Zhou Lin - Chapter 190 Chapter of the Judge (7)

Although Raymond got his belongings back as soon as he left Lance’s cell and made a phone call to remind Rutte, it was still a step too late… At this time, the person who answered the phone, It is no longer Rutte, but Police Chief Powell.

Powell told Ray that just ten minutes ago, Rutte was found dead in the bathroom of his home. He was brushing his teeth when he died.

At this moment, people from the police force and FCPS were already investigating the scene. In fact, Rutte’s mobile phone that Powell was holding at this moment was already put in the evidence bag.

After Raymond was informed, he immediately rushed to the scene of the crime.

When he arrived, Carmen also happened to arrive; Carmen was not too surprised by Rutte’s death, because in her eyes, when Rutte proposed the idea of ​​fake live broadcast, he had already stepped into the coffin with one foot.

By questioning Powell, the two men roughly knew the method of the murder: hidden in the electric toothbrush Rutte used was a set of machine blades. Once the blades were triggered, they would eject in all directions; their power was not very powerful. , anyway, as long as it is triggered in the mouth, it can crush the brain and tear the throat.

So why did the blade in this toothbrush not start up earlier and later in the day, but why did it start up today? Later, after FCPS analyzed the chips inside, we realized that the triggering mechanism of this set of blades lies in the duration.

Simply put, this toothbrush is no different from a normal electric toothbrush when it is first used, but when the cumulative vibration time exceeds one hour, the blade will pop out.

Upon further investigation, the police discovered that the toothbrush was purchased by Rutte’s wife in a large supermarket on the morning of May 1, the day Lance was arrested, because Rutte’s original toothbrush was the same one he had owned the night before. It just happened to be broken.

They then went to check the surveillance video and found that on the morning of May 1st, Lance also appeared in the supermarket. At that time, he had not bombed the statue in front of the court in The Hague, and he was dressed very ordinary. So it looks like they are just traveling together.

After Rutte’s wife finished shopping that day, she came to the parking lot alone with two full paper bags. She was worried about how to get out the keys and open the door (full paper bags tend to fall down after being put down, and then the contents inside (will fall out)), a good Samaritan, that is, Lance took the initiative to help her hold one of the bags. Rutte’s wife did not think much and thanked the stranger for his help. Afterwards, the two said goodbye.

Little did she know, Lance took advantage of those few seconds to repackage the toothbrush she had just bought.

So, on the night of May 1st, Rutte used this toothbrush to brush his teeth for the first time, and it took…two minutes and fifty-five seconds; every day after that, he brushed his teeth once in the morning and once in the evening, and each time he brushed his teeth… It’s also about three minutes.

As of the night of May 11, including the one that led to his death, Rutte brushed his teeth a total of twenty-one times, and this twenty-first time happened to make the toothbrush’s cumulative vibration duration exceed sixty minutes, triggering the The blade.

And this raises another question – why did Lance complete the delayed killing of Rutte a few hours before he was arrested?

Could it be that he could predict what would happen in the next few days? Not only could he calculate that the court would use fake live broadcast to deal with him, but he could also calculate that the idea of ​​​​fake live broadcast must have been proposed by Rutte? What’s even more frightening is… he actually knew that Rutte’s toothbrush was broken? Also know when and where Rutte’s wife will go shopping?

So what was the purpose of his turning back in court? If the murder had been planned long ago, why did he use his prosthetic eyes to identify the target and inform his companions of its characteristics?

It is almost impossible for others to figure out this kind of problems, but Carmen can think through it clearly. When she learned some of the above information during the investigation, she immediately realized… Lance is here In the court, the companion is not asked to make sure he wants to kill the person, but the companion is asked to make sure not to kill the wrong person.

From this perspective, Lance probably gave something like a blade toothbrush not just to Rutte, but to many people… After his accomplices learned that the target was Rutte, they did not attack Rutte. What to do, but to recover or delay other devices that can kill people.

In other words, no one in the entire judicial community in The Hague is safe today.

However, this reasoning is a thing for another time. The scene has not been surveyed yet, the investigation has not been started, and several people have no clue yet.

What do you mean… Raymond looked at Rutte who was put in a body bag from a distance, and couldn’t help but lowered his head and muttered.

There were two questions that troubled him at this time: first, what exactly were L, I, K, and O; second, what did the string of code words that Lance gave him not long ago refer to.

Do you have any puzzles you can share with us? Carmen asked after hearing what Lei was talking about.

Powell also stood aside, looking at Raymond expectantly; the local police chief had a good relationship with Rutte, so his eagerness to solve the case was understandable.

So Raymond quickly repeated the two problems that troubled him.

Powell had no clue, but Carmen immediately snorted and continued: L, I, K, O are low-impact-kinetic-operations… Its specific form, he has demonstrated to us with Rutte’s death. ”

When Raymond heard this, he immediately looked surprised and said, Have you known the meaning of this abbreviation for a long time?

