Dim Sum Mysteries - 19. Chapter 19 - Swan Song Part 2

Chapter 19 – Swan Song Part 2

Friday, somewhere on the streets, 17:05

“I still have a bad feeling about this,” Yuki declared. She was sitting in the back seat with Artie, while Ned was stuck in the middle, being quiet thankfully.

“I still can’t call Anna,” Michael said, handing me my phone.

It was difficult to focus on the road. There was a huge lump in my chest and my head was pounding with worry and panic. It was all I could do to keep driving straight and not just park the car by the side of the road and close my eyes. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for me to drive.

We were heading back to Victoria’s manor. Where else could we go? A part of me didn’t want to believe the message I had gotten. A part of me wanted to believe that it was all a trick and that Anna would probably be waiting for us eagerly at the door. Please, don’t let anything bad happen to her …

The front door was already open when we got to the manor. The entire street was empty, but the manor was located away from most of the other houses anyway so that wasn’t surprising. Yuki decided to stay in the car with Ned and make sure he wouldn’t escape or anything. That left Artie, Michael and I to go inside. What in the world were we getting ourselves into? I hadn’t even thought about the possibility that the murderer could be somewhere inside right now, waiting for us with a gun in her hand. It could be a man, though – for all we knew, the Gunner could be anyone.

I barged into the manor, looking wildly around for any signs of Anna. It felt like I wasn’t even in control of my own body anymore. I just had to find her, I had to know she was safe.

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for me to be the first one in the house. I froze completely when I saw the tell-tale red marks and noticed that scent.

Jeffry’s body was leaning against the wall, slumped, and one side of his face was covered with blood. In an instant, I was struck with sudden dizziness. I took a step back and felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Ryan, what’s wrong?” Michael asked from behind.

I looked up at him, not wanting to look at the mess ahead of me. “Jeffry,” was I could say.

Michael looked past me and saw what I meant. He let go of me and ran up to Jeffry, kneeling down to inspect him. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how he could get close to that much blood.

“He’s still breathing!” Michael said.

Artie rushed by and was at Jeffry’s side in an instant. “What the hell happened here?”

I looked around at the corridor, making sure I was at least three meters away from any trace of blood. Even the smell was nauseating. But at least I felt some relief knowing that Jeffry hadn’t been killed. It was one thing to look at blood. It was another to see another dead body. Still, that didn’t help me calm down. I finally realized that something had gone terribly wrong.

“We need to find Anna and Victoria,” I said. Calm down, Ryan. It’s gonna be okay.

“Artie, go and find Victoria,” Michael said.

Artie gave Michael a hostile look and for a second I thought that they were going to attack each other again. Thankfully, nothing like that happened and Artie simply stood up and walked away peacefully.

“Is he gonna be okay?” I asked, braving one step closer towards Michael.

Michael nodded, not looking at me. “It’s a lot of blood, but the cut itself doesn’t look that bad.”

I dodged Jeffry and the horrible stench of blood and ran inside the living room. I let out a sigh of relief when I couldn’t smell the blood anymore, but then I froze. Artie was crouching over Victoria, who was sitting peacefully up against the wall. She was definitely unconscious – but she seemed … peaceful almost, like she was asleep.

“Somebody hit her on the head,” Artie said, pointing to a bruise on the side of her forehead. “Other than that, she’s fine.”

“You think the murderer did this?” I said, my voice having shrunk into a tiny, tiny little thing.

“Obviously! Who else do ya think it could have been?”

I suddenly remembered what Ned had said back at the park. I swung around, wildly looking around for …

There it was, lying on the ground, all innocent-like. I picked up Cynthia from the floor and inspected it. From up-close, the doll didn’t seem so freaky. I shook and groped it a little, trying to find some kind of hidden device inside of it. There was something solid inside it, somewhere near her lower back.

Artie stood up and retrieved something from his pocket. A pocket knife. How handy.

I took it, swiped out the blade and began cutting vigorously at the fabric. It gave way quite easily and in a few moments, white fluff was spilling out of Cynthia’s body. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I would have laughed in a comically evil tone while I did it. With two fingers, I reached inside of her (I know, that sounded gross) and fished out what I was looking for.

It was just a small black metal box. It didn’t look particularly out of the ordinary until I flipped it over and saw the small green LED light on it.

Was this the cause of all our problems? I didn’t know what to think. I just stared at it. I guess I must have taken my sweet time just to look at it because Artie yanked it out of my hands. He smashed it onto the ground, where it easily broke apart into pieces. He even began stepping on the pieces, crushing them underneath his shoes.

