CHAPTER 510: CHAPTER 300 FALLING FROM THE BUILDING_2

Impressive psychological adjustment skills.

Dean watched Selica quickly regain her composure, somewhat amazed at her ability to adapt and react.

Many adults, after all, didn’t possess the mental fortitude of sixteen-year-old Selica; her initial reaction had simply been an unguarded, genuine response.

"I’m sorry for calling you over; it may have caused you some trouble, but this is to bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible so that Teacher Toddy can rest in peace. So please, cooperate with our questioning," Dean said to Selica, offering a kind smile.

Unfortunately, the smile that had always worked its charm on women failed to affect sixteen-year-old Selica.

She glanced at Dean’s handsome face, her tone blunt. "If you know you’re sorry, then stop bothering people. Besides, I’m only sixteen. If you want to ask me anything, please call my guardian over!"

Quite a character.

She’s really turned the tables!

The middle-aged female assistant principal glanced at Nellie and Dean, looking somewhat troubled.

Selica’s words were blunt, but her point was valid. Still, this was a small-town school, and typically, no one would deliberately antagonize the local police officers.

Dean ignored the assistant principal’s questioning gaze.

He was amused by Selica.

Dean leaned back and nodded. "Selica, that’s your right. If you wish, that’s no problem at all. As it happens, I was just about to ask your parents why someone was driving your car and had an argument with Teacher Toddy two days before he was murdered!"

Upon hearing this, Selica’s pupils constricted dramatically. Her already substantial bosom seemed to swell even more alarmingly as she held her breath.

Seeing Selica on the verge of breaking, Dean loosened his tie, his expression turning cold. "Oh, and if you’ve forgotten, I can give you a more precise time and place: the afternoon of August 4th, after school, on XX Street!"

CLICK.

A faint sound came from Selica’s tightly clenched fist.

This reaction was so abnormal that even the middle-aged female assistant could tell something was amiss.

Her expression shifted slightly as she looked at Selica. "Selica, you..."

Selica’s psychological defenses were on the verge of crumbling when, just then—

CLANG!

The office door, which had been closed, was suddenly flung open.

Everyone in the room instinctively looked toward the doorway, only to find that the person who had pushed it open was none other than the school’s principal.

"Ms. Viatrix, what is going on here?" he asked the female assistant, his expression displeased.

Before the female assistant could explain, Selica’s eyes welled with tears. With a sob, she covered her face and cried out, "Principal, these police officers are hounding me about Teague, and I’m so scared!"

The young policewoman, Nellie, immediately sensed something was wrong and stood up to explain, "Principal Sir—"

"Be quiet!"

The principal, like an enraged lion, strode between Dean and Selica, shielding her. He glared fiercely at Dean and Nellie. "You are not welcome here! If you don’t leave now, I will file a complaint against you, Officer Nellie!"

Nellie had never experienced such a situation.

She looked pleadingly at Dean, her pillar of support, only to see him rise unhurriedly and extend his hand to the principal, whose lips had turned white with anger. "I’m sorry, we didn’t expect things to turn out this way. Goodbye."

The principal reached out, grasped Dean’s hand firmly, and said in a cold voice, "Leave this place. I don’t want to see you at this school again!"

Dean shrugged. "We promise we won’t come back."

With that, he led a somewhat crestfallen Nellie out of the office.

Once outside, Nellie’s spirits had dampened considerably.

It wasn’t until they were in the police car that she said in a low voice, "Detective Dean, that Selica is definitely hiding something!"

Dean took a piece of chewing gum from his pocket, chewed it for a moment, then said nonchalantly, "It’s not just Selica. The principal has issues too."

"Huh?"

The dispirited Nellie snapped her head up, looking at Dean in surprise.

"Nellie, remember this: a good police officer never forgets to observe, no matter the situation!" Dean turned to look at Nellie. "What did you make of the principal’s reaction just now?"

Nellie gave him a puzzled look.

Wasn’t it obvious?

"Angry!" she stated confidently.

Dean shook his head. "No, not anger. It was fear and panic masked by anger."

"The principal pushed the door open with great force when he entered. This indicates his emotions were highly agitated after learning we were questioning students."

Nellie was confused. "But anger is also a strong emotion. After all, some parents wouldn’t want their children getting involved in a murder case..."

That was understandable.

In this country where guns were rampant, people who liked to meddle were, after all, in the minority.

They too feared inviting trouble and facing retaliation.

"However, when someone is angry, blood rushes to the brain, causing blood vessels to protrude, the head to feel like it’s swelling, and the face to flush. It doesn’t cause pale lips; that’s a phenomenon caused by blood receding."

Dean paused, giving Nellie time to digest this, then continued, "Of course, such judgments can be prone to error due to individual physiological differences. So, as we were leaving, I shook his hand again. His palm was ice-cold.

"That’s a typical physiological flight response. When people are scared or afraid, blood flows from the extremities to the legs, preparing them to flee at any moment. This is an instinct left over from human evolution, and it’s the basis for my judgment that the principal was scared!"