Chapter 4 Wednesday, May 4

Shirley sat on the lawn overlooking the Delaware in a baggy fishing jumper.She heard the rumble of the tugboat on the river, and the splash of spray against the bulkheads.The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on her face, very warm.On the shore, someone was playing music, and bursts of laughter came.Happy people, she really wants to have a happy life like them. For her, her life began at the age of five.A janitor found her on the steps outside a Philadelphia hospital, dying.It was early in the morning, it had just rained, and the air was gloomy and cold.Later, the doctor deduced that her skull was close to the concrete floor and was attacked by the cold for a long time, which caused her unfortunate sequelae.Xueli's face was completely frozen at that time, and one cheek was stuck to the concrete floor. When she was picked up by people, the skin on her cheek was torn.She was only wearing a red fishing jumper to maintain body temperature.Because of this disaster, Xueli lost her eyesight and forgot all her past memories.

For a while, Shirley became the focus of attention in Philadelphia, and charitable people from all over the country donated money, most of which were used to pay for her medical bills.The police published revelations in the media to help find her biological parents.Doctors also spent months helping her recover from the mental and physical toll.However, all efforts failed to become a reality.She did not find her biological parents, and her eyes lost their light forever. The janitor who found Shirley named her Shirley Moore, after his dead daughter.Subsequently, Xueli was sent to a municipal orphanage.In the orphanage, when Shirley was eleven years old, she first felt her supernatural powers.

One spring, when the trees began to sprout and turn green, a little girl in the orphanage suddenly fell ill, and was soon killed by the disease. Four days later, she and the other children attended the little girl's funeral, each holding a carnation in their hand to put in the coffin.Xueli's hand was always on the shoulder of the companion in front of her. When it was her turn, she wanted to put the carnation into the little girl's palm.When her hand touched the little girl's, a picture that she had never experienced suddenly flashed before her eyes.In front of him was a brown iron closet with a glass bottle inside.The floor is covered with black and white tiles.She became dizzy and began to vomit.Then she saw a green translucent bottle circled around her head with the words: Coca-Cola.

When she awoke to the real world, she found herself kneeling on the damp steps in front of the coffin.Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she threw up all over. Later, she told a child what she had seen.The child was reported to the nurse at the orphanage.When the nurse heard about it, she sent her to the dean and asked her to apologize for her lying.The dean told her that she didn't even know what the concept of green color was, and she had never seen green, let alone read the words on it, whether it was Chinese or English. A few years later, a Philadelphia Police Department detective went to the orphanage to write off the file on the dead little girl.He stumbled upon a soft-drink bottle in an orphanage that contained the original green concentrate, which was used by orphanage nurses to kill rats, in an unlocked closet.It was later heard that the death of the little girl had been reclassified by the coroner as an accident.The dean was also prosecuted for the incident.

When Xueli was twenty-three years old, she had her second "psychic" experience with the dead.It was this experience that brought her supernatural powers to the attention of authorities, and soon she became well known to the world. It happened in late November, during a snowstorm, all the cars had snow chains on, and the city was filled with the clang of chains.Shirley got off the bus on Washington Avenue and was about to cross a bridge to change at the corner of the street.As she walked, she was thinking of a boy she was working with.Suddenly she heard a woman screaming from behind, and then a person hit her back hard, and then she fell heavily to the ground together.A large hand grabbed hers and dragged her, too, onto the pavement.There was a lot of noise all around, shouts and scattered footsteps mixed together, she hadn't recovered yet, only heard someone shouting for an ambulance.

She turned to face the man who was holding her, his hand was still holding hers tightly.Snowflakes fell on her face, between her brows and her hair.Someone next to her suddenly held her arm and said, "He's stopped breathing! He's out of breath! Are you okay? The ambulance will be here soon." There were more and more footsteps, mingled with shouts and ambulance sirens.Xueli suddenly felt the hand holding her soften.After a while the hand became cold and limp.At this time, a bizarre hallucination appeared before her eyes again.She saw first a woman, then a man standing behind a desk.Next to it was a truck with a drum-shaped barrel standing in it.There were many small holes in the drum, and suddenly a finger protruded from the small hole, and the finger tapped the small hole, and the drum rolled to the ground, then rolled across the bridge deck, and fell into the river.The barrel floated a few times on the river and then sank.Then, the hallucination disappeared.

