The Basement Discovery
Sarah's POV
My entire body slammed into the basement door.
It refused to move. Mrs. Huang and Torres pushed alongside me, but the door seemed to have been welded shut.
"Elena!" I shouted. "Let us out!"
The walls reverberated with her laughter. "Detective Chen, you're right where I need you."
There was no signal when Torres took out his phone to call for assistance. "The bars are constantly vanishing and resurfacing. She's tampering with the cell towers.
Marcus was rocking back and forth while seated in the corner. "I am entirely to blame for this. I ought to have resisted her more. I ought to have kept Linda safe.
"How long has Elena been controlling you, Marcus?" I asked.
"Maybe two years? It began slowly. Initially, when I was asleep, she would whisper things. After that, I would wake up and do things I couldn't recall doing.
Mrs. Huang took hold of my arm. "Detective, check the wall behind Marcus."
I illuminated the area she indicated with my flashlight. I had not previously noticed a large crack in the concrete wall.
"That crack wasn't there earlier," Torres stated.
The crack widened as we watched. Concrete fragments began to fall to the ground.
I said, "Elena's breaking down the wall."
"Why would she do that?"
Behind it, another room became visible as the wall collapsed. A hidden room in the basement.
"Because it's time you saw the truth about Marcus Rivera," Elena said, her voice emerging from the shadows.
Using my flashlight, I stepped through the wall's opening. Mrs. Huang and Torres came after me.
Compared to the first basement, the hidden room was substantially larger. Old suitcases, purses, and personal items were also strewn all over the floor.
"Oh my God," Mrs. Huang muttered.
I counted twelve piles of stuff. A dozen individuals.
I called back to him and asked, "Marcus, how many people did you really kill?"
Marcus's voice was hardly audible. "I'm not sure. I mostly forgot it because of Elena. However, I occasionally dream about digging. A lot of digging.
Torres gasped when he discovered something. "Look at this, Sarah."
He had a driver's license in his possession. The young woman in the picture had blond hair. "Jennifer Walsh" was listed as the name, and the date indicated that she had disappeared three years prior.
"I recall this case," Torres remarked. Jennifer Walsh vanished while trying to find a place to live. According to her family, she responded to a newspaper rental ad.
I went to another pile and took out another wallet. "David Kim. gone for two years.
Mrs. Huang discovered a handbag. Maria Santos. Missing Person posters were posted throughout the town by her family.
All twelve piles were examined. Everyone had vanished in search of a rental. And all of them had responded to Marcus's phony ads.
I yelled, "Elena, are you doing this to demonstrate what Marcus did?"
She spoke directly behind me. She was standing there in her black dress when I turned around, but she didn't look the same in the underground room. more substantial. more authentic.
Elena said, "I'm demonstrating to you that your human justice system was ineffective." "No one was able to link the cases, and twelve people died. No one recognized the same murderer.
"Because you were assisting Marcus in concealing the evidence!"
Elena's eyes flashed silver. "I wasn't doing anything like that. Detective Chen, I just got here two weeks ago. All of this occurred prior to my arrival.
I was completely stopped by that. "What do you mean?"
"Marcus Rivera has been killing people for three years, all by himself. No supernatural influence needed. He's simply a monster who learned he could make money by murdering people who came to rent his rooms."
I looked back at Marcus, who was still sitting in the main basement. "Then why are you here? With him, what do you want?
Elena flashed that icy grin. "I pursue murderers who believe they are too cunning to be apprehended. Marcus excels at what he does. He uses fictitious names to place advertisements, murders his victims the first night, steals their money, and buryes them in unreachable locations.
"However, we located them."
"Just because I brought you here. Marcus would have continued killing for years if I hadn't been there. Your police force believed that these were merely sporadic disappearances.
Torres stepped closer to Elena. "So you're not attempting to exact revenge on the Rivera family?"
Elena chuckled. "I lied about that, Detective Torres. I wanted Detective Chen to believe she knew why I was doing this. The reality is far more straightforward. I pursue evildoers. Marcus Rivera is a bad guy.
My mind was racing. "But the newspaper articles about you dying in 1924..."
"Were authentic. However, Marcus's great-grandfather did not murder me. It was another murderer who killed me. I discovered that I could assist in apprehending murderers that human law enforcement was unable to apprehend when I returned as a spirit.
Mrs. Huang appeared perplexed. "So why did you take over my thoughts? Why did you force me to behave like a robot?
"Because I needed Detective Chen to investigate this house. I needed her to find evidence that would hold up in court." Elena gestured toward everything in our immediate vicinity. "You now have Marcus's confession, the personal belongings of twelve victims, and their remains. He will never be able to leave prison.
"But you were going to allow him to murder Mrs. Huang!"
Elena's face darkened. "No, Detective Chen. I would never permit the death of an innocent person. I put you to the test. I wanted to know if you were willing to put your life in danger for Mrs. Huang.
"And if I had failed your test?"
"You would never have known the truth about how many people Marcus has killed if I had stopped him myself."
Elena's plan was beginning to make sense to me, but something was still off. "Elena, why all the mind games if all you wanted was justice for Marcus's victims? Why not just take us straight to the proof?
Elena's silver eyes brightened. "Because, Detective Chen, there are other murderers in this town besides Marcus Rivera."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean Marcus has been selling information about his victims to someone else. Someone who helped him choose which people to target. Someone who made sure the police never connected the missing person cases."
Torres and I exchanged glances.
"Who?" I insisted.
Elena gestured past us to the secret entrance to the basement. "Someone who has been closely monitoring this investigation. Someone who has been ensuring that you haven't looked at the wider picture and have instead kept your attention on Marcus."
When I turned around, I noticed a figure standing in the secret room's doorway.
Chief Morrison was the one.
He was also pointing a gun at each of us.
Chief Morrison said, "Hello, Detective Chen," with a smile I had never seen before. "I wanted to know when Elena would introduce you to my business partner."
"Your business partner?"
"I've had Marcus on staff for three years. We divide the money they bring with them after I select the victims and he kills them. It has been very successful.
Elena gave a nod. Detective Chen, you now understand why I was unable to simply call the police. The chief of police is involved in the plot.
Chief Morrison chuckled. "Elena interfered with Marcus, which caused me some issues. She did me a favor, though. I can now murder all four of you and say Marcus's
breakdown caused it.
He brought his gun up.
Chief Morrison remarked, "The only question is, which of you should I shoot first?”