Alan Quinn's home had two bedrooms and a living room, and was quite spacious. At a glance, it was clearly a scholarly family. In the living room, facing the window, there was a bookshelf taller than a person, filled with all kinds of books.

Eric Carter and Amy Lewis were chatting casually, but they didn't ignore Alan Quinn, occasionally making small talk with him, asking about the housing benefits for teachers living in the No.1 Middle School staff building, whether any single teachers had been allocated apartments, and whether any female teachers had gone for further studies last year, with their spouses living alone for long periods.

Alan Quinn was simmering with anger inside, but still had to respond half-heartedly. Especially as he saw Amy Lewis and Eric Carter getting along better and better, endlessly reminiscing about childhood stories, a strong wave of jealousy surged in Alan Quinn's chest. He really couldn't sit still any longer and said, "I'm going out to buy a pack of cigarettes," then quickly left.

Amy Lewis didn't notice at all and was still asking, "Brother Zheng, it's not easy to run your own business these days, is it?" Eric Carter said he was self-employed, and she believed him without question.

Eric Carter put away his smile and said to Amy Lewis very seriously, "Xiaoliang is a good person, you should treat him well." No one is a saint; everyone has their little flaws. Although Alan Quinn was a bit impatient, it also showed he wasn't scheming, and his behavior today could even be considered gracious.

Unexpectedly, Eric Carter said this so earnestly. With her boyfriend being acknowledged, Amy Lewis felt a sweet happiness inside and nodded gently.

A few minutes later, Alan Quinn returned, followed by a middle-aged man wearing glasses, graceful and elegant. It was clear that he must have been a handsome man in his youth. When Amy Lewis saw the middle-aged man, she quickly stood up and greeted him a bit nervously, "Uncle Bolton."

Alan Quinn looked a bit smug and said to Eric Carter, "This is our No.1 Middle School's Principal Bolton, he lives right across from us."

Amy Lewis was a literary youth, and Principal Bolton was the honorary chairman of the county writers' association, a famous poet in the county, who had published his poems in provincial newspapers many times. So Amy Lewis often wrote little poems and asked him for advice.

Seeing that Eric Carter and Amy Lewis were getting along so well, Alan Quinn simply went across the hall and invited "Uncle Bolton" over. After all, he couldn't be alone with Xiaohui anymore. Since he had become the "third wheel," he might as well make Xiaohui, his childhood friend, a third wheel too.

Sure enough, as soon as Principal Bolton arrived, Amy Lewis's conversation turned to poetry, and Eric Carter could hardly get a word in. Most of the time, he could only sit there like Alan Quinn, drinking tea and staring blankly. Catching a glimpse of Alan Quinn's smug expression, Eric Carter found it amusing and thought this young man was really quite funny.

Principal Bolton was very talkative. When he got excited, he began to recite: "He glanced at her, she returned his gaze with a smile, and life suddenly awakened!" His recitation was full of feeling, drawing everyone into the poetic mood. After finishing, Principal Bolton gave Amy Lewis some advice: "You see, the most touching lines are often the simplest. Too many ornate words lose this feeling." Amy Lewis nodded repeatedly as she listened.

But as Principal Bolton recited the poem, Eric Carter felt as if struck by lightning. He looked at Principal Bolton in disbelief.

In the home of the third victim, among her belongings, there was a sheet of white paper covered with the very poem Principal Bolton was now reciting. And now, this was not the internet age—it's not as if every literary youth would know about Browning, especially in this small county. Moreover, the lines Principal Bolton recited weren't from the main body of the long poem, but from a short piece in the preface.

Then, one doubt after another surged in Eric Carter's mind. He suddenly remembered that, besides the third victim being a literature lover, an artistic youth who liked painting and writing, the families of the first and second victims also mentioned that they liked reading novels. It's just that no one had ever considered these things as clues, nor had anyone connected them together.

……

When Eric Carter left Alan Quinn's home, he already had a general idea of Principal Bolton's living situation: widowed, with children living out of town. Eric Carter didn't ask much, so as not to alert him. Now, besides Master Miller, the boiler operator at the popsicle factory, there was another suspect.

Although there was barely a hint of a lead, it was still better than groping in the dark.

When Eric Carter took his leave, Alan Quinn was quite pleased, clearly thinking that Eric Carter was leaving because no one was paying attention to him and he was bored, so he had to slink away. However, as Eric Carter was leaving, Amy Lewis repeatedly asked for his address and said that when the "Hongdong" group had time, they should get together, which made Alan Quinn a bit unhappy again.

Eric Carter went straight to the Chengguan police station to find Brian Howard, asking him to help look into the background of No.1 Middle School's Principal Bolton.

Brian Howard stared at Eric Carter in disbelief for quite a while, but finally agreed, albeit reluctantly.

Two days later, when John Lee was quickly sent to the procuratorate by the task force and entered the review and prosecution stage, the files on Master Miller and Principal Bolton were secretly delivered to Eric Carter's desk.

Master Miller's file was very detailed, but Principal Bolton's was quite brief, containing only what the neighbors knew. No wonder, since after the resumption of the college entrance examination, No.1 Middle School had maintained the city's highest university admission rate. Guangning's education sector was now so successful it was almost "purple with pride." The No.1 Senior High School was a key provincial school, and the principal held a deputy county-level position. Although Brian Howard agreed to look into his background, it was impossible to investigate him behind his back—at most, he could only ask around about what everyone already knew.