An ambulance took Sherry and the man to Nazareth Hospital.She suffered only minor injuries.In the hospital, the police told Shirley that the man died at the scene, having suffered a heart attack. Shirley wanted to tell the police about the man in the barrel she had seen.But she knew she was blind, and it was not easy to convince others that a blind man could "see" something.In addition, she recalled that time when she was in the orphanage, the dean and nurses accused her, so she gave up. But in the middle of the night, she stayed at home and thought, maybe these scenes she "saw" were a very important clue.What if the police were looking for that man?What if they believed what she said?That would help them solve the case a lot.

So Xueli dialed 911, and then persuaded the person on the phone to transfer her to the police detective team to explain the case in detail.A young police officer named John Payne answered the phone, and after listening to him, he agreed to meet Shirley at her house. Before John arrived, she was still hesitant to tell the police what she had "seen."However, John's arrival completely dispelled her worries.He is very polite and considerate of other people's emotions.He sat on the old sofa and listened carefully to Shirley's description of what she saw.Then, he asked Xueli some details about when she was knocked down by the sick man.He also curiously asked how Xueli's head was injured and she became blind.When Shirley talked about the bucket with many small eyes on the truck, John reminded her to recall what kind of bucket it was, and whether there were any marks or printing on the bucket.In addition, can you remember the location where the drum fell into the water.Xueli recalled that there was a red light on the concrete wall at the bottom of the bridge, which flickered.Maybe a navigation light?

John told Shirley that he would go back and check the city's missing persons report, and promised to tell her if there was anything.Xueli believed that before he came, he must have called the hospital where she was treated and confirmed her condition.Could it be that he had read the article about her in The Investigator that had aroused his interest and that he had come to hear what she had to say.Of course, maybe she will never get the answer. The next afternoon, John came to Shirley's house again with a newspaper.He told Shirley that the newspaper headline read "Truck Driver Mysteriously Disappeared."Truck driver Joseph Pazrowski is reportedly being charged with pension fraud by a court panel, the news said.He was rumored to be heading to court for an investigation before he disappeared.Pazlowski was last seen near the Church of Christ in the Great Market.

The man who hit Xueli with a sudden heart attack was named Frank Lisk, and he was a well-known gangster in the waterfront area.Lisk has a criminal record for robbery and homicide. Payne kept an eye out for a solid gold tow truck pendant that the police had taken from Lisk's tie at the hospital.Shirley wasn't sure if the man she saw was wearing one of these.But trucker Paslowski has an identical pendant.His pendant was custom made at Peter's Goldsmiths and he wears it almost every day.Including when he was last seen wearing it. The police detectives formed a search team to drive the boat to look for clues on the water under the bridge.Another group of people dived to the bottom of the water to look for it.In the end they recovered a round olive oil barrel with a half-inch hole in it, which contained Paslowski's body.Xueli was taken as a suspect to a Philadelphia court for interrogation.

