Chapter 4 Left at the Scene

Isabella asked, "Why'd she rent a place here?"

Michael shrugged, "Maybe she's running from something. Skipping work isn't normal."

I kept quiet, just staring at the corpse's face. Even in death, she had this charming smile with dimples. Her body was covered with a blanket, and the forensic team was snapping photos nearby.

There were cameras in the hallway, but when Michael asked the landlord, the guy said, "Those are just for show, haven't worked in ages. Can't afford to fix 'em. Nothing I can do!"

I yelled, "Do you get that this can cause a ton of trouble? Now someone's dead, and it's only gonna get worse!"

"I can't help it. I really regret it, Sir, I really don't..."

Michael glanced at the broken air conditioner and cut in, "Enough, just get the cameras fixed ASAP! Everyone else, follow me. We're gonna canvass the nearby streets, find witnesses, and collect any surveillance footage. Don't miss any dashcam footage from illegally parked cars! Tech team, help us figure out the victim's last activities, call records, and online chats. And check out nearby air conditioning repair shops."

Blaming the landlord was pointless now. The crime had already happened. After Michael gave his orders, everyone got to work.

Oddly, the killer left the knife in the victim's chest.

There were even fingerprints on it.

I thought, how could someone be so careless?

A forensic officer bagged the knife as evidence. It looked pretty ordinary.

Those knives were everywhere, so it wasn't much help.

After the body was taken away, we still had to check the surveillance around the place. Since the hallway cameras were working, we decided to go through them in detail.

But to be efficient, we had to wait until the time of death was confirmed. After heading back with Isabella, we kept an eye on things while digging into Aiden's recent financial records, contacting the Treasury Department to check all his assets over the years, and tracking his movements, call records, and online chats before the incident.

With another victim now, I also had to look into all of Sophia's details to find any link between the two before their deaths, hoping for a breakthrough.

After thoroughly checking the surveillance and dashcam footage from both crime scenes, the only common spot was the villa.

Plus, Aiden seemed to have no prior contact with this woman named Sophia. If that's the case, Sophia might've killed Aiden on a whim, which would show signs of a struggle at the villa.

I sent all these findings to Michael, who was out interviewing people about the victims' relationships and canvassing nearby shops for witnesses.

At first, I couldn't find any connection between them, but after digging into their call records, I found that both Sophia and Aiden had contacted the same number before their deaths.

But the ID info for that number belonged to an old man who'd been dead for years, likely used by someone else, making the current user of that number highly suspicious.

The phone had been off for a while, so I hit up the telecom company and got the cell tower info. Turns out, the last signal from that number was at Whispering Cascade.

I was about to tell Michael when my phone rang. "James, you must've found some clues by now. You're quick, no wonder you're a tech whiz. Yeah, I'm at Whispering Cascade. If you hurry and come alone, you might catch me."

I didn't waste a second. I dropped my phone, bolted out of the office, and drove straight to Whispering Cascade, getting there in under 20 minutes.

I jumped out of the car and headed straight for the waterfall. The roar of the water echoed through the empty forest.

Near a narrow cave surrounded by mountains, there were all these weird-shaped rocks. I didn't think twice and reached the waterfall in no time.

Even though no one called me, I felt this strange pull towards the waterfall. Then my phone buzzed again, this time with a short video.

It was only a minute long. As I walked, already drenched, I didn't care and focused on the phone. The screen showed weird lights that morphed into the inside of the cave. Someone was pacing inside, looking at their phone.

The person's clothes were just like mine!

It was like someone had set up a camera in the cave behind the waterfall, recorded me, and sent it to me right away!

Confused but determined, I continued deeper into the cave.

Just as the video ended, I found myself at the end of the cave. In front of me was a rugged wall, but there was a round wooden table with an open laptop on it.

A familiar voice came from the laptop, along with Aiden's dismembered, bloodied face. "James, it's me. I'm in so much pain, covered in wounds. I'm dying. Save me, I've died twice. James, save me, or it'll be too late, James..."

"Aiden!" I shouted, reaching out to touch the screen, but the image got all chaotic and torn, turning into a mess of blood!

Aiden seemed to be pulled into some abyss, disappearing from this world. After the red screen, a pale photo suddenly popped up in the center!

It was a group picture: me, Aiden, two girls, and another guy. We were all smiles, arms slung around each other like the best of friends. But I had no memory of them, of this moment captured in time.

I don't even know how I got back to the dorm. What happened at the waterfall last night felt like a nightmare. But when I woke up, I found a black-and-white photo in my hand, the same one I saw on the laptop last night.

I carefully picked up the photo and glanced at it briefly when suddenly there was a knock on the dorm room door. I rushed to open it and found my assistant Isabella. "James, why aren't you at work yet? Michael's looking for you!"

"I had a situation last night." I hadn't told anyone about it yet. After explaining to Isabella, I quickly changed and headed to the police station.

She came with me. As soon as we reached the conference room, Michael's angry face turned towards me. Knowing I was late, I didn't dare speak and found a random seat. But he snapped, "Who said you could sit there? Go sit over there!"