Chapter 25 Chapter 25 The Truth

You've probably read the papers, I'm in the news again.After the last time we talked, I was driving home thinking about my mom.She was annoying sometimes, she was always a little selfish and only thinking of herself, to do such a thing. When I got home that night, I heard Luke's voicemail on the phone.Of course, he didn't directly ask where I am?Instead, let me go home and tell him.I didn't call back and didn't know what to say. I hid in the closet again at night, and I thought about my mother—Gary hadn’t called yet—and I imagined that my mother must be at home now, sitting in front of the TV, smoking and drinking, and had no idea consequences you may face.Even though she had hurt me and betrayed me, it still hurts to think that she didn't know what was going to happen.

Then, I remembered that she also called me the day I was kidnapped.She made me feel guilty about a coffee machine knowing I'd be kidnapped in a few hours.After I was almost kidnapped the second time, it was she who came to take care of me and made me feel a mother's love, but I didn't know that she was the culprit of all this.That's when I knew, I had to see the whole interrogation.I had to hear with my own ears why she did that to me. Around ten o'clock the next morning, I got a call from Gary.They had already received Mom's bank account records early in the morning, which matched Wayne's confession, and they had also confirmed that the two pink rubber bands were from the same company.Mom has been arrested, the neighbors must have exploded.Now, they asked her to think about it for herself at the police station, and interrogate her after I went there.I arrived at the police station soon, but, along the way, I wanted to turn around and run away.

When I got to the police station, Gary took off his coat and put it on me, and I realized that I was shaking all the way.The jacket still carries his body temperature and smell.I wish I could just hide in my coat and make myself disappear.I went to a small room next to where my mother was kept, and I stared at her through a glass that was supposed to be an opaque mirror.Two policemen were with me in the room, and when I looked one in the eye, he looked down at his shoes. Mom sat on the edge of the chair with her hands pressed under her legs, her feet barely touching the ground.The makeup on her face is worn out, probably yesterday, and her ponytail is loose.Then, I saw it.The lid of one of her eyes drooped more than the other.She wasn't drunk, but she could tell she had had vodka that morning.Gary walked into the room and stood beside me.

"Are you okay?" He put his hand on my shoulder.The weight of his hand made me feel solid and warm. "What's the point? You guys already have proof." "Of course, the more evidence, the better. I have handled many cases. I thought the evidence was solid, but in the end it might fall apart because of insufficient evidence. Therefore, it is best to let her confess her guilt." "Who will interrogate her?" "Me." There was light in his eyes, and if he were a horse, he might have already gritted his teeth by now. As soon as Gary walked into the room, Mom cheered up.I just feel sick.

He first told her that there would be audio and video recordings throughout the process, and his mother even smiled at the camera. Then, Gary asked her to speak out her name, address and date to the camera.She didn't know the date until Gary told her. After all these procedures were completed, he said: "The police who brought you here should have informed you of your rights. I still want to say again that you have the right to ask for a lawyer before you speak. You don't have to tell me , but everything you say will be used as evidence in court." Mom shook her head: "This is too funny, who would I kidnap?"

Gary raised one eyebrow: "Your daughter." "Annie was not kidnapped. It was the man who imprisoned her." Apparently, Gary felt it was pointless to explain the legal definition of kidnapping to her at this point, and I totally agreed with him, as he continued. "Wayne has given us a confession, signed it, explaining what happened and what you two did in the process." He opened a folder on his desk and took out the The confession, pointing to one of them, "We have your credit card statement records, which prove that you rented a van from another place the day before Anne was attacked. This is the invoice given to us by the rental company. You rented A white van with your signature on the invoice. Also, we have witnesses who saw you and Simon Russo meet at Eagle Valley Inn before Anne was kidnapped. We also confirmed that, in Simon Russo A rubber band was found in your house that is the same as the one in your house. The evidence is clear, you were responsible for the kidnapping."

Sitting in the chair, Mom tensed up, her eyes widened, and a second later she relaxed, straightening the corners of her skirt.Then, he turned his attention to his fingernails. Gary put his hands on the table and leaned forward. "My boss, they don't think you just want Annie to disappear for a week. Although you told Wayne that, they think you hired Simon Russo to kill her. Annie's company bought her If you bought life insurance, I'm sure you already knew that you were the sole beneficiary of the policy. As a result, your plan went wrong, didn't you, you didn't expect Annie to come back alive."

