novelraw Chapter 107: The Staircase in the Closet
Chapter 107: The Staircase in the Closet
"Who arranged the funeral?"
"A volunteer who helped at the church."
"Is she here?"
"Yes."
"Take me to her."
"Please, follow me."
Lu Li followed Sister Agatha and found the volunteer. She was an elderly woman with slightly hazy eyes and an age spot on the right side of her forehead.
The former was a common sign of old age, the latter, senile pigmentation.
Lu Li asked her about the hole in Claire's forehead. Mrs. Martha replied that it was already there when the police delivered the body.
It was suspicious that the police hadn't listed the hole in Claire’s forehead as the cause of death—at least, there was no mention of it in the information Valentine had provided.Could this mean something...?
...
Beta Street
Lu Li had last been here half a month ago. Michelle's house was nearby, on Ira Street.
The memory of the elderly couple's gaunt faces moved Lu Li, and despite his hurry, he decided to visit them first and bring them some fruit.
"I came to visit on behalf of Michelle."
After saying this, Lu Li declined their invitation to dinner and headed for Beta Street.
Unlike Ira Street, which was originally intended for low-paid colonial administration workers, Beta Street was built for the affluent. Three-story stone buildings hid in the twilight, oil lamps glowing in some of the windows.
It wouldn't be long until nightfall.
In the pitch-black corridor, a dim, oily light flickered to life.
Lamp in hand, Lu Li stood before the door to Apartment #1, located directly across from the staircase.
His footsteps fell silent. Lu Li glanced down. His shoes rested on a grimy black doormat.
Lifting the mat, he found a rusty brass key beneath it.
He bent down, picked up the key, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it. With a soft click, the lock opened easily.
Creak...
An unpleasant groan came from the door hinges as Lu Li pushed the door open.
A cloud of dust billowed from behind the door, swirling in the lamplight.
Lu Li held his breath and stepped inside.
He didn't sense anything out of the ordinary, yet he placed a hand on the grip of his flintlock pistol without drawing it from its holster.
The current of air stirred up motes of dust. As long as they were invisible, it was fine, but the moment you noticed them, you felt as if you were breathing them into your lungs with every breath.
The floor was coated in a layer of dust. On the dust were haphazard footprints, and on the footprints, more dust.
In an empty room, dust settled quickly. In half a month, enough had accumulated to make it seem as if no one had lived here for several months.
The lamplight snatched the dilapidated outlines of a small living room from the darkness. The bedroom door on the left was ajar, its interior shrouded in gloom.
Lu Li walked to the center of the living room. A cord dangled before him, attached to a ceiling lamp.
Is there electricity here?
Click...
A buzzing sound followed as Lu Li pulled the cord. The lamp swayed slightly but did not light up.
Lu Li surveyed the dust-covered living room. Through the window, the misty night port was visible.
Averting his gaze, Lu Li headed for a wooden door next to the kitchen.
Creak...
The door opened, and the sound of dripping water grew sharply louder.
In the lamplight, he could see water dripping from the toilet tank onto the tiled floor, leaving behind yellowish stains.
The small bathroom was in full view.
Closing the door, Lu Li turned back to the ajar bedroom door.
As he drew closer, he heard the faint sound of wind coming from behind the door.
Wind...?
Lu Li pushed the door open but remained on the threshold, not stepping inside.
The windows were shut tight; there was no way a draft could get into the sealed bedroom.
But the sound of the wind persisted.
Suddenly, he caught sight of a low shadow in the corner of his eye. As soon as Lu Li shifted his gaze toward it, there was a dull thud.
The wardrobe door in the left corner slammed shut.
The wardrobe had been in Lu Li's blind spot, since he was standing in the doorway.
Until now, Lu Li hadn't sensed any hostility. But the shadow had been nearly half the height of a person, so it couldn't have been an animal.
Lu Li slowly raised his hand and drew the flintlock pistol from its holster.
A chill washed over him, but with it, Lu Li felt a long-forgotten calm. No ghosts, no hostility... there was nothing here.
This purity felt sinister.
The oil lamp in his hand suddenly began to flicker, as if the kerosene was about to run out. The flame grew weak, casting wavering shadows.
Lu Li was sure it had been full when he took it from the coachman.
For the moment, ignoring the flickering lamp, Lu Li entered the room and approached the peeling door of the wardrobe built into the wall.
He took hold of the handle and froze for a moment. Usually, this was the part where a snarling, terrifying ghost would appear.
Shaking off the thought, Lu Li abruptly pulled the wardrobe door open.
A blood-red light reflected off Lu Li's tall frame.
A blood-red staircase appeared before him, leading down.
No cold, no hostility, nothing.
It was an ordinary staircase.
Except that it was inside a wardrobe and emanated a sinister, unsettling feeling.
Everything inside the wardrobe was stained blood-red, the light source unknown. About twenty dark red steps led down before making a turn and continuing on.
Tearing his gaze from the end of the staircase, Lu Li examined the walls.
Huge numerals were visible in the middle of the wall, where a floor number would normally be.
1200. A floor number, or something else?
Scrawled across the blood-red walls were haphazard inscriptions. Some were written in an elegant hand, others carelessly scratched, and still others looked as if they were written in a fit of madness.
Each phrase had its own meaning; some were repeated, others incomplete.
Lu Li painstakingly pieced the fragments together into three sentences.
[Do not listen to the laughter; it will drain your will and make you lose yourself in amusement.]
[Do not go outside; the monster-children will pester you, forcing you to lose your faith amidst the fun and laughter.]
[Do not stay up late; it is your greatest enemy. Health is more important than you think.]
Lu Li silently regarded the inscriptions and stepped into the blood-red space beyond the wardrobe.
Ssss... The lamp extinguished the moment Lu Li stepped into the blood-red space.
The blood-red color filled everything, grating on the nerves.
Lu Li's face remained calm, betraying no emotion.
Without hesitation, he began to descend the steps until he reached the turn.
Below, the staircase continued, then turned again and descended even further...
Fragments of phrases still remained on the walls, and on that string of numerals, one of them had changed.
1230. The number had increased by 30.
The strange, eerie sight did not make Lu Li hesitate. He continued his descent, reached the 1230th step, and kept going without stopping until he saw the next floor number.
1300. The interval between floors was 30; perhaps it represented time.
The moment he noticed this, something unexpected happened!
Hee... hee-hee... A child's laughter rang out from around the turn in the staircase below, echoing strangely.
Lu Li immediately spun around and, without a second thought, bolted back up the stairs.