Chapter 3

The police officer brought me to the entrance of the massage parlor and had me wait on the side while they logged the evidence.

Devon shoved me. I slammed into the wall.

"Stay put!"

The guide dog squeezed against my leg, nuzzling my hand with its head. It was trembling.

Devon's livestream was still on, with over twenty thousand viewers online.

The sounds from the phone were chaotic---people taking turns cursing me, people sending gifts.

"Found the address! 53 19th Street, blind massage parlor!"

"Go leave him bad reviews!"

"This kind of pervert should be canceled!"

I heard someone read out my shop name and address.

Someone shouted they'd already found my shop on the delivery app and were leaving one-star reviews.

Someone shouted they'd call to report me and get me shut down.

I leaned against the wall, my legs going weak.

The shop was my rental. The contract had half a year left.

If there were too many bad reviews, if people reported me, I was finished.

"I want to see the surveillance footage," I said. "The hotel entrance surveillance can prove I never went there."

The officer looked at me and said:

"We already investigated."

"The alley at the hotel's back entrance has no cameras."

My heart sank.

"However," the officer said, "the alley entrance faces the street, and there are public safety cameras on the street."

"Can they capture me?" I asked.

The officer said: "They can capture the alley entrance. Your massage parlor's back door is inside the alley, about twenty meters from the alley entrance."

I froze.

My massage parlor's back door faced directly toward the alley at the hotel's back entrance.

"Your massage parlor is less than twenty meters from the hotel's back door."

The officer said, "From your back door, it's just a few steps to the hotel's back door."

Someone nearby muttered: "So close, no wonder he could film."

"No wonder all the evidence is on him."

"He definitely scoped it out."

I stood in place, my head buzzing.

Chloe's voice drifted over: "Officer, his shop is so close to the hotel, it must have been him. Otherwise why would all the evidence be in his place?"

Devon said: "Exactly! The cameras can't catch it, so nobody can prove he didn't go! He can't even explain it himself!"

I couldn't speak. He was right---I had no evidence to prove I didn't go.

Sophie stood a few steps away, saying nothing.

Chloe walked to her side. Her voice wasn't loud, but I heard it.

"Sophie, how could a blind man complete the filming by himself? He must have accomplices."

Sophie didn't respond.

Chloe continued: "Check his phone and we'll know. He must have contacted someone."

The officer was logging my phone and came to the voice memos.

"There are over thirty recordings here. What are these?"

"I'm used to keeping recordings on..." I said. "Makes it easier to replay messages..."

Chloe interrupted: "A blind man recording this much audio? Who knows what he recorded? What if he recorded Sophie's private information?"

Devon said: "Exactly! Who records audio all day? There's definitely something wrong!"

The livestream chat flooded with comments---"Pervert!" "Delete the recordings!" "Investigate thoroughly!"

The officer said nothing and continued scrolling through my phone.

A woman wearing a mask pushed through the crowd.

Her voice trembled: "I... I saw it. Last week late at night, I saw him coming out of the hotel's back door, acting all sneaky..."