Mom trembled at every word Gary said, and her eyes widened.She began to stammer: "No... no... of course not... kill her? No... I absolutely can't..." "I don't know if you understand me, Rowling. They don't just think you hired Simon Russo to kill her, they want you to do it, and that makes a big difference in sentencing." I looked at my mother's face as she licked her lips.Gary probably thought it was nervousness, but I knew Mom, and lip licking was just a small part of her drunken effort to focus. "They expect me to do it?" "We spent a lot of time, a lot of money, taxpayers' money, on this case. My bosses were not happy. What about the public? Volunteers spent many weekends searching the woods and posting missing people's notices. , and the whole time, you know exactly what's going on? Well, they all want to fight back. So, they don't just want someone to pay for it, they need someone to pay for it."

"Well, they want someone to pay, which is fine. The one who did it should pay." Her eyes moistened. "When I think of what Anne has been through..." Gary said in a soft voice, "Look, Rowling, I'm with you. I want to help you with your problems. They don't just want you to plead guilty, Rowling, they want you to Imprisoned forever. So, unless you tell me the truth, I can't help you, they'll think you hired that man to kill your own daughter, and you're dead." She looked at him worriedly, the lids of both eyes drooping.Like a mouse that is not ready to go to the mousetrap and nibble on the cheese on it, but smells it first.I looked at them both, and I was horrified, marveled, and a little moved, as if sitting there was someone else's mother, and another cop.

"I was in the hospital with you, Rowling, and I saw how sad you were. I know that you really love your daughter and would do anything for her." Her legs under the table began to wobble. Shaking up. "But Annie can be stubborn sometimes, and I know she won't listen to your advice, no matter how good it is, won't she?" I don't like it when he says that about me. "No one listens to you, does it? My daughter doesn't listen, and Wayne doesn't listen. It must be hard for you to see him squander opportunity after opportunity and get nothing done."

