'I better get to work as well then.'
She didn't have time to think about anything else other than the investigation. Ten people had disappeared, and a monster or a group of monsters were most likely behind it.
They had to be caught. They had to face justice. They had to feel the consequences of their actions. They had to suffer. They had to atone for what they did...
Margret's eyes darkened slightly as she walked toward the front door.
Actually, scrap that last one, they just had to suffer for what they did. Nothing else.
Stepping into the hallway, the blond detective shut the door behind her and began making her way downstairs to the lobby.
Along that path, the thoughts of what she was going to do today filled her mind.
'I shouldn't take a risk early, huh? Well, what does he even know about risk, he never takes any. He solves everything by just... talking to people.'
So many years of working with him and she still didn't understand how he did it.
'I'll cut to the chase and go for the main dish. That fat police officer that I saw, I know he's hiding something big. Might as well cut the trunk of the tree first, rather than the branches.'
Eventually, Margret arrived at the first floor of the building.
She looked around, expecting Helena to be somewhere around the lobby. But interestingly enough, she wasn't anywhere to be seen.
'Who cares. I didn't want to talk to her anyway.'
Moving across the lobby with quick steps, Margret's eyes showed nothing but deep focus.
But that focus was soon broken. As she exited the building and looked around the street, a certain apartment owner caught her eye.
'Where is she—'
Before she could even ask herself that simple question, Helena had already disappeared—walking into an alleyway that led behind the building she owned.
Seeing this, the blond detective stood there—not moving. A deep frown etched onto her face.
'Why—why does it feel like everyone here is suspicious or a suspect? I hate this town so much.'
Just a few seconds ago, she had been confident in which person she was going to stalk for the day, but that confidence had just been shattered to two pieces.
'I feel it, my intuition is ringing a loud bell. She's also hiding something just as dark as the fat police officer I saw at the station. What do I do? Do I follow her or do I continue with the main plan...'
She really wanted to think more about which choice was better, but if she waited any longer, Helena would already be out and gone from the alleyway.
She had to decide now.
The blond detective glanced at the road that would lead to the police station, then she looked back toward the alleyway and let out a sigh.
With steady steps, she made her way toward the alleyway.
********************************************
'This... has got to be the longest time that I have stalked somebody for. Fucking hell, does this bitch have a resting place or is she just going to wander around all day? Did I sacrifice my main plan just for nothing?!'
Their journey had been ridiculous.
From the alleyway that led to the street behind their building, to walking up this street for almost an hour, then cutting the corner to another street. It was just nonstop walking for hours and hours.
And now Margret was not only losing hope in discovering anything significant from this chase, but she was also losing hope in finding her way back to her apartment.
They had walked through so many unfamiliar streets that it was impossible for the blond detective to retrace her steps back.
Looking at the distant figure of Helena, Margret couldn't help but scowl.
'What a waste of time this was.'
But then, in this moment of disappointment, it happened. Helena's steps became slower and slower, and eventually, they stopped completely.
She had stopped in front of what seemed to be an abandoned building. Even though most buildings in Pustków were in ruins and looked "abandoned" naturally, this particular building looked really abandoned, more so than the rest.
'Is this actually going to pay off.'
Margret hid behind a corner and waited for the apartment owner to enter. Once she did, the blond detective wasted no time in following suit.
The windows of the building were all boarded up, so there was no point in trying to peek from there. Either way, it would be too risky to do so.
What if she was spotted?
She had no gun. No knife. Nothing to protect herself other than her hands and legs.
So where would she listen from? What opening could she find?
'Most buildings here are already full of holes and this one is even worse than most. Finding an opening shouldn't be an issue.'
Margret realised that there was a tiny amount of space between this building and the other two that sandwiched it. It wasn't like an alleyway, but it was barely wide enough for a human to slowly squeeze themselves through.
Taking a deep breath in and sucking in her stomach, the blond detective painfully squeezed through the small gap and moved to find a hole to get into.
'It's too tight... i-I can't take a deep breath.'
The gap was big enough to squeeze through, but it wasn't big enough to allow luxury like full breaths. The walls didn't allow her chest to rise all the way to take a deep breath, so she could only make do with short, sharp breaths.
Her lungs burned.
'D-don't tell me I die like this. That would suck a—'
Her words halted as she felt around with the tip of her finger. It was moving—moving around freely without a wall keeping it in place.
'A hole!'
She was so out of breath that it felt as if she would faint at any moment, so the blond detective did not waste any time once she felt this free space.
Margret pushed herself toward the hole with so much speed and force that she felt her bones grind against the tight walls. It was no question that she would be looking at a body full of bruises tomorrow, but that was better than being dead at least.
'Finally, I'm in. This better be worth it.'
The hole in the wall seemed to have led to a storage room, at least that's what it seemed with all the different-sized boxes scattered all over the floor.
It would have been pitch black for her, but thankfully, Margret never went out to investigate unprepared. She, of course had a flashlight with her, which she used to shine around the ominous room.
'That door there must lead to the main room of the first floor. Is Helena there or could she have moved up to the second or third floor? There is no way to know.'
But there was, in fact, a way to know. And that way was for the person to loudly announce themselves.
'Huh?'
Margret could hear two voices just outside of the door that led to the main room. She was certain that one was Helena's voice, while the other sounded like a middle-aged man.
And even though she could not hear exactly what the two voices were saying, she could at least tell the type of tone they were speaking in. And from what she heard...
'Seems I arrived late to the party. Or should I say late to the argument.'
The two voices were roaring at each other, back and forth, not stopping even once.
'Shit, I just realised.'
Margret scowled and hit her forehead with the palm of her hand.
'I don't speak Polish, even if I listen in I won't be able to understand anything. Fuck!'
Only if Mayhew was here.
She scoffed as she moved closer to the door, intending to listen in anyway.
'Who needs that prick? Polish or no Polish, I'll manage on my own somehow.'
Putting her eye near the keyhole, Margret saw the two people who were screaming at each other. Once she did, her eyes went wide.
********************************************
Tears were running down Helen's eyes. Her hair was disheveled and her hand trembled.
In front of her, a fat man dressed in police clothing looked at her with an annoyed expression.
The man spoke, his voice carrying a small dose of poison in it.
"Just shut the fuck up already. Your job is nice and simple, so don't complicate it, you whore."
The black-haired woman wiped her tears away using the back of her hand.
She then screamed at the man, her voice trembling with fear but also carrying intense hatred.
"I can't—I can't fucking do this anymore. Pretending like everything is normal, while I have to look at that poor woman every day. I need to know, who did it?! At least tell me that much you—"
The man grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her close, making her words stumble away from her mouth.
"Shut up. Shut your mouth—"
She tried to pull her hands away.
"Or what? Or what?!"
But not only did she fail, but the man also decided to use all his strength, pulling Helena inches away from his face.
His voice now showed all the poison that was hidden beneath.
"Or you'll get put in the fucking ground with the rest of them!"
Suddenly, the room became quiet. Neither the woman nor the man made any more noise, only staring at each other from an uncomfortable distance.
And throughout all of this, Margret watched, not understanding a single word but understanding the mood that was being displayed and the body language being used.
'Choose one and got both. Talk about luck.'