There I was—all alone in my room with Zoey, the former detective. A woman with excellent skills of deduction and attention to detail when compared to everyone else in Serendipity. I didn’t think about it at first, but, it probably wasn’t a good idea to let her in my room. She was supposed to investigate the murder of Elena.

But, it all soon dawned on me when I saw that soft smile spread across her face. Ever so rarely had I ever seen her smile. Whenever she did, I always felt a wave of uneasiness wash over me. From my perspective, she was a stone-cold woman with a heart of ice. So, whenever she smiled, it ruined the image I initially had of her.

That woman—the only reason I figured she had come to me was to conduct an interrogation. She had me labeled as a suspect.

“I will just get right to the point. As of right now, I believe that everyone is a suspect in the case of Elena’s murder.” Zoey notified.

“I see. So, when you said you only wanted to ask me a few questions…”

“I meant that I wanted to interrogate you. However, I believed that you would not allow me into your room if I started with that choice of words.” She admitted.

“Sneaky…” I sarcastically commented. “And it’s not like I can force you out of here either. Just for the record, I would’ve let you in even if you did tell the truth.”

“That does not matter anymore. Let us begin with the interrogation.” Zoey interlocked her fingers then rested them on her lap as her gaze turned fierce. “Now, where were you between the time of 2 to 3 a.m. this morning?”

“In my room, asleep,” I answered.

“Can anyone vouch for that?”

She was in complete detective mode. For every second that passed, her sharp gaze never left me. It was like she could see through anything and everything that I would say or do. I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive the more she stared at me.

The intense pressure that weighed down on me in that room was overwhelming. But, I put on my best poker face. I couldn’t let her intimidate me.

“Pretty much anyone that knows me. I spend most of my time in my room.”

“But, I have heard that you have spent some time outside your room recently. Usually, you'd only leave your room for meals or the games.” She countered. “So, forgive me if I cannot trust your answer so earnestly. Quite the coincidence that Elena wound up dead around the same time you began to leave your room more frequently.”

I felt my face go stiff after she made the broad accusation. True, it was a coincidence. But, the satisfied expression on her face pissed me off.

“It’s the truth, honest. Whether you choose to believe it is up to you.” I merely waved off her accusation; albeit with great difficulty. I didn’t like being on the end of her interrogations or her unsettling gaze.

“Mind telling me what kind of relationship you had with Elena?” Zoey continued without hesitation.

“Neutral at best. At least from my side of things.” I brought my hand up to my temple and fought off a brewing headache. I thought back to all my interactions with Elena. Most of them weren’t as pleasant as I imagined. But, from those memories, I could classify our relationship.

“That neutral relationship appeared to become quite hostile once you two were pit against each other in the third game. That seemed to come from your side of things, however.”

How one could remain calm around her was a mystery to me. In just five days, she had many incidents that she used against me.

“Are you talking about when I convinced her to play the game? It saved her life.”

“At that moment, it did. However, I believe you mainly did it so that you could play the game and increase your spot in the rankings. You would not have been able to do so if Elena refused to play and died.”

“Hit the nail right on the head.” I tapped the side of my head for emphasis. Perceptive as always. Almost nothing escaped from her sight. Although, it wasn’t like I tried to hide that fact in the first place.

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If I hadn’t convinced her to play, Elena would’ve died on the spot. I made the right choice, even if it was for a selfish reason.

“You are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal, aren’t you?”

“That’s right. As should everyone else that agreed to play these games.”

“I do not believe that I ever heard your goal.”

“No, you didn’t.”

The detective closed her eye then allowed a soft chuckle to escape past her lips. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure out what she found so damn amusing about her interrogation. In fact, the more the time passed, the more irritated I became.

She may have tried to find out what happened to Elena. But in my eyes, she was only playing games.

“Let us move on. During your game against Elena, there came a moment when you nearly harmed her. Why did you hesitate?” Zoey inquired.

That question hit too close to home. Out of all the things I didn’t want to look back on—it was that moment. When I nearly kicked Elena—the way she begged and pleaded not to harm her. It reminded me of someone.

