"You have five minutes."

"That's too short."

"Then forget it, continue with the interrogation."

"OK, five minutes it is."

Luke and Xiao Hei left the break room and looked through the window. Port seemed to be having an intense argument with Boris.

Luke actually hoped that the lawyer could persuade Boris, so they could save a lot of time.

...

The lawyer asked in a low voice, "Is Courtney's death related to you?"

Boris pursed his lips, "No, they have no evidence to prove I killed anyone."

"They don't need evidence, they just need to convince the jury," Port stood up, pacing. "Although I just argued vigorously on your behalf, you actually have a motive, and you were in the victim's neighborhood at the time of the crime.

More importantly, you have been lying all along.

It will leave a very bad impression on the jury; they're not fools, they are capable of making their own judgments.

The judge will also have doubts about your testimony.

The current situation is not in your favor."

Boris, biting his fingers, said helplessly, "What should I do?"

"From my experience, because you have lied in your testimony, there is a high chance that the jury will find you guilty.

It's safer to plead guilty proactively and reach a plea deal that is favorable to you.

I understand the police department, whether considering case-solving rates or in terms of budget and manpower.

They do not want to go to court.

I will help you secure the most favorable terms."

...

Five minutes later, Luke and others returned to the break room.

"Have you thought it through?"

Lawyer Port said, "Hey, we want an out-of-court settlement."

Luke nodded, "OK, let's hear your terms."

"Assuming - just assuming - if my client pleads guilty, you charge him with manslaughter."

Luke said, "Based on the existing evidence, it's premeditated murder."

Lawyer Port stood up, "Then we have nothing to discuss. Boris, from this point on, do not answer any questions related to the case."

"Don't get agitated, I need to hear his statement of the case before I can relay it to the prosecutor."

Lawyer Port said, "If Boris can convince you, then you must reduce the charge to manslaughter."

"I agree," Luke thought to himself, whether the prosecutor will agree, I can't be sure.

But it's always good if the suspect is willing to talk about the case.

Lawyer Port turned to Boris and said, "Boris, you can speak now."

"Are you sure?" Boris was still somewhat hesitant.

Lawyer Port explained, "If we can't reach a plea agreement, everything you say cannot be used as evidence in court." Then, he said to Luke, "Legally, my client is just making a hypothetical statement."

Luke nodded.

Boris began slowly, "Sorry, I did lie before.

That afternoon Courtney died, my ex-girlfriend Ikaline called, saying she saw Courtney and a man entering a hotel.

At first, I didn't believe it. Courtney had always been good to me, at least that's what I thought.

I even thought Ikaline was trying to drive a wedge between us, and I said some harsh words to her.

Later, Ikaline sent me some photos...

I called Courtney; she didn't answer.

I just knew that Ikaline might be telling the truth.

I was really angry at the time; I'm not the idiotic Green Arrow who does nothing when he finds out his girlfriend is sleeping with another man.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. After finishing my work, I immediately drove to Los Angeles to ask her face to face.

I arrived at Courtney's place after one in the morning.

I didn't contact her; I wanted to give her a 'surprise.'

I entered the code to her place and saw men's slippers in the entrance hall. They were mine; Courtney bought them for me.

The last time I left, I had seen her put the slippers in the shoe cabinet.

Right then, I guessed..." Boris slammed the table hard.

"I still held onto a sliver of hope... deluding myself, thinking it might be Courtney's friend coming to visit."

When I last visited Courtney's place, I brought a box of condoms. I took them out of the drawer to check, there were supposed to be ten and I used two last time; there should have been eight left.

But now there were only four.

Fuck! The anger inside me soared immediately; I treated her so well, I broke up with my ex-girlfriend for her, and I was even thinking about proposing to her.

This is how she repaid me.

The angrier I got, the more I wanted to storm into the bedroom to confront her.

She was already asleep, and the bed was a mess...

I knew; she definitely played poker on this bed with another man.

My rage surged, uncontrollable. When I saw a fruit knife on the table, I... I just plunged it into her chest."

As he spoke, Boris grabbed his forehead hard, "I didn't mean to kill her, I was just furious!

By the time I realized what I had done, it was too late.

I panicked, tried to call her name, but she didn't respond.

I was so scared I just sat on the floor... knowing I was done for, completely stunned.

I don't know how long I sat there before I got up from the floor, touched Courtney's nose, and she was no longer breathing.

Then..."

Luke asked, "Where is the knife you used to kill her?"

"I wiped off the fingerprints and threw it in the trash can by the door, then I just drove away."

Luke had been taking notes. Some of the situation Boris described matched the scene, but there were inconsistencies.

For instance, Courtney wasn't stabbed to death; she was strangled.

Afterwards, she was hung up to make it look like a suicide by hanging, although this fake hanging did follow the plot of the novel "The Disappearing Lover."

Luke confirmed, "You stabbed Courtney in bed?"

"Yes."

"Did you move the body at all?"

"No, I was already petrified by then, only thinking about getting rid of the murder weapon and fleeing."

"Are you sure you used the knife to kill Courtney?"

"Yes."

Luke took out three photos of knives. "Which one?"

Boris looked carefully, "The one in the middle."

"Did you turn on the light when you killed Courtney?"

"No, then how could you see which knife it was?"

"That was Courtney's fruit knife. I've used it before. So even if I couldn't see clearly, I knew which one it was."

"Other than stabbing her with the knife, did you hurt Courtney in any other way?"

"I don't think so."

"Think carefully."

Boris recalled, "No."

"Were there any marks on her neck at the time?"

"It was a bit dark; I didn't see clearly."

"When you checked her breath, did her body temperature change?"

"What do you mean?" Boris also sensed something was off.

"Just answer me."

"I didn't feel it. I couldn't feel her breathing at that point, I was too shocked, I couldn't focus on that."

Luke frowned slightly. Although Boris confessed to stabbing Courtney to death, the real cause of Courtney's death wasn't a stab wound; she had been strangled.

In other words, he might not be the murderer.

"Think back. Was the bedroom wardrobe open or closed?"

"The wardrobe?" Boris was confused, "What about the wardrobe? I didn't notice."

"Then think carefully."

After a while, Boris said, "It should have been closed; I would have remembered if the wardrobe doors were open."

Luke felt a bit disappointed. If Boris wasn't lying, he might not be the real killer.

On the contrary, this confirmed Luke's previous guess that there could have been a second person at the murder scene.

This person was hidden in the wardrobe all along; they might actually be the one who killed Courtney...

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