Chapter 14: Chapter 14

~The key is hidden within the room.~

~Look past the webs; don’t forget the broom.~

~Dust, dust, dust everywhere.~

~Dust on the walls; could be in your hair.~

~Only one key to open the door.~

~Is it on the roof, or is it on the floor?~

“Hey, guys!” I called out to the others. We gathered together as I passed the note to the woman whose name I still didn’t know.

She read the note then passed it to Neo, who skimmed it with a frown.

“What’s this? A hint?” he asked as he passed the note back to me.

I nodded. “Looks like it. We would’ve wasted a lot of time if we didn’t find this.”

Neo’s frown deepened. “What if it’s just a fake to throw us off finding the actual location?”

I considered it but then shook my head. “I don’t think it is. To search this entire room, we’d need way more time than they allotted for it. Meaning there’s a clue in the room, and we found it.” I waved the note in my hand.

Neo nodded slowly, then crossed his arms. “Then where do you think it is? In the roof? We can’t reach it, so it’s gotta be on the floor, right?”

I looked up at the roof that was out of reach, pursing my lips.

“‘~Look past the webs~,’ meaning the walls.” I looked at the corners of the room that were infested with cobwebs. “The fact that it keeps hinting above us means the key is in the roof. But it’s probably within reaching distance. Did any of you see a broom?”

Renae brightened and replied, “I saw one! Over here.” She ran off and came back with an old broom.

I took the broom and then turned to Neo. “How tall are you?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Six foot.”

I gave him the broom. “Then you use it since you’re taller.”

“On what?”

“Go to the wall and lift the broom up. I want to see how far it reaches. They wouldn’t make the key impossible to get, meaning it can’t be higher than your arm plus the broom.”

He did as instructed and stretched his arm with the broom up. I noted where his reach ended and nodded.

“All right, now if we’d just look—oh.” I spotted a little nook in the wall of the attic, a few inches higher than the broom. It was faint, but I managed to make out a slight silver object hidden behind the cobweb.

My eyes lit up. “I found it!”

Neo turned to follow my gaze and frowned. “Can I reach that?”

I waved a dismissive hand and walked toward the wall. “That’s no problem. I’ll give you a boost. Let’s hurry.”

He eyed me in disbelief. “You’re lifting me? Are you crazy? Just let me lift you or Renae.”

I rolled my eyes and gestured for him to hurry up. “Stop trying to act manly. You’re so skinny you probably weigh half of me. You think I can’t lift a stick man?”

His mouth fell open. “Damn. Do you have to be so blunt?”

“Hurry up!”

He grumbled but followed my instructions. I bent and grabbed hold of both his legs, taking a deep breath before I quickly hoisted him up a little off the floor.

My arms trembled. “Hurry!” I said through gritted teeth.

He used the broomstick to knock the key out of the crevice, and it fell to the floor with a clang.

I immediately released my hold and dropped him.

Neo snorted. “I told you I should’ve done the lifting.”

I rolled my eyes and picked up the key. “Let’s hurry. I don’t know how much time has passed, but we need to get moving.”

I placed the key into the lock and turned it to the right, sighing in relief at the sound of the click. We walked through the door and closed it behind us.

The setting changed once again. This time, it was a child’s bedroom. Pink walls, carpeted floor, and a bed sitting in the corner of the room. Toys were everywhere.

But the walls… I glanced worriedly at Renae, wondering if it was too much for her, but she was focused on the toys.

“Is that…?” Neo asked.

I nodded. “Blood.” The walls were covered in dried bloodstains. Whatever happened in this room, it didn’t end well for someone.

Pictures of a young girl hung on the walls, also covered in blood spatter. She looked like a Barbie doll in her pink princess dress, holding her teddy in her arms, her brown eyes smiling at the camera.

“Let’s look for a clue. That’ll save us some time.”

I immediately went to the dresser to look for any displaced items or notes but found none. The drawers were filled with children’s clothing. I searched under the clothes, but the key wasn’t there. Instead, I found a book. A diary.

I browsed through it curiously.

I gasped as I started reading. Its contents flipped my stomach, and my face contorted in horror.

