any jewelry in Quebec City." "You work with Dennis Tibble?" Ashley felt the fear start to rise again.It was indeed about her father.She said cautiously: "I never worked with him. We worked for the same company." "Of course. You go to San Francisco occasionally, don't you, Miss Paterson?" Ashley couldn't figure out where this was going.Be careful. "Occasionally, yes." "Did you ever meet a painter there named Richard Melton?" "No. I don't know anyone by that name." Deputy Sheriff Blake sat there looking at Ashley helplessly. "Miss Paterson, would you mind going to Police Headquarters and taking a polygraph test? If you want, you can call your lawyer and..." "I don't need a lawyer. I'm happy to get tested." ※※※ The polygraph expert was a man named Keith Rosen, one of the best.He had to cancel a dinner date, but he was happy to oblige Sam Black. Ashley sat in a chair and was wired to a polygraph.Rosen had spent forty-five minutes chatting with her to gain background information and assess her emotional state.Now he's ready to start. "Are you comfortable?" "yes." "Okay. Let's get started." He pressed a button. "What's your name?" "Ashley Paterson." Rosen's eyes kept going back and forth between Ashley and the polygraph printout. "How old are you, Miss Paterson?" "Twenty-eight." "where do you live?" "10945 Via Camino Apartment Building in Cupertino." "Do you have a job?" "yes." "Do you like classical music?" "yes." "Do you know Richard Melton?" "No." Nothing changes on the graph. "where do you work?" "At Universal Computer Graphics." "Do you enjoy your job?" "yes." "Do you work five days a week?" "yes." "Have you ever met Jean-Claude Parente?" "No." Still no change on the graph. "Have you had breakfast this morning?" "yes." "Did you kill Dennis Tibble?" "No." The questions continued for another thirty minutes and were then repeated three times in different orders. When the question and answer was over, Keith Rosen, Keith Rosen walked into Sam's office and handed him the polygraph results. "Innocent. There's less than a one percent chance she's lying. You've got the wrong person." ※※※ Ashley leaves Police Headquarters feeling a little dizzy with relief.Thank God it's over.She had been afraid they would ask questions about her father, but that didn't happen.Now no one can connect father with these things. She parked her car in the garage and took the elevator up to her apartment floor.She opened the door, entered the house, and carefully locked the door behind her.She felt exhausted and elated at the same time.Take a nice hot shower, Ashley thought.When she walked into the bathroom, her face turned pale.On her bathroom mirror, someone scrawled in bright red lipstick: YOU WILL DIED.