The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful

Twenty Three

 "I don't know anything."

Eliza's eyelids were drooped, her entire being radiating fatigue and weariness.

Wrapped in the customary blue shirt worn by the Police, Eliza's petite frame resembled a fragile ice cream stick left in the ice cream packaging after one has polished off the entire ice cream.

Sat right opposite her were three police officers – Patrick,the commander, and Oliver. Also present was a female lawyer who had just been appointed to protect Eliza.

"In other words, you do not have any impression of the suspect, do you?" Oliver asked gently. After all, the person whom she was questioning was a frail, helpless girl who had just been through one of the worst scares in her life.

Eliza stared into empty space for a long time, quiet, and unmoving. She lowered her head slightly, and fixated her gaze onto the cold, concrete floor. Eliza rubbed her eyes stubbornly, and when she finally looked towards the officers, her eyes were bloodshot." Am... am I at.... fault?"

"That's not what I meant". Oliver comforted Eliza immediately. Taking a quick glance atthe commander, Oliver continued, "We suspect that the suspect has a habit of stalking and tailing his victims."

Eliza slumped into her chair; an expression of confusion etched on her face. It was as though the traumatic experience had inadvertently caused her reaction time to slow exponentially. After a long period of time, Eliza opened her mouth and inquired, "Wh...Why?"

Oliver paused. According tothe commander's analysis, the raincoat man was extremely cautious and meticulous, and appeared to have a good understanding of his victims before he perpetrated his crimes against them. And one of the easiest and most efficient methods of gaining a good understanding of strangers is to stalk them. However, it was not necessary to divulge such gritty details to the young girl.

"This is simply one of our numerous lines of inquiry." Oliver finally said. "The suspect is likely to have stalked or tailed you previously, which is why we're asking whether you have any impression of the suspect."

"Can you recount the details of the incident once more?" Oliver softened her voice as much as she could. "Don't be afraid, we've already managed to capture the suspect. He will definitely bear the punishment inflicted by the law."

Eliza fell into a momentary silence before slowly nodding her head.

Patrick, who had been quietly observing Eliza's and Oliver's exchange the entire time, finally spoke up. "Take your time to recount the incident. There's no rush."

Eliza turned to look at Patrick. His gaze, as usual, was unfathomable. She was unable to decipher his thoughts.

Eliza began to describe the entire incident once more. She was returning home from school when, all of a sudden, she was seized and thrown onto the perpetrator's motorcycle. He clamped his hands on her mouth, and brought her to the abandoned factory. There, he threw her onto his bed, and started tearing manically at her clothes. The police arrived shortly afterwards.

The commander and Oliver had no further questions. Patrick, however, asked Eliza once more, "You don't have any impression of the suspect prior to the incident?"

Eliza shook her head resolutely.

"What about this phone number?" Patrick placed a string of numbers in front of Eliza. "Do you have any impression of this phone number?"

Eliza glanced at the string of numbers placed before her. After some time, Eliza shook her head once more.

"But based on your phone records, it appears that someone had previously utilized this phone number to send you a text message. You have also dialed this phone number previously." Patrick said slowly, his unfathomable gaze fixated on Eliza.