Caroline had been shot in her back. After the bullet was removed, she stayed in bed in the hospital for three days.

Her cell phone was taken away, and she could not get in touch with anybody except for the doctors and nurses. On the fourth night, the man who saved her-he claimed to be a policeman but didn't wear a uniform-took her out of the hospital.

She was taken to a secluded house, and the man signaled for her to enter.

The house was empty except for a large desk with two chairs in front of it. It looked like an interrogation room in the police station. The only light source was a table lamp with an adjustable neck. Behind the desk was a person. From the shape, it looked like a man.

"Sit down, please." That man spoke, and his voice was quite young.

Caroline went over and sat down nervously.

The table lamp was apparently being adjusted to the angle where the light was only on her. It made her uncomfortable. Whatever secrets Caroline had in her heart found nowhere to hide.

The person behind the desk pushed a stack of photos to her, "Do you know this person?"

Caroline looked over and saw the hand first. It was a nice hand, with lengthy and shapely fingers. She could not help having a good feeling for the owner of the hand. But when she saw the photos clearly, her heart ached.

"Yes, he was my boyfriend."

"He is dead. Do you know how he died?"

The person's voice was even.

Caroline was startled, and she asked instead, "Hasn't the case been closed?"

The person replied unhurriedly, "The one convicted was a scapegoat. The real murderer is still at large. The victim was murdered at the same time you went missing. And you two lived together. So you are one of the suspects."

"I did not kill him," Caroline explained hastily.

"Then how did he die? What do you know? Or…" he paused intentionally, "what did you see?"

The man's tone was freezing and aggressive. Under the limited light, she could only see the outline of his face and his straight nose. She could not see clearly his face, but she could feel his eyes were intimidating. However, he was leaning back on the chair with a posture that was neither evil nor righteous.

Caroline was uneasy inside. She had seen the malignancy of the human heart in the past two years. And everything looked plausible here. The policeman might be a fake one, as this place looked questionable.

Having not heard a reply from her, the man didn't question her again. He said, "I will let you see someone."

The door was opened, and a young man came in. He was tall and thin, with quite long hair, black frame glasses, and a very pale face, like someone who had not been in sunlight for a whole year.

Caroline took a glance at him and said in a low voice, "I don't know him."

The man with glasses came to sit on the remaining chair and said, "I know Henry Texton. We were roommates at college. Last winter, he mailed me a CD…"

Caroline looked at him with surprise.

The man with glasses continued expressionlessly, "He said in the letter that this was a second copy. Double insurance."

Caroline suddenly understood and cursed with indignation, "That asshole."

The man behind the desk then asked unhurriedly, "Then why didn't you take it out until later?"

"I…" The man with glasses was a little ashamed, "I wrote programs at home during that period. I didn't receive a phone call from Henry or hear that anything happened. I knew that the other copy did not work, so…"

"So you were scared?" The man in the shadow asked with contempt.

"I thought I might wait and see. And later, some gaming companies came to me for contracting, and many programs needed to be edited in a limited time. So I worked day and night. It was the kind of opportunity I have dreamed of."

"So you found your conscience and mailed the letter only after you got the confirmed news that Henry was killed?" The man pointed out bluntly.

The man with glasses nodded awkwardly.

"Luckily, you learned your lesson this time. You changed the receiver."

The man with glasses suddenly became excited, "I analyzed it. The other letter didn't work, or it wasn't mailed at all, or it was intercepted. So I studied the crew arrangement of LA Police. I picked a person who looked more reliable…"

After his rambling, the man in the shadow looked to Caroline, and his tone softened. "Now I am in charge of this case. If you cooperate with the police, we will initiate the witness protection program, and you will have security around the clock."

"So now, can you tell us what you know?"

One hour later, Caroline and the man with glasses left in the company of plain-clothes policeman.

The other man remained in the seat in the shadow. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, drew one, and lit it. The flame of the lights lit up his nice-looking face, with indifferent eyes and sharp eyebrows.

He seemed to be thinking of some issues or just focusing on smoking. The room was silent, and the light of his cigarette flickered.

The silence lasted until loud cl.i.c.k.i.n.g footsteps broke it.

The door was pushed open again, and a merry voice sounded, "Food delivery."

A girl carried two d.o.g.g.y bags and put them on the desk. She opened them, "Tuna fish sandwich, chicken and tomato taco, beef burger, apple pie, espresso, and coke. I put three more miles on my car to get you there. Eat while they are still hot."

