Chapter 432: Sean Quinn Realized It Too Late

Chapter 432: Chapter 432: Sean Quinn Realized It Too Late

Renee Jennings placed the blank paper and pen in front of Sean Quinn. "If you’ve made up your mind, write down the names of the people you’ve hurt. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten."

With that, she turned and left the interrogation room with Sawyer.

The others emerged from another door, their expressions heavy and complex.

Kyle Morgan sighed. "To think a man so evil could have such a tragic past."

Zachary Conway also lamented, "Even the most despicable people have their tragic side, I guess."

"If this Penny Thorne person is real, she’s incredibly cruel," Levi Hollis frowned.

Henry Stark’s tone was calm. "Sean Quinn may be pitiable, but he is far from innocent."

He glanced at Renee Jennings. "Sean Quinn did have a girlfriend in college named Penny Thorne, but we still need to investigate if the rest of his story is true."

"Okay." Renee Jennings nodded.

Sean Quinn stared blankly at the empty paper before him.

Before leaving the station, Renee Jennings peeked in on him. He was still sitting there, completely motionless, without a single word written on the paper.

The next day, Sean Quinn suddenly requested to see Renee Jennings.

Renee Jennings came to the station after getting the call. She pushed open the door to the interrogation room. "You were looking for me?"

Sean Quinn put on his glasses and looked at her, the whites of his eyes shot with red. "I almost killed you. Don’t you hate me?"

Renee Jennings’s expression was placid. "Hate has nothing to do with it. Did you write on the paper I gave you yesterday?"

Sean Quinn handed her the paper. "I confess," he said softly.

Renee Jennings took the paper and saw six names written on it.

She looked back at Sean Quinn. "Are these all of them?"

The last two names on the list were Sherry Zane and Rui Tucker.

She had originally thought that, given his progression from Sherry Zane to Rui Tucker and Freya Sterling, Sean Quinn would have been harming many more people each year.

"Before, I would just chat with them online, gain their trust, and then guide them to hurt themselves," Sean Quinn explained calmly. "I was furious that Sherry Zane didn’t die, so I killed Rui Tucker myself."

"But killing her wasn’t enough. I still wasn’t satisfied. I needed to keep venting..."

He trailed off for a moment, then said with a composed expression, "But now, I think that’s enough."

After dredging up all those painful memories yesterday, Sean Quinn suddenly felt more at ease than ever before.

Last night, he had a dream.

In the dream, his child was grown and could call him "Daddy."

His wife smiled at him and said, "Sean, it’s time to come home."

Sean Quinn’s lips curled into a faint smile. "My wife and child wouldn’t want to see me like this."

Renee Jennings pressed her lips together, remaining silent, but a sense of regret washed over her.

Sean Quinn had understood far too late. He had ruined others, and he had ruined himself.

Renee Jennings brought the list to Henry Stark’s office, where Kyle Morgan and Zachary Conway were giving him a report.

"Renee, you’re just in time," Henry Stark said. "Kai and Kian Cole have found a lead on Penny Thorne."

Seeing the paper in her hand, the man’s dark eyes narrowed. "He wrote it?"

Renee Jennings gave a slight nod and placed the paper on the desk. "Sean Quinn said he’s confessing."

Henry Stark glanced at the list and handed it to Kyle Morgan. "Go run a check on these people."

"Got it." Kyle Morgan took the paper and left the office.

Zachary Conway stayed behind to report on Penny Thorne’s current condition. "It took Kai and me a long time asking around, but we finally found her."

He took out his phone, pulled up a photo from his gallery, and handed it over. "Penny Thorne’s mental state is unstable."

In the photo, the woman’s face was covered in scars of all sizes. She had a head of messy, dirty hair, wore ragged, grimy clothes, and was walking barefoot down a road.

"Is she homeless?" Renee Jennings asked.

"Yeah," Zachary Conway nodded. "The local shopkeepers say she’s sometimes lucid, other times she’s completely out of it. When she’s having an episode, she’ll... sleep with anyone who gives her food."

Renee Jennings recalled what Sean Quinn had said about making her suffer a fate worse than death. ’He certainly managed that,’ she thought.

Zachary Conway said, his tone helpless, "When Kai and I tried to talk to her, she was extremely resistant. She just kept screaming for us not to touch her."

"People walking by were giving us the weirdest looks. We were so embarrassed we had no choice but to head back to the station."

Hearing this, Renee Jennings thought Penny Thorne might be having a lucid day. "Should Sawyer and I go, then?" she asked quickly.

"Good idea." Henry Stark nodded and looked at Zachary Conway. "Take Renee and Sawyer over there."

"Got it!" Zachary Conway responded immediately.

As the police car pulled over, it suddenly began to rain, and the sky darkened.

Zachary Conway peered through the car window. "The one huddled under the overpass, that’s Penny Thorne."

A strangely dressed woman was huddled under the overpass.

Renee Jennings and Sawyer waited for the rain to let up a little before getting out of the car with an umbrella.

"Go buy something to eat from the convenience store," Renee Jennings said.

Sawyer nodded. "Okay."

Renee Jennings bought a sandwich and milk at the convenience store.

She and Sawyer walked under the overpass. As they drew closer, they could clearly see the gruesome scars on Penny Thorne’s face—some deep, some shallow. They looked like they were from a knife, or perhaps from a fire.

Penny Thorne’s vacant eyes suddenly found focus, and she looked at the two of them fearfully.

"Are you hungry?" Renee Jennings asked with a gentle smile.

Penny Thorne hunched her shoulders and gave a small nod.

Renee Jennings held out the sandwich and milk.

Penny Thorne immediately snatched them, tore open the packaging, and began to wolf them down.

When she was nearly finished eating, Sawyer spoke up. "Are you Penny Thorne?"

Penny Thorne paused mid-bite, then turned her back on them.

Renee Jennings and Sawyer exchanged a glance. Renee then asked softly, "Do you know Sean Quinn?"

"Sean Quinn..." Penny Thorne mumbled. Then, she clutched her head and started screaming. "Sean Quinn! Sean Quinn, stay away from me! AHHHH! I won’t do it again, I promise I won’t!"

The sandwich in her hand fell with a SPLAT onto the wet ground.

"What’s wrong?" Sawyer asked. "Are you that afraid of Sean Quinn?"

"A monster!" Penny Thorne whipped her head around to stare at them. "Sean Quinn is a monster!"

"Why do you call him a monster?" Renee Jennings asked slowly. "Didn’t he help you once? His family paid for your tuition and living expenses from your sophomore year of high school onward, including all of your college fees."

Hearing this, Penny Thorne snapped her head around to stare at Renee Jennings, her eyes wide with terror and her voice trembling. "You... H-how do you know that? What are you to Sean Quinn? Did he send you to hurt me?"

As if a sudden thought struck her, she shoved her fingers down her throat and started to gag. "GAG—"

’It’s poison! The food is poisoned!’

’Sean Quinn must be trying to kill me!’

"Penny Thorne, we’re the police," Sawyer explained. "Stop doing that."

Penny Thorne stopped trying to make herself vomit. She stared blankly at Sawyer and Renee Jennings. "You’re... the police?"

"Yes." Sawyer showed her badge. "We just want to ask a few questions about you and Sean Quinn. That’s all."

"Help me," Penny Thorne said, grabbing Renee Jennings’s arm frantically. "Sean Quinn is trying to hurt me! You have to arrest him!"

Renee Jennings stared at the woman’s saliva-covered hand gripping her arm, her brow furrowing in disgust. ’Now I’m the one who wants to throw up,’ she thought.