“Whoa,” was all that came out of my mouth.

“Stupid idiot,” Artie mumbled. “I’m gonna kill that asshole.”

I guess he wasn’t talking about the murderer. I stepped away from him, not wanting to become the victim of his tantrum at the moment. And then I remembered something else.

“Anna!”

Artie shrugged at me. “I don’t think she’s here.”

I suddenly began to sweat. I spun around and ran into the kitchen, looking wildly around for any sign of Anna. There was no one. I was getting more desperate as I climbed up the stairs. I checked every room, even the broom closet. The attic was empty as well, though the computer was still on. I decided to check on that later because I was getting sweaty palms. I was panicking.

My thinking was muddled. I took out my phone and tried calling her again. There was no answer.

What was I supposed to do now? I was so confused. It felt like my knees would give away any second now. It was a miracle that I managed to get back down the stairs without tripping over my own feet. Michael was waiting for me downstairs. He had a worried look on my face.

“Ryan, are you okay?” he said. I could hear the fear in his voice too. “You’re pale.”

“I can’t find Anna,” I told him, my voice choking.

“There’s no one in the garden either,” Artie called back from somewhere else in the manor.

“What should we do?” I asked, panicking again. “We can’t call the police, the text said that if we did then –”

Michael interrupted me. “I know, I know. Calm down, Ryan. We’re not even sure if that text’s just a bluff or not. But if it’s the real deal, I think I have an idea that might work.”

He was about to leave, but then he stopped and walked up to me. He took my hand with both of his and squeezed it tightly. I just stood there, paralyzed. All I could think about was Anna’s safety. But I was glad that, at least, there was someone here to comfort me. I was also curious what Michael’s plan was.

He brought Yuki into the manor. Ned, of course, was in tow. His eyes were all droopy and his posture was hunched, like he had the life sucked out of him. He looked like he had been through a pretty rough experience.

“Is Jeffry gonna be okay?” Yuki said, looking back at the corridor. I guess she must have freaked out too when she saw him.

“Artie’s getting the first aid box from the kitchen,” Michael explained. “Anyway, he’ll be fine.”

“A-all right,” Yuki said, sounding unsure. “This is a real mess.”

“We need to call the police,” Michael said. “But we can’t be sure if the Gunner’s gonna go through with the threat.

Yuki tilted her head slightly. “So … you want me to call my dad?”

“Yes,” Michael replied. “I figured since, you know, your dad’s in the police you could contact them somehow. But call him through his personal number, if you can.”

That was some good thinking. I wish I had thought of that earlier. My mind was running slower than usual and I was still panicking.

“What should I tell him?” Yuki asked, fishing out her phone from her pocket.

“I don’t know – just tell him that our friend’s missing.”

“Oh come on, Michael. My dad needs more info than that.”

Michael tapped his forehead with a finger. “Um … well, we don’t know where Anna could be. But the text said three hostages, so there are two other people we have to worry about.”

“Wait, don’t we know where she is?” Yuki said. “I mean, if we can use the GPS tracker on the computer, maybe we’d know where, or at least, possible places.”

“Ryan, you should stay with Artie,” Michael said. I wondered whether he meant to take care of Jeffry, but I’m pretty sure he knew about my little phobia of blood. “Stay with Victoria until she wakes up.”

I nodded and crept back into the living room, trying to avoid looking at the blood. Artie was busy compressing the wound with bandages or something, but that was all I wanted to see. Victoria was still unconscious. Basic first aid for an unconscious person: don’t do anything for a while. You could never know what exactly caused someone to become unconscious and if there was a head injury, without proper medical training, it could be dangerous trying to wake him or her up. Wow, I actually remembered the first aid training we get at school. It didn’t look like she had any other obvious wounds or swellings, except for that bruise on her head. And again, she was breathing all right.

So that’s what I did: I didn’t do anything. I sat near her, observing her for any changes. Her breathing was steady, so that was a good sign I guess. I could hear Yuki talking on the phone and Artie cursing. I didn’t want to imagine what his hands were like.

It was probably a minute or two when I noticed Victoria stirring. Her eyelids flickered a little and then she let out a small groan.

“Victoria?” I said.

She blinked a few times, her eyes sleepy. And then she grimaced and put a hand to her forehead.

“Ow!”

“Are you okay?” Wow, Ryan, that was a stupid question. Of course she wasn’t okay, she was just struck unconscious!

