13 Minke Street - Chapter 24: Not Qualified

It smells terrible, like the scent of disinfectant.

It hurt so much, every breath is excruciating.

Who am I?

I am Zhou Xun…

No, I am Karen.

Karen slowly opened his eyes, but the light was too piercing, forcing him to close them again. After a while, he gradually adapted to the brightness and tried to open his eyes again.

He saw white sheets, a white blanket, and the blue and white striped hospital gown he was wearing. He also saw his cousin Mina sitting at the end of his bed, doing her homework.

Mina seemed to notice something and turned her head to look at Karen. When she saw his open eyes, she immediately covered her mouth as tears streamed out.

Then, Mina kicked her brother Trent, who was also doing homework nearby, causing him to roll over and fall down.

“Brother is awake, brother is awake! Trent, go get the doctor, get the doctor!”

“Okay, okay!”

Trent got up from the floor and ran out of the room without even picking up his homework.

“Brother, are you alright now?” Mina asked with concern.

“Water…water…” Karen felt his lips were incredibly dry, so dry it seemed like the skin might peel off if he touched them.

“Sure, brother.”

Mina quickly brought a cup of water with a straw and held it to Karen’s lips. He bit down on the straw and started drinking, as Mina took a damp towel and wiped Karen’s face.

At that moment, Trent came back with the doctor.

The doctor first checked Karen’s condition, then opened the bandages on his chest wound to examine it. He smiled and nodded, saying:

“Young man, you’ll be fine. Although the wound is deep, it didn’t damage your spleen. You’re very lucky, truly.”

Karen nodded slightly.

The doctor gave instructions to the nurse, probably about changing the dressings. After that, he told Karen, “Be sure to get plenty of rest. Since you’re awake now, we’ll observe you for two more days and then you can be discharged.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Mina said on Karen’s behalf.

“You’re welcome.” The doctor and nurse left.

Karen tried to sit up by pushing with both his hands. Seeing this, Mina and Trent helped him from either side. They stacked two pillows behind his back so Karen could lean against them.

“Mina, how long was I asleep?”

“Two days. The doctor said you lost a lot of blood, brother.”

“Oh.” Karen gently twisted his neck a few times. As long as he didn’t disturb the chest wound, he could move the rest of his body without much trouble.

“Officer, this is a hospital room, you can’t smoke here.”

“I’m not smoking a cigarette, I’m smoking a pipe.”

“You can’t smoke a pipe either…”

“I haven’t lit it, step aside.”

Chief Duke walked in and immediately let out a hearty laugh. “I just arrived at the hospital and heard you woke up.”

“Chief…”

Chief Duke pulled up a chair and sat beside Karen’s bed. “You were right, completely right. The killer really was incredibly stupid. If we hadn’t spent so much time investigating the first victim’s identity, the killer would have been discovered much sooner.”

Karen looked at Chief Duke and whispered, “Mrs. Hughes…”

“I’m very sorry, but when I brought officers to the Hughes Crematorium office, we found you tied to a chair, with a…” Chief Duke gestured with his hands, “The only fortunate thing is that you were still alive, so we were able to rush you to the hospital in time.”

Sighing heavily, Chief Duke continued, “Unfortunately, our arrival must have alerted Mrs. Hughes, because she escaped. We couldn’t catch her.”

“Alas…” Karen sighed as well.

“I’ve already heard the account of that night from your aunt. She really is a madwoman, specifically targeting those close to her!”

Karen nodded.

“By the way, do you have any idea where she might have fled?”

Karen shook his head and explained, “When I took her back, she held me at gunpoint.”

“Madwoman, madwoman,” Chief Duke repeated the phrase. “She killed people completely irrationally.”

Perhaps because he had witnessed and understood the ‘stupidity’ of Mrs. Hughes as a killer, Chief Duke didn’t intend to continue discussing the case details with Karen.

After getting the answer, you would realize that for such a killer, overly meticulous analysis and investigation was simply like making facial expressions to a blind person.

“The doctor told me about your condition. It’s not too serious – you just need to recuperate and you should recover.”

