I took a deep breath and glanced at Howard. âThen Steveâ¦â
âSteve arrived at the orphanage before Mandy. He was abandoned there when he was little. Steve was a loner and didnât have any friends, but whenever he was bullied, he made sure to retaliate.
And as a result, Mandy didnât dare to mess with him even thought she really wanted to.â
Then, Howard paused for a moment, deep in thought, before saying, âIf my memory serves me right, Mandy had once targeted Steve because he had helped Simmy out of the blue. And from that moment on, Simmy began following Steve everywhere while Steve made sure to keep him safe from Mandy.
âSo, since Mandy couldnât get her hands on Simmy, she deliberately put bugs into Steveâs pasta as revenge toward him.â
I clenched my fists.
That Mandy girl was such a bitch!
âGuess what happened next,â Howard said with a mysterious tone. âSteve didnât say a word to Mandy and simply grabbed her head and pressed it into his pasta. Then, he forced her to finish the whole plate in front of everyone.
âAnd ever since that incident, Mandy would flee whenever she caught sight of Steve.â
I nodded in understanding.
So, Simeon was very attached to Steven and saw him as his savior. And Steven was very protective of Simeon too.
Not to mention, the both of them were the geniuses of the orphanage and were selected to join the junior class.
Then, Howard continued, âThe second victim was Hailey Lynch. She was Mandyâs underling and the most disgusting person in our class.
âShe was the one who caught those bugs for Mandy. But aside from that, sheâd also done a bunch of other shady stuff for her. Thatâs why she was found dead with her hands cut off and tongue pulled out.â
According to the police, the second victimâs hands and tongue were detached when she was alive, so she must have died in great pain too.
| Chaster 17 I clasped my hands tightly and took a sip from the cup.
I couldnât help but feel disgusted and frightenedâbut regardless, this was simply a natural physiological reaction..
But as I listened to Howardâs description of the victims, I noticed a patternâthey were all bad people.
âThe murderer has been killing people from the orphanage, but he has never laid a finger on Steveâ¦â I murmured.
Based on my memories before my death, I was certain that the murderer must have had some kind of connection with Steve.
And for now, Simeon was still on the top of my list of suspects.
Besides, was he truly dead? Was that burned body really Simeonâs?
âThatâs why I said that Steve might be the killer. You should stay away from him. Thereâs just something eerie about that guy. Ever since I first laid eyes on him, Iâve felt that he was creepy.â
Howard shivered.
âHoward, do you know Stephanie Carlson?â I glanced at him and asked.
Howard momentarily froze with his coffee in hand when he heard Stephanieâs name.
Then, there was a sudden silence.
âStephanie? Nice person.â That was his comment about me.
All of them knew me, yet I had no memory of any of them.
âBack then, no one was willing to fund the orphanage, and only Stephanieâs father kept funding us.
Stephanie was a nice person too. Her father used to bring her to visit us at the orphanage and play with us.â Howard took a sip of the coffee, his gaze somewhat unfocused.
I stared at Howard.
Something told me that I couldnât believe everything he was saying.
When he spoke, his gaze would wander, and this suggested to me that he was hiding something.
On top of that, when he talked about the orphanage, he seemed overly enthusiastic, as if he intentionally wanted me to know about it.
âWow, look at the time! Anyway, Iâm glad youâre alright. Iâll clear things up for you with Sit. If you have time, letâs do some charity work again sometime, âHoward said after glancing at the time.
Inodded.
Then, Howard quickly stood up and left in a hurry, After he left, I followed him and saw him glance around cautiously before walking into an alley, âI told her everything⦠Just like what you told me to do,â Howard spoke nervously, hist voice trembling with fear.
âYou know what to say, and what not to, donât you?â the man he was talking to replied in a low, hoarse voice.
Meanwhile, I hid in a corner to get a good look at the man.
But suddenly, my body tensed up.
The man who was talking to Howard⦠was Ewan!