She shook her head. “This is terrible.”

I was alerted by some footsteps behind me. “Is she awake?”

It was Ned. I had almost forgotten about him.

“Yeah, but she’s still coming to,” I told him.

He had a sad look on his face. Or was it guilt? He knelt next to Victoria. “Victoria, I’m really sorry,” he whimpered.

“Tell that to the ones you got killed,” Victoria said, sliding away from Ned. “The murderer got Linda and Anna.”

The world was crashing down all around me, the blood rushing out of my face leaving me pale and breathless. At least, I probably must have looked paler than usual by now.

“Did you see who it was?” I managed to ask.

“No, their face was covered,” Victoria said. She gave Ned a scathing look. “Maybe he knows.”

Ned shook his head quickly. “No, no I don’t know who it is,” he said in a rush. “Please, I don’t really know anything, Victoria. I couldn’t see who it was. I’m sorry. I had no choice!”

“Despicable,” Victoria spat at him.

I felt like I was listening to something I shouldn’t, so I stood up and slipped away back into the corridor. I almost collided into Michael.

“Victoria’s awake?” he asked me.

I nodded. “But she doesn’t know who was here. A-and … and they took Anna.”

“Don’t panic, Ryan,” Michael said, holding my shoulders. “Yuki just called her dad. The ambulance is on the way here for Jeffry.”

“Do they know where Anna is?” I couldn’t help being a little hopeful.

“Unfortunately, no. I’m sorry, Ryan, but you’ll have to put a little faith in them for a while.”

“What about the GPS thing?” I asked. I must have sounded desperate.

“Gary’s car just moved from the school to his house,” Michael explained, “I reckon Gary left it to Mr. Waugh before he died, so he’s using that. The Sheriff’s at the Jade Phoenix, so nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling crestfallen. “What should we do now?”

Michael shrugged, let me go and gave me a sad smile. “I guess we just wait.”

I wasn’t about to give up hope. I took out my phone and tried calling Anna again. There was no answer – I guess I must have expected that, at least a little on the inside. There was also one missed call from my mom. Oh no … my parents! Did they know already? What was I going to tell them? Would it be wise to call them while they were at work? But then, the Sheriff was at the Jade Phoenix too, so maybe they’d probably been told by her already.

Wait a minute.

“Michael,” I said, frowning in confusion. “Are you sure the Sheriff is at the Jade Phoenix?”

“Yeah, that’s what the GPS tracking program said,” Michael replied. “Why?”

I shook my head at the thought. “But … my mom told me that the restaurant closed early today for some renovation or something. Why would she be there?”

“That’s … strange. Do you want me to get Yuki to call her dad again?”

I nodded. “Yes, please.” I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.

“Yuki!”

 

Friday, Victoria’s Manor, 18:21

“They sure took their sweet time getting here,” Artie criticized, watching the ambulance pull into the driveway.

“At least the bleeding’s stopped,” Yuki said, kneeling down next to Jeffry whose head was wrapped up with makeshift bandages.

Jeffry had woken up a few minutes ago, but he hadn’t been able to really talk properly, his words slurred. I fervently hoped that that injury of his didn’t do any permanent damage. He seemed to be aware of us, though.

Artie went outside to take the paramedics inside. There were three of them: two men and a woman. One of the men stayed near the ambulance while the other two followed Artie back inside. They moved quickly – I was impressed with how they acted so professionally.

“How long has he been out?” the man asked, squatting down next to Jeffry. Wow, he even sounded professional.

“Maybe an hour or an hour and half maybe,” Michael replied.

The paramedic began examining the rest of Jeffry’s body, presumably for other wounds. He then looked up at the woman behind him.

“Go get the stretcher.”

“He’s gonna be okay, right?” I asked, unable to help myself.

“He’ll be fine,” the man replied. “But we’ll need to check the wound anyway back at the hospital. Do you know what struck him?”

I shook my head. “Probably something solid.” Yeah, way to go, Ryan. Something solid, indeed.

“Victoria got knocked out too, sir,” Michael said, pointing at something behind me.

I hadn’t noticed her walking up behind me. “There’s nothing wrong, it’s just a bruise,” Victoria complained.

“There could be some serious damage, miss,” the paramedic said, standing up. “You’ll have to come with us for a check-up.”

Victoria let out a frustrated sigh, but she nodded obediently anyway. I guess she knew better than to argue over her health with a trained medical professional.

She turned to me, her face still expressionless, like usual. “Be careful what you say to the police,” she said quietly. “We could get into a lot of trouble.”