Saying that, Chief Duke reached out and patted Karen’s face. “Most importantly, this face is fine, thank goodness.”

Karen turned his head aside in an exasperated response to Chief Duke.

“Hahaha.” Chief Duke stood up. “An arrest warrant has been issued. Fortunately, this case hasn’t been exposed to the media yet, so there’s not too much pressure on the police station. However, I look forward to you recovering. Your analytical methods left quite an impression on me – maybe we can discuss more in the future.”

“Very well, Chief.”

“Alright, I’ll get going then.”

Chief Duke was an impatient man and didn’t even bother to peel an apple for Karen.

But just as Chief Duke was walking out….

“Oh, what are you two doing here?”

“We came to ask about the situation,” said a man’s voice.

“What’s there to ask about?”

“We didn’t want to come either, but it’s our duty,” replied a woman’s voice.

Soon after, a man in a gray overcoat with a hooked nose entered, followed by a woman in a long gray dress.

Karen had a vivid memory of these two.

That day when leaving the Crown Ballroom and getting into a taxi, he had bumped right into them as they were getting out of the cab. The woman in the gray dress had even mentioned something about “demons.”

The hooked-nose man flashed his badge at Karen – but put it away before Karen could read what it said – and then sat down.

Chief Duke stood at the door, observing the situation inside.

“Mr. Karen, first of all, congratulations on regaining consciousness, and I wish you a speedy recovery.”

“Thank you.” Karen noticed that from the moment the hooked-nose man laid eyes on him, he had been scrutinizing Karen – his fingers, throat, eyes – observing his slightest movements.

Unfortunately, the man didn’t know that Karen was also an expert in this area.

Plus, with the feeling of being ‘scrutinized’ when he faced Alfred that night, this hooked-nose man simply didn’t measure up.

“Mr. Karen, I’d like to start by asking if you noticed anything unusual about Mrs. Hughes during your interactions with her?”

Karen’s face took on an incredulous expression as he countered, “She did this to me, isn’t that unusual enough?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. What I’m asking is, beyond the fact that she was the killer, did you notice anything unusual about her?”

“Yes.”

Hearing this answer, the hooked-nose man’s gaze sharpened, and the woman behind him took out a notebook to prepare for recording.

Karen answered seriously, “As a killer, she was unusually stupid.”

“Pffft!” Chief Duke, standing by the door, snorted out laughing.

The hooked-nose man slightly opened his mouth, as if organizing his words. After a moment, he asked again, “What I mean is, did she exhibit any abnormal behavior? For example, when she attacked you, was there anything about her appearance or tone that made you feel like she was a different person?”

Karen immediately recalled how Mrs. Hughes had changed when trying to kill him, and that black stain.

However, Karen still shook his head and said, “Sir…”

“You can call me Rody.”

“Okay, Mr. Rody, I really don’t know what you’re asking me. Your questions leave me quite perplexed. All I can tell you is that night I first took my aunt home, and then on the way to taking Mrs. Hughes home, she said she was willing to help me lose my virginity. I couldn’t resist the temptation, so I agreed. Then we went to the crematorium.”

“Why not go to her house?” Rody asked.

Karen answered, “She said it would be more exciting there, and that there could be many ‘people’ around to watch us.”

The reason Karen set the final scene at the crematorium was also to highlight Mrs. Hughes’ “character.”

Trent turned red listening beside them. Mina shyly lowered her head.

The hooked-nose man glanced at his female assistant. The assistant nodded, indicating she had recorded it.

“Then she said she would teach me. She told me to sit in the chair first, so I sat in the chair. She said she wanted to do something more exciting and immersive, so she tied me up with ropes. I just let her tie me up.”

“You just let her tie you up?” Rody asked doubtfully.

“She said if I let her tie me up, she would use her mouth on me.”

Rody was temporarily speechless.

Karen continued, “Mr. Rody, I know this sounds ridiculous. Normally I’m a level-headed person, but at that moment, I found my brain was no longer functioning properly. I was just acting on instinct, doing whatever she said, only hoping the next step would come soon.”

