A few used cotton swabs, a bottle of water, and an unopened loaf of bread sat on the wooden table. Across from Chris, a young officer named Blake set down a recorder and took out his phone, flipping through a folder.
"Is this the guy?" Officer Blake asked, showing Chris a photo.
Chris glanced at the image. Several men, arms around each other, leaving a restaurant. The tallest one had a peony tattooed on his hand.
"Yeah, that's him."
"That's Sean," Blake said, nodding. "A gambler, owes a fortune in loans. He's been involved in burglary and robbery. Now, look at this."
The next picture had been taken from a surveillance video, zoomed in so much that Chris could only barely make out the figure behind the wheel of a van. The nervous-looking man resembled the short, stout guy Chris had seen in the apartment building earlier.
"He looks familiar."
"That's Tom," Officer Blake explained. "He's from out of town, ran a hit-and-run while driving drunk. Nasty case."
Blake put away his phone and shuffled some papers. "Okay, I'm done here, but you'll need to stick around. The investigators from the criminal division will be here soon for more questioning. You're our key witness."
"Of course." Chris nodded, sitting back in the chair. Only now did his nerves begin to settle.
It had been hours since the call came in about the incident at West Hill Apartments. The police had moved quickly. Chris had been in the area when they picked him up, questioned him briefly, and then split into two groups. One team accompanied him to the mountain cabin to catch Daniel, while another combed the woods for the tenants of the apartment building.
When Chris returned to the cabin, there was only a pool of blood where Daniel had been. The police found fresh traces of it and clothes belonging to victims scattered around the place, confirming Chris' story. As night crept in, they called for backup, sealing off the area.
As the prime witness, Chris was under close protection. The police wanted to take him back to headquarters, but Chris insisted there were still clues at the apartment complex. He needed to complete the task the black phone had given him, and he wasn't about to leave until he did.
That's how he found himself sitting in the very place where the crime occurred, being questioned by officers while they kept a close watch over him.
It was past three in the morning when the door to the room creaked open. A middle-aged officer, Sam, walked in, wiping sweat from his forehead. He grabbed the bottle of water off the table and took a few large gulps.
"Sam, that's mine," Chris said, standing up from the bed.
Sam, the deputy director of the precinct, was an old acquaintance. He had been the one who'd helped Chris years ago when his parents disappeared. Back then, Sam had gone out of his way to comfort Chris, investigating tirelessly on his behalf.
"Chris, how many times do I have to tell you? It's Officer Sam or Deputy Sam." Sam grinned, putting down the bottle. "But considering the help you gave us tonight, I'll let it slide."
"Did they catch him?" Chris asked, suddenly alert.
"The investigation team doesn't mess around. They not only caught Daniel, but most of the other tenants too. We're just missing Sean."
"That's great!" Chris said, relieved.
"They also found the body of Daniel's fiancée. It's with the coroner now. Got any other questions? I've got a long night ahead."
"Sean and Tom are both wanted men. What about the others?" Chris asked. He wasn't shy about voicing his suspicions.
"Sean's wife is guilty of harboring a fugitive at best. As for the Landlord, his situation's a bit more complicated. He used to be a caretaker, but greed got the best of him. He and the others took over the old man's apartment, but at least from what we've seen, he didn't harm him physically."
Sam adjusted his cap. "Why do you want to know all this?"
"No reason," Chris replied, putting on a sheepish grin. "I just figured there might be a reward for helping catch these guys, right?"
Sam chuckled. "You'll get your plaque once the case is closed. See you around, kid."
"Wait! Sam!" Chris called out, but the officer had already left.
Officer Blake, who had been quietly standing by the door, let out a small laugh. "He's just messing with you. If Daniel really is the guy from the unsolved murder case five years ago, you're looking at a reward of over thirty grand. The city budget handles those payouts. Also, the old man in the apartment? He issued a private reward for key information—about five thousand."
Chris's eyes widened. "There's actually a reward?"
Blake nodded. "Yeah, but you didn't hear it from me."
"Not that I care about the money," Chris quickly added, trying to sound noble. "Helping to maintain peace in the city is every citizen's duty."
Blake smiled but didn't argue, resuming his post by the door.
Chris didn't rest that night. After the questioning by the investigators from the city's criminal division, he had gone through the same process twice, giving his statements. The police insisted on taking him home, but Chris was too determined to finish the task to leave. He made excuses, asking to retrieve his backpack from Room 408, then requesting officers accompany him to the third floor, where he suspected there was another crime scene.
It wasn't until dawn, around six in the morning, that Chris finally left the apartment in a police car. The mission was done. He'd stayed long enough for the black phone to notify him of the task's completion.
As the cityscape blurred past, Chris pulled out the black phone and checked his rewards.
"Mission complete: Player successfully reached the target location, identified the killer, and survived until morning. Midnight Escape unlocked! In this new horror scenario, players can freely control every mechanism within the scene!"
"Completion rate over 90%. Hidden item unlocked: Daniel's Missing Person Poster."
"Daniel's Missing Person Poster (Grudge Value 11): I'm always searching for the one I killed. I killed her over and over, yet she always finds me. Each morning when I open my eyes, something of hers appears on my bed. I know I sealed her in the walls, but somehow, she's found her way into my heart..."
A chill ran down Chris's spine as he stared at the poster. He had a feeling the nightmare was far from over. The rewards were a new beginning, but with each step he took deeper into the game, the dangers only seemed to multiply.
The haunting, it seemed, wasn't confined to the walls of an old apartment building. It was coming for him—bit by bit, shadow by shadow.