After dozens of hours of interrogation, an investigation team composed of court investigators and well-known criminal experts finally expressed satisfaction with Xueli's answer.They were sure Shirley didn't know Paslowski and Lisk before.Their unexpected encounter at the scene of the incident was also purely accidental.Regarding how Xueli "saw" the situations she described, the investigation team did not dare to jump to conclusions.In fact, all the testimony about Shirley Moore was crossed out from the case file, and the court claimed that an anonymous call helped them find the victim's body. The attitude of the investigation team and the results of the investigation are chilling. However, for Xueli, luck is coming quietly.A staffer in the investigative mission's office told the media about Shirley's story.Xueli immediately became the focus of media attention. "Philadelphia's Strange Blind Woman and the Psychic of the Dead" was prominently printed on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer.Detective Payne, on the other hand, is very worried about Xueli's safety, and the criminals will definitely find a way to get rid of her, lest she "see" the crime they committed.So Payne patrols around Xueli's home every day, secretly protecting her. After that, Xueli would receive some angry emails and inexplicable obscene phone calls from time to time.Finally she couldn't take it anymore, so she changed the phone number.The harassment slowly subsided.But one day a few months later, Shirley received a letter from a woman in Minnesota, which changed Shirley's life forever. The woman wrote to ask Shirley to help her find her husband's body.Her husband, the CEO of a car rental company with operations across the country, went hunting with a good friend on the Canadian border and never came back.No news came, either, until weeks later the body of the friend who had gone with him was found in an Indian village on Lake Ontario. Shirley asked Jollett to read the letter for her.Joliet Sampson was her first good friend after leaving the orphanage. She was Shirley's neighbor and often helped her check letters and pay bills. Jollett laughed loudly while reading the letter to Shirley, and when the letter later said how much to pay Shirley, she stopped suddenly. "What did the letter say? Tell me quickly." Xueli coaxed her to ask. Jollet continued to read, but his voice was no longer as fluent as before. "She said she would pay you fifty thousand dollars." Her voice was soft as if she was speaking to herself. "Oh, yes. Come on, don't make trouble, and tell me what the letter says?" "Xue Li, I'm not kidding. This woman really wants to pay you fifty thousand dollars." Shirley laughed and told Jollett to throw the letter away.She thought it must be someone deliberately joking with her.But Jollett thought it possible that the words in the letter were true. "I don't know what you think about your future. Do you want to spend your whole life around your cane and your crappy school job? Have you ever wondered what it's like to be in the place we're in now , my lady?" Jollett continued, flinging his arms, "This isn't a fucking Hilton. It's a goddam slum, you fool. You go and call that woman, now. No. You're a complete idiot. There's no chance like this if you miss it. Listen, if you don't call her today, we'll both go our separate ways. I don't want to spend my days with a fool. Stay together. You don't have Jollet Sampson among your friends anymore, hear?" Shirley really didn't want to make this call. On the second day and the third day, Jollet didn't come to visit her again.Another thing that bothers her is that she is not sure whether she can still get hallucinations from dead people like she did on the street last time.I am not sure how to help, so how can I agree to accept money to do it? Xueli also admitted that in the years from being discovered to growing up, the space she moved in did not exceed a radius of ten blocks.To have the opportunity to take a walk in the outside world is of course an irresistible temptation for a twenty-five-year-old blind man.However, maybe the place she is staying in now is indeed not a