Chapter 3: Blood on the Floor, Words in the Dark

The apartment across from mine belongs to an elderly woman who lives alone. No kids, just a big mutt.

The dog is aggressive and noisy. Every time it sees Tyler downstairs, it goes wild. Barking nonstop.

What's worse, Mrs. Henderson never uses a leash. I'm always worried the dog will attack Tyler.

But then, Tyler replied calmly,

"They won't be coming downstairs anymore."

I froze, about to ask why. Then there was a knock at the door.

I opened it. Two police officers stood there.

They looked official in their navy uniforms, badges glinting under the hallway lights. My heart skipped a beat.

"Hello, are you Ms. Morgan Ellis?"

They showed me their badges.

"Your neighbor across the hall and her dog were murdered last night. Did you hear anything unusual, anything out of the ordinary?"

I was stunned.

Mrs. Henderson and her dog—murdered?

"I didn't hear anything," I stammered. "It happened last night?"

"That's right," one officer said. "The killer was extremely brutal. If you have any clues, please let us know."

Looking past them, I saw the door across the hall was wide open, police going in and out. I could just make out the blood-spattered walls inside.

My stomach twisted. I shivered and nodded.

They asked a few more routine questions and were about to leave. Then one suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Ms. Ellis, have you ever seen a child at the victim's apartment?"

I was taken aback. "No, as far as I know, she never married or had kids, and there weren't any children close to her. Why do you ask?"

The officer hesitated, but answered, "Because at the scene, we found a child's footprint."

I was completely floored.

The room seemed to tilt for a second. I gripped the edge of the door to steady myself.

With a murder in the building, it clearly wasn't safe to take Tyler downstairs.

I sent him back to his room to play with his iPad.

On Facebook Messenger, the neighborhood group was already blowing up—

[Did you hear? That old lady in 502 was killed, and so was her dog. Both were chopped to pieces!]

[What? Chopped up? For real?]

[It's true! I saw the police carrying the bodies out when I went to get groceries. The body bags weren't even shaped like people—just a big lump!]

[Oh my god, to chop them up like that, the killer must be a really strong guy, right?]

[No idea. The police haven't caught the killer yet—they're searching everywhere.]

[Honestly, with Mrs. Henderson's temper, it's not surprising she'd make enemies...]

[Yeah, and that dog! So mean and never on a leash. Every time I go downstairs, I'm afraid it'll bite someone!]

[Exactly! Last time it almost bit the kid from 503, right? @Morgan Ellis.]

Seeing myself suddenly tagged, I was stunned.

My phone buzzed in my hand. I could almost hear my pulse thumping in my ears. Suddenly, Tyler's words flashed through my mind—

"They won't be coming downstairs anymore."

That tone, as if... he already knew Mrs. Henderson and her dog were dead.

And then the police's words—