chapter2：snare

After hanging up the phone, Tom, a trainee police officer, walked on the silent street. He always felt that there were a pair of eyes staring at him from behind, but every time he looked back, he could see nothing. A sense of unease welled up in his heart. He quickened his pace and walked towards the police station because he had found important clues.

Amy also put on her coat and went out to look for Tom. She had a premonition that Tom was in danger.

When Tom passed by an abandoned factory, he heard strange noises coming from inside. Driven by curiosity, he walked into the factory. As soon as he entered, he heard, "That kid has discovered our secret. We can't let him leave alive." "But he has already called the police. We have to get rid of him quickly." Tom broke out in a cold sweat and hid behind a large machine, vigilantly observing his surroundings.

Amy came to the police station and found Agent Smith. Smith asked curiously, "Ms. Amy, what brings you here so late?" Amy said eagerly, "Agent, I think Tom's death may be related to a drug case twenty years ago. All these things are too strange." Smith thought for a while and was convinced by Amy. He began to trace the drug case that happened twenty years ago.

After a difficult investigation, they found a criminal. In the interrogation room, this criminal confessed that he had once almost raped a girl, and this girl turned out to be Tom's sister.

When this news was announced, Tom's sister appeared at the police station. A hint of panic flashed in her eyes, but she quickly calmed down. She pretended to be calm and said, "What does this have to do with my brother's matter? My brother has been dead for so many years." Her voice trembled slightly. Smith looked at her and said, "Do you really not know? It's all too coincidental. Your brother's disappearance and what is happening now are all related to the drug case." Tom's sister bit her lip and said, "I don't know anything. All I know is that my brother suddenly disappeared, and I have been in great pain." But her fingers unconsciously twisted the corner of her clothes, as if she was hiding something.

After leaving the police station, Tom's sister walked on the dim street. She looked back from time to time, walked hurriedly, and was lost in thoughts. She didn't know that from the moment she left the police station, a pair of eyes had been staring at her.

Amy was also on her way home. She always felt that she was being followed. She turned around from time to time to check, but all she could see was the empty and spooky street. Her own footsteps echoed in her ears, as if full of ominous premonitions.

Suddenly, she heard a strange rustling sound coming from an alley. She stopped, and her heart beat faster. When she peeked into the alley, she saw a figure flash by. "Who's there?" she shouted, her voice full of fear. But there was no response, only the increasingly thick and eerie silence.

At the same time, Tom's sister came to a rather desolate part of the city. There were few street lamps here, casting long, distorted shadows. She felt a chill run down her spine, as if there were invisible eyes watching her. She quickened her pace, but it was too late. A figure emerged from the shadows and blocked her way. This figure was wearing a long, dark overcoat, and his face was hidden by a hat. "Do you think you can escape?" the figure whispered. Tom's sister's eyes widened in horror. "What are you talking about?" she stammered. But before she could say another word, the figure pounced on her.

The next morning, the news of another legless murder case spread throughout the city. The victim was Tom's sister. The police were baffled. This was obviously a serial murder case, but they were still far from finding the killer.

Amy was shocked when she heard the news. She couldn't help but feel that there were deeper connections among all these events.

That night, as midnight approached, she sat in the living room, with the old radio on the table. Just as the clock struck twelve, the radio suddenly turned on. Amy was startled, and her nerves tensed. A familiar voice came from the radio: "Amy, it's Tom. I don't know what's going on. I'm still at the university, but I keep having these strange dreams. I dreamed that my sister was in trouble and that you were trying to help me."

Amy stared at the radio in disbelief. "Tom? How is this possible? Your sister... she was murdered. And we all thought you were dead." Tom's voice on the radio sounded confused. "Murdered? I don't understand. I just had a premonition that something bad would happen to her, but I thought it was just a dream."

Amy's mind was racing. She knew that there were more secrets behind this mystery, and some things were still hidden in the shadows. And she was determined to find out the truth, no matter how dangerous it was....