Someone that I didn’t want to remember. It was far too painful for me to remember.

That pain must have shown on my face. Zoey’s suspicious glance changed—but only for a moment. All it took was that moment for me to regain my composure.

“No need to kick someone when they’re down,” I stated. “I’ll admit that I lost my temper at that moment. But, it was never my intention to harm her. Let alone kill her.”

That soft smile returned to Zoey in response. She seemed satisfied with my answer.

“I believe you. From the very beginning, I knew you did not kill Elena.” Zoey revealed.

It was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t know why I felt such relief. I knew all along I didn’t kill Elena. However, to have heard those words soothed me somewhat as if I needed confirmation that I didn’t do it.

“Then, what was the point of all this?” I suddenly asked. Although I felt relieved that she believed me, I was extremely annoyed by the entire ordeal. If the interrogation could’ve been avoided, then what was the point in wasting my time?

“It was just my little way of gaining more intel on you, Ambrose. You rarely give away any information about yourself willingly. I mainly had to observe you to get as much information as I did,” informed Zoey as she shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, you could not have killed Elena. You said so yourself that this was not a game about killing each other.”

“You don’t think I could’ve been lying?” I questioned her.

“I considered that possibility. When you first said those words, you were in a heated argument with Melanie. But, when you had the opportunity to abandon Elena in that maze—you did not.” Zoey reminded. “You had the chance to let Elena die. But instead, you saved her. You kept true to your words. And for that, I have no reason to suspect you.”

“While I thank you for that, I don’t think you should be wasting your time with me if I’m not a suspect.”

“Do not worry. I still have plenty of time for the investigation. This murder was textbook.”

Whether it was a look of confidence or arrogance, the way Zoey phrased her response unsettled me. It was as if she genuinely thought that the investigation was a game. She was the one that suggested it after all.

“Wait, does that mean you already figured out who the killer is?” I asked.

“Yes and no.” She answered bluntly. I didn’t know how she could do that with such a straight face. I, for one, nearly reached my limit with the woman. Throughout the entire interrogation, it seemed like she only desired to mess with me.

That alone wholly tarnished the image I had of her in the beginning.

“I don’t understand.”

“Do not worry about it. All will be revealed soon enough.” Zoey cryptically said before she stood from the chair. “I am sorry if it seemed like I wasted your time.”

“You most certainly did.” I watched the woman head towards the door.

She reached out to grab the doorknob then suddenly stopped. “I have a few more questions before I go. Have you noticed anything strange with any of the other players? Or has anything strange happened to you recently?”

The letter immediately came to mind. I had nearly forgotten about it. So many things had happened throughout the games. The mysterious sender of that said letter also came up.

I understood the intent of the letter. However, I found it odd that the sender didn’t want me to mention the letter to others. So, I decided to keep it that way.

“Nothing really,” I answered.

“Is that so? Very well then. Now, to my last question—would you be willing to work alongside me in this investigation?”

“Are you sure? You seemed adamant about working alone earlier.”

“I am only using you as a means of insurance. If I were to present all the evidence to this case, certainly there would be a few people that would doubt my words. I need someone that I trust to back me up.”

“You know you’re very blunt when asking for a favor.” I rubbed the back of my head. I was flattered that she had such trust in me. But, I wasn’t sure that I deserved it.

Helping her with the investigation would’ve been a lot of responsibility. I wanted to find Elena’s killer. But, I wasn’t sure if I’d honestly be of any use.

“I will try to work on that. So, what do you say?” She turned to face me.

“I’ll do what I can. Let’s find the son of a bitch that murdered Elena.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Zoey bid me farewell then left the room.

Definitely a strange one that woman. I had never figured her to be so sly. I guess she had to have a side like that to her personality. The fate of Elena’s murder case rested on our shoulders. The severity of the situation was too much for me to bear. But, I still carried it nonetheless. I wanted to find the bastard that killed Elena. They had to be stopped. If not, the number of bodies would only continue to pile up. And I refused to let that happen without a fight.