luxurious place, but she broke out of the orphanage with her own ability, at least in her opinion, this is a leap forward. She threw the letter aside, doing some meaningless things to pass the time by herself.She really hoped that Jollet could understand her and come to accompany her. The following Saturday, Shirley heard a knock on the door.When she opened the door, she shook the chain on the door to the ground and made a noise to alert the neighbors to the presence of visitors.Jollett later told Shirley that the man who knocked on the door got out of a stretch limousine parked at the door. A man who called himself Abernathy worked for a wealthy Minnesota woman, the woman who had written to Shirley.Mr. Abernathy told Shirley that he had been authorized by the rich woman to pay Shirley a check for ten thousand dollars if he could take ten minutes of her time.Xueli couldn't refuse the other party no matter what, so she let him into the house. As it happened, the rich woman's husband was named Charles Goldstone, and he went on a hunting trip with his best friend, Bernie Lennox.They visited an army camp on the Canadian border and then went into the forest.They had been there more than a dozen times before.But there has been no news since entering the forest.Three weeks later, parts of Bernie's body were found washed up on the banks of a river on an Indian reservation.Mrs. Goldstone just wanted to know where her husband had died and where his body was.She had little hope that Goldstone would survive, but she didn't want her husband to die in the wilderness like this. In the end, they both actually talked for more than an hour, with Abernathy explaining that Mrs. Goldstone had some "friends" in Philadelphia who had been involved in the investigation into the trucker case that Shirley was involved in.Because of that incident, Mrs. Goldstone believed that Shirley would be able to assist the police in finding her husband.Abernathy said Mrs. Goldstone would pay Shirley an additional $50,000 for 48 hours of her time.When it's done, stick to your word, guarantee her $60,000 and escort her to the door. Xueli said very frankly that she was not sure if she could help.But Abernathy doesn't want to leave without success.He convinced her that even if she didn't agree to help, Mrs. Goldstone would spend a lot of money to ask others to help, and others might not be as cautious as her, and others might not be able to really help. Shirley didn't know what to wear to go.She has three outfits, the same as her eyes, all black polyester business suits.But this is the first time in her life that she has left Philadelphia, the first time she has taken a plane, taken a luxury car, and stayed in a high-end hotel... so she should dress herself up better. The next day, she took a four-seater plane from Rochester, Minnesota to the border of Lake Ontario, and then drove to a small hospital on Fort Francis Street.Abernathy had warned Shirley not to eat anything unstable the night before.She hadn't understood what Abernathy meant by "unstable" at first, but now she did. "Unstable" means anything that turns her stomach. This time, the corpse she was going to face was only half of the body left. It had been floating in the river for several weeks before being brought up. God knows what had eaten his body. What would he smell like?How would her skin feel to the touch?Shirley didn't know much about the dead.Of course she knew that the body must have decomposed, but how long had it been?Weeks, or months?Maybe she didn't even know if she could concentrate on getting in touch with the corpse.People have been dead for so long, maybe it is impossible to connect successfully. When the small plane landed, it was shaken by the strong wind.Xueli was very thankful that she didn't have breakfast in the morning, otherwise, she would have to shake it all out.A very young police officer greeted her at the airport.They walked out of the airport runway, and the snowflakes that fell on the ground were frozen, making it very slippery to step on.A female doctor meets them in the lobby and leads them to the elevator to the basement.Xueli didn't know if the people