~“Today Mommy and I moved into this big ugly house, but the rooms are pretty. I get my own room. The man isn’t nice because he hits her.”~

~“Today Mommy had cuts on her face. She cried a lot. She says I have to stay in my room no matter what. Her hands were dripping with red. She told me it was paint.”~

~“Mommy is not here today. I wait and wait, but she never comes. Where’s Mommy? Why can’t the door open?”~

~“Mommy’s friend visits me. I’m hungry, but he has no food. Why does he touch me? I just want something to eat.”~

~“Where’s Mommy? I don’t like it here. I want to go home. I miss Mommy. I’m so hungry. The man says he will bring me food, but he’s not here.”~

~“I feel sick. I can’t play with toys anymore. My hands are tired. I just want to sleep.”~

~“I miss you, Mommy. Please come back.”~

“Cat, are you okay?” Renae asked as she looked at me worriedly.

I hadn’t realized that I was crying. I quickly wiped away the tears and smiled tightly. “I’m fine, sweetie. Go see if the key is in the toy box.”

She hesitated, then nodded and ran off.

My chest was heavy as the realization dawned on me. This room could be real. What happened here could be real. What kind of fucked-up situation was this? Who could do that to such a young child?

I took a deep breath and continued to skim the diary until I came to the last page. The writing was fresh.

“Hey, guys, I found it,” I called out to the others. Once everyone gathered, I read it out loud.

~“Why did I have to suffer alone? Sitting in a corner until I was nothing but bone. Waiting for food that never came. Praying to be released, time and time again.~

~“Those cruel eyes that watched me from below. Blood on his hands; pain he’ll never know. That wicked smile that curled his lips. Eagerly waiting until I no longer exist.~

~“As the light slowly faded, something caught my eye. It’s the reason for my suffering, that picture of the sky.”~

“That sounds cryptic as hell,” Neo muttered. “So what? We’re looking for a picture?”

I nodded. “Seems like it.”

“There are so many though.” Neo gestured to the pictures around the room.

I shrugged. “Let’s start with the ones that have a sky in them.”

The old lady spoke up for the first time, her eyes glued to the door we had to unlock to enter the next room. “I don’t think we’re looking for a key this time.”

I followed her gaze; the door had a keypad next to it. “A code?” I asked in surprise.

Neo rolled his eyes. “Well, that’s great. Now we have to find numbers. That’s much harder than a stupid key.”

“Not necessarily. Look at the back of all the pictures you see. Renae.” I turned to the little child who was eyeing a few Legos bricks scattered on the floor. “You can play with them if you want. We’ll look for the key.”

Her eyes brightened. “Really?”

I nodded. “Yes. Have fun.” She quickly sat cross-legged on the floor to play.

I sighed and turned my attention back to the diary, my heart clenching in pain as I thought about what the little girl had suffered in this room. I continued searching through the dresser but found nothing.

We spent ten minutes turning over all of the photos but didn’t find a single code to unlock the door. I was getting anxious. Were we looking at this wrong?

The riddle said the picture of the sky was the reason for her suffering. But what picture?

I looked around the room again, ignoring all the toys and focusing on anything that would have a number on it.

After another five minutes passed, Neo threw up his hands in frustration. “This is ridiculous. How are we to find numbers in such a big room?”

I sighed and ran a hand down my face in frustration. I glanced at Renae, who was still sitting on the floor, playing. Then something caught my eye.

A teddy bear sat on the floor with its back against the wall. Its beady eyes looked up. I froze as I recognized the splash of blood on the teddy bear’s arms. Then I followed the direction of the bear’s gaze. It was pointed at the bed.

“That teddy bear…”

~Those cruel eyes that watched me from below.~

~Blood on his hands; pain he’ll never know.~

The bear wasn’t alive. It couldn’t feel any pain.

I took a step closer and realized the bear was holding a small picture in its arms. I quickly ran to pick up the Polaroid.

It was a picture of a man, similar to a mug shot. His eyes were scary, as if they were diving into your soul to carve it out.

Was this the man who tortured that poor woman and her child? I turned the photo over and saw four numbers in the corner. 1296.

“Hey, Neo, try 1296,” I called out anxiously, watching with hopeful eyes as Neo punched in the numbers. He turned the doorknob and opened the door.

Relief flooded through me.

Neo grinned. “I knew I chose you for a reason, Ms. Detective. One more room, and that money is mine.”

He quickly slipped through the door, and I pulled Renae away from the toys.

“It’s time to go, Renae,” I muttered against her protest, lifting her and following behind the old woman as we entered the final room.

The game was almost over. I was beyond excited. The last room was mostly empty, with only a sofa sitting against one wall. There were two doors on the far side of the room, a large sign between them.

I placed Renae down and walked toward the sign.

My stomach sank with each word I read. I knew things weren’t as simple as they seemed. This was where the catch came in.