No one came to disturb Big Shrimp.
After practicing a few times, he felt he had the hang of it, so he prepared to look outside the room.
If this really was a game setting, then outside the room should be the living room. The mother and son NPCs lived in a one-bedroom suite with a living room, bathroom, and kitchen, and the mother and son slept together. The detective controlled by the player had entered this room and passed through the living room, seeing only a corner of the kitchen and bathroom.
Big Shrimp crouched by the door and listened for a while, but heard nothing.
He turned the handle and went out.
There was no one in the living room, either. The window was open, but there was no breeze. Outside, there was only a gloomy sky, with no sun or clouds.
The living room had simple furnishings and was cluttered with odds and ends.
Big Shrimp didn't hurry to search for clues. Instead, he first checked the kitchen and bathroom.
The doors to the kitchen and bathroom stood open, but an invisible barrier seemed to block Big Shrimp's way. He couldn't get inside. There was definitely space in there; they weren't flat scenery from a game, but he still couldn't enter.
The objects in the kitchen and bathroom all looked ordinary: everyday items belonging to the mother and son.
Big Shrimp returned to the living room and began poking around.
The boxes piled together held a child's old things: toys, clothes, and books. The game had mentioned that the struggling mother had gotten them secondhand from various places. Some had been donated, while others had been picked out of the trash. Many of the things were filthy and hadn't been washed yet. The boxes piled up on