Chapter 28
At the police station, the officers were busy sorting through evidence for the two cases.
"Officer Davis, Lyra's computer is fixed," the technician said.
Lyra's computer had been out of commission until today when it finally got repaired.
Although the computer wasn't pivotal to cracking the case, Robert felt compelled to investigate it. However, he found nothing useful in her files.
Then he noticed a chat app on the desktop and remembered Lyra had an online friend who was really into tarot reading.
He opened the chat app, and the top contact was someone named "The Devil Reversed," with a profile pic of that tarot card.
Robert clicked on the profile, which only had two bits of info: male, age 39. The guy wasn't using his real name.
He then dove into their chat history. Their conversations started after Lyra got out of prison and ended four years ago.
Most of their chats were about tarot readings, covering stuff like weather, luck, and money.
Robert read through them carefully; most of them seemed normal. But a few messages felt a bit off..
In the first chat, Lyra said: [I'm so glad to have your contact. The letters you wrote to me were my support through nearly four years of long, painful prison life. Unfortunately, the letters were burned by a bitch in the same cell.]
Lyra continued: [Only you can understand that I was the one treated unfairly. The rich and powerful people live freely and happily outside, while I end up in prison, enduring such a painful life.]
"The Devil Reversed" replied to her message at 10:35 PM that night: [Since you're out of prison now, forget about the past. You need to make things better for yourself. The tarot says today's little lion is someone who must live by his own decisions. You need to take a step forward; it will be easier after that.]
Lyra: [What does it mean to take a step forward?]
The Devil Reversed: [First, you need to see what you have.]
Lyra: [I have nothing, just a few years of prison time and $1,500 my mom gave me.]
The Devil Reversed: [You need to accept you have to pay for what you've done.]
Lyra: [But I'm the only one who paid the price.]
The Devil Reversed: [You still have this.]
Lyra: [What do you mean? I don't understand.]
The Devil Reversed: [I have the cards in my hand from left to right. Close your eyes, focus, and pick one.]
Lyra: [The fourth one.]
The Devil Reversed: [This is the High Priestess from the Major Arcana, representing endings and beginnings. This fits your situation of ending a terrible past and starting a new life.]
The Devil Reversed kept going: [This card also tells you to get in touch with your inner self. You need to dig deep, find your inner strength, and figure out how to be true to yourself.]
He added: [The black and white pillars on the card stand for right and wrong. What holds you up is a mix of both. This means if you succeed, your path will be totally different from others, not following the usual rules.]
He analyzed further: [The black and white pillars also represent male and female. Your success is built on relationships. You need to use your feminine traits and advantages, leveraging men's power and wealth.]
The Devil Reversed: [Pomegranates and palms are fruits. Your harvest comes from the people behind you. This means you have the luck and ability to gain without hard work.]
These insights fit Lyra perfectly. This person either really knew their tarot cards or knew Lyra's past really well.
Right after Lyra went to prison, this person started writing to her. After she got out, he kept in touch.
From the chats, it was clear they had never met in person. Even when Lyra invited him to video chat, meet up, or even have a one-night stand at a hotel, "The Devil Reversed" always declined.
The fourth chat happened three years after Lyra got out of prison.
Lyra said she was living in poverty, while the other three people were still living happily. And even though they knew she was struggling, none of them offered her any help.
"The Devil Reversed" told her to draw a tarot card. This time she picked the "Moon Goddess."