Chapter 11
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In the living room, more than a dozen officers stood awkwardly crammed together alongside the captain and the recorder. Across the room, Stanley furrowed his brow and exclaimed, “Does it really require this many people just to take a statement? Someone unfamiliar with the situation might think your’re here to apprehend a criminal?”
The captain, Bennett Youngblood, feeling embarrassed by his team’s overzealous presence, rubbed his nose and offered an awkward smile. “It’s mainly because we all wanted to thank Ms. Anderson for her help today–she’s practically their savior”
Seeing Bennett offer an excuse, several burly officers quickly stepped forward, one after another, thanking Quinlyn
Quinlyn sat quietly on the couch, clutching the newly delivered ice cream. She watched it melt slowly while mentally tallying how many people hadn’t yet thanked her. Her short legs dangled, betraying a hint of impatience.
Every officer who had been involved in today’s mall incident couldn’t help but sneak glances at Quinlyn. When they saw her eagerly scooping up the ice cream, their expressions were priceless.
Had it not been for the mall’s surveillance cameras, they never would have believed that the child before them was the courageous soul who had barged into the climbing shop, grabbed a rope and a knife, calmly halted the officers from breaking, and single–handedly approached the criminal, pressing her head against the gun.
Bennett, though taken aback, had weathered numerous challenges. He quickly regained his composure, reminded his team to return to their posts, and then inquired, “Were you all together at the time of the gunshot?”
Stanley nodded and was the first to respond. “Yeah, we had just finished our ice cream and stepped out of the store.”
“And your first reaction was…”
“Of course, to hide, Stanley said matter–of–factly.
Bennett smiled, but his eyes were scrutinizing, “Most people, when they hear a noise, would instinctively seek out the source to see what’s happening, not hide. Or did you immediately recognize it as a gunshot?”
Stanley paused for a moment. Upon reflection, it made sense. Actually, the first person to duck wasn’t him but Quinlyn.
However, he instinctively felt that being truthful might get Quinlyn into trouble, so he frowned, dissatisfied, and said, “What do you mean by that? Are you implying we’re in league with the criminal?”
“Don’t misunderstand; we’re just conducting routine questioning” Bennett, with years of case experience, could easily discern Stanley’s evasion. Unhurriedly, he smiled and intended to delve further.
At this juncture, Quinlyn, who had been silently enjoying her ice cream, suddenly spoke up. “I recognized it. It was gunfire.”
The living room fell silent. All eyes immediately turned to her. Bennett squinted at her and asked, “Have you heard gunshots. before? Where was it?”
Quinlyn licked the ice cream from the corner of her mouth and replied. “At the borderlands.”
Only then did Bennett recall that her file mentioned she had been kidnapped to the borderlands. The attackers did possess guns, but he wasn’t sure if they had ever fired them, as they all perished in a fire before being apprehended.
“Your reaction was remarkably swift,” he remarked, closing the file and naturally initiating a conversation with Quinlys tone friendly. “How did you come up with the idea to use a rope to save everyone? Weren’t you afraid, given they had and explosives?”
Stanley, sitting nearby, sensed something was amiss and disliked this leading line of questioning. He was about to intervene when he heard Quinlyn promptly respond.
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11:13 Tue, 18 Mar
Chapter 11
“Yes, I’m scared” Quinlyn nodded, her youthful face betraying a gemine fear of death. Then, die continued, “But if I don’t do this, more people will suffer. I promised Matthew I would be a good person who helps others.
Her voice still retained a him of childhood, yet her words left everyone in the room speechless
Bennen, with his years of experience in handling such cases, could tell that Quinlyn was not lying her words were heartfelt. and the determination in her eyes was unmistakable, rendering further questioning futile.
Stanley was also moved and instinctively patted her on the head, inquiring. “Who is Matthew?”
“Huh?” Quinlyn glanced at him sideways, insure how to respond. Eventually, she murmured vaguely. The person who raised me.” She was an orphan, and Matthew had found her and nurtured her.
Stanley noticed the fleeting look of longing in her eyes and felt his heart soften. He comforted her by saying. “If you miss him, we can bring him here to live with us.” Given their family’s affluence, supporting another elderly person wouldn’t be an
issue
But Quinlyn shook her head, her gaze fixed on the melting ice cream in her hand. She said quietly. “There’s no need. He’s already passed away.”
Matthew had been shot by a criminal, and she had used money she earned from guiding to buy a coffin to bury him.
It was her first time acting as a lookout, helping to block three police cars in the mountain valley behind the town.
Most of the money was taken by the villagers, she personally received the money from those involved.
“Kid, you seem pretty sharp, definitely have potential, just a bit young,” the man smoking in the driver’s seat said with a grin.
However, there was blood trickling from the rear of the car, emitting a putrid odor.
Rumor had it that they were transporting “zombie meat, which was incredibly lucrative, but consuming it could make people sick or even kill them. She just wanted to get the money to bury Matthew and didn’t want to join them.
When the man saw her cautiously stepping back, his face twisted into an evil grin. “Growing up in a place like this, your fate was sealed a long time ago. Once a lookout, always a lookout. You’re no different from us, understand?”
Quinlyn understood, but she refused to succumb to her fate or become a bad person. So, later, she drew a map of their escape route and gave it to the police, showing them a gap in the borderlands they could catch the criminal.
Ultimately, the “zombie meat” never reached the city, and those involved were arrested.
Once, as she passed by the outpost gate, she noticed a picture posted there, seemingly intended for her. She copied what was on it and inquired with others, only to discover that it said two words: [Thank you]
Looking at the picture, she thought that perhaps she could be considered a good person after all.
Stanley almost lost his composure at her casual mention of death, turning to glare at Bennett. It was all Bennett’s fault for bringing up Quinlyn’s painful memories with his incessant talking.
Bennett also felt quite uneasy, especially when the information revealed that Quinlyn was already ten years old. Yet. little girl before him looked like she had endured numerous hardships.
Maintaining a pure heart in such challenging circumstances and bravely saving someone–even if she was somewhat resilient was comprehensible.
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apptry ||
In the end, he lacked the courage to continue quervaing. After giving argiek thank you to tastywere atten with his team, they hastily departed
