Chapter 3

"Ah!"

After several attempts to steady my nerves, I finally broke down.

A strong pair of arms pulled me into an embrace: "Shhh... Don't scream, don't scream, he hasn't gone far!"

I turned my head to look at the man in front of me.

It was Mr. Davies, the landlord.

I stared at him in horror. Could *this* man be...?

"Calm down first. I was hiding right next to you earlier."

He explained frantically. I suddenly remembered the warm presence beside me.

Was it him hiding next to me all this time?

"Ashley, take off that plushie costume first. We need to talk properly."

Mr. Davies's face looked as if he was about to cry.

"I thought I was done for today. I never expected you to be here."

His voice trembled as he spoke, and his legs began to shake.

"I just wanted to scare Chloe today. She always lagged on rent, and nothing I said worked. I just wanted to teach her a lesson."

"But, but who would have thought something like this would happen today."

The forty-year-old man burst into tears. "The moment I hid in this closet, I saw you, dressed as a teddy bear, sneak in. When I wanted to get out, just like you, I saw that head on the floor!"

He finished, burying his face in his hands, his fingers unconsciously stiffening.

"Did you see who it was?" I asked urgently.

He shook his head. "I came in almost at the same time as you. From inside the closet, I couldn't tell who that person was."

"Call the police!" I decisively pulled my phone from my pocket.

It was then I noticed several missed calls from Julian, my boyfriend.

I was suddenly grateful my phone was on silent mode, otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have escaped tonight.

A hand pressed down on mine.

"Don't call the police. If we do, we'll be the prime suspects, and he'll quickly find out we were in this apartment."

Hearing his words, I hesitated. The horrific sight of Chloe's death was still vivid in my mind.

Thinking of this, my hand involuntarily trembled.

"Then what do we do? The police will investigate soon and ask where we were."

My heart was racing with anxiety, but I also felt Mr. Davies had a point.

"It's fine. We both go home now. We just tell the police you were at my place, that we were together."

He looked at me with an extremely serious expression.

"No, Julian will misunderstand."

"Is your life more important, or your love life? Didn't you see how terrifyingly Chloe died?"

Mr. Davies's eyes welled up again after he said that. A forty-year-old man now looked as small and helpless as a child.

I glanced at my phone and deleted all the missed calls.

Yes, I couldn't be a suspect. I needed to catch the killer.