Chapter 12

In the process of her investigation, Sarah finally discovered a series of astonishing things.

Three people had died in this café, all by jumping into the lake, and all in Betel Lake, the same lake where Eddie said his brother was dragged away by a strange fish.

Why was there one person who died by jumping from a building?

Was there any difference in this?

This was something Sarah couldn't quite understand, and summoning the café owner, Felstone Gracie, didn't help much, as all these people had committed suicide, and the forensic doctor had made the most authoritative conclusion.

"Since they all committed suicide, why are we going through all this trouble!" Raine was the first to express his doubts, which were also the doubts of the other members of the investigation team.

But everyone felt a bit strange. If this was a coincidence, it was indeed a rather impressive one, and one couldn't help but suspect that there was something sinister behind it.

This was the police mindset.

"I don't think so, there must be a reason for this!"

Sarah called Zhen Fan and then had Raine continue to investigate the people around the four victims, while she drove to Temecula City.

Zhen Fan's banquet was undoubtedly a success. When Annie and Thomas said goodbye, their bellies were full, and they walked with a slight sway. Claire, with her round belly, belched and was held by Zhen Fan, her hands around his neck, unwilling to let go.

"Mom, can Uncle come to our house?"

Zhen Fan held Claire as he saw this family off. Claire spoke in a small, pleading voice, looking pitifully at Sarah.

"No, but you can come here to play tomorrow!"

Annie felt that they were bothering Zhen Fan too much and was a bit embarrassed, so she took Claire from Zhen Fan.

"I want Uncle to sleep with me and tell me stories!"

Claire still looked at Zhen Fan, tears welling up in her round eyes.

"That's not possible, Uncle has a lot of things to do. How can Claire bear to disturb Uncle? That would make Uncle unable to sleep well!"

Thomas also chimed in.

"Okay, I'll come back tomorrow!" Claire looked at Zhen Fan with a bit of委屈 (indignation), hoping for a definite answer!

"Tomorrow? No problem, welcome my little angel Claire to visit tomorrow!"

Zhen Fan smiled, pinched Claire's cheek, and the family said goodbye and left. Claire, lying on Annie's back, waved to Zhen Fan until she entered the house.

Zhen Fan returned to his room, tidied up for a while, leaned on the sofa, made himself a cup of tea, and turned on the TV. Actually, American entertainment shows were quite good, especially those from local Los Angeles stations, where talk shows usually had high ratings.

"The guest today is our Hollywood darling—Kristen James Stewart." A middle-aged, plump woman exaggeratedly introduced a guest, and Zhen Fan was surprised to see this woman.

Yes, it was the Kristen he had met while running, and he didn't expect her to be a big star. The host then began to introduce Kristen's achievements, particularly mentioning her performance in the latest movie "Twilight—New Moon" and the movie's success.

"It's hard to believe that you are so young yet have achieved such great success. If I said I wasn't jealous, I would be lying, of course, if I were a man, I would go crazy pursuing you."

The middle-aged woman's host spoke in a playful manner, which was typical of American-style talk shows, not particularly funny, but the audience laughed appropriately.

"Would you fall in love with a werewolf or a vampire?"

The middle-aged woman finally threw out a teaser.

"Of course, if the world went crazy and werewolves and vampires appeared, would you choose one of them?" This was a trap. While the question was a bit strange, most people thought it was just the host being playful.

"I would fall in love with a fellow human!"

Kristen's answer was clever.

"If the world really went that crazy, we wouldn't need special effects for future 'Twilight' movies, which would save the director a lot of money. We could cut costs significantly, and the director wouldn't complain to the producers!"

Kristen's words made many people laugh.

The host clearly didn't want to continue on this strange topic. They talked about other things, but Zhen Fan wasn't paying much attention. He just watched the girl on the screen, who spoke confidently and maturely for her age.

"Talk about your recent plans. I heard you received a call from director Rupert Sanders and are preparing to star in his movie 'Snow White and the Huntsman.' This is your first leading role, and it's a big investment, which will obviously have a huge impact on your career!"

"I will treat every opportunity as a new beginning!"