Chief Duke, standing by the door, nodded in agreement, “Understandable, for a man.”

The woman in the gray dress lowered her head and asked Rody, “Is that really how it is, Captain?”

Rody didn’t answer, but instead asked again:

“And then she attacked you?”

“No, she said she wanted to create a great work of art. She had originally chosen my aunt as the model, but since I was the one who brought her back, I became my aunt’s replacement.

“Then she told me a lot about composition, and kept asking for my opinion over and over.”

“And in the end?”

“She stabbed a dagger into my chest. I watched myself bleeding…she kept talking about her composition, and then I passed out. When I woke up, I was in this hospital room.”

Rody nodded and stood up.

It seemed the questioning had concluded.

Karen didn’t want the matter of Mrs. Hughes to veer towards ‘demons’, as that could cause trouble for him and even the Inmerales family. It was better to let it end as just a serial psycho murder case.

Oh wait, it’s not the end – the police would probably continue hunting for Mrs. Hughes. Unless they could open up Ms. Molly’s stomach, it won’t be possible to solve this case.

No, that’s not right either.

Ms. Molly doesn’t seem to have a stomach organ.

Rody turned to leave but suddenly stopped, looking back at Karen lying in the hospital bed. Smiling, he asked, “Mr. Karen, you’re so young. I’m very curious – how did you learn to do psychological analysis for the police?”

“I studied it.”

“Studied it with who?”

“A friend of mine. I’ve always been interested in psychology because I had mild autism from a young age. So I tried to overcome the shadow of autism through books on psychology, plus guidance from my friend…”

“I’m asking who this friend is.”

“Me.” Piaget appeared at the door, dressed casually yet exuding an elegant, aristocratic flair. (TL: in case you guys don’t remember, this was the dude who could change into his dead wife)

“And you are?” Rody looked towards Piaget.

“I’m Karen’s friend. He’s a very talented young man in psychology – here’s my card.”

Rody took the card, and his eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the last name.

“Your father is…”

“Compa Adams.”

Minister of Energy and Development for Ryton.

“Are you finished with your questioning? My friend just woke up – I think he needs more rest instead of disturbance.”

“We’re done asking questions.”

Rody left the room, with the grey-dressed female assistant following closely behind.

Chief Duke waved to Karen and also departed.

Piaget approached Karen’s bedside, smiling, “My friend, I knew you had an accident yesterday, but you weren’t awake then. I prayed to God for your swift recovery, and it seems God heard my prayers.”

“Thank you, Piaget.”

“Oh, and this too.” Piaget handed a thermos he’d brought to Mina. “Could you please find a bowl and spoon to feed your brother later?”

“Sure, sir.”

Piaget turned back to look at Karen, lowering his voice. “It’s medicinal chicken soup.”

Using herbs to make medicine was an ancient tradition across many civilizations, passed down over generations.

When Mina opened the thermos, Karen smelled the delicious aroma of chicken soup mixed with herbs.

He couldn’t appreciate the rich, hearty soups his aunts Mary and Winnie made at home, but Piaget’s soup was infinitely close to the feeling of stewed chicken and mushrooms.

“Did you make this?” Karen asked curiously.

Piaget smiled and shook his head, saying: “I let Linda ‘awaken’ and control my body to make it. How could I possibly cook?”

“Hahaha….” Kalen laughed. Perhaps such a chilling topic could only feel so casual in their shared company.

“By the way, I heard from your family that you dropped out of high school?”

“Yes, because of psychological issues – autism.”

The ever-versatile autism, the perfect excuse for everything.

“What a pity. After you recover, would you consider going back to school? I mean college – you’d just need to pass the entrance exam, and my letter of recommendation would be useful.”

A letter of recommendation from him would certainly carry a lot of weight. Karen had noticed the hooked-nose man’s expression change when asking about Piaget’s father – his background was clearly more than just a university psychology professor.

“I’ll need to discuss it with my family. You know, I still need to earn money for the household.”

Piaget asked in puzzlement, “Do you still need to earn money?”

“…” Karen didn’t know how to answer that. Although the Inmerales family wasn’t lacking in money, compared to Piaget’s circumstances, they were indeed poor.

