"That was about two years ago. My wife had just passed away and I was back from the Navy to take care of my son. I was very uncomfortable with everything."

He rubbed his face vigorously, his face full of pain and lingering fear.

"So the gunshot that alarmed the neighbors and attracted the police was not an accidental discharge?" Jubal had seen too many retired soldiers who were unable to integrate into society and had already guessed the reason.

To be honest, choosing to join the army is a good way out for ordinary Americans. Although there are some thresholds, as long as you retire normally, the army will pay for your pension and medical insurance.

Therefore, just don't sign anything carelessly and participate in any human experiments with seemingly favorable conditions, or be unlucky enough to be sent to the front line where you may be blown up by a roadside IED at any time, or see a psychiatrist blindly and be prescribed a bunch of messy drugs.

Most soldiers can safely wait until retirement and then easily find a job with a decent salary in the police station in their hometown.

Therefore, even though the legendary rape rate in the army is as high as 80%, there are still a large number of women who are willing to join the army voluntarily. After all, the happy education they received since childhood is not enough for these young people to get better jobs under the competitive pressure brought by those crazy inward-looking immigrants.

"You're right. I wanted to shoot myself, but because I was too nervous, my fingers spasmed and I ended up firing accidentally."

Nathan Curtis sighed deeply. Some things were not as difficult to talk about as they were at first. "That was when I went to Valerie for help."

"But we didn't see your name in her patient file." Jack didn't see any signs of lying from his micro-expressions.

"Yes, because we are friends, and she couldn't provide me with psychological counseling, so she recommended me to her colleague." Nathan Curtis looked at the two FBI agents opposite him sincerely.

"But I am still very grateful to her. Without her and her colleagues' help, I would not have been able to get out of that shadow."

These things were not difficult to check. There were several other people in the monitoring room next door. Soon Jubal received a text message on his mobile phone. Clay confirmed the authenticity of the story from one of Valerie's colleagues.

"So where did the gun go?" Jubal continued.

"After that incident, Valerie was very worried and asked for the gun, locked it in her husband's gun cabinet, and said she would return it to me after I fully recovered."

Jack thought about what he had said before, "She didn't know you had other guns?"

"Yes." Nathan Curtis nodded, "But I swear, it was just to prevent her from worrying, and after that I completely forgot about the gun. Her husband also knew about the gun, and you can ask him for confirmation."

"We will." Jubal glanced at Jack and motioned for him to continue.

"So your relationship is more than just friends, right? As a half-psychologist, I am sure that if your relationship is just friends, Valerie will not refuse to provide you with psychological counseling."

Jack's words made Nathan Curtis's face look extremely ugly in an instant. He hesitated for a long time before admitting it very reluctantly.

"I admit that we have feelings for each other, but it's only on a platonic level. Nothing beyond friendship has ever happened between us. I swear to God!

Her husband is also a navy man, I can't allow myself to do that, it's too immoral!"

Seeing that he was becoming extremely excited, Jack was not moved at all. Aren't there many dumpling lovers who are trying to steal their brothers' girls these days?

What's more, this person had said before that he was not very familiar with Lieutenant Colonel Barnes.

"Before inviting you here, we did some small investigations. A witness mentioned that about two months ago, you and Valerie had an argument outside your two children's school. Can you tell me what happened?"

Jack continued to observe the other party's micro-expressions while asking questions. Although this kind of thing cannot be used as evidence, and sometimes it may not be 100% reliable as long as the other party's acting skills are good, it is still a very useful interrogation technique.

"It was just a minor dispute, and we reconciled it quickly. It was far from escalating to the level of murder." Nathan Curtis's expression told Jack that he was trying to hide something.

"Then please continue and use facts to convince us that you are innocent." Jubal deliberately acted impatient to exert pressure.

"Well, this actually involves some privacy of the Barnes family, but if you insist."

Under the gazes of the two men, Nathan Curtis reluctantly told the whole story, "There was a little problem between Valerie and Ryan (Barnes).

Every time Ryan and Rachel were close, Valerie would become very uneasy, and I also noticed that Rachel often had bruises on her body, so I questioned Valerie that day. "

“Why not report it directly to a child rights organization and let them investigate?” Jubal asked.

"Because she swore to me that it wasn't what I thought it was, and Ryan would never hurt Rachel."

Nathan Curtis' tone seemed a little helpless. "You know, in a sense, she saved my life. I owe her. Do you understand what I mean?"

-

"How credible do you think Nathan Curtis's words are?" Jack walked into the monitoring room next door and asked others for their opinions.

Clay seemed a little confused, "When I sent Lieutenant Colonel Barnes and Rachel to the safe house, I paid attention to and observed the father and daughter, and didn't notice anything unusual.

If there is something wrong.”

At this point he obviously hesitated.

"Go on," Aubrey urged.

"Well, maybe that's just my illusion. You know, I haven't had much time since I started learning behavioral analysis theory, and you guys always don't let me get a chance to practice."

"Clay Spencer!" everyone complained in unison.

"Okay." Clay raised his hands in surrender. "I have a feeling that the moment Rachel saw her father, she was so happy that she didn't look like a child who had just lost her mother."

"What does that look like?" Jack motioned for him to continue.

Clay hesitated to recall the scene he saw at that time, and tried hard to describe it in words, "She showed an innocent and sweet smile, like a satisfied child who had just received candy. Her smile was so innocent but it made me shudder."

"What a terrible metaphor," Aubrey complained quietly, "Isn't she just a ten-year-old girl?"

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