When they finally got Jeffry and Victoria into the ambulance, I exhaled in relief now that the smell of blood had been reduced. I hadn’t realized that I was shaking slightly.

The paramedic man came back inside. “Michael, the police will be here in a minute. Have you told your father yet?”

“Not yet, but I will,” Michael answered.

Oh? They knew each other? Well, duh, Michael’s father was a doctor. How could I have forgotten?

Not long before the ambulance left, another vehicle pulled into the driveway. I didn’t even have time to turn around and talk to Michael, because the new vehicle was a police car. Indeed, I was impressed at the speed they travelled.

A tall, well-built man who was probably in his late thirties came out. He walked with a confident swagger. I knew that he had to be Yuki’s father, something about his face. Or maybe it was because of his eyes; hey, I’m not being racist here, just stating the facts.

I felt Yuki brush past me; she walked over to her father and gave him a quick hug.

“You’re not hurt, right?” he asked her.

“I’m fine, but have you found Ryan’s sister?”

“We have no leads to go on,” her father explained, “unless you have something to tell me.”

Yuki gave Michael and I a swift look. “Well … we just got here. The whole story is a bit complicated.”

 

Friday, Victoria’s Manor, 18:42

They had arrested Ned immediately; we didn’t even have time to have another conversation. It was to be expected, I guess. After all, he was a suspect who managed to somehow get the police station under attack and escaped. I still couldn’t believe someone could have pulled off something like that – it made me feel less safe, knowing that even the police had their own blind spots.

“Dad, we’ve noticed that some of our friends got anonymous text messages,” Yuki said. “It’s been happening for the past two months.”

“The ones who get the messages are the ones who get targeted by the killer,” Michael continued after her. “At least, that’s what we think. We’ve noticed a kind of pattern.”

“When did you start receiving these messages?”

“Since … well, Victoria told us about the strange message her cousin got before she was murdered,” Michael said. “Mr. Kobayashi, we didn’t believe her at first, but when we realized these texts were the real thing –”

“We weren’t sure if they were true, or if someone was just playing pranks with us,” I interjected quickly. “It’s, uh, like we never really thought about it. But then it kept happening. I’m pretty sure the Sheriff knows about this.”

The officer nodded at us. Strange, he nodded the same way Yuki does; it was just a short nod, but firm and decisive. I guess we really did inherit some of our behavioral traits from our parents.

“Please find Ryan’s sister, dad,” Yuki said. “She wasn’t a part of us, really. She was just hanging out and it’s really unfair for her to be put in danger.”

Thank you, Yuki.

“I’ll do what I can,” the officer assured, facing me this time. “We’ll find her safe, don’t worry.”

I wanted to believe him. “T-thank you … officer.”

He folded his arms and sighed. “Unfortunately, we have no leads. If any of you have any more information …”

“We have a GPS tracking program installed into a computer in the attic,” Yuki said. “It’s a long story, but you can use it, if you want.”

“I’ll get this entire place searched for any evidence,” the policeman said. “Meanwhile, you all will have to come with me to the police station. I need to keep an eye on all of you.”

Yuki frowned. “But, Dad we can help–”

“No buts, Yuki,” he said.

 

Friday, the Police Station, 19:10

We had been sitting for a while, in a cold, air-conditioned room in the police station. It was like awaiting our final judgment or something. The four of us, Artie, Michael, Yuki and I, were obviously getting fidgety. What were we supposed to do? Just sit there quietly for hours while Anna and Linda were probably in mortal danger at that moment?

“I hope they find Anna,” I mumbled.

“Hey, put a little faith in my dad,” Yuki said. “I just can’t believe they took our cell phones just because we have the texts in them.”

I tried to calm myself down by sitting still and being quiet, but that made my anxiety worse.

Another few aggravating minutes passed by before something happened. The door opened and Officer Kobayashi poked his head inside.

“Ryan, could I see you for a moment?”

Nervously, I stood up and walked over to him. He beckoned for me to follow him outside. Once I was outside and we were the only two standing in the corridor, he turned to me with a very serious look on his face.

“Ryan, before I question you, you must remember that you are still a possible suspect, albeit a minor one,” he told me.

I nodded, rather timidly. “Yes, sir.”

“The system we found in the manor was very advanced. How did you acquire such advanced technology?”

“Oh, that … I’m actually not sure,” I answered truthfully. “Victoria got it for us. Including the tracking devices.”

