Chapter 63 Chapter 63

Dickie sits in the back of Cole's police car with Pooler.The young man looks out of the window as if he is being led to execution.Puller watched him, trying to figure out what he was thinking.He could have asked some questions, but he didn't. He is willing to let Dicky do a little thinking at this moment.A guilty person would use such time to invent a whole bunch of lies to justify himself.An innocent person in a time like this would be anxious, worried that his statement would not be understood, and trying to think of the most effective way to prove his innocence.And a person who is innocent in some respects but guilty in others suffers from many more complex thoughts.Pooler concluded that Dickie Strauss fell into the last category.

Cole said loudly from the front driver's seat, "If we take you to the police station, everyone in town will know in five seconds." "Let's go somewhere else, shall we?" "How about the hotel where I'm staying?" Pooler said. "You know the place, don't you? You've been following me, haven't you?" "Whatever you say," said Dickie sullenly. They arrived at the hotel.Avoiding Dickie's gaze, Puller inspected the room, making sure that the various traps he had put in place to prevent intruders had been tampered with.He could see from Cole's expression that she knew what he was doing.

Dickie sits on the edge of the bed, Cole sits in the chair across from him, and uncuffs him.Puller stood against the wall. "I heard that you helped Mrs. Louisa." This was Dicky's opening words, "What you did is a good thing." "Yeah, but she's dead anyway, and that's all a good man can do. But let's focus on you, Dickie." "What's going to happen?" Dicky asked. "It depends on the matter itself." Cole replied, "If you killed Larry, it is absolutely impossible for you to cover it up." "As I said, I didn't kill anyone." Dicky clenched his hands into fists.Despite his tattooed sleeves, he looked like a child.Puller felt as if at any moment he was about to jump to the ground and lose his temper.

"Oh, you know, we can't just believe what you say," Cole said. "You have to prove to us that what you say is true." Dickie asked Pooler, "Did you investigate my discharge?" Pooler shook his head. "Like I said, I didn't get along well with the troops. But that had nothing to do with my ability to do my job as a soldier. I was a good soldier, and my service record was clean. I could have Stay in the army, go to university if you can, and try to get a full scholarship. I like the army, I like my comrades-in-arms, and I am willing to serve the country. But I don’t count. They don’t want someone like me.”

Puller pondered his words.He looked carefully at the young man's face and suddenly found out the answer. "'Don't ask, don't tell,'" Puller said. ① "Don't ask, don't tell" ("Don't ask, don't tell"): In 1994, approved by the then US President Clinton, the Pentagon announced the implementation of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy for gay personnel in the military.Since the implementation of this policy, more than 10,000 gay military personnel have been forced to leave the army because of the exposure of their sexual orientation.Due to growing calls for further elimination of discrimination against homosexuality, the U.S. military abolished the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in 2011 with the approval of President Obama, allowing soldiers to disclose their homosexual identities.

Dickie looked down at the floor and nodded. "Isn't that the Army's policy on gay issues?" Cole asked, looking at Puller. "On the 'don't ask, don't tell' basis, it doesn't matter if you're not openly gay. You don't tell yourself, and the military won't ask. But if you don't keep it secret, you leave the service," Puller said. Ask Dickie, "What happened?" "Someone reported on me and took out some photos of me and my friends. Heck, today, the click rate of such things on video sites can't even be reached by five people. But at that time, the army didn't like this things are not polite."

"Aren't you going to argue for yourself?" "I lost it right away. They said that if I didn't accept my retirement at the end of the term, the consequences would be extremely serious." "I believe it will be so." "Does your father know you're gay?" Cole asked. Dicky smiled bitterly. "Why do you think I joined the military right out of high school? My dad thought it might 'cure' me." "Well, so you're gay," Pooler said. "That's your personal business, and you're certainly not guilty of anything."

"Some people see it as a sin, especially people in our part of the world." "It's a good thing we're not the 'some people' you're talking about," Cole said. Puller said, "Let's go back to Officer Larry. Why are you in that house?" "Me and Larry are friends." Cole leaned back, eyes wide. "You're not going there to be with him... Larry is married, he has a family. And it's a crime scene." Dickie said hastily, "It's not what you think. We used to hang out together when we were teenagers. But Larry's straight. We didn't want to go there and have sex."

"Then why are you going to that house?" Cole pressed. Dickie rubbed his hands together nervously.Puller saw his body sweat, and it must have been more than just the fact that the air conditioner in the hotel room was just turning the same warm air upside down and back again. "I just wanted to go and see what happened." "why?" "Several people were killed. I want to take a look." "Wellman allowed you to enter the scene?" Cole said. "I wouldn't believe it." "He didn't." Cole looked puzzled. "Then I don't quite get it. Can you talk again after you catch your breath?"

"I called him and told him I just wanted to take a look. I have to admit he didn't want me to go there." Cole said furiously, "Of course he didn't want you there. If I knew he did it, he'd be able to take off his uniform. You'd be disrupting a crime scene by being there." "But he sent you there anyway?" Puller asked. "He allowed me to go to his place, maybe he wanted me to see some of the things they found, from the pictures." "It's unbelievable," Kerr said. Pooler raised his hand to stop her, his eyes fixed on Dicky. "Go on, Dickie."

