Inspection

After taking a moment to pull myself together—ten minutes that felt like an eternity—I was finally ready to go back to the room where Misaki’s body had been found. But before leaving the bathroom, I turned to Ango.
“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice tinged with concern.
“I just need a bit more time,” Ango muttered softly, his gaze fixed on the floor. His voice sounded so fragile. I gave him a nod, understanding, and left the room.
As I made my way down the hallway, a heavy sense of dread hung over me. When I reached the scene of the murder, I saw three others already there: two guys and a girl, standing near Misaki’s body, examining the gruesome sight. They seemed eerily calm compared to the rest of us. As I approached, they all looked up at me.
“You should probably stay back,” one of the guys said, his tone sharp. “Let us handle this. We’ll figure it out.”
“I’m here to help,” I shot back, my voice firm. “I’m not going to sit back and let this all play out. I’m going to find the killer, and when I do… I’m going to make them pay.”
The three of them exchanged glances, giving me a strange look—half skeptical, half intrigued.
“Was she someone special to you?” the girl asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
I hesitated, my voice growing softer. “She… she was my childhood best friend. She’s always been there for me. I owe it to her to figure out who did this.”
They sighed, almost in unison.
“Fine,” the first guy said, “you can help. But don’t get in our way, understood?”
I nodded quickly, grateful for the chance, and began surveying the room. But when my eyes fell on Misaki’s lifeless form again, I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. Her once-bright presence was now just a body, pale and motionless.
Then something caught my attention—something odd. There was a pattern to her injuries. The killer had targeted her arms and legs. She must’ve bled out. A method like that… it was calculated. The killer must have known how to avoid getting blood on themselves. They were smart, no doubt about it.
“Shouldn’t we interrogate everyone in this mansion?” I suggested, my voice breaking the silence.
“Good idea,” the first guy agreed, folding his arms. “I’ll take four people, Naima here will question another four, Jake can handle three, and you’ll talk to three as well. Does that work for everyone?”
We all nodded, agreeing on the plan. With that, we split up and began our search through the mansion, determined to find answers—and uncover the murderer hiding among us.
I left the crime scene, my mind still swirling with thoughts of Misaki and the murder we were forced to solve. As I walked down the dimly lit hallway, my footsteps echoing in the eerie silence, I spotted a girl sitting near the entrance of the mansion. She was slumped against the door, her face pale, her body trembling with fear. It looked like she had been trying to break out, desperately pounding on the door in a futile attempt to escape.
“Hey, are you okay?” I asked gently, keeping my voice low in an effort to comfort her.
Her eyes shot up to meet mine, full of exhaustion and terror. “No, I’m not okay,” she replied, her voice rough and hoarse. She must’ve been screaming for help earlier. “We’re trapped in this creepy mansion with a murderer on the loose, and we’re part of some sick game. No one outside can hear us, and there’s no signal to call for help. I don’t want to die… not like this.”
I knelt beside her. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Tanaka Keiko,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Listen, Tanaka,” I said, trying to sound confident despite the knot of anxiety tightening in my chest. “We’re going to find the murderer. And we will get out of here alive.”
She looked into my eyes, a flicker of hope breaking through the fear. “You promise?” she asked, her voice fragile.
I hesitated, the weight of the promise heavy on my tongue. Could I really guarantee that? But then, I swallowed my doubts and nodded. “I promise.”
With that, I stood up and moved on, leaving her behind. But as I walked away, guilt gnawed at me. I hadn’t really interrogated her. I was supposed to be gathering information, but all I’d done was offer empty reassurances. What kind of detective am I?
The next two people I found were sitting on the stairs leading to the second floor. They looked as lost and hopeless as everyone else. I approached them, trying to look more composed than I felt.
“You two seem pretty down. Mind if I ask you a few questions?” I said.
One of them raised his head and gave me a tired look. “You’re trying to solve this case?”
“Fine, go ahead,” the other one muttered.
“What happened to you both? How did you end up here?”
“We were just out trick-or-treating, minding our own business,” the first guy explained.
“But when we got to this house… we both passed out. Next thing we knew, we woke up in this nightmare.”
“That’s about it,” the second guy added.
“Alright, thanks for your time,” I said, but before I could turn away, a loud crash echoed through the mansion, followed by a scream. My heart jumped as I immediately bolted toward the sound, my pulse quickening with every step.
When I arrived, I saw what I had feared most—another lifeless body sprawled out on the floor.

To be continued…