“Ah, those devices,” he mulled. “You attached those devices on several vehicles, didn’t you?”

I gulped. Were we in trouble? Oh, we definitely were. Was that illegal or something? “Um … y-yes.”

“We noticed two marked points,” he continued. “They were tagged as ‘Janitor’ and ‘Sheriff’ in the legend. We assumed that they meant Gary Reed and Sheriff Elise. Are we correct?”

There was nothing I could do but nod.

“Now, I’m not going to ask how you managed to get the devices on those vehicles, but why those two?”

Uh-oh. Where should I start? “We … we thought they might be the killers. I mean, it wasn’t really anything, but –”

“Why?”

“Um, it was just speculation, sir. Gary was a bit suspicious and shady, and … and the Sheriff seemed to be at the site of the murder all the time, like real quick.”

Mr. Kobayashi tilted his head in confusion. “But Gary was murdered last week. We noticed his icon on the tracking system was still moving.”

That was Mr. Waugh. I was unsure how to explain. “Oh, that’s …”

I was interrupted by a female officer who somehow sneaked on us without making a sound. “We got an anonymous tip about the whereabouts on Linda Whitney. Unfortunately, we still don’t know where Ms. Grand is …”

Ms. Grand? Nicole Grand? I remembered her full name being called out during one of those random roll calls in homeroom class. Wow, brain, way to go at selective memory.

“Excuse me,” I said. I didn’t know why I cut in. “Are you talking about Nicole Grand? We’ve been looking for her too.”

The female officer nodded. “Yes, Nicole Grand. Are you her friend?”

“Yes. Have you seen her?”

“No, actually. Her parents thought she ran away from home.”

I shook my head. “We haven’t been able to contact her. If she ran away from home she’d have talked to us but we haven’t seen her all week.”

“Nicole was part of your little group, wasn’t she?” Officer Kobayashi said to me.

“Yes …”

The female officer gave a confused look at her colleague. “Her parents said she ran away after an argument over her curfew. They said Nicole mentioned that she had ‘vital evidence’ for her club. Is this the club?”

“Indeed it is,” Officer Kobayashi said. He turned to me again. “The last text message you received – it mentioned three hostages. If they are Ms. Grand, Ms. Whitney and your sister then –”

“Yes, that’s what we thought,” I explained. “Please, you have to find them quickly.”

“The text message is our only clue. Ryan, I need your help. Think: where is this designated place that the text mentions?”

I dug up the corners of my mind and processed everything I could. I had no idea where the ‘designated place’ was. It could be anywhere. There was nothing else in the message that I could use for information. I wish Anna was here. She’d be able to figure something like this out. Not me … I was useless on these kinds of things. Anna was the smarter one, obviously.

“Dad …”

I jumped when I heard Yuki’s voice from behind me. I had forgotten that the door was still open.

“Yuki?”

“I think I know where the place might be,” Yuki said.

See? Someone else would figure things out before I did. I’d never be able to solve anything on my own.

“The previous message mentioned green feathers and a swan, so that’s how we ended up in Spring Park,” she explained. “But Michael said it could mean the Jade Phoenix restaurant instead.”

The Jade Phoenix? What did that have to do with …

Oh. Now I finally saw the connection. Green feathers. The emblem on top of the restaurant’s sign had a phoenix colored in green, which is the same color as jade. Now that I thought about it, at first glance, it could have looked like a swan from a distance, especially with its long neck on the design.

I’d never have thought about that. I felt so stupid. Maybe I was just surrounded by smart people.

“That’s where the Sheriff is, isn’t it?” I asked.

“I’ll contact the Sheriff,” the female officer said.

“Wait!” I said. “If you contact her, the hostages might be killed!”

Thankfully, Officer Kobayashi nodded. “Yes, that is what I heard from Mr. Ross earlier. We can’t risk it, even if we or the murderer has no way to prove it.”

The female officer nodded. “We should move to the Jade Phoenix immediately then.”

 

Friday, the Police Station, 19:34

My parents were standing in the lobby of the police station. The female officer, Officer Sands, had called them over, along with Artie’s parents too. Yuki’s father didn’t have to worry since Yuki’s safe, and Michael’s dad was probably still busy in the hospital.

“Ryan,” my mom said. It was painful to hear her say my name like that, like she was holding back her tears.

I rushed over to her and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry, mom. It’s all my fault. I know I shouldn’t have –”

“Ryan, it’s okay,” my dad said, squeezing my shoulder. “Calm down.”