"So I went there." "And just kill him?" Cole asked. "I said I didn't kill him." "What happened next?" Puller asked. "He wasn't there. I mean his car wasn't there. I thought maybe he wasn't feeling well, or just suddenly frightened. But then I thought, the police can't leave a crime scene in a state of silence. I’ve seen shows like Law & Order, NCIS, and I know the rules.” "Of course. You're right, there can't be security," Puller said. "And what did you do?" "I called his cell phone, but he didn't answer." "What time was that? Exactly," Puller said. "I don't know the exact time. It may be around four o'clock." "go on." "I went to the back of the house. The door was ajar there. I opened the door a little more. I called Larry to see if he was there for some reason. No one said yes. I was very upset. Fear." "But you got in anyway. Why?" Puller asked him. "I thought maybe Larry was hurt. He asked me to come over and he wasn't there. I was a little worried about him." "Bullshit. You want to see those bodies." Dickie looked up at him with a frown, but then his expression eased again. "You're right, that's right. I figured Larry might have been called away for something else, so his car wasn't there. Anyway, I went in." He stopped.Whatever color had remained on his face was gone now. "You saw them." Dicky nodded slowly. "I will see them in my dreams, in my nightmares in the middle of the night, until the day I die." "Very poetic," Cole said sarcastically. "What did you do next?" Puller asked. "I was going to leave. But I heard something. A voice from the basement." "What kind of sound?" Puller tensed the strings.Many things depend on Dicky's answer. "A creaking sound, like someone is stretching something." Puller relaxed. "Well, what then?" "I took out the knife I was carrying. I yelled a few times on the stairs. I thought maybe the voice just now came from Larry, and I didn't want him to shoot me. Still no one answered." Cole said in a skeptical tone, "You mean in the middle of the night in a house full of dead people, you go down the stairs and into the basement because you hear a voice? You know, besides talking about crime You might like to quote plots from horror movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th or whatever. You never went into that damn basement, Dickie." "But you went down the stairs and into the basement," Puller said, "what happened?" "That's when I saw him, Larry, hanging there." "Did you make sure he was dead?" Cole asked, "or did you just turn around and leave him there?" "He's dead," Dickie said. "I've seen dead people in the army. I checked his pulse and pupils." He paused, but forced himself to say, "He's dead." "And then?" Puller asked. "I got out of there quickly, I ran out the back door." "Then you kept running, all the way home?" Puller tensed again. Dicky let out a sigh of relief. "No. I... I stopped running after that. I thought I wanted to throw up. I squatted down in the woods. It took about ten minutes to calm down. That's when I heard the car stop. I thought maybe Is it the police, or..." Puller said, "Or is the guy who killed Larry back?" Dicky nodded. "If so, I want to see the bastard. Call the police and get him." "Or she," Cole said. "It's not impossible to be a woman." Dickie pointed at Puller. "But it was you. I saw you come in the house. I didn't know what you were, but then I saw your CID on your clothes. I knew what it was. Larry told me dead People are officers, and that explains why you're here." "And then?" Puller asked again. "After a short while, I heard another car coming." He pointed at Cole. "This time it's you. I'm leaving now." "That's when I saw you through the window," Pooler said, looking at Cole. "What he said fits what we know." Cole nodded and stared at Dicky and said, "I wish I had known this sooner. I should arrest you for destroying evidence." "He should be arrested for his stupidity alone," Puller added. "Are you friends with Eric?" "I know him, he is also in Shangdu." He raised his arm, "I said I chose this sleeve after his image." "When you entered the old Halvorson's house that night, did you know that Eric and Molly who lived across the street were also killed?" "Of course I don't know." Puller fell silent, letting his answer hang in the air. "He kind of worries me, though," Dickie said. "Why?" Puller asked. "Those goods." "What kind of goods are those?" Dickie shrugged. "I am not sure." "There might be some reason why Eric and Molly need to find a report on the soil composition?" Cole asked. "Soil survey report? No, I don't know at all." "Where's the drug lab?" Puller asked. "Is there anything you're talking about?" "Eric doesn't do drugs." "Okay, but does he manufacture drugs and sell them? That's an important question." Dickie didn't answer his question directly. "I think I need to find a lawyer." "Are you looking for a lawyer, or do you know you've got a lawyer in your business?" Puller asked.Cole gave him a wary look. Puller moved away from the wall and stood beside Dickie. "Be smart, Dicky, and analyze the possible impact of this incident on you. Could you please spend two minutes listening to me analyze and analyze for you?" Cole said, "Puller, he said he wanted a lawyer—" Puller gave her a look, and she shut up.Puller turned to Dickie and put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen to me, Dickie, what have you got to lose? The Army kicked you out of service, and I know you still want to serve your country. For you, it's you for you A second chance for our country to do something." Dickie muttered, "I'm listening."