"Mr. Rodson, the video signal has been connected, and it's ready to play!"
"Good, let's begin!"
In the villa's ground floor hall, nearly all the officers have congregated, their attention unanimously focused on the computer screen before Rodson and Nathan.
Each one was keen to uncover the kind of individual capable of orchestrating the gruesome "sliced person" incident upstairs.
Promptly, as the technician executed the commands, the camera's recorded footage surfaced on the computer screen.
The timestamp indicated it was 8 AM of the current day, with the victim "Steve" still asleep.
The playback speed of the video was increased by the technician.
At 8:30, the victim continued to sleep.
At 9:00, still sleeping.
At 10:00, he awoke, and the victim commenced eating.
By 11:00, after finishing his meal, he went back to sleep.
At 12:00, still sleeping.
While the video had yet to display any suspicious murderous activity, Rodson sensed something was off.
He reviewed the video from the previous day and discovered that Steve had been asleep for a full day and night.
"It's evident the victim is abnormally prone to sleep, possibly due to an overdose or being subjected to drugging."
He inquired of an officer, "Have we taken blood samples from the victim?"
The officer affirmed, "Rest assured, Mr. Rodson we've collected three samples, all dispatched for lab analysis."
"Excellent work, mate!"
Returning his focus to the video.
At 1:00, an aberration occurred with "Steve" in the video!
He was observed kneeling on the bed, shaking violently, and whispering repeatedly.
However, the video camera's poor quality prevented everyone from clearly discerning his words.
Rodson demanded, "Increase the volume to the maximum!"
With the volume at its peak, Rodson, nearly pressing his face against the computer screen, struggled to make out "Steve's" words.
A technician then connected a pair of small speakers, and with everyone holding their breath, the video was rewound and resumed playing from 1:00. This attempt finally allowed Rodson to hear Steve's faint pleas!
ThroughThrough the crackling electrical noise, Steve was heard begging softly, "I, I don't want to die, have mercy, spare my life!"
"Please, spare my life!"
Everyone was taken aback!
Because there was supposed to be no one else in the bedroom at that moment!
And Steve wasn't talking to anyone on the phone either!
Seeing Steve kneeling on the bed, facing towards the door as if he was prostrating himself before someone,Rodson glanced at the technician, who quickly provided a second computer, showing footage from a different camera facing Steve's bedroom door!
But it remained empty!
All the officers on the scene got goosebumps!
What was he actually doing?!
"Is this man begging for mercy from God?"
Nathan's comment sent shivers down everyone's spine!
"Fuck!"
Rodson swore, glaring at him, then turned to issue orders to the other officers, "Check all camera footage from before and after this event to see if anyone entered the villa!"
"If we find nothing, extend the timeframe, and log anyone who has entered this villa in the last week!"
"Got it!"
The tech team sprang into action, and the footage rolled on.
Steve, who had been kneeling and praying fervently on the bed, suddenly began shaking violently, then—
"Ah!!!"
A chilling scream blasted through the video's sound system, causing a jolt among all the officers watching!
In the footage, Steve screamed as though he had laid eyes on something unspeakably horrific. From his position kneeling on the bed, he stumbled and fell into a seated position, his legs frantically kicking the sheets as he scooted backwards!
Seeing this, Rodson quickly turned his attention to another computer, but the screen displaying the bedroom doorway showed nothing!
In the bedroom scene, Steve, his face marked by sheer panic and fear, made his way to the edge of the bed, then tumbled off the other side. He quickly got up and scrambled into a wardrobe at the corner, slamming the door shut with a "snap"!
The door, however, bounced back slightly open due to the force used.
Steve's voice then emerged from inside: "someone, someone's trying to kill me!"
"please, you have to save me! I, I don't want to die... I don't want to die! Mmm..."
"I am, I am..."
The officers watching were puzzled, exchanging looks, one of them remarked, "Is he, making a call for help?!"
Rodson glanced at the other screen again, but the bedroom entrance was still devoid of any suspicious presence!
Suddenly, the voice from inside the wardrobe stopped!
The footage seemed to come to a standstill, eerily silent, until the slightly opened wardrobe door began to open wider, eventually fully opening to show Steve stepping out.
However, this time, Steve's demeanor was not one of panic but rather one of unsettling calmness, his face wearing a disconcertingly composed smile.
He walked to the bed, sat down on the floor leaning against it, and fetched a circular saw from beneath, plugging it in.
Then, abruptly, Steve's face twisted back into an expression of utmost panic and terror!
He looked towards a bedroom corner in extreme fear and screamed: "Ah!"
"He, he's found me! He's found me! Ahhh!"
" help me, save my life! Save me—"
"Save me!"
While continuously shouting for help, his hand firmly pressed down on the circular saw's switch, buzzing to life!
The circular saw began operating, its blade spinning with such velocity that its lethality was palpable even to the watching officers through the screen!
Subsequently, Steve, engulfed in terror, looked directly at the camera. His fearful expression swiftly faded, replaced by an unsettling smile. He murmured something indecipherable, then—
Buzz—
He grabbed the saw and ferociously sawed into his own leg!
A gush of blood spurted out, staining the floor before Steve red!
Steve didn't pause; he spoke another brief, unclear sentence towards the bedroom camera, then quickly pressed the saw to his ankle with decisive action!
Another explosion of blood burst forth!
He then looked up, spoke, dropped the saw, and blood splattered everywhere!
Buzz—
The video on the computer screen continued uninterrupted until the very end, even as parts of his head were being sawed off, Steve followed through with the "suicide" act!
It was only after the final cut, when he sawed off the saw-holding hand, that everything came to a definitive end!
At that moment, the surveillance footage froze completely, the screen becoming eerily still.
Gazing at the now-dark video frame, all officers stood frozen, as if under a spell.
The silence in the ground floor hall of the villa was profound, with the "thump," "thump," "thump" of officers' heartbeats audible in the quiet.
After a significant pause, an officer finally broke the silence with evident unease, "Mr. Rodson, I've spotted something within the bedroom camera's blind spot."
...
In Florida...
Amid a throng of people, a middle-aged man suddenly grasped his chest and fell to the ground, his face contorted in severe pain.
Nearby, a woman who had been perusing the latest arrivals in a roadside women's fashion store with a little girl turned her attention to the man now lying beside her, asking worriedly, "What's happening to you?"
"Should I call an ambulance?"
She quickly retrieved her phone to call 911, while the little girl who had been holding onto her skirt blinked away her discomfort.
Unbeknownst to anyone but the little girl, the man had just moments before gripped her small shoulders.
In that instant, her heart had surged to her throat, but the man's daunting gaze kept her silent, unable to alert her mother.
As she braced herself for the possibility of being dragged away by the man, he suddenly clutched his chest and tumbled to the ground.
The girl, feeling unable to confide this to her mother, glanced around helplessly and noticed a short distance away a remarkably handsome boy wearing golden glasses and dressed in white, offering her a gentle smile.
To the little girl, he exceedingly handsome, his smile like a beacon of light, casting a glow over the grey, rain-washed streets and their surroundings.
She also saw the handsome boy holding a tiny doll, his finger deliberately placed over the doll's chest.
.....