Chapter 4

I watched Rebecca hand the mirror to Louis. I had a bad feeling.

That strange mirror. Would it fool Louis as well?

Louis was my senior at the police academy. I followed him everywhere back then. He treated me like a younger brother. He knew how many nights I stayed up trying to track the killer. He knew how many places I had gone to.

The dismemberment scene back then was too brutal. He was the only one who insisted on going back with me. We returned again and again and searched for every possible clue.

That was also when we carried out the chase together. We finally waited for the killer to return to the scene. We split up and moved in from two sides to corner him, but he still managed to escape.

Louis looked at the so-called evidence in Rebecca’s hand. He was uncertain.

“Rebecca, are you sure this is evidence? What can a mirror prove?”

Rebecca’s expression turned serious. She seemed to think of her parents’ deaths. Her tears would not stop. She held the mirror upright and showed it to Louis.

Louis put on his gloves and took the mirror seriously. He looked at it again and again.

When I saw that he did not react the same way, I let out a breath of relief. I could not help but shout, “Captain, it’s not me!”

Then, Louis took off his glasses. He handed the mirror back to Rebecca and sighed at me.

“You. I was the one who brought you out of the police academy. How did you end up like this? You’ve been putting on this act for fifteen years. You nearly fooled me as well.”

I shook my head. I had no strength left to argue.

Why? Why did everyone who looked in that mirror say that I was the killer?

“I don’t believe it. Show me. What exactly is in that mirror?”

I shook my handcuffed wrists in anger. Rebecca flipped the mirror face down on the table. She said with frustration, “Even now, you still won’t drop the act. Let the witness confront you first. Let’s see how you explain yourself.”

Rebecca gave Warren a look. Warren finally spoke up.

“I saw it all. Last night, I got up to drink water and saw you climb into our living room. My parents were already asleep, so they didn’t notice. You went into the bedroom, suffocated them with a pillow, and dismembered them.”

I laughed when I heard the obvious flaw in his story.

“Then what were you doing? I was killing people, and you just stood there watching? You didn’t run or call the police?”

Warren went silent. After a long pause, he finally stammered, “I was scared. It was the middle of the night. Where was I supposed to go?”

I found it even more ridiculous. I nodded with disdain.

“Fine. Even if that’s true, let me ask you this. Why would I bring a mirror with me? Was I bored?”

Warren clearly did not expect that question. He froze and could not answer for a long time.

“How am I supposed to know what you’re planning? That mirror isn’t mine. How would I know—”

Louis and Rebecca both noticed that something was off.

Rebecca rubbed her temples. She looked at Warren with suspicion.

“Warren, you know, giving a false testimony is a serious offense. Just say what you saw. Don’t tell me he bribed you. The fugitive from fifteen years ago is right in front of us. We’re one step away from closing the case. You can’t hide what you know.”

Louis also spoke in a calm but serious voice.

“Did he threaten you? Don’t worry. Come with me to the next room. He can’t hurt you there. Tell us everything you saw, word for word. We’ll protect you.”

Rebecca and Louis both believed that I had threatened Warren. They decided to escort him to the interrogation room next door.

I watched them treat me like a dangerous criminal. I found it almost funny.

I laughed, and tears came out at the same time.

They had already escorted Warren to the door when I spoke with a smile.