here were indifferent to her, but they didn't feel very warm anyway.No doubt they all shared her doubts that the missing person could be found in this way, and thought she was a liar.At the same time, I felt that the rich woman spent a lot of money to do such a thing, which was simply too stupid. In the morgue, the female doctor took Xueli to a room full of medicines and asked her to sit on a hard and cold chair. "I'll push the iron bed next to you," the doctor said to Shirley, speaking with an accent Shirley hadn't heard before. "The body has been sterilized, but it has not been cleaned carefully, it has only been sterilized." She continued, "Except for the arm, the others are sealed in a plastic body bag." come with an arm? "Please don't hit the skin too hard, or you'll knock off both the skin and the carrion. I can get you a mask if you need it." It took Shirley a lot of effort not to let herself vomit.The rotting flesh on that arm felt like a rubber glove to the touch, and it gave off a stench she had never smelled before, so strong.However, the instant she grabbed that hand, she "saw" the rising image from beneath her feet, as if cast from a projector. Something was glimmering...a river...bloody hands...and rushing water...a row of rocks...a blood-stained arm bobbing on the water, head and body in the water The inside was sunken, and there was still a part of the collar of the leather jacket floating on the surface of the water... The person in the water struggled a few times... and slowly sank to the bottom of the water... The whole process lasted a few seconds.Shirley pulled her hands back, and pushed her chair away from the body.Hearing someone open the door, she said, "I'm going out now." If this woman wants to ask something, she won't answer her, and won't tell her anything.In her opinion, this is completely personal privacy for the rich woman who pays her.She only said thank you to the female doctor, and then left with the young policeman. After going out, she first went to the toilet and washed her hands carefully. After getting in the car, she put her arms outside to let the wind blow away the smell blown away. "Do I smell bad?" she asked the policeman on the way back to the airport. The policeman smiled and said, "What did you say?" "I mean, do I smell bad?" "You mean the smell of dead bodies?" She nodded. "Hehe, it's the residual smell in your consciousness." He told her, "literally, it's the stink left in your brain. It may take a few days for this smell to enter your sensory cells and taste buds." Totally forget it." "That means I don't actually stink on me." "Yes." He laughed. "You don't stink at all." Xueli rested her head on the car seat pillow, feeling the two intertwined complex emotions in her body.One is the fear of the painful, helpless torment the man has just "seen" going through; the other is the heartache of giving up after his hopeless struggle.Unbelievable, she thought.It's hard to believe that she can "see" these scenes that others can't. Mr Abernathy was waiting for her at Rochester Airport when the plane landed. "Mrs Goldstone would like to ask you if she could meet you in person? She lives an hour's drive from here. If you decide to stay, I have taken the liberty of booking you an extra night at the hotel in advance. .” "I'd love to stay one more night," Shirley said honestly, "but you may not know, Mr. Abernathy, that if I don't get back to work tomorrow morning, I'm going to be fired." "A rigid work unit," he said. "That's right, that's right." Shirley remembered forgetting to bring her sleeping bag.She didn't bring too much underwear. If she stayed for another night, she would have to wear the clothes on her body for another day.She was also deeply aware that she couldn't make fun of her job, even though she wanted to stay.She certainly could not accept money from Mrs. Goldstone.You can't take so much money just because you told her the dead man's thoughts that don't lead to any clues.In addition, this trip has also given her a lot of experience, whether it is terrible or pleasant, in short, it is a very wonderful trip, and these gains are enough as a reward in her