companion ghost

"So you're starting to sympathize with Sarah now?"

At noon, Dino and Casey came to Shen Lie's office with their lunch and discussed the case while eating. Just when Casey sighed and said that Sarah was actually a victim, Shen Lie said sarcastically.

"If Sarah hadn't been violated 14 years ago, none of this would have happened." Kathy was able to ignore Shen Lie's sarcasm, and still answered seriously, "After she found out that her daughter was walking with her 14 When she was on the same road as before, she collapsed and felt that she might as well die."

"That's a good idea, why didn't you go to court to defend Sarah?" Shen Lie still sneered, "You sympathize with Sarah, who will sympathize with Rebecca? She is only 14 years old. It was not her fault that she was raped, nor did Sarah The right to decide her life or death. You also have a son, Kathy, will you choose life or death for little Carl?"

Dino raised his hand to stop the debate, "Now there is still a problem that we haven't found out who violated Rebecca so far."

"When we searched their home last time, was the laptop taken away by the technical team?" Casey suddenly remembered something else, "The water pipe in the office of the technical department blew up two days ago, and now we are busy Feet up in the sky, I probably forgot about this."

Shen Lie narrowed his eyes: "The arraignment will be held tomorrow morning, now you tell me who the culprit of the sexual assault has not yet been found?"

Casey knew he was wrong, touched his nose, "I'll contact the technical team immediately."

Shen Lie pouted at the landline on the table, and Casey had no choice but to put down the fork to make a call.

Ning Yuan was beside him tsk tsk tsk.

The prosecutor really lived up to his reputation, and he was very vicious.

Shen Lie glanced at him.

"I knew it, you definitely forgot all about it!" Casey rolled her eyes while holding the microphone, "I know your office has been flooded...don't tell me that your laptop is also flooded!...then When will I get the results?…”

Casey put down the microphone and shrugged, "Considering that they are now living in rowing boats, it shouldn't be too much to give us an answer in three days... right?"

Shen Lie stared at him for half a minute.

"Okay, I'll rent a boat to find the technical department tonight!" Casey ruffled her blond hair violently.

Dino couldn't help laughing: "Didn't you agree to watch the football game with Karl tonight? I'll go to the technical team."

"Then your high-end leather shoes worth hundreds of dollars will be useless." Casey rubbed his chin, "I really can't afford it."

"...Oh my God, how much does a police officer earn a month now!" Ning Yuan was already stunned.

Shen Lie wrote the word 'noble' in Chinese on the notebook at hand for Ning Yuan to read.

"Aristocrat? I heard that Dino has a French accent. Why would a French nobleman come to New York to be a small police officer?" Ning Yuan was even more incomprehensible.

Shen Lie's eyes are very obvious - none of your business.

Ning Yuan flattened his mouth.

Can't you gossip about it?So boring.

"Case No. 43530, indicting Sarah Blair, one count of child abuse, one count of first-degree manslaughter."

The judge flipped through the documents handed over by the clerk a few times and asked, "How does the defense plan to defend?"

Sarah stood haggardly on the dock, and the black female lawyer next to her was wearing a suit and leather shoes, and felt her face was filled with bronze light.Sarah whispered: "Not guilty."

Judge Donovan let out a 'huh', and glanced at Sarah and the defense lawyer over his glasses: "The prosecution's evidence is sufficient. Does the defense have any motions?"

"Your Excellency," the female lawyer stepped forward and handed a folder to Judge Donovan, "We are applying for a defense on the grounds of mental illness."

Shen Lie frowned: "Mental illness?"

The female lawyer smiled and looked at him: "My client has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [Note] since she was raped 14 years ago, which led to the death of her daughter. my client's wishes."

"How fresh," Shen Lie replied with a smirk, "14 years of post-traumatic stress disorder."

Ning Yuan poked him: "There really are."

Shen Lie: "..."

"That only proves that the prosecutor's knowledge is still too little." The female lawyer gestured to Sarah. "My client is a clear example. Besides, I can find you a stack."

Shen Lie said: "Your client brutally killed his own child, this is not a mental illness, this is cold-blooded..."