“They’ll find Anna. They’ll find her safe, don’t worry,” I told my mom. Now I was the one reassuring someone else.

“I just don’t know how this could happen to her,” my mom choked. “If something happened to her …”

My dad shushed her gently. “Don’t say that, Angela.”

I felt terrible. I knew this was my fault, at least partially. I should have never gotten Anna involved in any of this. I shouldn’t have been a part of this myself. This was all a big mistake. Why were we involved in this? I thought for a while as I held my mom’s hands, trying to comfort her. I wasn’t religious, but at that moment, I began to pray to every deity I knew to keep Anna safe.

“Mr. Liu,” someone said behind us. It was Officer Sands.

“Yes?”

“I’ve received word that they’ve found your daughter in the Jade Phoenix, but …”

My dad pushed past my mom and I. “But what? Is she safe?”

“We don’t know yet, but we think she is most likely unharmed. I am going to the Jade Phoenix to confirm this. The murderer could have taken refuge inside the storage room but we can’t move in due to the risk to the hostages.”

“Take us with you,” my dad said.

I looked up at him, shocked. “Dad?”

“This is my daughter! She could be in danger,” my dad pressed on. He was determined. “Officer, take us with you.”

“Mr. Liu, this is very dangerous – there are firearms involved and we can’t–”

My dad was unfazed. “Officer, we won’t do anything to put ourselves in danger. But we need to be there for her.”

Officer Sands finally sighed. “I see. But I will be personally guarding you. Is that all right?”

My dad nodded. “Thank you.”

“We’re coming too!”

I was surprised to see Yuki, Michael and Artie striding over to where we were.

Before the officer could say a word, Yuki held up her hand. “I just called my dad. He said we can go there as long as we stay a good distance away from the site.”

The officer looked like she was about to argue, but I supposed she realized it would be safe enough for us.

“Fine,” she said. “But you’re all staying inside the vehicles.”

 

Friday, the Jade Phoenix, 19:55

I had lost track of the time throughout this entire debacle. It was getting dark and the streets were eerily empty. At least there was a cool breeze blowing in through the window.

My parents and I were sitting in the backseat of Officer Sands’ car, with my mom in the middle. She wasn’t crying and I admired her strength, but I could tell she was extremely worried. I definitely was. My dad was silent, as was his nature, but he was probably pretty worried too. I could tell; there was something different about his face. We were all anxious anyway.

The officer stopped the car half a block away from the restaurant. The place was devoid of civilians – I guess the police had already escorted them away from the area. Luckily, there probably wasn’t many people to begin with, since our restaurant was what attracted most people to this part of town. And since it was closed early for today …

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good thing to time the renovation of the Jade Phoenix for today. Maybe the Gunner had somehow overheard my phone call with my mom. I shivered slightly at the thought. My mom grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Oh Ryan, you should be the one to comfort your mom, not the other way around! Be a man!

Three police cars surrounded the entrance to the restaurant. Since the Jade Phoenix had high fences around it, there was no way anyone could escape now. I saw Officer Kobayashi jog over to where we were. Officer Sands went out of the car to speak to him. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but I saw Officer Kobayashi give me a look.

Sure enough, he strode over to the window and signaled for me.

“What happened?” my mom asked. “What’s he saying?”

“It’ll be fine, he just wants to talk,” I said. I got out of the car before my mom could argue.

The officer wasted no time in asking me questions. “Do you know who the murderer is, Ryan?”

“I-I don’t know.” It was true! I had no clue.

“Well, this text says otherwise,” he said, handing me my phone.

“This is …”

He nodded at me. “I took you phone just in case. I got another text message from the same number. It says, ‘Want to see your precious students alive? I need to talk to Ryan. Send him over to the storage room and I’ll be waiting’.”

I could feel my knees become weaker all of a sudden. “M-me? Why me?”

“I can only assume it’s talking about you,” the officer said.

There was silence for a split second before it was broken by a sharp ring. My phone was ringing.

The officer stared at the phone for a while, staring at the screen with great scrutiny. Then he accepted the call and turned the speaker on.

“Who is this?”

“Pleased to finally get a chance to talk to you, officer.”

It was a woman’s voice. I couldn’t tell who it was, though. It could have been anyone. A chill went down my spine.

“Who is this?” the officer repeated.

“I won’t repeat myself. Bring the boy called Ryan here.”

My heart was beating a little too fast. I was being named.

There was a crackle of static before the woman spoke again. “If you don’t, then the first to die is this one. Say something to your brother you little shit or I’m pulling the trigger.”