opinion. But she also didn't want to go back to that poor little cabin on the south side of Philadelphia that always smelled of oil and cockroach spray.She likes to lie on the luxurious and comfortable big bed in the Hilton Hotel, eat tomato chips and milk chocolate, and smell the fresh and fragrant smell from the sheets. Abernathy saw her difficult choice and said to her: "I would be happy to go and tell Mrs. Goldstone that you could not accept her invitation. But what if I came forward and asked you a day off? You would start over again." Think about it?" Shirley's face lit up, "Of course it's all right, but Mr. Abernathy, can this work?" "There is nothing impossible, my dear lady," he answered kindly. "Okay then, but can I ask another question?" "of course can." "Do I still stink?" Shirley stayed with Mrs Goldstone for two hours.She couldn't see with her eyes, but she could feel the size of the house.Compared with the room she walked into, what she lived in for so many years was nothing more than a closet here. "A chocolate candy, please, dear." "I don't think I've ever eaten the thing." "Try a piece," Mrs. Goldstone said, putting a napkin in Shirley's hand. "As far as I know, there is no one who doesn't like this thing." Mrs. Goldstone tried to help Shirley relax, and then told her something about her husband.As Mr. Abernathy said, she just wanted to know where her husband's body was so she could make arrangements for him. Shirley told Mrs. Goldstone of the vision she had seen of her husband's friend Bernie falling into the river and drowning while crossing rocks.Mrs. Goldstone looked very calm at the news.She sat back in her chair and began to tell Shirley about her memories of her husband. Shirley listened intently to her for almost an hour.She felt that this woman rarely shared the emotional story of her and her husband with others.It may be that her high wealth has isolated her from others.Listening to this woman's emotional recollection, Shirley understood that she had lost not just a husband, but a best friend as well. Xueli thought, isn't this kind of emotion the love she has been looking forward to for so many years?It was the love she was looking for, that kind of marriage where love and friendship coexisted. "Oh, what good friends we were. I miss them so much," sighed Mrs. Goldstone. "I'm afraid I've babbled all night and your ears are ringing. Charles's It took all my energy. My children and members of the company's board of directors have come to visit. Every day is so busy that I don't even have time to think about it. Today I have talked with you so much, and I feel much more relaxed. I'll have Dan Wyle pay you tomorrow morning and escort you home. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Shirley shook her head. "Mrs. Goldstone, I cannot take your money. It is too much, and you have given me this one-of-a-kind experience. That is enough." "Nonsense," replied Mrs. Goldstone promptly. "I always do what I say. You ought to do the same. You pay as agreed, and you get what you pay for. Remember, Shirley, you have talent." , and it is a rare talent in the world. I dare say, you will have many such opportunities to travel and help others solve problems." Xueli smiled and thanked Mrs. Goldstone, thinking that the lady had already talked about this point, so she could only be respectful rather than obedient. "Miss Moore, this way please." Mr. Abernathy appeared out of nowhere.He parked the car downstairs, and without turning off the engine, he came in directly to pick Xueli back to the hotel. Shirley turned her head in the direction of Abernathy, gestured, and quickly turned to Mrs. Goldstone, "Madam, if you don't mind, can I have one more request?" She looked It's embarrassing to look at. "Go ahead, little girl." "Can I have another chocolate candy?" The Indian guide was familiar with the location of the large group of rocks Shirley had described.It was just on the other side of the river, and the police followed the route in which Bernie's body had been found, and only a hundred yards further on they found the body of Charles Goldstone.He was killed on the spot by a collapsing ice