SHADOWS OF TRUTH

The next day, Avery and Ethan sat at the guest table, trying to assess the progress of their investigation. The coffee in their hands tasted bland as their minds were preoccupied with various possibilities. Ethan stared at the pile of files in front of him while Avery reviewed each note they had made. Something felt off, like a missing piece in a large puzzle.

"He has a reason to be dishonest," Ethan said, breaking the silence between them. "But I can also sense his fear. It seems like he's too exhausted by all this."

Avery nodded, her eyes still on the notes they had found.

"But... I feel something's strange," Ethan muttered, his eyes gazing into the distance. "Something suspicious. Last night, Derek seemed honest. If it wasn't Derek trying to hinder us, it must be someone else. But who? Could it be another member of the police?"

Avery turned to him, "Yes, you're right. If it was someone else from Ravenshore, how could they know such details without information from the police? Even to the point of stealing the evidence we found." She frowned. "The only ones aware of our investigation's progress are the police, and that's Derek. If it's not Derek, then maybe there's another Ravenshore police officer who knows about this."

The thought haunted them. What if there was someone within the police force helping to cover up the case? Maybe this was why previous detectives never succeeded in solving it. Twenty minutes later, Derek returned from the police station, looking tired.

"We need to ask him," Ethan whispered.

"Derek, I have a question," Avery said.

Derek turned to them, then walked over to the sofa and sat across from Avery and Ethan.

"Is there anyone else in the police who knows about our investigation's progress?" Avery asked directly.

Derek nodded, "There's a team of three people. This team helped the previous detectives. But when you replaced the previous detectives, they weren't heavily involved, just helping gather evidence from the latest victims."

Avery and Ethan exchanged glances, their suspicion deepening.

"I feel something's off about this investigation, especially after the evidence files we found went missing at the hotel. Haven't you noticed anything strange about some of the other police officers? Especially the team that knows about this investigation?" Ethan looked at Derek seriously.

"Yes, I felt that too. Every time you guys come, they seem eager to know the progress, always asking me. At first, I thought it was normal because they were part of the previous investigation team and they are also police officers here. But..." Derek paused. "When I got the information that your evidence files went missing at the hotel, they seemed anxious... like they were hiding something."

"I think we need to be cautious of them, Derek. Next time, keep the case progress information to ourselves, and when we need more help, we can discuss it with the others." Avery suggested.

"Avery is right... and I also ask you to keep an eye on that team. We don't know who our real enemy is until this case is solved," Ethan said.

Derek nodded seriously. While they were discussing this in the living room, Avery's phone rang. It was a message from an unknown number. The message read:

"Stop investigating, or you'll regret it."

Avery showed the message to Ethan and Derek. "We need to be careful."

After a brief conversation about the threatening message, Derek returned to his room while Ethan and Avery tried to review the last case involving the two people found dead, Daniel Moore and Venia. From both crime scenes, there were similar situations—burn marks and mysteriously damaged metal objects, slightly melted.

"What we see here matches the notes from Derek's wife's and child's case," Avery said, trying to piece together the pattern. "This means Derek couldn't be lying about the fear he's experiencing," Avery whispered.

"Right. People involved in this investigation have met tragic ends. It means the last two victims, Daniel and Venia, were involved in uncovering information about Ravenshore's past and the secret experiments," Ethan added. "This connects the annual death pattern with people trying to uncover the truth."

"We need to find out what Daniel and Venia discovered," Avery said firmly.

"But so far, the evidence found by the police is no more than what we've already known," Ethan replied.

Avery looked at Ethan, "Then we need to visit their families again. I think there might be some things they haven't told the police or the previous detectives."

Ethan nodded, "Let's go, we're running out of time."

______________________________________________________________________________________________

They decided to gather more information and visit Ms. Moore, Daniel's mother, again. Ms. Moore's house wasn't far from the center of Ravenshore. It was a simple home with a small garden in front, which now seemed as quiet as when they last visited.

Avery and Ethan walked towards the front door. Today, the sun shone brightly over Ravenshore after a long spell of overcast weather. They were greeted by a middle-aged woman whose face was still full of grief.