She’s insane. There was no other way to describe her. I was convinced that whoever this person was, she was insane. I was about to scream back into the phone in anger.

“R-Ryan?”

I gasped when I heard the voice. Anna!

“Ryan, it’s me Anna. I’m okay. Just –”

“That’s enough from you,” the woman cut in. “I’ll be waiting on the second floor of the storage shed. If you’re not here in fifteen minutes … well …”

There was a loud bang that the phone strained to produce, followed by two simultaneous screams. It was a gunshot. I had heard it over the phone too, the real gunshot coming from somewhere behind the restaurant.

“You’ll have two dead innocents. You wouldn’t want their blood on your hands, would you?”

She hung up. Officer Kobayashi looked up at me and then shook his head.

“Ryan …”

“I’ll go,” I said. I didn’t even know why I said that. I just knew that I had to do something. Anna was in danger. That was all I could think of at the moment.

The officer shook his head at me. “Absolutely not. You are not going.”

“Damn right you’re not going.”

I spun around to see Michael standing there with a frown on his face. I was horrified to see that my parents were right next to him. They had heard everything without me noticing. My mom was in tears.

“Ryan, don’t,” Michael begged.

“Didn’t you hear?” I yelled at him. “If I’m not there in fifteen minutes, they’re going to die! What are we supposed to do?”

“Ryan, that’s enough out of you,” my dad said. He was angry too now. “Officer, please find another way.”

“Anna’s in there!” I knew it was really dangerous, but after that moment when I heard Anna’s voice, I couldn’t control myself anymore. She sounded so safe, but

“Excuse me, we need to think quickly here,” Officer Kobayashi said. “I will go with Ryan, but we’ll serve as decoys, of sorts. I need to send several men through a different path. Mr. Liu, is there another route into the storage shed?”

My dad was quick to turn serious and focused. I was impressed with his integrity. “Yes. There is a small backdoor to the shed, but it’s never used. I-I have the key …”

My dad fished out some keys from his pocket. I never knew he carried the keys to the restaurant with him all the time.

“You’ll have to climb a little to get to it, though …”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Liu,” the officer said, receiving the keys. “Mel!”

Officer Sands walked up to him and took the keys from him. “Who do I go with?”

“Bring Tyler and Sam with you. I’ll be going with Ryan here. Daley and the rest will stay to block the entrance.”

While this was happening, I turned to my mom first. She shook her head at me, her eyes red and puffy with tears. “Ryan, don’t even think about it.”

“This is nonsense,” my dad said, shaking his head at me.

“I-it’s not really a big deal,” I said. My voice was wavering. “I’m just going to go there for a while and once the police go round the back, I’ll come running back. Officer Kobayashi will be with me.”

“I’ll make sure your children are not hurt,” the officer said. “Unfortunately, if we do not do something now, we risk getting your daughter and the other hostages hurt or worse.”

A fresh burst of tears from my mom. It hurt me a lot to see her cry so much. I had never seen her so worried and panicked in her life before. But then again, she’d probably never had her daughter kidnapped before. I wished I could do something to comfort her, but time was running out.

Michael walked up to me and held my shoulders.

“Are you sure?” he asked. His voice was full of concern and I knew this must be hard on him too. But I had to go through with it, at least until they can break into the shed …

“The police will be with me,” I replied. “It’ll be fine. I’m sure.”

I wished I was telling the truth.

Before I knew it, I was standing next to Officer Kobayashi at the side of the Jade Phoenix. I stared at the unlit road down to the parking lot where the storage shed was located. It seemed like such a long way away.

“Your father told me that there is only a single window on the second floor of the shed,” the officer explained to me. “That means I can’t be seen with you. But I’ll be right behind you. Remember, walk slowly. Stall long enough until Officer Sands can get inside. Once I get word, I’ll come and fetch you.”

My mouth was dry and my heart was pounding. I wasn’t even entirely sure I was down with all this. But Anna and the others were depending on me. What did the Gunner want with me, anyway?

I checked my watch. Five minutes left.

 

Friday, the Jade Phoenix, 20:25

The road leading to the car park at the side of the Jade Phoenix never looked so eerie before. It was dark and lit only by a meager lamp post at the edge of the lot. The storage shed was built separately from the restaurant and it was located at a lonely little corner. I’ve never actually been inside of it myself, although I have wondered what it was like inside. My dad would never let me, though, and I had lost interest in it.

