I accept your criticism, but in fact, I already have a rough outline of a plan that still needs improvement. Until I can figure it out clearly, I won’t take any further action. You must have used some nearly perfect method. I’ve consulted a lot of materials based on the symptoms shown by Susan Wright, but I still can’t determine what method you used. This makes me admire you a little.

I want to share some thoughts with you, and I hope you don’t find me too long-winded. There are some things I can’t say to anyone else.

Every time I see Susan Wright, I find her more and more annoying. Many times, I can hardly hide my emotions, and in those moments, I wonder if I’m being too extreme. But it’s hard for me to imagine that there’s actually someone who hates her even more than I do.

……

Sixteen pages of letter paper, fourteen letters.

The letters were arranged in two rows on the wooden tabletop formed by pushing two square tables together—eight letters in the top row, six in the bottom, belonging to two people. This was correspondence between two murderers who did not know each other’s true identities. Up until the last letter, they carefully kept their identities secret while jointly discussing how to poison Susan Wright, as if in a relay race, with Susan Wright as the baton in their hands, until they sent Susan Wright’s life to the finish line.

The letter paper was thin and brittle, each letter curling up and unable to be flattened, as if it could not bear the weight of the crimes written upon it.

If previously Gabriel Adams still had some unspoken doubts about Fiona Bennett’s story, then with fourteen letters spread out before him, it was enough for him to realize that the events at the medical school nine years ago were far colder and more vicious than what Fiona Bennett had described yesterday.

Gabriel Adams did not say things like “How could something like this happen at school?” or “There were actually two poisoners?” He remained silent for a long time. Fiona Bennett also said nothing. Ever since she discovered the letters that morning, the faces of her classmates had been spinning through her mind like a revolving lantern. At first, no matter who it was, she found it hard to believe. Now, every face seemed to wear a sinister, ambiguous smile.

Gabriel Adams first sat up straight, studying the correspondence between the two murderers from a distance. Later, he slowly bent down, leaning in closer. But his hands never touched them again. Suddenly, he moved, as if breaking free from some kind of trance.

“Make a copy of these letters for me in a bit,” he said.

“Okay.”

“What kind of person was she, Susan Wright?”

“She was an extremely outstanding person—good at her studies, good as a person, with a kind of tranquil temperament…”

“No.” Gabriel Adams shook his head. “You said all that yesterday, but she must have been more than just what you described. There’s no such thing as hatred without reason, let alone murder. And now, there are two murderers acting independently.”

“That’s not it. You never met her, you don’t know. She really was a perfect woman.”

Fiona Bennett began to describe the virtues of Susan Wright, trying her best to convey the flawless image she held in her heart to Gabriel Adams. However, she kept repeating subjective descriptions; the details in her memory had become blurred, and it was hard to explain exactly what behaviors had built up Susan Wright’s exalted status in her mind. Maybe there were some superficial things, like her tone, her smile, and her kindness. Back then, these seemed to truly reflect her character, but now, when she tried to talk about them, they felt shallow.

Fiona Bennett finally stopped. She lowered her head to look at the letters and said, “I don’t know why these two people hated her so much. I can sense that many people in the class didn’t really like her. I don’t know why. Given the way she conducted herself, it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Fiona Bennett suddenly sighed.

“I actually didn’t really know her,” she said.

“In the years after, almost no one talked about her—just a few scattered mentions, not even enough to count on one hand. It’s no wonder; after what happened, no one wanted to bring it up again. That was best for me, too. Back then, my state was such that anything related to her, I wouldn’t listen to or think about—I just wanted to get far away. So, in the end, I only spent a few months with her, and what I saw was just how she was during those months. I really can’t say I knew her well.”

Gabriel Adams nodded and said, “Maybe your good friend wasn’t as perfect as you thought. No one is perfect—everyone has their flaws. But no matter what flaws she had, what happened to her was too horrifying. I have to catch the murderer.”

“So, did you find any clues in these letters?”

“There are many, but right now it’s all a tangled mess. I need to sort through the threads one by one.” Gabriel Adams shook his head, as if that was all he wanted to say for now. Then he caught himself and gave Fiona Bennett an apologetic smile.

