Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

Don't you understand, Xiaomei?They think one of us did it. I was standing outside the kitchen, raising my hand to open the door, when I heard his words.The fear that had been smoldering in my heart now came out in full force, blocking my way, preventing me from breathing or speaking. But how can they? Not only that.Dawei's voice showed a rainbow momentum that I had never heard before, interrupting Xiaomei's wailing.That's why Owen started packing his bags.Dalio scurrying around like a headless chicken.Miles vomits in the bathroom, throws all of Leah's letters in the trash, and strides into the police station.That's why Estelle looked so distraught.

I put my hand on the ajar door, ready to push it in. But the police got it wrong.cried Xiaomei, her voice hoarse with grief. Yeah? Of course it is.What the hell are you talking about, David?This is not what you mean.Absolutely not.It was horrific, utterly horrific. Darling, we must keep our eyes open, if that means I heard your conversation.I said to David. I had no intention of making the situation worse.David said. right.I agree with your opinion.That's what the police think, and that's what we try to avoid and can't get rid of. Are the police treating you well? I shrugged.that's not important.There was chaos in the police station.There was a case command center there, with photos and diagrams everywhere, and about thirty officers running around.Did you see Miles?

Probably in his room.To pack or clean things up or something.We're all going to be questioned right now.But everyone locks themselves in a private space, as if only in there can they feel safe. But you are an exception. I have Xiaomei. You're lucky, I said, what's next?move? Dawei and Xiaomei exchanged glances. We're still planning, David said, what about you? I'd better make some phone calls, I said, though it probably won't turn out well.but despite this I let the young couple plan their own future and go upstairs to find Pipa.As I passed Miles' door, I stopped and listened.I hear the sound of moving things.For a moment I thought I would go in and try to comfort him.He was my friend, and was more than just a friend.But as Owen asked me, who do I trust?I didn't trust Miles, not anymore.I don't trust Miles, Mike, Dalio or Irving.Still, if Owen knocks on my door, I'll let him in.I would cover us with blankets and hold him tight in the dark.I went to the pipa room and knocked on the door, and when I heard her promise, I opened the door and entered.

If her previous room had been a mess, it must have entered a whole new level of chaos now.Clothes that were originally placed in drawers or cupboards were taken out and piled up into colorful hills.Books that had been stacked or placed on shelves were scattered everywhere.The folders were spread out, and the paper was spread on the ground like fallen leaves in golden autumn.I had to keep my eyes open to find the pipa amidst the chaos.Sitting cross-legged next to the mirror, she rummaged through a bulky make-up case, tossing leftover lipstick and eye shadow in a trash bag. Hi.I said hello and sat down on the floor next to her.

Time is tough, right? It was very difficult. Want to tell me? No, forget it.There is nothing to say.I've said it a hundred times before.Now it sounds like a lie.The messy scene in your room means you are packing? yes.I'm going to join Ned tomorrow night. I didn't ask him who Ned was.Just picked up a fringed shawl, pressed it to his face, and closed his eyes for a while. I made an appointment for a scrap truck, Pipa continued, we can throw unnecessary things into it. After finishing the clearance sale, do you still have something to dispose of? Pipa and I looked at each other, but neither of us smiled.Now that memory is not so interesting anymore.

So many that you'll drop your glasses.she says. The police may have objections, I said, you call it discarding evidence. She elongated her face. It's okay if they want to take it all away, she said, as long as they don't give it back to me. I got the money.I said. Where? here.I tap the pocket. God!You just carry money around with you? Otherwise I don't know where to put it.The police are about to raid the house.Wouldn't it be weirder if they found £20,000 in my panty drawer? Is there anything else that doesn't look weird? I want to split the money.Can you figure out who should get how much?

Well, Pipa said blankly.She picked up a pair of pantyhose, rolled them into a ball in her hands, and then flattened them out to check for snagging. ASAP? good. I still remember what the house looked like when we first moved in.Each room is clean and spacious, full of infinite possibilities. As long as you step on it, the wooden floor will echo, and the light will pour into the house from the uncurtained windows.But it is gradually filled with things, with people, with noise, with history, and finally overloaded, like a ship that has taken on so many passengers that it finally deforms and capsizes.But now we're going to take it apart and put it back together again.Empty the room and disperse the tenants.The painting was removed from the wall, leaving only mottled areas where Dalio never took time to paint.Hair balls and dust flutter in the corners.The scrap truck is full of worthless junk that no one would want even if it were sold at a big auction: mismatched socks, broken dinner plates, torn bed sheets, broken chairs, crooked bicycle wheels, yellowed newspaper.Everything chipped, torn, mutilated, and unattractive piled on the bottom.It's like a tide, I think, that sweeps in through the years, and even we come with the tide.Now that the tide is relentlessly rushing out, it won't be long before all that remains of this home is the rubble and the fragments of our lives here.

While we were preparing to leave this sad place, the police arrived at this troubled place.Police in plain clothes are about to interrogate the residents of 72 Maitland Road.McBride and Paul.Chief Inspector Kamsky was among them, and I seemed to see Jim.Sergeant Prieber's potato-like face; as for the others, I don't know them.Others in uniform, with bags and cameras, didn't look us in the eye, but scoured every room or rummaged through the scrap trucks and bags we dumped in our haste. thing.It felt like the home was being invaded, and it was.Like an invincible army, they invaded the door with documents, titles, notebooks, evidence boxes and suspicion.I saw this home through the eyes of the police, and it was full of dark and ugly secrets: I saw us through the eyes of the police, and I saw us like a mob, nervous, defensive, and terrified.At this time, it is impossible to want to appear natural or innocent.

I watched Dalio lead a man and a woman up the stairs to his bedroom; his face was ashen and his eyes were red.Mike grimaced at them, his forehead wrinkled and veins popping out of his temples.I knew he wasn't angry, but that he was full of fear and uncertainty, and maybe all the nightmares from the past came back to him.Only Pipa looked calm and composed, almost in high spirits.She was used to this sort of thing.She wanders in the legal world and is well versed in various legal terms. I walked downstairs and stood in the corridor outside Pipa and Miles.At this very moment, a policeman came upstairs from the kitchen and banged on Miles' door.After a few seconds, Miles opened the door.He was strangely formal in a dark suit and white linen shirt I had given him long ago.His face was thinner and older than it had been a few hours ago.He stood back to let the officer into the bedroom.Miles glanced at me, his eyes sparkling.Then he smiled slightly, turned and walked into the room.

Estelle? I look back.Hey, isn't this Chief Inspector Kamsky?Are you going to ask me again? We walked into the backyard together.I took him to my vegetable garden and showed him the fruits of my painstaking efforts.Fava beans, runner beans, potatoes, these are asparagus, but it will take two years to grow, so we probably won't be able to eat them all.You know, I'm moving out. you must inform the police I know, I know, I said, I won't run away.I'll be lodging at my friend Saul's, not too far from here. Kamsky said nothing.He seems to have something ulterior motives.

When will it end?I asked him. I can only paraphrase what I have said to the scouting team, namely But I never knew what he said to the scouting team, because at that moment an officer came across the grass and Kamsky walked away from me.The officer whispered something, and I saw Kamsky's face freeze for a moment.An ominous premonition sprouted in my heart. Don't let idlers wait in.I heard Kamsky say this as the officer turned away.Then he looked back at me.Please forgive me.As he spoke, he bowed an incredible bow, as if he had abandoned me on a clean dance floor. What's wrong?Did they discover something? Yes, he said, found something.