Chapter 43

Zoey couldn't help but sigh again. "It's a pity that in your prime, you never had a girlfriend, but you gave your first time to a pervert like Brian."

"So, you wanted to leave this city and start fresh somewhere else. But you didn't expect Brian to record your sex video. And because of the video in his hands, you had to obey him. You didn't want to worry your family or face their judgment."

Lawrence listened quietly to Zoey's statement. His face grew increasingly grim. There was even a murderous look in his eyes.

Zoey observed Lawrence out of the corner of her eye and took a deep breath. "You didn't want to disappoint your family because you remember the look in your parents' eyes when you were a kid and got caught wearing your sister's dress. So, you had no choice but to endure Brian's humiliation to keep this secret. Brian was only interested in you for a while; after he got you, he still craved real women. He told you that if you didn't want to have sex with him, you had to find someone to replace you."

"In order to temporarily get away from him, you started becoming his accomplice, finding targets for him and kidnapping victims."

"In the statement Brian gave us, he mentioned that he always chose timid women who wouldn't cause trouble. Such women were easy to bully, wouldn't make a fuss, and were easy to control. He said that when you dressed as a woman and mingled in public, no one could tell. This made it easier to find targets in public places, and even if you encountered a difficult woman, no one would suspect you."

"You specifically targeted out-of-towners who came to this city, right? Height, appearance, everything was according to Brian's preferences. Even when kidnapping the first victim, Brian would tell you, 'I'll just sleep with them a few times and let them go when I am fed up with them. Women are naturally meant to have sex with men; I'm just doing single women a favor.'"

"You believed him, but Brian broke his promise. Those women begged him to let them go, but not only did he refuse, he also slit their throats and shattered their knees with a hammer. At that moment, you were terrified. You even pleaded with him for the victims, but he remained unmoved. Instead, he came over to threaten you, saying that if you uttered a single word, your fate would be even worse than theirs."

"Then you were terrified, and stopped pleading. You watched as those kidnapped women were played with, tortured, and dismembered."

"After the first time, Brian didn't restrain himself but became even more excessive. Every so often, he would threaten you to do his bidding. I can almost imagine what he said to you. His point was probably that killing one person is a death sentence, killing two is the same, and even if it means exchanging lives, he wouldn't be the one to suffer."

"Then Lily, Aria, Stella... all fell victim to his cruelty. He even told you that if the police ever found you, you should take all the blame, and he would take care of your family."

Lawrence's smile was stiff, with a hint of relief. Then he said, "Yes, you guessed it all..."

"I'm not done yet, don't rush." Zoey squinted and smiled at Lawrence. "You actually didn't care about the leverage Brian had over you. The reason you chose to take all the blame is simple."

Lawrence looked up at her expectantly.

Zoey calmly said, "It's because you like him."

This statement was not a question but a declaration.

Charles was puzzled. How did Lawrence end up liking Brian? Wasn't this development a bit off track?

Zoey's imagined scenario left Lawrence stunned for a moment. Then he snapped out of it and started cursing, "I would never like him! I hate him! Everything I did was because my parents are in poor health, and I was afraid something would happen to them."

Zoey asked, " So when you killed someone and faced the death penalty, you weren't afraid something would happen to your parents?"

Lawrence was stumped again and he lowered his head in silence.

Zoey said, "Alright, stop deceiving yourself. You have a certain degree of gender dysphoria, which is why you liked Brian. You might not understand what I'm saying right now, but this is a common manifestation of gender dysphoria."

Lawrence shouted, "Fuck! I could never like him!"

Lawrence's emotions were more intense than Brian's. To control the situation, Charles knocked on the table. "Order!"

"All the evidence of Brian's murders is in the water tank of the company restroom!" Lawrence looked at Zoey with disdain. "Do you still think I like him now?"

Zoey successfully obtained the evidence and looked at him with satisfaction. "OK, thank you for your cooperation."

Then She got up to leave.

Lawrence's urgent voice came from the interrogation room. "Wait a minute!"

Zoey and Charles turned back to see Lawrence's calm eyes, even with a hint of urgency. Lawrence said, "I have to admit, your ability to extract information is better than many police officers. But now I want to ask you a question. As you said earlier, I was threatened throughout the whole case. Will I still get the death penalty?"

Zoey said, "I just wanted to know Brian's crimes from your mouth. If you want to live, tell me the detailed specifics between you two, and I might be willing to listen."

Zoey didn't sit down but turned slightly, saying, "Don't you think Brian is a pervert and forget that you're also a pervert? You cut off the scalp tissue of those victims, didn't you? Because you wanted beautiful, real hair for a long time?"

"And based on my analysis, Brian always liked to secretly film women with hot bodies and big breasts. But these victims were far from his preferences. Is it too much to suspect that these victims were chosen according to your taste?"

"Brian only stayed here for two days a week. You spent the most time with those women. Do you need me to help you recall how you treated them in detail?"

"Did you help them dress, combeb their hair, or just quietly enjoy their pleading looks?"

Zoey looked at Lawrence with a judgmental gaze and said, 'A man liking women's clothing is simply about liking the clothes. But some people, because they are incapable of obtaining what they desire, transform themselves into the very thing they like. So, you and Brian are the same kind of people in a way."

Lawrence's hands clenched tightly, casting a shadow over his brow.

No one knew what he was thinking at that moment. That feeling of having his secrets exposed was truly unpleasant.