avalanche while passing through the reef.Bernie's injuries were serious, and he may have tried to swim to the shore for help, but he was too weak from his injuries to swim to the shore. Word of Shirley's use of psychic techniques to help find the bodies of victims soon spread through the Fort Francis Hospital, and she quickly became famous. "Entertainment Show", "Tonight", "People", "Popular Science", "Weekly News"... Many media have shown a strong interest in this girl who can communicate with the dead.The four major broadcasting networks competed to meet Shirley for interviews, the Midnight Talk column also called, and the school for the blind invited her to give a speech. Mrs. Goldstone is a living advertisement.After the police found Charles' body last time, she deposited another 20,000 dollars into Xueli's account, and at the same time sent someone to send her a box of chocolate candies.After that, every year on the day they met, she would send someone to bring chocolate candies to Shirley. Letters within a hundred miles came flying like snowflakes. Now the letters took on a whole new meaning to Shirley.She resigned from her job and it was on her doing the job for money to spend.In all, she took seven counsel cases and was gradually accepted by some in the legal circle. Shirley quickly moved out of the cottage and bought a large house in Delaware. Her talent brought her considerable financial benefits, and her life began to settle down.Everyone came to her for help, and paid her well.Their needs also gave Xueli a goal to move forward, and the goal is the driving force for life.A life like a dream. She has lived in that old stone house for nine years and has finally moved into a new home.Detective Payne came to help her move into her new home and brought her a present, a golden kitten that Shirley named "Chocolate Bean". Shirley soon made the acquaintance of her new neighbor, Mr. Brigham, a widower in his seventies, but still full of life like a boy.He's good at doing minor repairs and the like, often driving a tractor with something jingling on the back.He quickly became acquainted with Shirley, and in the evenings he read letters to her or chatted with her. Xueli's new life soon got on the right track.She is grateful for the life she has now.She never forgot, however, the story of herself and her husband that Mrs. Goldstone had told her.Having such a love is equivalent to holding the happiness of a lifetime.Many people dream of such a happy love, but few people actually get it.For Xueli, this is also an unattainable luxury. Shirley's world is small, although she has always made friends with people outside her own country.But she doesn't actually have her own social circle, and she can't participate in any activities.Even when Detective Payne or Mr. Brigham dragged her to a Christmas party or an event organized by retirees, it was always a couple. In the past decade or so, she has had three suitable candidates.One of them was brought in by Brigham, a political science professor who held a civilian position in the Department of Defense, and he was also an avid football fan.Much to Shirley's delight, the man took her to an Eagles football game on their first date.Shirley was very happy and touched that this person could perceive in such a subtle way that a blind man could share his passion with others in a boiling football stadium.And others usually only see her as a different kind of person.All they cared about was what happened to her, not who she was.When she shook their hands, they would wonder what she was thinking, as if afraid she would read their thoughts.In addition to these, some other people only regarded her as a disabled person. They later dated three more times, once to the symphony and twice for dinner.Unexpectedly, he was suddenly sent to the Middle East, and no one knew the details.Later, I heard from Brigham that one of his colleagues helped him sell the house here, and gradually there was no more news. Later, Shirley met a police deputy inspector in Dallas because of a case at work.They met every month from 1995 to 1996.From Xueli's point of view, the relationship between them was just a