Chapter 28: Playful Banter

The Saint Rose City Police Department?

Elias and Lsabella exchanged glances, both somewhat puzzled.

They were baffled as to why the police would suddenly seek them out. 

Could it be linked to the skirmish at the old house three days ago? But Elias was sure that incident hadn't attracted official attention.

The battle had been fierce, involving the kind of otherworldly beings that authorities were wary of. 

Yet, it unfolded within the confines of the secluded old house, invisible to outsiders and distant from any neighbors. And in the days following, no police had come knocking.

Elias glanced at Isabella as she hurriedly straightened her slightly disheveled collar and smoothed her hair. "Just a moment," she said.

Watching her, Elias teased, "It's almost like we're having an affair..."

Isabella chuckled and adjusted Elias's collar too. "Isn't it, though?" she playfully retorted.

Elias fell silent, pondering. Maybe it was true in a sense?

Isabella tossed him a flirtatious look, but Elias quickly shook off the confusion. No, he reminded himself, he was just an innocent student, lured here under false pretenses, not some lothario.

Isabella's expression shifted back to her professional demeanor as she opened the office door. Three people stood outside: two in Saint Rose City police uniforms and a Professor, presumably there to guide them. One officer was a young, unfamiliar face, and the other, sporting a beard and an officer's badge, was an old acquaintance.

Elias grinned, "Chief Leonardo, long time no see."

This sharp-eyed officer in a black coat was Chief Leonardo, a familiar character from the game, often entangled in bizarre cases, leading to several interactions between them.

"I wish I could say the same, kid..." Chief Leonardo's gaze held a mix of emotions as he introduced himself and his assistant, Officer Leon. "We're here on official police business and need your cooperation."

Isabella invited them in with customary politeness, then turned to Leonardo with a questioning look. "What case? Why involve us?"

Chief Leonardo glanced at Elias and asked Isabella, "Where were you at eleven o'clock, three days ago?"

"Three days ago? At eleven?" Isabella and Elias exchanged a glance. "I was on a home visit," she answered.

"Whose home?"

"That child's," she said, nodding toward Elias.

Under Chief Leonardo's scrutinizing gaze, Elias nodded in confirmation.

"I see..." Leonardo mused, apparently deep in thought.

"What's going on, Chief?" Elias inquired, suspecting it related to the recent campus disappearance case.

"Three nights ago, a junior from your school vanished shortly after leaving campus. We fear she might be dead," Chief Leonardo sighed deeply. "This is the fifth disappearance in a recent string."

Elias was lost in thought. So much had happened while he was preoccupied these past days. That night, three days ago, coincided with when Luna had locked him in the basement.

"Chief, can you share the specifics of the case with me?" Elias asked earnestly. "How do you know she disappeared at eleven? How can you pinpoint the time so precisely? And I'd appreciate details on the other four victims as well."

Chief Leonardo nodded and then turned to his assistant, Officer Leon, who had been diligently recording their conversation. Leon looked puzzled at Leonardo's gesture. "Chief? You're not going to..."

"This is internal police information. How can we disclose it to outsiders? Especially to..." Leon glanced at Elias, "a young student?"

"Don't worry, he's an old friend," Chief Leonardo said with a resigned smile. "Though I wish it weren't so. Every time I see him, trouble follows. But he's trustworthy."

Elias shrugged helplessly, "I should be saying that about you, Chief. Trouble follows you, not me."

"But..." Leon, ever the dutiful officer, still hesitated.

Seeing this, Leonardo leaned in and whispered, "Remember the Blackwater Town case and the Abandoned Factory case? He was involved in those and several other eerie cases we had to keep under wraps. He's helped me more than once."

"That makes him even more suspicious!" Leon exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Who keeps getting mixed up in such terrifying cases without being suspect? That's even stranger!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Are you guys whispering about me?" Elias interjected.

Ignoring him, Leonardo continued whispering to Leon, "You might find it hard to believe, but he's completely innocent. Think of him as an eccentric who's drawn to these kinds of things."

Leon looked at Elias, who was trying to appear nonchalant, and was utterly baffled. "There are such people..."

"And did you forget what you just recorded?" Leonardo added, "They can vouch for each other. They both have alibis. I know where that kid lives - in the isolated west district, far from the crime scene. He's not a suspect."

"Oh, right..." Leon realized, reassessing the situation.

Relieved that Elias was Chief Leonardo's trusted acquaintance with a solid alibi, Officer Leon finally relaxed and handed over the case files to Elias.

Seated in Isabella's office chair, Elias began to meticulously read through the files. The missing girl, a commuter student, was last heard screaming for help around eleven o'clock in a nearby alley off campus. 

Her late departure from the university was due to extended library hours, a provision by Saint Rose University during the end-of-term period, allowing students to stay until about 10:30 PM. 

Tragically, her commitment to avoiding failing grades led to her untimely disappearance.

"Cherish life, stay away from overstudying..." Elias mused with a tinge of dark humor after reading her file.

He then sifted through the files of the other missing individuals. 

They varied in gender and class year, but frustratingly, Elias found no obvious connections between them. 

They didn't know each other and had no apparent links, aside from all attending Saint Rose University.

The only certainty was that the perpetrator was likely someone from within the school, familiar with the library's hours. Of course, Elias didn't rule out the possibility of someone external obtaining such information.

There was another point of concern. 

Considering his and Chief Leonardo's knack for encountering 'otherworldly' beings, and given that this was the first chapter after the game update, Elias surmised that the perpetrator might be an 'otherworldly' being with mysterious abilities. 

This could explain the silent, traceless killings that left the police clueless.

For some reason, Elias's thoughts drifted to Luna. "I remember, after I passed out, you were locked in the basement by her, losing consciousness too..."

Isabella leaned in close and whispered, "Before our confrontation, where was she, and what was she doing?"