I’ve always known it, but it’s a pity that you didn’t ask me until now. The implication of Carmen’s words is – If you had asked earlier, maybe we would have a chance to save Lutte’s life.

Raymond was speechless for a moment. After a few seconds, he turned to ask: Then… 22040927, who is Green?

…………

22040927 is a date at first glance, and Green is also relatively common as a surname.

The meaning of this string of code words is directly related to Raymond himself – it refers to a case he once handled.

That was about fifteen years ago, when Raymond was still a fledgling lawyer.

Although Raymond was a very good student in school, he came from a civilian family and had no background or connections to rely on. Therefore, after setting foot on the job, everything still had to start from scratch.

Like other young lawyers with no qualifications, money or power, he has two options:

The first one is to work as a trainee lawyer in a well-known big-name law firm. While doing tedious paperwork, you can flatter others and wait for someone to promote you to the position.

Article 2: Go to the court to apply for a position as a public defender, and at the same time set up your own business. Find a cheap place like a garage as an office. While dealing with the hot potatoes assigned by the court, pray that you can rely on someone to stir up topics. The big case skyrocketed.

Raymond is not the kind of person who is willing to be inferior to others. His ambitions and ambitions are far more than just being a successful lawyer. His self-confidence and ability are also very strong. Therefore, he naturally chose the second path. .

As a result, not long after walking on that road, he received a very difficult case…

The case is actually very simple. A high school girl named Green was bullied and severely beaten at school. In self-defense, she accidentally hit a girl who bullied her in the left ear and deafened her.

The bullying girl’s family was relatively wealthy and had many avenues to pursue the lawsuit; while Green’s family was very poor, with only a single mother and could not afford legal fees, so Green, who was bruised and bruised, was beaten by a man with nothing but his ears. When the person was sent to the dock, she could only rely on the lawyer assigned to her by the court…that is, Raymond.

September 27, 2204, was the day of the first instance verdict in that case.

Green was eventually sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for one year.

This result is obviously unfair, but in court, there is no need to talk about fairness, but about the law.

Legally speaking, this is the best result Raymond can achieve, and it is also the first victory he has obtained with compromise.

Ray was no fool. After the first trial, he knew that this case was absolutely unwinnable – because the entire court was trying to make him lose.

Lei is not afraid of the so-called famous lawyers hired by the prosecution. With his professional ability, the facts of the case itself and many very clear evidences, he is sure that he will not lose to anyone in the argument.

However, during that trial, the judge kept interrupting Ray’s normal statements and reminded and corrected the opposing lawyer’s mistakes from time to time; the erratic confessions and obvious lies of the prosecution and prosecution witnesses were constantly accepted, while Green’s actual His statements were constantly denied and questioned; the prosecution lawyer could unscrupulously pressure, induce, mislead, and even insult Green, but Lei’s questioning was repeatedly stopped…

If Lei insists on persisting in such a lawsuit, Green may even be sentenced to a sentence of not less than three years but not more than ten years; in that case, she will spend the best years of her youth in prison.

Seeing this, Lei had a showdown with Green. He clearly told Green that there would be no truth and fairness in this trial. Black and white had been reversed and the outcome was already determined. All they could do now was to cut their losses; then, he and Green Analyzed the pros and cons and hoped that the latter could reduce his sentence by pleading guilty.

After persuading Green, Raymond went to mediate with the prosecution lawyer and the judge in an attempt to reach a three-party deal.

Fortunately, the prosecution lawyer still had some conscience. Regardless of his own position, he did not want to kill everyone, so he tried hard to persuade his clients and deceived them into saying that they might not win if they did not accept the deal…

In this way, Green, who admitted his guilt, received the above sentence without appeal.

She was a sophomore in high school at the time. After the verdict, she dropped out of school and never went to school again. A year later, her probation period ended. Because of her good behavior during the probation period, she received a reduced sentence and did not have to go to jail again.

It was also that year that she and her mother left the Netherlands and never came back.

The prosecution did not take further revenge on Green after the incident, not because they had not tried, but mainly because Green had hardly left the house in the year after the trial. As time went by, the matter passed.

Both the judge and the prosecution lawyers received the remuneration they deserved, and Raymond also grew in this case, and his handling results were regarded as excellent and correct by his colleagues in the judicial field. model.

Everyone is happy? Doesn’t justice exist?

No one will care.

Most of us are the same. When we are bystanders, even anger is short-lived, rational, and cost-conscious… As long as things are not caused by ourselves, we will soon forget them.

Raymond forgot about it. If Lance hadn’t reminded him of it, he might never think about this case again.

But when he really thought about it, with his state of mind at this moment, he couldn’t help but have all kinds of emotions and thoughts that he didn’t have before.

If I had not compromised back then and fought to the end, what would have been the result?

The best situation is that he can not only acquit Green, but also sue the other party for bullying, sue the school for inaction, use public opinion to crush those evildoers, and finally let the Green mother and daughter lead a group of A huge amount of compensation was left.