And then she complained, "Why make it so dark in here? You will ruin your eyes."

The man retorted, "One sees clearer in the dark."

The girl twisted her lips and pushed the food to him.

He extinguished the cigarette and took up another one from the pack. "Only after you get used to the darkness can you understand the psychological pattern of a person in the dark."

The darkness every time would have to be replaced by a new dawn.

***

Kate went out shopping quite early in the morning.

The day they were kissing at the seaside, Tristan said, "It will be Christmas again in two months. Last year you stayed with me and didn't go home. This year you probably…" He looked at her belly, "cannot go back either."

He stroked her hair and asked, "Do you miss them?"

She nodded in his arms.

"So how about we go back these two days?"

And Tristan had the tickets booked for them that night.

The next day, Kate started to prepare gifts to bring home. They were but clothing, health care products, dried seafood, and toys for her nephew.

Tristan went to work, as usual, attending events sometimes. Nothing seemed wrong. It wasn't as serious as Jessie said.

But Kate wasn't very sure because Tristan was good at hiding things. If he didn't want to show it, she could never know. Anyway, since he said he could handle it, she didn't want to think about it. She was concentrating on taking care of herself and the baby inside her.

One week later, Kate went back to the familiar land in the company of Tristan.

The winter this year was livelier as there wasn't heavy snow lately. They flew to Portland and hired a car, drove for more than three hours, and arrived at home.

When they heard the sound of the car from inside the house, Kate's parents and elder sister came out.

Seeing her family, Kate's eyes were wet.

She had called and told them that she would be bringing someone together. Her parents were prepared, but when they saw this tall, good-looking, and distinguished man, they were still somewhat surprised.

And looking at their daughter, her waist showed everything, the plain and honest senior couple felt a little awkward. Kate's elder sister reacted first, "Come on in. It is cold outside."

It was warm and cozy inside. Tristan looked around the house unobtrusively. It was clean and comfy, like Kate's style, and gave him a cordial feeling.

Kate's sister brought tea and desserts. A three-year-old boy with big bright eyes, Kate's nephew, was running around. Tristan shook his little hands and gave him the gift. The little boy was smart enough to call him uncle sweetly.

Kate flushed.

When they all sat down to have tea, Mrs. White exchanged a look with her eldest daughter and then turned to her second daughter, "How many months is it?"

Kate's face was still blushed. Tristan replied for her instead, "Five and a half months."

Kate's sister tried to ease the air and asked some questions about the baby. And Mrs. White gradually turned hospitable and asked Tristan to try her homemade cookies.

Mr. White had stayed silent for quite a long time, and he later asked about Tristan's job. Tristan replied respectfully and tried to bring some new topics to the conversation.

They all became relaxed and friendly. Kate admired Tristan's ability to deal with different people and turn the situation advantageous to him. Of course, she also felt relieved that the awkward situation that she had trouble letting her parents know was now removed.

As they were talking, it was getting late. Mrs. White and her eldest daughter started to prepare dinner. Kate's brother-in-law came and joined the conversation. He was also a talkative person, and awkward silence would not possibly happen again. So Kate walked to the kitchen to help.

Mrs. White and her eldest daughter were talking about Kate while they were preparing food. They asked Kate for more details after she came in. Kate tried to make brief replies. Mrs. White said after some debates inside, "He is much older than you, but if he is nice to you, it is OK."

Kate didn't reply.

Kate's sister said, "Right. He looks like a nice person."

Kate nodded, "He is good to me."

The dinner was abundant: grilled mushrooms and chicken, pork meatloaf, spaghetti with ground beef, vegetable and fruit salad, roasted garlic bread, and carrot soup.

Kate's brother-in-law was a little upset because he boasted of being the hottest guy in their town. He expected this brother-in-law to be a bald, pot-bellied man, but he turned out to be about half a head taller than himself with refined manners. It was quite a shock to him. Tristan appeared to be modest and friendly, and soon they became brothers.

Kate's parents went to bed early, so soon after dinner, Kate's sister and her family left.

Mrs. White had prepared the room Kate lived in before for them to stay in. Kate asked Tristan if this was OK. It was not a five-star hotel room. Tristan said, "I would very much like to stay in the place where you lived."

When they went to her room, Kate found her photos and showed them to Tristan. He held her on his l.a.p and commented on her photos. Later, she got thirsty and went out.