I looked back at Officer Kobayashi, who nodded at me. Man, what I’d do to be as confident as he seemed to be. Inhaling deeply, I took a few steps forward. My heart was beating so hard, I thought it’d just jump out of my chest in any moment now.

I didn’t dare look back, even though I would have benefitted from knowing that the Officer was just behind me. I knew I had to stall, but shouldn’t the murderer see that I was approaching? At least then, she wouldn’t hurt Anna or the others. Why couldn’t those other police guys move faster?

Before I knew it, I was only about ten feet away from the door to the storage shed. I had run out of steps to take. What should I do now? A drop of sweat trickled down the side of my face.

I was about to turn around to see whether the officer was still behind me when there was a loud bang. I literally jumped at the sound. That bang was a gunshot. I had heard one before. That one time at the Japanese Culture Bazaar …

The first thing that came into my mind was Anna. Was I too late? I felt like caving in and collapsing into a crumpled heap onto the floor. I heard footsteps from behind me; it was the officer, running up to me with a gun in his hands.

“Ryan, run back to the entrance,” he told me.

I was still rooted to the spot. The officer didn’t wait for me, though, because he had already kicked the door open. He was barely halfway through when a figure nearly knocked him over. I couldn’t see who it was due to the poor lighting, but I caught a quick glimpse of long red hair.

“Lin … Linda?”

The person turned to me, her facing now lit up by the available light. There was a look of horror on her pale face.

“Who …”

“The police are here,” I said.

“No time to talk,” Officer Kobayashi said sternly. “Are you hurt?”

Linda spun around, looking confused. “Um, yes. But …”

“I need you to go with Ryan and run back to the entrance, okay?”

Linda quickly nodded and turned to me while the officer ran inside the shed. Before we left, I just had to ask …

“Linda,” I said, getting her attention. “Is my sister there? Is Anna okay?”

“I don’t know,” Linda answered, her voice trembling. “I just heard them arguing and then the gunshot … we need to get out of here.”

Anna was still inside! That gunshot … no. No, I couldn’t bring myself to think about that. I looked at Linda and hoped she’d understand.

“You go on ahead,” I said. What was I thinking?

Understandably, she was bewildered. “What? You’re not thinking of going inside, are you?”

I shook my head at her.

“But, you can’t! It’s too dangerous! She has a gun!”

“It’s my sister! I have to see …”

I knew it was crazy. But my mind seemed to have decided without my permission anyway.

This time, she shook her head at me. I didn’t wait for another response so I just made my way inside the shed.

The moment I entered, I noticed the eerie silence. The first floor was empty with just old furniture and kitchen appliances stacked in rows. It was completely lit up and obviously no one was there. I looked to my side and spotted a set of stairs leading upwards.

My mind was racing. Was Anna okay? Was she safe? What had happened? What was that gunshot?

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loud crash from somewhere above. I seriously hoped the officer was all right …

I made my way slowly up the stairs, my resilience now fading away quickly. I was completely unarmed. What was I supposed to do if I had to face the Gunner herself? I really hadn’t thought this through. When I was at the top of the stairs, the corridor led to two ways. One was pitch black and creepy looking, but the doors there were closed. The other corridor had several doors open, and the rooms were lit up. This looked more like an office than storage shed …

I entered the first room on the left. It was a large room, but it was full of desks, cardboard boxes and the like. Otherwise, it did not look too menacing. Where was Anna? I had to make sure she was safe. I’m her older brother for goodness sake! I should be protecting her, not letting her into danger like this.

I was about to turn around to go back to the corridor, but something hit me hard on the back of my head. The blow was so strong I tripped completely over and I didn’t even have time to bring my arms out to help break the fall. I fell onto the dusty, tiled floor on my side. Before I could register the pain, I felt something hit me in the stomach and I instantly curled up.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

My body threatened to just collapse on the floor. I clutched my stomach and the back of my head simultaneously, grimacing and moaning at the pain. I managed to turn over onto my back and opened my eyes to take a look at my attacker.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Sheriff?”

She looked different here. She had a more crazed look on her face, not the sturdy one I was used to seeing. Her hair was down and messed up and she wasn’t in her uniform.

“Well, I can’t have any witnesses here,” she said, her voice cold. This was not like the Sheriff.

“Where’s … where’s Anna?”

She smirked at me. “She’s dead. And you’ll be joining her.”

She raised her hand and I saw the gun. I was silent, too stunned to speak, as the Sheriff stared evilly down the barrel of the gun. She placed her finger on the trigger.