Dumpling and Woody didn't know how to describe the stinky smell either.
'So that's what you call a musty smell!'
Michelle Fuller opened the window. The wind that rushed in rustled the curtains, so she pulled them wide open.
Outside, it was pitch-black and the cold wind howled.
Renee Jennings chose a supernatural suspense film where girls in a dormitory were disappearing one by one.
Every night, the girls were on edge, afraid they would be the next to disappear.
Halfway through the movie, Michelle Fuller, who had been holding it in for a while, finally couldn't hold it any longer.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
Renee Jennings tilted her head to look at her and teased, "Are you brave enough to go alone? I can go with you."
"It's okay," Michelle Fuller said. "I'll have Woody and Dumpling come with me."
"Alright, we'll wait for you." Renee Jennings picked up the remote and pressed pause.
Michelle Fuller went to the bedroom's bathroom, taking the cat and dog with her.
The more she tried not to recall the plot, the more easily the scenes replayed in her mind.
The more Michelle Fuller thought about it, the more scared she became. She hurriedly pulled on her pants and washed her hands.
Walking out of the bathroom, she saw Dumpling and Woody pacing in the room and said with a smile, "Alright, my two little bodyguards, we can go now."
After taking a few steps, she realized the two little ones hadn't followed.
Michelle Fuller turned back to call them, but Dumpling suddenly scrambled under the bed.
"Dumpling, what are you doing under the bed?" she asked, exasperated.
After Dumpling let out two barks, Woody also scurried under the bed.
Michelle Fuller was completely bewildered. "What are you two playing at now?"
Woody crawled out, meowed at her a few times, and then scurried back under.
Although Michelle Fuller couldn't understand them, she could guess what Woody was trying to say.
Michelle Fuller thought for a moment, then walked over. "Is there some fun toy under the bed?"
***
Renee Jennings sat cross-legged on the sofa, thinking about Lillian Griffin.
'The video showed that she had indeed been to Villa 6, but under what circumstances could the security cameras have missed any trace of her?'
'And what would make her suddenly stop contacting her mother?'
As Renee Jennings was thinking, she suddenly heard a piercing scream.
"AHHH—"
Renee Jennings's train of thought was broken. The next second, her expression changed. "Michelle!" She immediately shot up and rushed out.
In the room, Michelle Fuller was collapsed on the floor, her face pale, her eyes red-rimmed, and her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
"What's wrong, Michelle?" Renee Jennings went to her side and asked nervously, "What happened?"
"Renee!" Michelle Fuller threw herself into her arms, choking out, "Under the bed... under the bed, there's... someone..."
She wasn't sure if it was a living person or...
Renee Jennings started to look, but Michelle Fuller stopped her. "Don't look! It's too scary!"
"Okay, I won't." Renee Jennings patted her back soothingly and said softly, "Let's go out first and figure out what to do."
"Okay." Michelle Fuller was so scared her legs gave out. She had to rely completely on Renee Jennings's support to walk back to the media room.
Dumpling and Woody followed them out, chatting as they walked.
"So that person was the source of the musty smell!"
"How can a human be so stinky? It's so weird!"
"It's so funny! Why would a human sleep under the bed instead of on it?"
"Are they playing hide-and-seek?"
Renee Jennings closed the door to the media room. She felt Michelle Fuller's hand; it was still trembling. She pulled her into a hug. "Don't be afraid."
"Renee, is that person... dead...?" Michelle Fuller asked, her voice choked with tears.
"I think so."
'If they were alive, why would they stink?'
"Renee, should we call the police then?"
"Okay."
Renee Jennings took out her phone to make the call.
As the operator was asking for details, she suddenly remembered Irene Lee from that afternoon and the sweetly smiling Lillian Griffin from the video.
'I hope it's not what I think it is.'
Michelle Fuller saw the image on the screen and panicked even more, grabbing the remote to turn off the projector.
Ten minutes later, the sound of police sirens came from downstairs.
Michelle Fuller's tense nerves finally relaxed.
The police came up to the second floor and carried the entire bed away.
Michelle Fuller covered her eyes, not daring to look.
Renee Jennings mustered the courage to look at the face. Her heart suddenly sank, and her brows knitted tightly together.
She had just seen this face in the video today.
She squeezed Michelle Fuller's hand and said in a low voice, "Michelle, it's Lillian Griffin."
[System 009: Congratulations, Miss Jennings, on completing the mission. Reward acquired: Monkey Dictionary.]
Michelle Fuller's heart leaped in shock. She opened her eyes and asked in disbelief, "Is it really Lynn?"
Renee Jennings nodded.
Michelle Fuller cautiously took a peek.
A police officer overheard their conversation and asked, "Do you know her?"
"No." Renee Jennings shook her head and recounted her encounter with Irene Lee that afternoon.
The manager of the villas heard the sirens and rushed over, immediately arranging for a new villa for Renee Jennings and Michelle Fuller.
But Michelle Fuller had already lost all interest in staying there. After giving their statements, she and Renee Jennings returned to their apartment in the city.
Michelle Fuller didn't dare turn off the lights and spent the whole night tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
At 5:30 in the morning, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
"Every time I close my eyes, I see Lynn's face." Michelle Fuller felt miserable.
"Don't dwell on it," Renee Jennings comforted her. "I'm here with you. Go to sleep."
Though she said that, the image of Lillian Griffin's face, eyes wide open in death, kept flashing through her own mind.
'Irene Lee must know about it by now, right?'
'Will she fall apart?'
Renee Jennings and Michelle Fuller didn't manage to drift off into a hazy sleep until around eight or nine in the morning.
***
It was already past one in the afternoon when Renee Jennings woke up.
Her screen showed one unread text message and over a dozen WeChat messages.
The text was from Henry Stark. He already knew about the case at Villa 6 in Cresthaven Hot Springs from last night.
Renee Jennings opened WeChat. The dozen-plus other messages were all from Irene Lee.
Irene Lee: [Miss Jennings, something's happened to my Lynn!]
Irene Lee: [Lynn was found in Villa 6. Can you please tell me what exactly happened last night? I'm begging you!]
Irene Lee: [Miss Jennings, I know it's wrong of me to bother you like this, but I'm truly at a loss. I don't know who else to turn to...]
Irene Lee: [They said they can't figure out how Lynn got to Villa 6. There are no cameras inside, so they can't find any evidence! And they can't find the killer!]
Irene Lee: [I can't bear to see Lynn die such an unjust death!]
...
Renee Jennings stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the heavy snow fall, her mood growing heavier and heavier.
Half an hour later, she made a voice call to Irene Lee on WeChat and carefully explained how Lillian Griffin's body was discovered last night.
On the other end of the call, Irene Lee broke down, weeping uncontrollably.
Renee Jennings didn't know how to comfort her.
After all, at a time like this, any words of comfort would ring hollow.
After some time, Irene Lee gradually calmed down and said in a hoarse voice, "Miss Jennings, thank you. I'm sorry for the trouble."
Renee Jennings opened her mouth, but in the end, only managed to softly say two words: "My condolences."
The next news about Irene Lee came two days later, when Michelle Fuller forwarded a video to Renee Jennings.
Irene Lee was kneeling on a bustling pedestrian street, holding a banner to demand justice for her daughter, bitterly pleading with the relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the truth.