pure sexual relationship without much love. Later, a doctor from Denver made Shirley involved in the vortex of emotions again. They met in the Pueblos, working together on an archaeological dig for a master treasure thief named McKeewan.Shirley had previously worked for Gavin McKewan and was said to have helped him earn millions.The purpose of the dig was to find the mummified body of a Native American embedded in a cave in an abandoned copper mine.McKewan was looking for gold, not the copper ore dug up in the mines now, and the Indian had dug up a natural gold nugget with very crude tools and put it in his pocket.Shirley wanted to help read the position of the gold nugget from the corpse, but failed.As long as the parties are gone, some things will become unsolved cases. It was winter, and she just wanted to come out of the house to relax.Although Xueli is blind, she is a very sunny girl. She doesn't like the cold weather. On the night before she was due to leave, the treasure hunters gathered to see her off with locally brewed beer.During the dinner, a doctor came over to drink and chat with the people at the table.By the time the banquet broke up, it was already very late.The treasure robbers had another hour to drive back to Pueblo, so they left first.The doctor stayed.Shirley, who also booked a room in Broadmoor, continued to stay with them and drink. By midnight they were still drinking, and had already drained half of the yard's empty wine bottles.When the drink was a little bit, they had already started talking nonsense with each other shoulder to shoulder.Then they quarreled and laughed and helped each other go to the bathroom. Xueli felt that she had never been so happy. The doctor called Shirley the next morning, and when she returned to Philadelphia that evening, he called again.He gave Xueli a bouquet of viburnums wrapped in ice flakes, and put a note saying, "A beauty is like a flower".When Brigham took the flower out and placed it in her palm, she knew her heart was in the Pueblo. They've been pouring their hearts out on the phone all week.On Saturdays, he flew to Philadelphia and took her out to dinner.After dinner, he didn't stay at her house, but went to stay in a hotel.On Sunday, they traveled around downtown Philadelphia on a tour bus.They had a great time.He seemed to have a good sense of proportion.He didn't take care of her excessively like a blind person.她也能感觉出他说得话都是来自内心而并不是脱口而出的，所以他们做事常常心有灵犀。 接下来的一个星期雪丽回到了布罗德莫，他在马车旁等着她的到来。雪丽永远也忘不了缰绳上清脆的叮当声，马儿轻轻的跑蹄声和环搂着她的医生温柔的臂弯。 雪丽在那里呆了一个半星期。2000年也是她一生中最快乐的一段时光。 她非常渴望能再回到那个时候。随着时间的推移，一切也都在发生着变化。他们不能够总是有这样的旅行。他的轮班休假间隔太久，而她也常常有其他的事情。然后渐渐的，他打电话来的频率越来越少了，联系慢慢中止了。 她打开电话录音，然后听见了佩恩侦探的声音，“雪丽，你在家吗？” 她把手里抱着的猫放到地上，然后向放电话的桌子摸索着过去。 “佩恩，抱歉，我刚才没有听见电话铃响。” 佩恩是雪丽生命中随时可以依赖的一个朋友。同时，他也是一个可以让她敞开心扉倾吐心声的人。雪丽知道佩恩会永远真诚的对待她，她们的友谊也一直平稳的发展着。她承认，开始的时候，自己对佩恩的感觉不仅仅是欣赏。一个年轻的侦探，对一个二十五岁的年轻女孩儿来说，是很有吸引力的。她记得，当她得知佩恩已经结婚时她失望的神情。后来，她也觉得自己很傻，一个侦探，怎么会找一个瞎子女孩儿做女朋友呢？ 坦诚地说，她在丹佛遇到的那个医生总让她联想到约翰·佩恩。他们俩做事都是那么冷静又有条理，似乎没有他们做不成的事，解决不了的难题。他们如此能干却又表现的那么谦逊。无需过多的言语，他们的行动足以证明他们是值得依赖的好男人。 在卡车司机失踪案后不久，佩恩曾把雪丽介绍给他的妻子安吉。他们三个人常常一起出现在各种场合。之后安吉突然不再和他们一起出来，佩恩解释说她喜欢呆在屋子里面。雪丽接受了这个解释，但直觉告诉她可能另有隐情。 十年过去了，佩恩还依然是她最好的朋友。她知道他非常的关心她，只是他不愿意承认这个事实。他已经结婚的现实，让他们之间的任何可能都变得遥不可及。她常常想，如果她自己有机会能成为佩恩的妻子就好了，可是她知道这永远都不可能。佩恩从来不谈及他和安吉的婚姻。雪丽早已品尝过遗憾的滋味，她曾经将自己的过去全部丢失。那么她所能做的就是好好的维持她和佩恩之间仅存的友谊。她不喜欢一个人孤单地生活。所以她选择在佩恩面前越来越多的隐藏着自己的真实感情。 佩恩又打了电话，“你想吃中国菜吗？” “你想吃苏格兰菜吗？”，她调皮的反问。 “如果你吃中国菜的话，我就吃。” “那我就点大虾，还有虾酱。” “好，我半小时内过来。”他挂断电话。 一个小时后，佩恩在厨房里调好鸡尾酒，然后端到院子里，桌上也摆满菜，还放着两双筷子。 “你饿了吗？”他问雪丽。他把她的椅子移到桌子旁边。 “还没呢。”她轻轻的说。“可能马上就要饿啦。” 佩恩在灯下注视着她的脸，轻声说，“你今年应该度假去。订张船票，去欧洲，在沙滩上放松一下吧。” 她笑起来，“不用了。已经是春天了，佩恩。天气也越来越暖和了，我喜欢呆在河边，你听到河水流淌的声音了吗？” 佩恩晃动着手里的酒杯，冰块与玻璃相触发出好听的声音。“去吧，雪丽。你已经窝在这个屋子里好长时间了，自从接了诺里奇那个案子，你就没出过门。” “那我去匹兹堡吧。”她反驳道。 “只要你能走出这所房子，去哪儿我都会很高兴。” 雪丽点点头。佩恩知道诺里奇这件案子对雪丽的压力很大。她花了很久才从受害人身上读出影像。他知道，尽管他从没对雪丽提及过，可是她自己每隔一两周都会打电话给康涅狄格州警察局询问疑犯是否被确认了。可是一直都没有好消息传来。 如果他知道雪丽最近一直在做那些可怕的噩梦和头痛，他肯定会让她去看医生的。但是告诉他又能怎么样呢，只能让他为自己白白担心，不如把这些都埋在自己心底。 “好啦。你们最近怎么样？你和安吉上一次出去玩是在什么时候？自从我认识你，从来都是听说你们结伴旅行的。” 佩恩抗议似的举起手，“我们在谈着完全不同的另一回事儿，雪丽。安吉和我并没有成天几个小时的坐在屋子里。另外，我们也没说好要去哪儿旅行。我喜欢放松，她喜欢游览参观和购物。通常她都是和她的女伴们一起出去玩，而我呆在家里躺着。” 他们就那样安静的坐着，直到太阳落下，温度开始下降。 “菜得再放到微波炉里热热。”她用胳膊环抱双膝抵御寒意。 “我们都忘了吃东西了，还有两道菜还没上呢。那我们进屋去吧。”