Kristen's eyes sparkled with intelligence as she engaged with the difficult host. Zhen Fan watched with great interest, feeling unsatisfied, he poured himself a glass of wine and then closed his eyes comfortably, deciding to buy the DVDs of the movies Kristen starred in to watch!

Snow White? Zhen Fan was quite looking forward to seeing what this beauty would look like as Snow White.

The "knock, knock, knock" at the door interrupted Zhen Fan's thoughts. He opened the door somewhat irritably, and Sarah stood there alone, her car parked outside.

It was already completely dark outside, but the streetlights made the surroundings somewhat bright.

"Are you planning to stay the night? I'm sorry, but our rooms are full. You can try somewhere else. Oh, there's a neighbor on my left, no one's there. The female owner was unfortunately murdered, and the male owner is in prison. It would be a perfect place for a charming night!"

"Cut it out, don't give me that!"

Sarah ignored Zhen Fan's playful smile, pushed his hand away, and walked in, sitting on the sofa. She saw a full glass of wine on the coffee table and took a sip.

"Not bad, but it's probably the cheap stuff from the supermarket?"

"To be honest, the place you just drank from is also where I drank from!"

Zhen Fan sat down next to her.

"So what?"

Sarah smiled and winked, clearly an awkward flirtation that didn't even impress a novice like Zhen Fan.

"Suicide cases, what do you think?"

Sarah didn't beat around the bush and directly told Zhen Fan about the investigation over the past few days.

"Since they all committed suicide, why are you still investigating?"

Zhen Fan's eyes were fixed on Kristen on the screen, but unfortunately, the program was already ending, and Kristen left, followed by an advertisement!

"Don't you find it suspicious?"

"So what?"

Zhen Fan used Sarah's words to counter her.

"You're my consultant, of course, I need your opinion. If it's a coincidence, why did the girl you sent flowers to choose to jump from a building, while the others chose to jump into the lake?"

This was what Sarah found most confusing.

"Perhaps the method of suicide was more consistent, and the former might have influenced the latter!"

Zhen Fan's opinion was in vain, as Sarah had already ruled this out. The four people had no connection and were strangers.

"I'm just a consultant. I've given my opinion, and you don't believe it. So, I've fulfilled my duty. If you want to stay, it's $100!"

Zhen Fan held out his hand.

"Zhen, I just want to solve this mystery!" Sarah knew she needed his help, so she was very humble, but Zhen Fan's attitude disappointed her.

Seeing Sarah like this, Zhen Fan couldn't help but shake his head.

"Do you believe in God?"

Zhen Fan's expression was serious as he asked her.

"This—what does it have to do with the case?"

Sarah hesitated, looking at Zhen Fan.

"Don't worry about that, just answer yes or no."

"God is in everyone's heart!"

Sarah thought her answer was clever, neither blaspheming God nor expressing her doubts and denials.

"Do you believe in the soul?"

Zhen Fan's serious demeanor made Sarah feel helpless.

"Stop beating around the bush, Zhen. Are you refusing to help me?"

"Answer this question first, it's related to helping you!"

Sarah couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you going to say you're a medium again? Please, can you be serious and discuss the case with me? Zhen, I really need your help!"

Zhen Fan shrugged and smiled, "If you don't believe, what else can I say?"

"Fine, if that's the case, I believe!"

Sarah had no choice but to compromise.

"You're not sincere, so it's pointless to talk! You can sleep in the attic, there's a guest room there, or you can drive back. If you go back, I'm sure you'll have a bandage on your forehead tomorrow, like an Indian. But that's not bad!"

"Go to your Indians!"

Sarah was a bit angry, her purpose not achieved, and she didn't want to leave like this, so she sat on the sofa, glaring at Zhen Fan.

Zhen Fan stood up and smiled.

"Of course, if you don't move, I'll assume you're staying. I haven't shared a house with a woman for a long time, and my bathroom door is broken, it won't close."

"Nice try, I'm leaving, I'll call you tomorrow!"

Sarah huffed and stood up, heading out.

"Drive carefully, don't exceed 60 miles per hour."

Sarah sneered and left the room, got in her car, closed the door, and started the engine.

"60 miles per hour, do you think I'm an idiot!" She decided to go to the lake the next day.