Two o'clock in the morning.
The police interrogation room.
They had chosen this time for the interrogation because, first, all the necessary conditions were in place and second, people were most likely to be sleepy and at their worst mentally, making it easier to break through her psychological defenses.
The door opened, and Luke and Xiao Hei entered the interrogation room with solemn expressions.
Luke placed a brown paper bag on the table, looking at Maria seated opposite him, and did not speak for quite some time.
Xiao Hei shook his head and let out a light sigh.
The actions of the two men made Maria feel unstable, and she took the initiative to ask, "Deputy Chief Luke, have you found my child? What has happened?"
"Sorry…" Luke hesitated, then took several photos out of the brown paper bag, "We were too late."
"What do you mean? Did the kidnapper take my child away?"
Xiao Hei said, "When we arrived, the kidnapper had already run away. We found bloodstains in the living room.
Maria, I'm truly sorry..."
Maria panicked, "What do you mean? Why would there be bloodstains in my home? That's impossible, absolutely impossible..."
Luke placed a photo in front of Maria. It was a photo of Maria's home, and on the right side of the coffee table, there were some blue spots visible.
Maria grabbed the photo with both hands, her face showing confusion, "Why are there these blue spots in my living room, what is this?"
"Bloodstains reveal a fluorescence reaction when cleaned and treated with a special reagent."
"God, what in the world happened? What exactly is going on?"
"Based on the pattern left by the bloodstains, specifically drops of blood, we followed them to the backyard, where we discovered a patch of fresh soil, likely recently buried.
After digging up the soil, we found the body of a girl." Luke put another photo in front of Maria.
Maria recognized at a glance that it was her own backyard, which had a large hole dug out, and next to the hole lay a black plastic bag over a meter long, with one corner of the bag opened, revealing the head of a black girl.
"Ah!" Maria screamed, "Martha, No!"
"Wuu wuu..." Maria began to cry sorrowfully.
Xiao Hei's mouth twitched upward slightly, Bad woman, now you get to feel what it's like to be deceived.
The photos were all fabricated.
"Wuu wuu..." Maria cried even more heartbreakingly, sobbing for several minutes before she stopped.
Luke handed her a tissue, "I'm so sorry, we were too late. We couldn't save her in time."
"Why? Why would she die?"
"She was likely killed by the kidnapper."
"He promised me he wouldn't hurt my child, he gave me his word."
Xiao Hei said earnestly, "Maria, I used to be very gullible too, but after being deceived a few times, I realized that some people cannot be trusted.
And a kidnapper more so?
"No, no, no, I don't believe it. He had no reason to do this. I had already agreed to kill George for him, why would he harm Martha."
Luke said, "We speculate that the kidnapper is probably working alone, and it would be difficult for one person to control two children. Something unexpected might have occurred during this time, or he might have found it more convenient to control just one child.
So, he cruelly killed Martha." Luke spoke gravely, "I promise to rescue your son Pek as soon as possible to prevent tragedy from happening again."
"Do you think he might still kill my son?"
"I suspect this kidnapper is likely a drug addict. He may not do so in a sober state, but if he's high on drugs…" Luke trailed off, "I promise you, I will do my utmost to track down Pek's whereabouts."
"Wuu wuu..." Maria wept even harder, "God, why are you so cruel? Why did this have to happen to me..."
Luke sighed, "Maria, I can understand how you feel.
But I hope you can pull yourself together and recall any details about the kidnapper. It is only by learning more about the kidnapper's clues and identifying his true identity that we can rescue Pek.
Martha is already dead.
I don't want any mishaps to happen to Pek."
Suddenly, Maria shouted, "Jamie Brady!"
"He's the one who kidnapped Pek and Martha."
"Yes, he's a monster, the murderer who killed his own daughter."
"What's your relationship with him?"
"He's my boyfriend. We're not married, but he is the father of Pek and Martha... He's been in jail several times, and I've always waited for him to come back, giving him chances time and again.
He actually killed my daughter!
"Where is Jamie Brady now?"
"Think about where he might go?"
"I really don't know. I seldom inquired about his messes and didn't want to get to know his cronies. I've always avoided getting involved in his troubles, but now..." Maria covered her face with her hands,
"I regret it. I shouldn't have helped him. He killed Martha; he's the murderer!"
Luke pressed on, "Why did you help him kill George?"
"He told me George was involved in a big deal with him, and when George got caught by the police, he might become a state's witness.
If George turned him in, he wouldn't only get caught, but he might face the death penalty.
So, he begged me to kill George..."