Ste followed Robin, her whole body trembling uncontrobly.
Dexter trailed behind the group, silent, his face a ghastly shade of pale.
I nced at Dexter and couldn’t help butugh.
The police had finally found my body. With that discovery, Dexter was truly free atst. He probably
couldn’t wait for me to be out of the picture.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Robin asked Ste again before they got into the car.
Herplexion was ashen, and her legs nearly gave out as she climbed into the car.
I instinctively reached out to steady her, but it was futile: my hands passed right through her body.
I couldn’t touch anyone.
“She’s not dead.” Dexter said, furrowing his brow as if he still held onto some hope.
Ste shot Dexter a look full of loathing before getting into the car.
I sat next to Ste, staring nkly out the window.
At this point, any affection or expectation I had for Dexter had long since evaporated. He and Melody
had done me in, and whatever love or loyalty there was had been spent.
The orphanage had already been cordoned off by the police, with officers patrolling all around.
Several ambnces were parked nearby, though they seemed rather superfluous.
It was clear this was the scene of the initial crime in a string of murders.
I
I smiled bitterly to myself, What good were ambnces? I was definitely already dead.
“Why wasn’t this cer found during the previous searches?” The higher–ups were on scene.
considering the gravity of the case.
Robin quickly offered an exnation. “Sorry, this orphanage has been deserted for ages. Without any
blueprints, that cer was just too well hidden…”
I too was curious about the cer, located beneath a small storage shed behind the abandoned yard,
with a wooden floor concealing the ndestine space below and an air of foreboding. emanating from
it.
I had no memory of this ce; I had been unconscious when the killer dragged me in, and by the time I
came to, I was already in that dim space without any idea how I got there.
“Certainly, a ce like this would be tough to spot, even if you searched a dozen times. Who found it?”
Robin asked.
“Robin, it was me,” Cory said, puzzled. “Strange… I was here several times yesterday and didn’t
13:10
notice anything off. Today, though, I spotted footprints on the floor.” He wondered if he had simply not
been observant enough the day before. “My bad for missing it yesterday.”
“It’s not your fault. The killer wanted us to find it,” Robin said, his expression grim as he lit at cigarette.
This killer was clever.
“The lunatic Colin is the killer, right?” Cory asked, intrigued.
“Either he had an aplice, or someone is setting him up to take the fall,” Robin said, shaking his
head. There were too many unanswered questions.
The group fell silent, standing at the mouth of the cer, hesitant to go down.
“Robin, you need to… brace yourself,” one of the officers advised. “Chief Daniel just went down and
came back up looking green. It’s a bit of a mess down there, and the medics are still figuring things
out.”
Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.
Robin took a deep breath, then turned to Ste and Dexter. “They’re family of the victim, so they might
help with identification.”
“Does that mean Phoebe could still be alive?” Ste’s voice was frantic as she clutched Robin’s arm.
“She’s alive, isn’t she?”
Robin looked at her gravely. “You two,e with me.”
Dexter seemed agitated, but at the critical moment, he hesitated, taking a long time before he could
bring himself to go down the cer.
I stood to the side, mocking his cowardice.
Now he was scared, huh?
Wasn’t it him who got me into this mess?
Dexter, you’re an aplice.
I followed Ste down into the cer, and the wave of dread that hit me was almost tangible.
My body shook and my hands clenched reflexively; even as a spirit, I was overwhelmed by fear. “Ugh!”
Suddenly, Ste halted in her tracks. Upon seeing the horrors thaty before her, she shook violently,
her face turning ghostly white as she turned and retched.