And the worst-case scenario… He didn’t think about it, because he didn’t know what kind of person Green would become after ten years of prison life.

…………

May 12, six o’clock in the evening.

When it comes to matters involving resistance organizations, the investigation efficiency of FCPS and the police is relatively high; in less than 24 hours, they have found out the whereabouts of Green, and following this clue, they once again successfully found a man who had stolen from the Internet six months ago. The missing girl in the ring.

Within hours, a written report was faxed to the Netherlands and placed on Raymond’s desk. The content of the report is very detailed, but this kind of details… is definitely not what Raymond wants at this moment.

According to the FCPS investigation, Green followed his mother to Long County fourteen years ago after completing his probation.

As a single mother, Green’s mother had already lived a very hard life. After going through a lawsuit and living in fear of retaliation for a whole year, coupled with the hard work of moving and traveling, the mother finally fell ill. .

The little savings the family had were quickly used up. Green wanted to go out to work and make money, but she had not even finished high school and had a criminal record. No one wanted her for a low-level job.

Fortunately, but also unfortunately… she is quite beautiful (which is the main reason why she was bullied); so, the reality is like the plot in many bloody novels. In order to save her mother, Green became a The lover of a local official.

It is not accurate to say that it is a lover. It should be called a tool for borrowing children more appropriately; the official who supported Green was a pretty boy who relied on his wife’s family connections to get into power. After a few years after the marriage, his wife After being diagnosed as infertile, divorce was impossible, but someone had to inherit the family business, so the two families came up with this idea as soon as they put it together.

The next year, Green’s mother died; given the medical technology of this universe and this era, there is no doubt that she was not properly cared for during her lifetime.

In the same year, Green gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The official kept the boy and gave her a sum of money, telling her to take the girl as far away as possible and not to appear in front of him again.

Green returned the money and begged the other party to keep the girl, because she knew she could not raise the child on her own, and she did not want to see the two children separated since childhood; After pleading, the official finally agreed.

In this way, more than ten years passed.

Green’s son had everything he needed in that family, while her daughter was sent to an Internet rehabilitation center by her biological father and stepmother before she graduated from middle school; even after her disappearance, they did nothing. Ask.

On May 12, when the police followed the code given by Lance and found Green, they found that the missing girl was at Green’s home. It seemed that the mother and daughter had been living together for some time.

Although her life was poor, for Green’s daughter, it was at least much better than in her original family and in the Internet center.

Tragically, after being found by FCPS, the girl had to be returned to her original home because Green did not have custody of the minor; and the child’s father, the officer, has now arrived. In a higher position, even though he originally didn’t want custody of his daughter, now that everyone has been found, he still has to take her back, otherwise a sex scandal may be revealed and his career may be affected.

Of course…the above is all FCPS-level intelligence. These contents are not completely open to the outside world, even to the police; even Raymond, the chief prosecutor, has to give permission with Carmen’s nod. Was able to view it.

And Carmen did this out of selfish motives.

Carmen knew that Lance wanted to use this information to stimulate Raymond in order to advance some kind of plan, that is to say… this was part of the game.

For Carmen, what is the second most important thing in the universe is worthy of thought and discussion, and is difficult to determine or subject to change at any time.

But the most important thing is very clear, that is – winning or losing the game with Lance.

If you want to play, I will accompany you.

You must not only be able to afford it, but you must also win it.

What kind of federation, what kind of resistance organization, what kind of war, ability users, aliens, death, the explosion of the earth, the destruction of the galaxy… Before the matter of win or lose with Lance, the priority must be put back.

If you give Carmen a choice like losing to Lance will keep the Federation in power for another hundred years, then she will definitely let the Federation die quickly without hesitation and choose to win by herself.

Carmen seems to be a good person in the traditional sense, a law enforcer representing justice, but in fact… deep down in her heart, she is not everything that people see.

All in all, let alone selling out a chief prosecutor, even the entire federal judicial system can be used as a bargaining chip in this game.

…………

May 13, 10 a.m.

Raymond came to Lance’s cell again.

I know what L, I, K, O means. This is what Raymond said after sitting down.

Oh. Lance responded casually. This riddle was originally used by him to tease people. Now that the answer was revealed, he was no longer interested in it.

Green’s daughter has also been sent home by the police. Raymond added.

Huh… Lance smiled, ‘Home’? Which side do you think…is her real ‘home’?

This is her business. I’m not a roundworm in her belly. How can I know what she thinks? Raymond replied.

Then let me change the question. Lance shrugged, Do you think your original compromise saved Greene, or destroyed her?

She was destined to be destroyed from the moment she stepped into the court. It had nothing to do with my decision. I just tried my best to reduce the damage. Raymond responded coldly.

Hey, your demeanor of not having anything to do with yourself is quite a bit like my style afterwards. Lance picked his nose and started to use dirty language to make wisecracks, Well… I’ll do it this time. Let’s find some fun for you to play that won’t make you say ‘it has nothing to do with me’.”