"Lawyers, save your mouth." Judge Donovan interrupted their dispute, "Leave it to the jury to make a decision." He looked at Shen Lie again, "How much bail does the prosecution want?"

"Bail is not allowed." Shen Lie said coldly.

The female lawyer looked at him in disbelief, turned her head and said loudly to the judge, "It's ridiculous, my client is a housewife, and there is no threat to the community or others!"

"Rebecca doesn't think so."

The judge looked at Shen Lie reproachfully, "The prosecution is a little too harsh."

"Your Excellency, the prosecution has adjusted the amount to 100 million US dollars." Shen Lie changed his words as usual, "The defendant's family is rich and owns real estate in a rich area. Her husband is a company executive and has good financial conditions."

"Your Excellency..." The female lawyer was eager to argue, but Judge Donovan raised his hand to stop her.The judge pondered for a while, and decided: "The bail is set at 50 US dollars, and it can only be paid in cash." Seeing the female lawyer's displeased face, he raised the hammer and knocked it down, "Next case."

Shen Lie packed up the documents, and the black female lawyer said firmly to him: "You are doomed, we have a professional psychiatrist to testify."

Without even looking at her, Shen Lie picked up the folder and walked out.Halfway there, I felt like something was missing. I looked around and found that something missing was squatting in front of Sarah and carefully watching her every move.

Shen Lie; "..."

What are you doing again!

Ning Yuan saw Shen Lie's gaze, and finally took a few glances at Sarah, stood up and swished to Shen Lie's side.

Shen Lie: "..."

Running pretty fast.

Ning Yuan looked at him innocently with wide round eyes: "I just want to see if she has post-traumatic stress disorder."

Shen Lie's heart moved, and he followed Ning Yuan's shoulder to look at the female lawyer who was whispering something to Sarah.

Speaking of professional psychiatrists, I have one too.

Or the kind that only I can see.

In the office, the afternoon sun streamed in through the half-opened blinds, boldly printing the outline of the mug on the table.Shen Lie knocked on the table and signaled Ning Yuan to sit across from him: "What do you think of the defense's so-called post-traumatic stress disorder?"

Ning Yuan shrugged: "After a traumatic and stressful event, many people will show some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in the next few days or weeks. Available data shows that 8% of men And 20% of women will continue to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, and about 30% of these individuals will show chronic symptoms that last for the rest of their lives." Seeing the blankness in Shen Lie's always cold and mocking eyes, he was suddenly very upset. Want to laugh, try to hold back, "Take Sarah as an example, she was sexually assaulted 14 years ago, this is her source of stress. After that, she may have nightmares, personality changes, emotional dissociation, numbness traits such as anxiety, insomnia, avoidance, and a negative attitude toward life, and those flashbacks that were true stimulated her distress, which aggravated her condition."

Shen Lie frowned slowly: "So Sarah's defense is completely feasible?"

Ning Yuan hummed and bit his nails habitually: "Unless she doesn't suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder at all, this lawsuit will be very difficult to fight."

Shen Lie's attention was somehow attracted by Ning Yuan's action of biting his nails: "How old are you?"

"Ah?" Ning Yuan looked blank this time, "25."

Why are you asking this all of a sudden?

"Kathy's son is five years old and he doesn't bite his nails."

Ning Yuan: "..."

Why do you take care of everything all day!Bite your nails!

Ning Yuan quickly let go of the resentment of being ridiculed and biting his nails, and approached Shen Lie with a gossipy face: "Casey has a son? I think he is not yet thirty and very young."

Shen Lie hummed, "Sister Casey's child, his sister Jessie (Jessie) passed away unexpectedly, and the child's custody belongs to Casey."

Hearing that Shen Lie didn't mention Casey's brother-in-law, Ning Yuan wisely didn't ask any further questions.

Shen Lie frowned even tighter: "Do you think Sarah has post-traumatic stress disorder?"

Ning Yuan thought for a while: "It's hard to say. After all, I haven't talked with her one-on-one. I don't know if she has any symptoms, so I can't give professional advice. But someone must know."

Shen Lie suddenly understood who he was talking about.