"My name is Tony Smith.

I am guilty, I killed Shuayate, a ten-year-old boy.

I can't forgive myself, so many years have passed, and I still dream about that scene, my heart is filled with guilt..." Xiao Hei paused as he read and remarked,

"Poor Tony, he never knew that Shuayate was not dead at the time, and he has been feeling guilty for something he never did."

"Shut up! Keep reading, or I will." David reached out to snatch the diary.

"Don't even think about it." Xiao Hei was not going to miss the opportunity to perform and continued, "Fifteen years ago, I was still living in Haim City, I had a girlfriend whom I loved, Cindy, she was a maid at the Telson Mansion, the largest and most beautiful mansion in Haim City.

Cindy also always dreamed of owning a mansion like that.

I was always striving for Cindy's dream.

One day, Cindy came to me and said that the mistress of the mansion, Anna, was leaving the mansion and asked me to drive her to Los Angeles City, for which I would be paid a hefty commission.

I agreed..."

Marcus described the events of the crime in the diary. The earlier part was consistent with Cindy and Cole's account until they divided the money, and then it differed.

Lorne left with the child.

Facing the bodies of Anna and Shuayate, I was stunned, at a loss.

Cindy, although a woman, was more composed than I and instructed me to put the bodies in the car and drove near to the Gobi desert outside Los Angeles City, where we planned to bury the car along with the bodies.

Then, something terrible happened—Shuayate woke up.

He wasn't dead! He had just passed out.

At that moment, I was extremely excited, I hadn't killed anyone, I was not a murderer!

I was prepared to take him to the hospital for treatment, he would recover.

But...

Cindy stopped me.

She was pregnant, carrying our daughter, who is my beloved Lisa.

Cindy questioned me, what would it be like if the child found out after she was born that her parents were murderers and robbers?

I had nothing to say.

Cindy told me to kill Shuayate, she said it would be better for everyone.

Shuayate wouldn't have to endure any more pain.

I hesitated.

I didn't know what to do?

Cindy called me a coward and told me to give her the knife.

She was carrying my child, how could I let her do such a thing.

I did it.

I plunged the knife into Shuayate's chest.

I killed him.

It was me.

I am the murderer!

I can't forgive myself.

I didn't dare tell anyone, not even my most trusted friend, Dave.

I feel like every day that I am alive, I am being punished by God!"

After finishing, Xiao Hei made an exaggerated expression, "Wow, the real murderer was Tony! I always thought he was wronged."

The deputy shook his head, "The real murderer is Cindy, we need to prosecute her for intentional murder, not manslaughter."

Xiao Hei shrugged, "Will she admit it?"

The deputy confidently said, "With this diary, I will make her admit it."

The survey team had been searching the warehouse, categorizing and organizing everything inside.

Most of it was worthless junk and trash, the valuable items were Anna's lost jewelry, but that painting was not found.

They also discovered a dagger, likely the murder weapon used to kill Shuayate.

...

Busy until the afternoon, the crowd finally returned to the detective bureau.

Upon entering, Matthew greeted, "Guys, welcome home, I also have news to tell you."

"What's the news?"

"One good news, one bad news, which do you want to hear first?"

Marcus said, "The bad news."

"Those paintings have been checked, there's no hidden compartment, and we didn't find that Impressionist masterpiece by Schelder Hasen."

Marcus looked at Luke, "Buddy, the two hundred thousand dollars you've been dreaming about has flown away again."

Matthew continued, "The good news is, the reward for the painting has increased to three hundred thousand dollars, effective for the police too."

Hearing the increased reward, Luke couldn't help but go over and check, his expression thoughtful.

The one who increased the reward amount was not the original owner of the painting, Hans, but the insurance company.

Luke continued to review the information, this painting had a huge insurance on it, and the payment had already been made.

He recalled all the people involved,

Cole, Tony, Cindy, Lorne, they all claimed they had never seen the painting.

Because of Anna and Shuayate's deaths, the police always thought it was a robbery, preconceiving that the painting, like other valuables, had been stolen too.

If, they were telling the truth, Anna originally hadn't taken that painting, and they had never seen it either.

Where was the painting?

Hans, he was the only one left who might have hidden the painting.

Luke asked, "Vice captain, did the police know that this painting was heavily insured twenty years ago?"

The vice captain replied, "Of course, it's normal for such valuable paintings to be insured. Do you suspect Hans of embezzlement?"

"Is there no possibility of that?"

"We investigated that initially too, but we couldn't find the whereabouts of the painting.

And don't underestimate the insurance investigators, for such large policies they would track continuously for months, even years. They have already turned Hans's house upside down."

Luke said, "What if Hans hasn't kept the painting in his own house all these years?"

"What do you mean?"

"David and I went to Haim City this time, hearing rumors about 'Telson Manor' being haunted. We investigated at night and found that the person staging these hauntings was Hans.

We asked him why he was doing this.

His reason at the time was that the manor had been mortgaged to the bank due to debts, but he didn't want the bank to sell the manor because it held memories of him and his family.

If what he referred to as memories was that painting worth millions.

Telson Manor now belongs to the bank, insurance investigators wouldn't go there to investigate, and with Telson Manor being so large, it would be too easy to hide a painting."

Hans staged the hauntings to prevent the bank from auctioning off the manor, thereby losing a place to hide the painting, after all, no one knew the manor better than he did.

This is the best place for him to hide the painting."

David said, "Last time we arrested Cole and Cindy, I had people search Telson Manor but we didn't find the painting."

Luke thought and said, "Hans knew the police were re-investigating the 'Telson Manor Disappearance Case' when he saw us at the manor, he might have returned to the manor and taken away the painting."

The vice captain nodded, "Your reasoning is sound, but do you have evidence?"

Luke recalled for a moment, "When did Hans come to identify the body at the police station?"

Jenny replied, "I was the one who received him, it should have been the afternoon of March 25th at five o'clock."

"We met Hans at the manor on the early morning of the 25th. At that time, he was very anxious when he heard his wife's body had been found, and he left the manor before dawn to hurry to Los Angeles.

Based on the time and travel, he could have reached the Los Angeles precinct in the morning, by noon at the latest.

But he delayed until five in the afternoon to arrive, doesn't it seem a bit dishonest?"

The others were gradually convinced by Luke's reasoning.

The vice captain analytically continued, "With the case reopened, insurance investigators would likely also pay attention to that painting again. If Hans really hid the painting, he definitely wouldn't dare to keep it in a storage unit or bank.

In haste, it would be difficult for him to find a more suitable place to hide the painting. If it were me, I would likely keep it at home.

Of course, this would be temporary until I found a better location, I would move it.

Until I found the right place, I would keep it right under my eyes."

Jenny said, "It seems we don't have grounds to search his home, and it would be hard to convince a judge to issue a search warrant."

Matthew said, "Guys, I found out where Hans is currently living.

It's an apartment in Los Angeles, but this apartment is the property of Anna."

Susan nodded, "Good, we can't search Hans's home,

but we have grounds to search the victim Anna's apartment."