“What did you say?”

I looked at Rebecca’s furious face. I could not believe it.

“Have you lost your mind? The killer is Warren. He killed your parents fifteen years ago. Two murders. Fifteen years on the run. Arrest him now!”

Rebecca slapped me hard across the face.

“The one I’m arresting is you! You ran for fifteen years! Both dismemberment cases were done by you!”

I struggled to sit up. I was breathing hard. Blood from my nose dripped down my chin. I thought I heard things because I pushed myself too hard during the chase.

But the cold metal on my wrists told me this was real.

“You’ve lost your mind! The killer is Warren!”

As if it were still not enough, Rebecca stepped forward again and kicked me hard twice.

“Drop the act! My mom said that you were the killer!”

Warren stood nearby with his hands on his hips. He was out of breath. He looked at us with a strange expression, as if he did not know what to do.

Anger rushed through me, and my eyes turned red. I demanded an answer.

“Your mom has been gone for fifteen years! How did she tell you? In a dream?”

Rebecca’s eyes filled with tears. She raised the mirror in her hand and said with a quiver, “The mirror told me!

“This is the evidence. Listen. My mom used this to identify you as the killer.”

I stared at the mirror in her hand. It was the mirror from the coffee table at the crime scene. The same mirror had been there at the dismemberment case fifteen years ago.

But how could a mirror speak? That sounded even more absurd than a message in a dream!

The major dismemberment case from fifteen years ago shocked the whole of Raventon. Everyone knew about it. After the incident, the residents moved out overnight. The entire street became quiet. No one dared to live there anymore.

After all, the killer was still on the run. He could return to the scene at any time.

I stayed at my parents-in-law’s home for a full month before the killer came back. During the arrest, I held back because I was afraid of hitting bystanders.

When we got close, we fought hand-to-hand. I shot him in the shoulder, but he still got away.

For fifteen years, Rebecca and I searched day and night. We left the Raventon Major Crimes Unit to join the one in Sylvara. I had finally caught the culprit.

But she said that the killer was me. The man I had hunted for fifteen years was me.

How could that be?

Among the officers, my trainee, Jason Lloyd, could not stand it anymore. He stepped forward and tried to stop her.

“Ms. Parker, are you under too much pressure from this case? We all know what happened back then—”

I looked at Jason with hope in my eyes. He was the best recruit I had taken into the special unit. He trained under Rebecca and me and was like a son to us. He followed us on cases and even spent holidays with us.

Jason gave me a reassuring look. He was about to talk her down.

Rebecca handed him the mirror. Jason took it. He seemed to see something terrifying and quickly went silent.

“Mr. Walker, I didn’t expect the killer to be you!”

They looked at me the same way. They wanted to tear me apart to avenge my parents-in-law.

“That’s impossible! How can a mirror show who the killer is?”

I struggled with anger. I tried to get up and see what was in the mirror.

Jason kicked my knee hard and forced me back to the ground.

Rebecca took the mirror back. She called for the team to put me in the police car.

Warren stood there. He looked stunned.

“The killer is him?” he asked.

Rebecca wiped her tears. Her voice was full of grief.

“It’s him. I never thought he could be this cruel. He killed my parents!”

Then she handed the mirror to Warren, who leaned forward with curiosity.

He took the mirror, and his expression immediately changed.

“Y-yes, it’s you.”

Warren’s hands shook. He could barely hold the mirror.

Rebecca stepped forward and held the mirror steady. Jason ran over as well. He was afraid Warren would drop it.

“The killer is you! I saw it!”

Warren looked like he had seen something terrifying. He kept shaking. Then he pointed at me and shouted.

“I didn’t expect you to be the killer. It wasn’t enough that you killed your parents-in-law. Why did you have to kill my mother too?”

I looked at the three of them. They all had the same reaction. I froze for a moment.

How was that possible?

A mirror was just a mirror. It showed whoever stood in front of it.

How could it show my face no matter who looked into it?

But their grief did not look fake. What was so strange about that mirror? How could it make my wife, my trainee, and my neighbor all believe I was the killer?

“I didn’t kill your mother. It wasn’t me.”

I stared at Warren. He stood there with tears and snot on his face as he accused me.

“I came back from the market this morning. I heard the news as soon as I got downstairs.”

I listened to Warren describe where he went and what he did. The more I listened, the stranger it felt.

“That’s a lie! I was the one who went downstairs to buy groceries this morning! You followed me!”

I stared into Warren’s eyes. I searched for anything out of place.

“If you’re not the killer, why did you run?”

Hearing this, he swallowed. He looked like he remembered something terrifying. He started to panic. He could barely get his words out.

“Because I saw it. I saw that you’re the killer. You killed my bedridden mother. Then you came to kill me to silence me. Was I supposed to not run and just wait for you to kill me? You’re a psychopath.”

I did not expect him to say that. I stared at him in shock and felt so angry that I could barely breathe.

“You’re talking nonsense! You’re the killer! I was chasing you. You’re the killer who has been on the run for fifteen years!”

Warren was about to speak, but Rebecca stepped forward and grabbed my throat.

“You’re the one talking nonsense. Give me back my parents! What did they ever do to you? You twisted monster. Why did you torture them like that?”

Years of police training had made her grip strong. It did not take long before I started lacking air. My hands were cuffed. Her hand was on my throat. I struggled with all my strength. When I was about to pass out, Rebecca let go, and I coughed hard.

“I won’t let you die so easily!”

Rebecca was still not satisfied. She slapped me twice more before kicking me a few times.

Jason stepped forward to hold her back.

“Ms. Parker, calm down. We have a witness now. Once we close this case, we can also solve the major case from fifteen years ago. Your parents can finally rest in peace.”

Hearing that, Rebecca signaled for Warren to follow them to the police car. The officers hauled me up and took me back to the station. My former colleagues heard that the killer from the major case had been caught. They all looked at me in shock.

When I entered the familiar station, I suddenly remembered something. I had a witness too.

“Captain! The captain can prove my innocence. I’m not the killer.”

I grabbed Rebecca’s hand and begged. The handcuffs struck the mirror in her hand and made a clear sound.

The captain, Louis Taylor, heard that the major case had been solved. He pushed open the interrogation room door.

He saw me sitting in the suspect’s seat and froze.

“Rebecca, are you joking? Why is your husband sitting here?”

Rebecca stood up and gave a formal salute.

“It’s him. He killed my parents.”

Louis realized she was serious. His expression turned serious as well.

“This is not something to joke about. Lives are at stake. You say he is the suspect. What evidence do you have?”

Rebecca nodded. Her voice trembled. She pointed at Warren in the corner.

“He is the witness. His name is Warren Lane. He is our neighbor. He is also the victim’s family in today’s dismemberment case.

“As for the physical evidence, it’s this.”

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.