"If that man didn't have me by his side, he wouldn't even be able to find his way." She flicked her ponytail and changed the subject. "Some men just need a little push to reach their potential." Gary smiled sadly at her: "But it shouldn't be you who pushed him, Rowling. If he is a competent husband and a capable family pillar, then you don't need to do all this, yes No?" She obviously agreed with him and started to nod, but then stopped suddenly when she realized her movement. "We all know that Wayne was supposed to get rid of the loan sharks so you could save Anne. But he didn't, did he? No, he left you to deal with the messy stuff. And now, he's got all the faults It's all on you." He leaned over so that he was almost nose to nose with his mother.Mom bit her lip, as if trying to get some alcohol out of it.She wanted to say something, she wanted to tell him the truth—she just needed a little nudge. Gary said in a sympathetic tone: "Wayne has let you down. There is no doubt that we can help you, Rowling. We can ensure your safety. It is not your fault that all these things are out of control." This little bit of impetus allowed her to cross the boundary, her face turned red, and her eyes showed a frantic look. "He should only keep Annie for a week. He told me that the hut was very comfortable, and it took him a month to prepare it. He refused to tell me where, saying that if I really didn't know where Annie was locked up, I would be able to get it." Acting more realistically. He also said that he has a medicine that can calm Annie down, so she won't be afraid, she basically just sleeps all the time, so it is absolutely safe. After a week, he will put Annie stayed in the trunk, left the car on the street, and called me to give me the location, and I called the police anonymously. But he never called me, and his cell phone didn't work. What do I I can’t do it, I can’t save her. The loan shark said he’s going to scratch my face.” She widened her eyes and covered her face with her hands. "I sent Wayne to talk to him and Wayne screwed up again and we owe more money now." "Did you give this to Russo?" Gary shoved the photo I found in the cabin up to Mom. "It's the only good-looking photo I could find, and she always frowns when I take pictures of her." "So, you think, the man must think Anne is pretty, don't you?" "He had seen a picture of Annie in Dwight's cell, and Annie was still very young in the picture, so he wanted to see what Annie would look like when she grew up." Gary, who was drinking coffee at the time, choked and coughed violently when he heard this.He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, but before he could speak, Mom began to deliver her closing statement. "So, you see, none of this is my fault, and if he follows through with my plan, then Anne will be all right. Now that I've told you everything, you should go to your superiors, Speak nice words for me and solve this problem." She smiled charmingly, reached out to the table, and took Gary's hand. "I have always thought that you are a man who is good at taking care of women. I really want to cook you a meal and express my gratitude..." She tilted her head and gave him another smile. Gary didn't speak for at least a minute, just sipping his coffee, then he put his cup down and pulled back his mother's hand. "Rowling, you've been arrested. You're not going anywhere for a long time." She actually looked surprised.Then look confused.And then sad. "I thought you understood me." Gary sat up straight: "I understand, Rowling. I understand, you committed a crime, you violated the law, you violated several laws, and did not make any remedies. I understand, you sent a The killer went to kill his own daughter. I also understand that the killer impregnated your daughter and then killed the child. Your daughter is alone, terrified, beaten, physically and psychologically devastated, and does not know what to do every day Can I live until tomorrow. I don’t know why all this happened to me. Now, I can finally give her an answer, but how I hope the answer is not like this.” As Gary was about to walk out of the room, his mother stood up suddenly and grabbed his arm, and he struggled to free himself.Mom's blue eyes filled with tears, and she clutched his arm tightly. "But, I really didn't know that he was a killer. I never thought of hurting Annie. I'm a good mother, do you understand?" At the end, she couldn't continue. Gary held her by the shoulders, pushed her away gently, and continued towards the door. "It's not fair!" He stood at the door, turned around, and said, "It's not fair that Anne has a mother like you." He walked into our little room and stood next to me.Without saying a word, we looked at Mom through the mirror in front of us.A moment after Gary left, her face was full of anger, maybe it was because she gradually sobered up, or maybe she gradually understood the last few words Gary said, her eyes opened wider and wider.She was pale and covered her mouth with both hands.This is not a fake cry.Her body began to shake violently, and she burst into tears.Her eyes rolled around, looking at every corner of the room.She took a few steps back, slumped on a chair, and stared at the door, still crying. "Do you want to go in and talk to her?" Gary asked. "I don't want to talk to her right now." My whole body was shaking. I asked Gary what was going to happen next, and he said they were going to take Mom and Wayne into custody and then have a bail hearing.I think this case may not even go to trial.Mom will definitely accept the prosecution's lenient confession.I know I shouldn't care about her anymore, but I can't help but wonder if she's going to get a lawyer, and if so, how they can afford it. "Where's the usurer? Are they in danger?" "We will investigate this matter immediately. We will definitely protect their safety." Gary walked me outside, to his car, and we didn't speak the whole way, and I didn't know what to say.Thank you for arresting my mother and interrogating her so sharply, you really know how to break her down? I turned around to get into my car, and he said, "I have something for you," and handed me a pack of playing cards, "When we arrested Wayne, this was in his pocket, and he let I'll give it to you. He wants you to know that he's really sorry." He paused, looked at me carefully, "I'm sorry too, Anne". "You don't have to be sorry, it's your job, and you're doing a great job." I know, I sound sarcastic, and he looks so miserable. "It would be worse if she escaped the law," I said.But at that moment, I didn't know whether what I said was true or not. I had to know that he wasn't just the guy who arrested my mom. "Tell me something about yourself that no one else knows." "What's up?" "Tell me, anything goes." We looked each other in the eye. "Well," he finally said, "sometimes, when I can't sleep, I'll get out of bed and grab a spoon and eat peanut butter straight out of the jar." "Peanut butter? I want to try it someday, too." "Try it, it's very useful." We looked at each other again, and then, I got into my car and drove off.In the rearview mirror, I saw him staring at me until two police officers walked up to him, patted his back, and shook his hand.I guess there must have been celebrations in the police station that day.I turned my head, saw the deck of cards on the passenger seat, and realized I was still wearing Gary's coat. Those reporters got wind of it immediately, and my phone was about to explode.Yesterday, I also found a reporter peeking in from my window and Emma chased him away.Now, I'm not just a girl who disappeared and came back, but a girl who was kidnapped by her own mother.I don't know if I can face all this. I called Luke yesterday because I wanted to tell him what happened before he read the papers.He happened to be home and for a second I thought I heard a girl talking, but maybe it was the TV. I told him what my mother had done and that my mother had been arrested. At first, he was shocked and kept asking me if it was true, and after I told him my mother's confession, he said, "Oh, she must be having a hard time, it feels like all this is happening out of her control." He actually felt bad for her?Why don't you feel that I am wronged?I want to reprimand him.But these are no longer important. I hung up the phone and stared at the picture of me and Luke above the fireplace.We look so happy. The next day, I called Christina and told her everything.She gasped and said, "My God, Anne. Are you okay? How come? I'll come. I'll bring you a bottle of red wine, is that enough? Surely not, at least a case. You Mom? Your real mom did this?" "Yeah, I'm still accepting that fact. Can we talk about drinking for a while? I just need...I need a little time." She stopped, and then said, "Of course, of course, if you want to see me, just call me, okay? I'll drop everything and go right away." I didn't tell Christina and Luke that I hadn't actually left the house, hadn't planned to, and wasn't going to tell Christina that Mommy had tried to frame her.In the past few days, I have been hearing a wailing voice in my head, and I can't stop it.