“Sorry.” Piaget realized his misspoken words. “You can discuss it properly with your family. If there are any financial issues, you can come to me anytime.”

“Thank you.”

No matter the era or time, someone who proactively offers to lend you money is a true friend.

“You rest well. I’ll be going now.”

“Okay, travel safely.”

Piaget left.

Mina began feeding Karen the chicken soup. Kalen drank quite a bit – the flavor was indeed excellent.

He had Mina and Trent share the remaining soup and chicken meat.

Afterwards, Karen took a nap.

When he awoke, he felt someone touching his body. Opening his eyes, he saw his aunt standing beside his hospital bed. His blanket had been pulled back, and even his pants removed.

Perhaps because of his injuries, he had been sleeping very deeply.

Aunt Mary’s eyes were red. Seeing Karen awake, she explained, “Don’t move. I’m going to wipe your body down since you can’t bathe now. You’ll feel better with a wipe down – you’ve always been so clean.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

“No need to thank me, Karen. You suffered in my place. If that afternoon I hadn’t insisted on dragging you out for barbecue, you wouldn’t have…”

At this, Aunt Mary started crying again.

“It’s fine now, Auntie. As long as you’re okay, it’s all good. I’m really not too bad off myself.”

“Don’t say anything else, Karen. Just lie still. I’m so sorry.”

“Really, it’s nothing, Auntie.”

“Just lie still and behave.”

After that, Karen obediently lay still while Aunt Mary wiped down his body.

Since this was an elder’s caring gesture, Karen’s heart was as calm and as still as water, without any awkwardness arising.

Additionally, Aunt Mary was very practiced at giving wipe-downs – no need to even wonder where that practiced skill came from.

In the afternoon, Aunt Mary kept Karen company, feeding him some fruit. Finally, at Karen’s insistence, she took Mina and Trent back home. They had school the next day, and the family business couldn’t go on without her.

Moreover, this was a VIP hospital room with a call button by the bedside. Apart from medical needs, it could summon nurses to attend to eating, drinking, and bodily needs – no need to even hire a caregiver, though the costs were actually higher than hiring one.

In the evening, Karen asked a nurse for that day’s newspaper to pass the time.

The thoughtful young nurse also brought him a novel she was reading. Kalen quickly set aside the newspaper and began reading the novel.

Hmm, it’s a Mary Sue type of story. Strangely, Karen found himself utterly engrossed in it.

Deep into the night, the door to the room swung open.

A black cat darted in and leaped onto the bed.

Soon after, Diss appeared.

Karen licked his lips, trying to sit up straighter.

Diss walked up to Karen’s bedside and asked, “Still hurting?”

“I’m okay. The doctor said it didn’t hit any vital areas,” Karen replied with a smile.

Perhaps he should have feared Diss, since that night, without any warning, Diss had stabbed a dagger right into his chest.

But he had no reason to fear Diss, because he was still alive.

“Want anything to eat?”

“I’ve heard cat meat stew is very good for wound recovery.”

“…” Pu’er glared at him.

Diss smiled, then walked over to the room’s window.

Pu’er continued glaring at Karen, who glared back.

“Karen.”

“Yes, Grandfather.” Karen immediately turned his head towards Diss by the window.

“You must have many questions.”

“Yes.”

“Want to ask them?”

“I was never sure if I should ask.”

Previously, he had feared that once he pierced through that paper-thin window, he would lose his life, forcing Diss to kill him.

But that night when he had made eye contact with Alfred, Ms. Molly, and Diss downstairs from the bedside, that paper window had already been shredded.

Now, he felt much more at ease, since Diss had already stabbed him once.

“Next time you sense danger nearby and I’m not home, you’d better take Pu’er with you.”

“Understood, Grandfather.”

“This time, if those two in 128 hadn’t happened to be there, you would’ve been dead.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Diss sighed as he looked out the window. “The mistake that began with me should end with me.”

Saying that, Diss turned around and looked at Karen in the hospital bed.

“No one else is qualified to intervene.”