"What a pity."

"Barbara, regarding the shooting incident, do you have any suspicions about who might have done it or anyone you might have offended?"

"No."

"Aside from Bowen, did Chad bully anyone else?"

Barbara sighed, "He really wasn't easy to get along with... liked to joke around with others and definitely offended quite a few people, but... that was it, nothing too outrageous.

I really can't think of anyone who would go to such extreme lengths to seek revenge."

Barbara's father said, "I always told you not to hang around with that impolite boy, he wasn't good enough for you."

Barbara cried, "Please don't say that anymore, Chad is already dead... sob..."

Barbara's mother comforted her, "Barbara, don't worry anymore, dear stop talking." Then she turned to Luke nearby, "Detective Chief, can we stop for today? Barbara hasn't fully recovered yet. Let's continue the statement once she's better."

Luke left a business card, "Take good care of yourself. You can call me if you remember any clues."

After leaving the hospital room, Small Black asked, "Where are we going now?"

...

Half an hour later.

Bowen's home.

When Luke and colleagues arrived, Bowen was sitting in the courtyard, lost in thought.

Luke greeted, "Bowen, can we talk?"

Bowen stood up and looked at Luke and others with a complex expression on his face.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Barbara."

"What about Barbara?" Bowen's voice trembled slightly.

"She woke up, said to send her regards to you."

"That's good." Bowen responded indifferently.

Luke felt as if the other party had sighed in relief.

"Creak..." Bowen's house door opened, and Bowen's father stepped out, "Detective Chief Luke, why are you here again?"

"We need to talk to Bowen?"

"Why, didn't you already talk last time?"

"There are new eyewitness accounts and testimonies, we need to take another statement from Bowen."

Bowen's father instinctively stood in front of his son, "What do you mean by this?"

Luke seriously said, "Bowen, it's time to tell the truth. This isn't just about you, Barbara, and Chad, but other victims as well, including Fannie, who had always adored you.

You can't hide it forever; you have to face it.

Moreover, things may not be as severe as you think."

Bowen took a deep breath, "You're right, I won't run away this time."

Bowen's father said in surprise, "Son, what exactly happened?"

...

Half an hour later, Bowen and his father were taken to the police interrogation room.

Bowen's father looked around, "Why have we been brought here, what exactly is going on?"

Luke sat behind the interrogation table, "You should ask Bowen."

"Bowen, what happened?"

"I..." Bowen sighed deeply, still seeming hesitant, "I shot someone in self-defense."

"What!" Bowen's father was shocked, "You can't just say that, how could this be? You shouldn't admit to such a charge lightly, it could ruin you."

Luke advised, "Eyewitness Barbara has already woken up and revealed the truth. It's in Bowen's best interest to confess now, delaying further could complicate things even more.

Even being originally innocent, he could end up found guilty."

"What exactly happened?" Bowen's father still looked bewildered, "Detective Chief, I request to speak to Bowen alone."

"Bowen, what do you think?"

Bowen hesitated for a long time, "No need, this time I want to decide for myself."

Bowen's father looked at his son with surprise, "Bowen..."

"Dad, I've grown up, I must bravely face everything." Bowen said, as if making his final decision, "Detective Chief, I'm willing to tell what happened, but I hope to reach a no-guilt agreement."

"What no-guilt agreement?"

"Self-defense, I acted in self-defense."

"If you thought it was self-defense, why didn't you say so to the police from the start, why wait until now?"

"The situation was complicated at the time, I was terrified, having shot a person with my own hands.

I had never encountered such a situation and couldn't be completely sure I wasn't at all to blame, I was also afraid to search online... so, I wanted to wait and see."

"Wait for what?"

"For Barbara.

If Barbara woke up, the truth would come out, proving my innocence, forcing me to face it.

If Barbara hadn't woken up, it's possible no one would know what happened..." Bowen sighed deeply.

Luke could understand Bowen's hesitation; America has the Castle Doctrine indeed, but the extent of this law varies from state to state.

Texas has a strong Castle Doctrine, where a homeowner can shoot at an invading stranger actively, and even shoot someone trying to forcefully enter their vehicle.

California has a weak Castle Doctrine, homeowners can only defensively shoot after warning, retreating, being attacked, and left with no escape, and only within their own homes, not in their cars.

Of course, even in places with the weakest Castle Doctrine, preemptive action against robbers wielding dangerous weapons is still legal.

With different states having differing attitudes toward the Castle Doctrine, its promotional culture varies, hence Bowen's decision is understandable.

A young, inexperienced teenager finds it hard to gauge these scales.

Luke asked proactively, "Where did you get the gun with which you killed someone?"

"Fannie's."

"That girl who liked you?" Bowen's father was surprised.

Bowen shook his head, "No, she's FBI. I only now understand, she wasn't into me, she was monitoring me."

"When did you find out she was with the FBI?"

"The day before, the afternoon the shootings happened, I was frightened by the gunshots and hid in the classroom, not daring to go out.

Later Fannie came, claimed she was FBI, and pointed a gun at me, ordering me to raise my hands.

I was so stunned at the time, my mind went blank, all I saw was her pointing the gun at me.

Then suddenly, she turned around, and 'bang bang bang,' three gunshots went off, I shut my eyes in fear, trembling.

When I opened my eyes again, she had been shot and was lying on the ground, bleeding out..."

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