"You're back? Is there any progress on my son's case?" Ms. Moore asked, eager to know the latest developments.

Avery and Ethan exchanged a glance and then smiled at Ms. Moore.

"Ms. Moore, we're still in the middle of our investigation and need to know more about what Daniel discovered before he died. Is there anything else, any items or notes that might help us?" Avery asked gently.

Ms. Moore paused for a moment, then invited them in.

"After you were here last time, I tidied up and stored all of Daniel's things. While packing, I found something that seemed suspicious. Wait here," Ms. Moore said.

Ten minutes later, Ms. Moore returned to the living room and showed them an old, worn-out box. "Daniel kept this under his bed. I never opened it because I was afraid of what I might find."

Ethan carefully opened the box. Inside, there were several documents, photos, and a notebook. "This could be a crucial clue," Ethan said.

They thanked Ms. Moore and hurried to the Venia family home. As Avery and Ethan stepped out of their car in front of the Venia residence, the atmosphere was tense. The large, grand house looked silent. They felt a bit awkward and worried, having heard from locals that the Venia family was very private and reluctant to talk about Venia after the tragedy.

When they knocked on the door, a stern-faced middle-aged man with a cold expression answered. "Good afternoon. We're from the police, I'm Avery and this is my partner Ethan. We'd like to discuss the case involving your daughter, Venia," Avery said firmly.

The man sighed deeply, clearly uncomfortable with their presence. "Come in," he said curtly. They were led to a spacious and elegant living room, where a woman sat staring blankly out the window. The woman, presumably Venia's mother, turned as they entered.

"We don't have much time," Venia's father said bluntly. "What do you need?"

Ethan explained patiently. "We need access to all of Venia's notes and research. This is crucial for solving the case."

Venia's father frowned, clearly reluctant to part with the information. "Venia was a smart and secretive girl. We don't know what she was working on, and frankly, we preferred not to get involved."

Avery approached Venia's mother, trying a gentler approach. "We know this is hard, but every detail matters. This isn't just about solving a case; it's about getting justice for Venia."

Venia's mother looked at Avery with tearful eyes, then slowly nodded. "Venia kept all her research on her laptop. She was always very careful. I'll get it."

After a few minutes, Venia's mother returned with a laptop and a small notebook. Venia's father handed the laptop to Avery with a tense expression. "She recorded every finding here," he said.

Avery opened the laptop and saw that some files were password-protected. "Do you know the password?" Avery asked. Venia's father shook his head. However, Ethan found a clue in the small notebook that Venia's mother had brought, which led to a combination of numbers that successfully unlocked the files.

They began examining the files carefully. The information they found was startling. Venia and Daniel had been tracing the origins of various strange incidents in Ravenshore, all centered around an old building. There were notes about strange machines, traps set to keep intruders out, and several mysterious individuals involved.

"This is more than just a simple discovery," Ethan said. "That building seems to be the hub of all these strange activities. What's written in their findings matches what we saw when we were there."

Avery added, "We need to get back to that building and find the answers we need."

Ethan nodded, and they bid farewell to Venia's parents after copying all the data from Venia's laptop.

Before proceeding, Ethan called a friend at the central office in the capital to trace the mysterious number that had sent them a threatening message earlier that morning. His friend agreed to help and promised to get back to them with the results soon.

While waiting for news from his friend, they decided to analyze Daniel and Venia's findings further in the car. They discovered that the machines in the old building were linked to various mysterious events in Ravenshore. They also found several maps and sketches showing the layout of the building, including some rooms that seemed to have special functions.

"I didn't expect their findings to be this extensive," Avery said, somewhat amazed. "However, I think the security around that old building will be tighter after our last visit."

"Yeah, you're right. We need to be prepared for anything," Ethan said firmly.

With renewed determination, they drove back to the old building. On the way, their minds were full of possibilities. They knew that whatever they found there could be the key to solving this big mystery and bringing justice to the victims. As the sun began to set, casting an increasingly eerie atmosphere, they exchanged determined glances, resolved to uncover the truth behind the tragedies that had befallen Daniel, Venia, and the other victims.