The next day, Amy went to see the detective full of doubts. She rushed into the detective's office and said eagerly, "Detective, you must re - investigate thoroughly those things I experienced yesterday." The detective looked up and stared at Amy with a puzzled look, saying, "Ms. Amy, what are you talking about? I've never even heard of this so - called skeleton case you mentioned, and there are no such records in our police station either."

Amy's eyes widened. She could hardly believe her ears. Subconsciously, she looked at the clock on the wall. This glance made her almost cry out in shock. The time shown by the clock hands clearly indicated that she had gone back one year.

Kelly hurried into the police station. Although her eyes were full of anxiety and worry, her eyes always drifted towards Amy unconsciously, and there seemed to be a trace of imperceptible fear in her eyes. Her hair was a little messy, and her steps were flustered and hurried, like a frightened fawn. She walked straight towards the officer's desk and said in a sobbing voice as she walked, "Officer, you must help me. My brother Tom has disappeared. I've searched everywhere I can think of, but I just can't find him. I... I'm really worried that something bad has happened to him." At this point, she secretly glanced at Amy again, and the fear in her eyes grew even stronger. Then, as if realizing her loss of composure, she quickly looked away and continued, "My brother was always normal before, and then he just suddenly disappeared. I... I really don't know what to do."

Seeing this, the officer quickly stood up and comforted her seriously, "Miss Kelly, don't be so flustered. If you're in such a hurry, we can't understand the situation properly. Calm down first, and then slowly tell us all the details about your brother's disappearance that you know, for example, whether he had contact with any special people before he disappeared, or if he had any abnormal behavior."

Kelly's body trembled slightly. She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Officer, my brother... he... he seemed to have talked to a stranger before he disappeared. I didn't pay much attention at that time. I just saw that person wearing a long black trench coat and a hat, and I couldn't see his face clearly. I... I should have been more careful at that time." As she spoke, she quietly glanced at Amy again, with evasive eyes, as if there was something on Amy that made her extremely frightened.

Amy keenly sensed Kelly's strangeness. She frowned and stared closely at Kelly, trying to find more clues from her expression.

The officer took out a notebook and began to record, then asked, "Miss Kelly, can you describe where they were talking approximately? Were there any special places or landmark buildings around?"

Kelly seemed to be suddenly touched on the most sensitive nerve. Instantly, like a frightened hedgehog, she became alert. Her voice involuntarily rose a few decibels, and she said sharply, "Amy, what do your mean? My brother is missing now, and I'm almost crazy with worry. How can you unjustly suspect me at this time?" Although her words were bold, her eyes were like a frightened fawn, wandering around in panic, and she never dared to look directly into Amy's eyes, as if there were sharp arrows in Amy's gaze that could see through her inner secrets.

The officer's eyes shifted back and forth between Amy and Kelly, with a hint of exploration and scrutiny in his eyes. After a while, he said calmly, "Ms. Amy, for now, let Miss Kelly finish speaking first. Miss Kelly, after your brother disappeared, did you notice any strange behavior of his before, or did you receive any rather strange messages?"

Kelly seemed to be trying hard to suppress some emotion inside. She took a deep breath, and her chest heaved obviously. She looked like a drowning person desperately grasping the last straw, trying to calm herself down. She shook her head gently and said, "No, officer. I really didn't notice anything. He just disappeared as if he had vanished into thin air. All I can think about now is worry. I'm really afraid that something bad has happened to him."

Amy stood aside, watching all this coldly. Her eyes were like cold lake water, calm on the surface but hiding a profound understanding of everything underneath. She knew very well that Kelly was definitely not telling the truth. At this time, her thoughts were like being tugged by an invisible wind, involuntarily recalling those things that had happened before. Those things seemed absurd, but they flashed through her mind extremely vividly one by one, like movie scenes. She increasingly felt that Kelly must be inextricably linked to the hidden secrets behind this, like an invisible large net, and Kelly must be a crucial node in it.