Chapter 43: Deadlock

"Alright!"

Gene, the maintenance worker, received the message. He looked at the normally functioning electrical box, shook his head, and then shone his flashlight into the shaft next to him.

"If this doesn't work, the only thing I can think of is to go back to the rooftop, climb down from above the elevator, and manually restart it."

In the surveillance room.

Ronald and Adolf exchanged glances, then pressed the button and replied.

"That's all we can do now. Gene, call me when you get there."

"Okay, wait for my message."

Gene released the button on the walkie-talkie, gazing straight into the shaft, a strange feeling growing in his mind. He felt as if there was something in there, and the more he looked, the more a sense of déjà vu crept into his mind.

So, he cautiously approached with his flashlight, not quite reaching it when suddenly a clattering noise startled him.

"Damn it!"

Gene cursed under his breath, shining his flashlight deeper into the shaft, but its visibility was even lower than outside, and he couldn't see everything.

Continuing closer, he finally entered the shaft and saw what was making the noise.

It was several strands of wire twisted together, being pulled taut by some force.

Gene's eyes widened as he looked up at the elevator suspended above. He cursed softly.

"Oh! Shit!! Damn it!!"

As he spoke, the taut wires suddenly lashed out at him…

In the surveillance room.

The two guards, focused on the monitor, had only two options.

One was to wait for the police to arrive, and the other was to wait for the maintenance worker Gene to return to the rooftop.

So, all they could do was keep an eye on the screen and wait.

Perhaps growing impatient, Adolf also began to show signs of irritation.

"Ronald! Where are our dear officers? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

"Shit! Are we just wasting our taxpayers' money?"

Ronald glanced at his superior and chose to ignore him, keeping his eyes fixed on the monitor, continuing to theorize about the killer.

In the elevator, the situation remained the same, with the lights still flickering. The passengers seemed to be saying something, but no sound came through.

Watching, Ronald couldn't help but pull out his cross and prayed silently for the innocent passengers inside.

"God, please protect these poor souls."

However, just as he was praying, in the flickering light's afterimage, he thought he saw a skull formed from the shadows.

"What's that?"

Ronald stared at the monitor, feeling dizzy. He blinked, and the lights were still flickering, but the skull was gone.

"What is it?" Adolf, hearing Ronald's reaction, looked over.

"Ronald, did you see something?"

Although he couldn't see it now, the scene that had just unfolded left an impression on Ronald. He gripped his cross tightly and continued to stare at the monitor.

"Nothing."

Adolf didn't press further, turning his attention to other monitors. His tone relaxed but still sarcastic.

"Our dear officers have finally arrived."

........................…

At the Jesse Building.

A swarm of people flooded in.

"Go, seal all the entrances and exits, disperse the crowd."

"And bring me the entry and exit log."

"…"

Jeffery and Baker, in charge of the case, walked and directed their orders. In no time, the entire Jesse Building was under police control.

Greeted by Adolf and Ronald, Jeffery and Baker arrived in front of the surveillance screens.

Jeffery, looking at the situation on the screens, remained calm.

"Nothing happened before we arrived, right?"

Adolf reported everything.

"Nothing, officer. Just a sudden problem with the lights. Our maintenance worker is getting ready to fix it…"

"They can hear our voices, but we can't hear theirs…"

"…"

Hearing about the maintenance worker, Jeffery stared at the monitor, then looked at his colleague Baker. They had already analyzed before arriving that the killer inside the elevator would have had inside or outside help, suspecting the maintenance worker.

"Where is your maintenance worker now?"

Adolf was puzzled, not understanding the implication, and looked at Ronald.

Ronald glanced at the monitor and replied.

"Gene? He might still be in the basement or on the rooftop."

Hearing this, Jeffery nodded at Baker.

Baker immediately understood and quickly left the surveillance room with several officers.

"Officer, what's going on?"

Jeffery didn't answer but picked up the walkie-talkie Adolf had pointed out, pressing the button while looking at the monitor.

"I am Officer Jeffery from the New York Police Department. We are doing our best to rescue you. It won't take too long. So, you must stay calm. Now do as I say, take out anything that can prove your identity and show it in front of the camera. We need to know who you are…"

Jeffery's voice echoed in the elevator. Perhaps because the police had arrived, the four people, each in their own corner and wary of each other, felt a sense of relief.

In the flickering light, Max in plain clothes looked at the other three, who hadn't moved, and shrugged.

"I'm not the killer, I'll go first."

Saying this, under the watchful eyes of the three, Max took out his ID and held it up to the camera.

Although the light was still flickering, his name could still be seen.

"Max Ward."

In the surveillance room, Jeffery instructed Adolf to write down Max's name.

"Next."

Hearing the voice, Max knew he was done and returned to his spot indifferently, watching the other three.

"I'll go."

At this point, no one could avoid it. Ralph, the African American, was the second to step out of his corner, holding his ID up to the camera.

"Ralph Luke."

In the surveillance room, his name was also recorded.

Then it was Abigail's turn, followed by Vic, and even the old lady's ID was found...

"May Biller."

"…"

Jeffery took the paper from Adolf and handed it to a waiting officer.

"Check these people with the department. I need to know their connections, and if they have any relationship with the victim."

In murder cases, the motive and reason for the crime are key to the investigation. The officer, understanding the importance, took the paper and hurried away.

"Whew…"

Jeffery exhaled lightly, continuing to watch the monitor, his gaze lingering on Ralph and Max.

Upon arriving at the scene and piecing together all the information, his suspicions were on Ralph and Max.

If the maintenance worker had been helping from outside or secretly arranged things, with their physical capabilities, they could have killed May Biller in the moments the lights went out.

However, this logical deduction hit a deadlock with Baker's notification.

"Oh! Shit! Jeffery, he's dead."