"Hey, buddy!"
By now, Beck had already grabbed his coat and walked out of the main church building, following his colleague Jeffrey.
"What do you think, does he resemble the figure?"
The slim Jeffrey didn't even look at his colleague, just pulled out his phone and kept walking.
"I don't know, don't ask me. After all, I'm the one with the 'problem,' remember?"
"Oh man..." Beck slapped his forehead apologetically.
"Sorry, Jeffrey! I apologize, okay?"
However, Jeffrey ignored Beck's apologies and quickened his pace towards the police car parked by the street.
Beck followed behind, incessantly apologizing.
"Hey, buddy, don't be like that. You know I was just joking…"
By the time they got into the police car, Beck, having received no response, sulkily spread his hands.
"We've been partners for so long, don't you know me by now? Fine, suit yourself!"
Hearing this, Jeffrey glanced at Beck, who seemed sullen in the passenger seat, and asked calmly.
"If you really think Father York is that mysterious person, what do you plan to do, or what can you do?"
"I would..."
Beck began to say something, but then realized he couldn't answer that question. He remembered a fact: even if he felt Father York resembled the mysterious person based on physical appearance, there was nothing he could do about it.
Jeffrey inserted the key into the ignition, continuing calmly.
"We came here just to complete a task, not to do anything. After all, the deceased were all rotten scum. The department isn't really putting much effort into this case,"
Vroom!
The police car started up, and Jeffrey pressed the gas pedal while shifting gears.
"So what you need to focus on now is the new case that's happening…"
Roar!
The police car sped forward, rushing into the darkness and out of the church's vicinity.
Soon, it blended into the traffic heading downtown.
"An elevator murder in Jesse Building?"
As his colleague had said, Beck quickly switched gears, frowning as he remembered a jumping case from yesterday in the Jesse Building.
"Yes," Jeffrey, who was driving, recalled the details from his phone, speaking succinctly.
"According to the report, the elevator in Jesse Building malfunctioned, trapping five passengers. Soon, probably due to the malfunction, the lights went out, and when they came back on, there was a dead person inside…"
Saying this, Jeffrey closed his mouth, focusing on the traffic and neon lights ahead, his frown deepening.
From the information he received, one aspect was particularly suspicious: the elevator malfunction had persisted for a long time, and the professional technicians hadn't identified the cause. This made him suspect a connection between the killer and the maintenance workers.
"Watt?"
Beck still couldn't grasp it. "Buddy, do you think the killer is mocking us? Daring to kill right under our noses?"
Jeffrey didn't respond, simply tossing his phone to Beck and flooring the gas pedal.
"Let's get there and see."
Vroom!
"Hey! Buddy, slow down!"
As Beck exclaimed, the police car zoomed past every other vehicle like an arrow.
At that moment, in Jesse Building, where the murder had already occurred, the security room was occupied by two guards. The captain, an older man named Adolf with greying temples, was using a walkie-talkie, trying desperately to keep the people trapped in the elevator calm.
"The police will be here soon, please stay calm. We'll do our best to keep the lights from going out again, okay?"
Though he said this, when someone mysteriously died in the elevator by hanging, it was impossible for anyone to remain calm.
Only three men and one woman remained in the elevator. The dead person was an old lady, hanging by a rope, her hair disheveled, her face twisted in horror, her tongue grotesquely elongated.
Abigail, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, was near hysterical, crying and panicking.
"Fk!!! Someone's dead! How can anyone stay calm with this s**t?!"
She huddled in a corner of the elevator, warily eyeing the three equally tense and cautious men. Now that only men were left, her fear and suspicion reached their peak.
The second survivor, Ralph, a tall, muscular black security guard on his first day at work, glanced at the hanged old lady and swallowed nervously. He too huddled in a corner, warily watching the two other men. In his mind, only a man could have the strength to hoist an old lady like that, especially the sturdy-looking one in casual clothes.
"Damn it! Fix the elevator already! I can't stand another second in this f***ing elevator!"
Meanwhile, Max, feeling Ralph's wary gaze, was equally suspicious of him, convinced that only Ralph could have silently accomplished such a feat.
The last survivor, the small-statured, well-dressed elite-looking Vince, was even more scared than Abigail, crying fearfully in a corner.
"Please! Please!!…"
But what they didn't know was that no one could hear their pleas.
In the security room, Adolf watched the people in the monitor moving their mouths without any sound, frowning and turning to his subordinate.
Ronald, understanding, picked up a walkie-talkie and brought it to his mouth.
"Buddy, what's your progress?"
In the dim basement.
The sound traveled through a channel to another walkie-talkie. Gene, who had just finished checking the mechanical room, stopped his inspection, looking puzzled and confused.
"The main lines in the basement are also fine, everything seems normal."
Ronald looked at his captain, Adolf, then spoke into the walkie-talkie.
"Buddy, you need to hurry. Someone died in the elevator, and I'm afraid the others can't handle it."
Gene was surprised and somewhat incredulous. But seeing the normal main lines, he shrugged and replied.
"Alright, I'll speed up. But it seems like there's no problem with the lines; I need to check the elevator shaft."
Hearing this in the security room, Ronald and Adolf exchanged glances, only able to respond.
"Okay, good luck, buddy."
Hearing the reply, maintenance worker Gene put away the walkie-talkie. After one last check of the lines, which revealed no issues, he shook his head at the strange feeling and continued deeper into the basement with his flashlight.
"Thank you for the support from Kopcn!!! Thanks for the support!! I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing for you. I tried to keep it concise."