“Oh, sorry, I’m acting like I’m still in the criminal investigation team. There’s nothing to keep secret—I’ll just tell you what I see, and you can think it over too. For example…”

Gabriel Adams pointed at the letters. “These aren’t the originals.”

“You mean they’re handwritten copies? Did Susan Wright copy them? But it’s not her handwriting.”

“No, I mean the top row. Did you notice the blue marks on the paper?”

Fiona Bennett picked up a letter to look closely. The paper used for both rows of letters was exactly the same—letter paper with the medical school’s letterhead, which could be bought at the campus store. Almost every student used it, and you could often find it in desks, so there were no clues to be found from the source of the paper. But after Gabriel Adams pointed it out, she did notice a thin layer of blue on the paper. At first glance, it looked like part of the paper’s pattern, and if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t notice it at all. But on closer inspection, it was clear that it had been added later. And it wasn’t just this letter—all eight letters in the top row had more or less of these blue marks, while the “other student’s” letters in the bottom row didn’t have this at all.

The blue marks felt familiar to Fiona Bennett, but she couldn’t quite place them. Since Gabriel Adams had pointed it out, he must already know the answer, so Fiona Bennett asked him directly what it was.

“It’s carbon paper.”

Fiona Bennett immediately understood. This kind of paper, used for making copies, was extremely common in offices in the 1980s and 1990s, but in recent years it had become rare, which was why her reaction was slow.

“So these are carbon copies, not the original letters. But why are they copies? Where did the originals go? That’s unknown.”

“What if these are the originals? I mean, maybe the carbon copies were the ones actually sent.”

Gabriel Adams raised his eyebrows, looking at Fiona Bennett with slight surprise. “That’s possible. You really do have a knack for detective work. If that’s the case, there are advantages to sending carbon copies. With an extra layer, it’s a bit harder to analyze the handwriting, since there are more interfering factors. If that’s really the reason, the letter writer was very meticulous.”

He scratched his head and added, “But it’s only a bit harder—there’s not a huge difference. I’m sure neither of these two people used their usual handwriting. Look at how awkward the writing is. If they wanted a double layer of security, well, it’s better than nothing.”

Gabriel Adams seemed skeptical of Fiona Bennett’s theory. But for the moment, he couldn’t think of a better explanation.

“It’s already strange enough that Susan Wright had these letters. No matter what, she shouldn’t have had them. Even if she got them through some means we can’t imagine, why was she still poisoned? The letters were hidden among the belongings she left specifically for you. If she wanted you to find the truth, then these must have been all the clues she had. That means that even though she got the letters, she didn’t know who wrote them.”

Gabriel Adams shook his head again.

“I just can’t figure it out. Could it be that the letters were switched, and these aren’t what Susan Wright left for you? Maybe she only left you a flute, or maybe what she hid in the flute was some other clue, which was taken away first and replaced with these letters to mislead you. But if that’s the case, the motive is hard to explain. Why go to all that trouble? Wouldn’t it be best to let things die down as quickly as possible? Unless, after being misled, you’d do something the killer wants to see.”

Fiona Bennett shook her head and said, “I don’t think I’d do anything. I was completely terrified. I’m just a coward. If I’d seen these letters back then, I probably wouldn’t even have called the police.”

“So that’s another thread we can’t untangle for now. But that’s okay—it’s always like this at the start. The threads will unravel bit by bit. Look, it’s only been a day, and we’ve already made so much progress.” Gabriel Adams smiled at Fiona Bennett. He knew his face had gotten rounder over the years, and people always said his smile could put others at ease and was especially good at resolving family disputes.

To Fiona Bennett, though, this smile felt gentle. She didn’t know whether the gentleness was always there in his smile, or if she was the one projecting it onto him.

“There are a lot of suspicious points in these letters. For example, for two people who didn’t know each other’s identities, how did the initial correspondence happen? Where did the sender leave the first letter so the second person could find it? But aside from the suspicious points, there’s also a lot to analyze. When was the first letter sent? When was the last one? The letters don’t state this directly, but they do mention some events with clear time markers. In the first letter, it’s mentioned that Susan Wright was hospitalized because of something that seemed like an accident. Do you remember that incident?”