I suddenly heard a noise. It must have been the note on the door, blown by the wind.
For some reason, the sound reminded me of the school bell from my middle school days, the one that told all the students it was time to leave.
My heart began to race. I instinctively picked up the files I'd already taken out, shut the filing cabinet, hurried to close the window, and rushed to the door.
As I closed it, I thought I saw something through the slowly narrowing gap.
Bang!
The door shut before I could make out what it was.
Bzzzz!
My phone rang and vibrated in my hand. The sound echoed through the floor, loud enough to make my ears ring. The flashlight was still on, its beam making my eyes swim.
I shook my head and answered. It was Skinny, calling to say they were done.
I answered with a few "Mm-hm"s, then headed downstairs with the files in my arms. I glanced sideways and looked up, and saw the Greenleaf Paranormal Agency sign and its front door behind the corridor railing, gradually disappearing behind gray rebar and concrete.
"Qi, how'd it go?" Skinny and Fatty were waiting on the first floor. When they saw me coming down, they each took some of the files.
"I found the living client, but... I didn't get a chance to look for the last case they handled," I said hesitantly.
"Oh, we can do that next time. I think we should come during the day next time. It's dark already, and it's kind of dangerous." Skinny spoke with a straight face, as if he were explaining the rules of a horror movie.
Only then did I realize it had gotten dark. I checked the time and saw that I'd spent two hours in that pitch-black place.
"Next time we come, we should get someone to restore the power here," Fatty suggested. "It was too dark. I looked in that room just now, and the flashlight didn't light up much."
"Yeah, that's why I said we should come during the day."
I was distracted. Suddenly, I asked, "When you searched the place that day, did you look in the boxes in those two rooms in the corridor?"
"We took apart a few, but they were all computers. We didn't really investigate much that day," Skinny sighed. "We figured we'd ask around, and that someone from that... agency would turn up soon."
"We asked around just now, but nobody could tell us anything," Fatty sighed too.
The two of them were like a comedy duo, taking turns speaking. Finally, Skinny struggled to hook an arm around Fatty's broad shoulders, and Fatty patted Skinny's little shoulder with his fleshy hand. It was pretty funny.
But I couldn't relax. "Next time we come, we can open all those boxes. There might be clues inside."
"Oh, sure, we can take a look," Skinny said casually. Then he squeezed Fatty's shoulder hard. "Make sure you help Qi out properly!"
"What about you?" Fatty asked, stepping away from Skinny and ending their shoulder-to-shoulder pose.
"I'll climb the stairs," Skinny replied without hesitation.
Fatty looked both amused and exasperated. But he wasn't as scared as Skinny, so he agreed and turned to me. "Then let's come together tomorrow."
"Okay. There was also a room at the end of the corridor that I didn't get to check earlier. Were there boxes in there too?" I asked casually.
The two of them stopped in their tracks.
I looked at them in confusion.
"The room at the end of the corridor?" Skinny repeated.
Fatty asked, puzzled, "There are only rooms on either side of the corridor. Isn't there just a wall at the end?"
I froze.
"There's a painting hanging there. Qi, was it too dark for you to see clearly, and you mistook it for a door?" Fatty asked.
"Probably... I only glanced at it when I went into the corridor," I said, not sounding very sure.
"You must've seen it wrong!" Skinny said firmly. "All right, all right, enough about that. Let's get the car and head home to our moms!"
Case Number 078
Case Alias: Like a Shadow
Client: Zheng Xiaorui
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Family: Parents
Address: Room XXX, Building X, Qingshui Garden, Huangnan District
Phone: 139XXXXXXXX
Case Details:
December 3, 2013. The client's first visit. Audio file 07820131203.wav.
"Hello. I'm Xiaorui's good friend, Duan Shishi. We spoke on the phone."
"Hello, Miss Duan."
"This is Xiaorui."
"H-hello."
"Hello, Miss Zheng. Could you tell us what happened?"
"I... um..."
"Hey, I'll tell you! It's just like we said on the phone. Xiaorui's been feeling like someone's watching her lately, like she's being monitored. My dad's a police officer, so he found someone to follow her for a while, but they never saw anyone. Xiaorui still has that feeling, though. She can't sleep or eat properly anymore. Her parents took her to the hospital, and I even took her to see a medium, but those people just spout nonsense. They're no help at all! I saw online that you're really good at this. Is that true?"
"Why don't you let your friend tell us, young lady?"
"Tsk... Xiaorui, go ahead. Don't be scared."
"Mm..."
"Miss Zheng, please tell us in detail about what happened and how you felt. Don't worry about taking up too much time. The more detail, the better. Even guesses are fine. Just tell us everything you've experienced lately."
"Oh... I... I just feel like someone's watching me, like Shishi said."
"When did you first feel that way? What was happening?"
"Um, I can't remember when. At the time, I was at home. I got up in the morning, brushed my teeth and washed my face, then looked in the bathroom mirror. When I was done, I was about to leave. That was when I felt... like the person in the mirror was watching me..."
"Like in a horror movie, where the person walks away, but their reflection doesn't move. Then, without turning its head, its eyes move like this, staring."
"Miss Zheng, is that what you told Miss Duan, or is that Miss Duan's guess?"
"Hey, what are you trying to say?"
"No, Shishi didn't make it up. That's really how it felt. In the instant I turned around, I saw out of the corner of my eye that the person in the mirror hadn't moved, and then its eyes... seemed to be watching me."
"Did you check afterward?"
"I did. I was really scared... well, I got really scared later, but I didn't think much of it at the time. I turned around and looked. There was nothing wrong with the mirror."
"Pardon me for asking, but have you watched any horror movies like that?"
"What's wrong with you? We're not making this up!"
"Young lady, if you can't keep quiet, you can leave."
"You!"
"Shishi, it's okay."
"Hmph!"
"I have watched horror movies, and... and they scare me. I know what you mean. My family and Shishi's dad asked me the same thing. At first, I thought so too."
"Mm. Did anything happen after that day?"
"Nothing happened that day, but two days later... I was really careful whenever I went into the bathroom during those two days, and nothing like that happened again. But over the weekend, Shishi and I went out to have fun. We went to the mall to see a movie, and in the bathroom there, I... felt that way again."
"Could you describe it in more detail?"
"I came out of the stall and washed my hands. The mall bathroom has one of those huge mirrors, all one piece. While I was looking down and washing my hands, I felt like the person in the mirror wasn't moving, and was watching me. I was so scared I froze. It can't have been long before Shishi came out of the bathroom too. She washed her hands beside me and talked to me, and then I finally dared to look up. There was nothing wrong with the mirror."
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